Reviews

Overall, a good exploration of love and grief. I loved the town and the characters, but it definitely didn’t feel like a true Tennessee town. It felt like a caricature that someone from the city wrote. Loved that homophobia wasn’t a thing, and that the mamas were fighting a tampon tax.

amyw2's review against another edition

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4.0

It turns out that this was just what I needed.
Due to many reasons, I badly needed a book that was lighter in tone but that would not insult my intelligence. This book delivered.
In short, it is the story of PJ, who leaves her PhD program following the death of her father, gets a job at the Chickie Shak in her hometown, falls in love with a waitress, is forced to compete in the Hot Chicken pagent, and does her best to figure out life and relationships along the way.
This was recommended by an author I trust implicitly, Margaret Renkl (The Comfort of Crows, Late Migrations), who has steered me to several other now favorite books. I am glad that she did.

jillwedemeier's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I'm not going to lie, I picked up this book based solely on its name. Hot chicken is my all-time favorite food, and I just couldn't wait to dig it (pun intended?). The cover describes this book as "a delicious southern novel," which is definitely accurate. I loved the small-town charm and antics of Pennywhistle, Tennessee, and the hilarious southern quips had me laughing out loud and missing my days living in the Volunteer State. While the book had its funny moments, there are also more serious themes of grief, friendship, and relationships. The story itself was good—albeit a little wordy and woke at times. It took awhile to get into it, but overall it was an enjoyable and quick read. I really enjoyed the beauty pageant and that there was a bit of an underlying mystery to solve. An impressive debut from Mary Liza Hartong, and now I'm craving some hot chicken!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

utopiastateofmind's review

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Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

Okay so the first thing I want to get off my chest is could we just not have, in 2024, these casual very small references to Harry Potter? I think we can all agree JK Rowling has 100% deserved the deletion and we can leave the cultural legacy in the past. Now, I enjoyed Love and Hot Chicken. It's incredibly setting driven - which feels weird to say about a romance - but the setting is so clear and vivid. The community, Chickie Shack, the Elvis references, feels so detailed and alive. And this setting makes the book vivid and alive.

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