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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Making my thoughts in any way coherent about the brilliance of this story is incredibly difficult. I was somewhat intimidated on page one - I have never watched a cooking show and was worried I wouldn’t be as invested because of this - but the absolutely gorgeous characterization of both London and Dahlia is amazing. London is the best kind of giant, ginger, grump that I love to read. They are - literally and figuratively - bowled over by Dahlia and have no idea what to do with that. While I am cis and I cannot speak to London’s nonbinary representation - I loved that this book is a mainstream romance with a nonbinary romantic lead! London’s deeply personal journey of owning not only their sexuality - they are pansexual - but also their path to learning to navigate the world and have to defend their nonbinary status on a constant basis is a deeply pertinent and beautiful story to read. Dahlia is a brilliant lead - she is unsure of herself but also hilarious, and warm, and kind, and unbelievably strong. I love that she learned to cook for herself as a way to help herself heal. As someone who is straight passing and came out later in life - Dahlia’s queerness hit home so deeply for me too! In between, there are searing kisses, delicious food descriptions, and so much more. I honestly loved this book and cannot wait to read it again.
TL/DR Review
Stars: Five Blazing Brilliant Bright Stars
Steam: multiple sexual scenes, with a build in intimacy, no overt kink but one semi-public sexual scene
Tropes: grumpy/ sunshine, competence kink, cooking show competition, life after divorce, later in life coming of age
For Fans Of: Adriana Herrera and Roan Parrish
Theme Song: The Way I Tend to Be by Frank Turner
Subgenre: Contemporary/ Queer
CW/ TW: transphobia on the page, some body dysmorphia, coming out, toxic family dynamics
Thank you to the author and publisher for my complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
TL/DR Review
Stars: Five Blazing Brilliant Bright Stars
Steam: multiple sexual scenes, with a build in intimacy, no overt kink but one semi-public sexual scene
Tropes: grumpy/ sunshine, competence kink, cooking show competition, life after divorce, later in life coming of age
For Fans Of: Adriana Herrera and Roan Parrish
Theme Song: The Way I Tend to Be by Frank Turner
Subgenre: Contemporary/ Queer
CW/ TW: transphobia on the page, some body dysmorphia, coming out, toxic family dynamics
Thank you to the author and publisher for my complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
emotional
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:
Complicated
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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
I loved this book! What a great pride month read. Dahlia and London are complicated, emotional, talented chefs who meet on the set of a cooking show and fall in love. The tv show part of the book feels set on fast forward, but that makes sense as it is not the focus at all. (I
pictured the hosts as Tan France and Kyla Kennaley.) I loved the instant connection between London and Dahlia, how much fun they had together in LA, helping each other on set, and the sweet and spicy scenes in their hotel room. And then towards the end, we meet Dahlia’s mom and get some heartwarming breakthroughs (thank you therapy!). London’s mom and sisters seem wonderful and welcoming, and with that support system, London can finally stand up to their father, and luckily he finally accepted them. It was a perfect romance read with queer, trans and non-binary representation!
pictured the hosts as Tan France and Kyla Kennaley.) I loved the instant connection between London and Dahlia, how much fun they had together in LA, helping each other on set, and the sweet and spicy scenes in their hotel room. And then towards the end, we meet Dahlia’s mom and get some heartwarming breakthroughs (thank you therapy!). London’s mom and sisters seem wonderful and welcoming, and with that support system, London can finally stand up to their father, and luckily he finally accepted them. It was a perfect romance read with queer, trans and non-binary representation!
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
Anita Kelly really wrote about book about some of my favorite things: cooking competitions, queer love and unexpected friendships (Dahlia and Barbara)!!
This book was just the thing I needed to lift me out of a months-long reading slump. It's a sweet, light read. I liked the nonbinary representation and a lot of it rang true for me. It was really cool to see mainstream NBLW representation since that's the type of relationship I'm in. I wish this book had gone a little deeper into the setting of being on a reality cooking show. There's so much that can be done with that concept, but at least for my personal preferences, there was not enough of the actual cooking show in the book. It almost seemed incidental that these characters were competition on a reality show, which should be something that carries a little more drama. However, for the most part, the things that didn't work for me with this book are more issues with the romance genre as a whole and not with this specific book. Therefore I think that means there's nothing wrong with it and I, as someone who does not typically enjoy romances, just wasn't the target audience. I also didn't hate the third-act conflict in this book, something that a lot of romance books don't get right for me. Technically it could be described as the miscommunication troupe, but it felt more realistic and less contrived than other romances, especially because being on an elimination-based reality show has a built-in conflict that eventually one of them will be eliminated because they can't both win. I really, really wish the relationships with the other characters and contestants had been fleshed out more. I especially wish the antagonist characters had been more fully developed. For instance, the character of Lizzie is meant to be London's main rival on the show but we as the audience really don't get to see any scenes of Lizzie being good at cooking to establish her as more of a threat. We also aren't privy to the things she said in her interviews that even started the whole team Lizzie/team London thing in the first place. There was a character whose name was I believe Jackson or something like that- he was set up to be a threat and cause drama and then he was immediately eliminated from the show and never seen again. I just think with the setting being a reality TV show there could have been a lot more interpersonal drama between the contestants to add interest.
Overall I think this book is really sweet and a decent romance book, but the setting felt underutilized to me and I personally felt that the side characters weren't developed or used in the story enough.
Oh, and every romance book I read without fail has at least ONE thing that gives me a major ick. For this book, that ick came from the blink-and-you'll-miss-it toe sucking. Was the toe sucking REALLY a necessary addition to that scene?
Overall I think this book is really sweet and a decent romance book, but the setting felt underutilized to me and I personally felt that the side characters weren't developed or used in the story enough.
Oh, and every romance book I read without fail has at least ONE thing that gives me a major ick. For this book, that ick came from the blink-and-you'll-miss-it toe sucking. Was the toe sucking REALLY a necessary addition to that scene?
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
it was fine! nothing upset me! though i never felt very connected to the characters, and the chemistry was only so-so.
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
4.5/5
This book combines two of my favorite things: gay people and cooking shows. Definitely wasn’t expecting to love this as much as I did, I was listening to it as a palate cleanser after reading a few heavier books in a row, but I became obsessed with the characters immediately!!
This book combines two of my favorite things: gay people and cooking shows. Definitely wasn’t expecting to love this as much as I did, I was listening to it as a palate cleanser after reading a few heavier books in a row, but I became obsessed with the characters immediately!!