Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - The Dos and Donuts of Love

Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar

23 reviews

readingwithtemperance's review against another edition

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

5.0

If you are a lover of baking competition shows or just yummy desserts this book is for you!

I had so much fun reading The Dos and Donuts of Love. The competition was done so well I felt like I was actually watching the show.

I thought the author did very well writing Shireen's panic attacks. And I loved that

Chris helped her through them despite them not being on the beat of terms.

I was so disappointed when

Niamh was the one who ruined Shireen's dish. But also so happy it wasn't Chris!

My heart soared when

Chris and Shireen's parents became friends after feuding for so long. And combined forces to open their own shop!

Another thing I really loved were the punny chapter headers! I loved that they were all dessert themed and a clue of what was to come. I wish authors included them more!

This was absolutely incredible and now I want donuts.

Content Warnings

psistillreadyou's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

pencilspeaker's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

megj23's review

Go to review page

hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

monstrouscosmos's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Characters: 9/10
Relationships: 9/10
Atmosphere/Setting: 8/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Plot/Intrigue: 8/10
Internal Logic: 10/10
Entertainment: 7/10
Overall: 60/70, 4.25*

I wanted a book that didn't have any spice so when I saw that this was YA I was initially so excited! when I found out how young the characters would actually be it became hard for me to stick with listening for awhile. nothing against younger characters! but teen romance isn't really what I was expecting/hoping for. I'm glad I stuck it out though, this was such a heartfelt story! definitely something I wish I'd had as a teenager. a very sweet coming of age story!

Content Warnings

jachnax's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional inspiring lighthearted fast-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

4.5

Content Warnings

shade_gomes's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-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? It's complicated

4.25

Content Warnings

starklinqs's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

What a cute, sweet book! I felt a little too old for the target demographic but the author’s enthusiasm shined throughout this book. I love reading about a plus sized lesbian South Asian character. Shireen was an absolute sweetheart - there were maybe two times I was frustrated at her and even then, I understood that it was for the sake of conflict and that emotions can be irrational. I enjoyed following Shireen as a character, and I loved Chris!

I would have loved to see more perspective from the audience in the show. It kind of seemed overwhelmingly negative towards Shireen and Chris and I think their perspective on what happens at the end would have been interesting.

Content Warnings

emily_mh's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

This book revolves around two concepts: a romance and a baking competition, and both were pretty solid.

I enjoyed the romance between Shireen and Chris. It had a couple of my fave tropes, namely second-chance romance and the MC not realising that the LI is in love with them when it is very obvious to the reader. The dynamic between Shireen and Chris was great - they had a lot of healing to do, but you could see that there was so much love there. Their interactions got sweeter and sweeter as the book went on. I do wish we had gotten more of a feel for WHY Shireen was in love with Chris - like, what was it about her in particular? Even though I liked the romance, my favourite relationship in the book was actually between Shireen and her parents. Her parents were so lovely and supportive! I enjoyed their interactions so much.

The plot being focussed on the baking show was downright entertaining, as the fictional show had all the drama you expect from and love in the real thing. I loved that the judges’ names were puns of Mary Berry, Gordon Ramsey and Paul Hollywood. Admittedly I sometimes had to suspend my disbelief regarding the details of how the show was run, but this wasn’t too bad.

A theme that emerged as a result of the baking show was about how being fat and Bangladeshi impacted Shireen’s experience, not just on the show, but in life, too. She faces a tidal wave of online hate with little support from production, and is accused of special treatment at one point when she IS shown a tiny bit of support. In that way, the narrative explores how white people will cry “unfair treatment” when all that’s happening is the playing field being levelled (and in this case, it was more like a smidge of dirt being levelled). In her regular life, Shireen observes the difficult position being both fat and Bangladeshi puts her in, as Bangladeshi culture is one centred around food yet also obsessed with diets. Reading from Shireen’s perspective was insightful in many ways and gave a new angle, especially on reality TV, that is unfortunately uncommon in YA and in literature in general.

Shireen had great development as the MC, as she learns to temper her all-or-nothing thinking as it comes to failure and love. As the story progresses, she really settles into herself. As a side note regarding her character, I wish we had been shown and not told about her passion for baking. We see little of her baking process, and even less of her emotional response to this.

Rep: Rep: fat Bengali Irish-Bangladeshi lesbian (word not used but implied) MC, lesbian Irish-Taiwanese LI

Content Warnings

alenas_library's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Adiba Jaigirdar did it again. She created a sweet story about failure, hope, dreams and lastly achievements. Now at the end of the novel, I cannot even belive that I ever had something against Chris. The writing and Sheerin's own thoughts really made me not like her, but I think that just proofs how good Adiba's writing is. Shireen herself was not perfect, but I still loved her as a main character. Her imperfections actually made me love her more.
The way spiraling thoughts and panic attacks were portrayed are - in my opinion - very accurate. Adiba has a way to keep her writing and stories light, hopeful and funny while addressing important topics includin racism, panic attacks, fat phobia.
And I loved the story. A reality TV show as a setting is already good enough, pair it with baking and I'm in.
But I think that the build-up needed some more time. Not much, maybe 20 or 30 pages at max. I'd definitely would have enjoyed the ending much more if it were for these few couple pages.
Overall a sweet book that I'd recommend anyone who's a fan of reality TV settings and a cute sapphic romance.

Content Warnings

More...