Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Chef's Kiss by TJ Alexander

13 reviews

chrisb913's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Sexism, Biphobia, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Bullying, Misogyny, and Transphobia

bookishmillennial's review

 disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial 
 
I read this on the plane ride back home from my work trip and it was an absolute delight!

I adored the grumpy x sunshine dynamic between Simone and Ray — they were equally hilarious and awkward, which made it especially entertaining for me as a third-party removed from the fictional situation hahaha. Not only that, but the found family dynamics tugged at my heart. I am still giddy over them (the entire crew) all giving each other nicknames teeheeeee

While their love story is slow but steady, I also appreciated the commentary on how workplaces can be per formative and only focus on optics and how harmful that is! I was stressed for Ray but I want to assure you there is indeed a happy ending here!

I actually have the ARC of Chef’s Choice on NetGalley so I’m excited to dive into that one next hehe. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Medical content, Deadnaming, and Transphobia

Minor: Fatphobia, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Child abuse

sanziene's review against another edition

emotional funny informative lighthearted

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Deadnaming, and Transphobia

kshertz's review

hopeful 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? No

4.0

This book is a lot like the book love and other disasters. I really enjoyed the aspects of learning about each of the characters. I enjoyed their journey. I enjoyed their love story. Definitely thought the protagonist was kind of annoying but they worked it out in the end. A good easy beach read

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Content Warnings

Minor: Transphobia, Gaslighting, Outing, Bullying, and Deadnaming

kleinekita's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Transphobia, Medical content, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol and Homophobia

Minor: Biphobia and Racism

theespressoedition's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Homophobia, Biphobia, and Bullying

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Medical content

maeverose's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

3.5

I was worried based on the synopsis that it would be overly cheesy but it’s really not. It is funny though, and the humor  worked for me. You can tell a trans person wrote this book, they definitely understand trans issues and it’s reflected in the book. I loved the conversations about how trans people shouldn’t be expected to teach cis people everything about gender.

My only complaints are the misunderstanding trope and how long it takes for them to finally get together. I do like how everything played out in the end but it was mild torture having to read Simone constantly convince herself Ray didn’t like her. I just wanted them to make out already. But those are mild complaints, overall I had a good time.

I do want to note that there is a lot of misgendering of Ray throughout the story. For the first half everyone, including the main character uses she/her pronouns for them because they aren’t out yet, then once they do come out the antagonists of the book purposefully misgender them every time they interact, and it’s quite infuriating. So if that’s a trigger for you I’d be prepared for that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual content, Transphobia, Bullying, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Dysphoria, Homophobia, Medical content, and Vomit

Minor: Blood, Excrement, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, and Cursing

Graphic: misgendering, handling of bodily fluids after surgery

courtneyclouts's review

emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Blood

Moderate: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Bullying, Biphobia, Dysphoria, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Gaslighting

readingthroughinfinity's review

challenging funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing

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

4.0

This is a fun, queer, cooking-themed romance with grumpy-sunshine vibes at the front and center. Simone is grumpy, perfectionist pastry chef who just wants to create recipes and doesn't want to be in the spotlight. But when the company she works for, The Discerning Chef, hires Ray and decides to move towards video content, she has to work with them to produce themed videos.

I really liked Ray's sunny personality (they're a literal ray of sunshine, no joke, no pun) and it was enjoyable to see a character coming out in their twenties and being confident in their identity (most of the books I've read recently have featured characters coming out in their teens or already being out). 

The way some members of The Discerning Chef treat Ray when they come out as non-binary is so horrible and insidious that I was glad to see Simone and Ray's other friends rally around them. Challenging anti-trans rhetoric is a big theme in the novel and it was satisfying those responsible for perpetrating transphobia encounter the consequences of their bigotry. 

This is also one of the first romances I've read where a character has top surgery and we see the pain and aftercare and healing process in the weeks afterwards. (This isn't to say that other romances don't do this, it's just the first one I've personally seen it in.) 

Overall, a very enjoyable queer romance, with strong messages about challenging transphobia in the workplace (when safe to do so) and supporting trans friends. 

Content warnings for transphobia, misgendering, dead-naming, targeted harassment. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, Medical content, and Transphobia

uranaishi's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcohol, Biphobia, Body shaming, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Vomit

Minor: Outing, Racism, Car accident, Fatphobia, and Gaslighting