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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Just a few quotes that made me cry:
“Dahlia was perhaps the most emotionally honest, perceptive person London had ever met, and it bruised their heart to know she didn’t think this was an admirable quality. When you were around someone who felt everything, it made you feel like you could feel everything, too. Like the depths of the world were suddenly limitless.”
“When London had told her about their dad, she felt an urge to protect London with her life, to battle anything that ever caused them harm.”
“You’ve always known what you wanted. And even more than that, you follow through on getting what you want. It’s not a quality many people have.”
I have never related to a character as much as Dahlia Woodson. Not to be cheesy but this book restored my faith in myself by seeing a character like me be loved and reassured in such a healthy way.
Also, nonbinary rep??? A COOKING SHOW??? A parent who GOES TO THERAPY??? <3
“Dahlia was perhaps the most emotionally honest, perceptive person London had ever met, and it bruised their heart to know she didn’t think this was an admirable quality. When you were around someone who felt everything, it made you feel like you could feel everything, too. Like the depths of the world were suddenly limitless.”
“When London had told her about their dad, she felt an urge to protect London with her life, to battle anything that ever caused them harm.”
“You’ve always known what you wanted. And even more than that, you follow through on getting what you want. It’s not a quality many people have.”
I have never related to a character as much as Dahlia Woodson. Not to be cheesy but this book restored my faith in myself by seeing a character like me be loved and reassured in such a healthy way.
Also, nonbinary rep??? A COOKING SHOW??? A parent who GOES TO THERAPY??? <3
Fun, queer, lascivious, and rom com sappy- this whole book was really enjoyable from beginning to end. I loved the character development, though I did feel that some aspects of the story were either not fully flushed out or could use more exploration.
Before I review, thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Dahlia Woodson and London Parker are contestants on a reality TV cooking show, which is already enough to draw me in to a romance novel, but also, London is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns!
There’s enough about the show to keep things interesting on that front, the characters feel like they have depth beyond their romance and cooking (there is plenty of backstory and plans for what they want to do with the prize money if they win). The queer sex scenes are steamy and feel authentic, and the consent/communication with each other was awesome. I loved that there was a mix of people who were supportive of London’s identity (both on the cast and in their own life) and people who were problematic. As someone who is genderqueer and uses they/them pronouns, this made it feel authentic without the issue that sometimes happens where all queer and trans stories have to either have trauma in their backstories or have a fairy tale.
I had two tiny criticisms, which were that there’s a reference to London getting “dumb girl gifts” every birthday, which seems like an inelegant way to talk about gifts that didn’t match London’s interests considering that we’re talking about thinking beyond the gender binary. Also, when Dahlia wants to go for a snack run and London is described as in pajamas and not wearing a binder and says they can’t go out in their current state, it seems glossed over the issue is much less likely to be looking a mess/being in PJs than wearing a binder, and yet they go out without a discussion of that. Seems like a missed opportunity to affirm that a binder is a critical item for stepping into public for some folks. (I thought that’s where it was going when the binder was mentioned but then it didn’t come back up!) That being said, these small things didn't take away from my overall feelings about the book.
All in all, this was super cute, totally my kind of novel at a glance, and I am delighted that it met my expectations.
Dahlia Woodson and London Parker are contestants on a reality TV cooking show, which is already enough to draw me in to a romance novel, but also, London is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns!
There’s enough about the show to keep things interesting on that front, the characters feel like they have depth beyond their romance and cooking (there is plenty of backstory and plans for what they want to do with the prize money if they win). The queer sex scenes are steamy and feel authentic, and the consent/communication with each other was awesome. I loved that there was a mix of people who were supportive of London’s identity (both on the cast and in their own life) and people who were problematic. As someone who is genderqueer and uses they/them pronouns, this made it feel authentic without the issue that sometimes happens where all queer and trans stories have to either have trauma in their backstories or have a fairy tale.
I had two tiny criticisms, which were that there’s a reference to London getting “dumb girl gifts” every birthday, which seems like an inelegant way to talk about gifts that didn’t match London’s interests considering that we’re talking about thinking beyond the gender binary. Also, when Dahlia wants to go for a snack run and London is described as in pajamas and not wearing a binder and says they can’t go out in their current state, it seems glossed over the issue is much less likely to be looking a mess/being in PJs than wearing a binder, and yet they go out without a discussion of that. Seems like a missed opportunity to affirm that a binder is a critical item for stepping into public for some folks. (I thought that’s where it was going when the binder was mentioned but then it didn’t come back up!) That being said, these small things didn't take away from my overall feelings about the book.
All in all, this was super cute, totally my kind of novel at a glance, and I am delighted that it met my expectations.
funny
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:
Yes
I enjoyed this book, but some parts were not for me. I LOVED the fact that one of the main characters is a NB individual! I don’t see that a lot and hearing pronouns read so casually as “they” for them was so great! The cooking show aspect was super interesting but wished there was a bit more to that part! I do not think that public/semi-public sex scenes are my thing. I think I just prefer the spice to be in rooms/buildings lol rather than an open air courtyard, but that’s just me. The 3rd act break up also seemed less than ideal, I’m never a huge fan but sometimes it’s done right and not sure this one hit the mark for me. Even saying all that tho, I really liked this story and its inclusivity!
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not quite sure why I keep doing this to myself, but here we are. This was fine. Quite fun, a little tense, and mostly silly.
This was tender and lovely and I savored it. I love the idea of living as the most authentic you in every context.
It was ok? I was expecting a little bit more, to be honest. I’m obsessed with cooking shows, so as you can probably tell, I was expecting to be head over heels with this book. I was not. I have to say I’m happy to have read a book where one of the main characters are non-binary, so that was a great point. Besides that, I love books where the characters connect through their feelings about food and eating as a positive experience. But this one felt… pretty bland? The sex scenes were great, the characters had great chemistry between them; but the whole thing felt pretty empty when it came to knowing each other, it felt rushed, they all felt so many intense emotions and moods over so little. I remember thinking I had read like half of the book and so much had happened over nothing? Like all the feelings and actions just came out of nowhere, no actual build up of almost anything. But I would be lying if I said I didn’t have a good time reading it, because I did. It just felt… not enough? Either way, I might read another one from the same author, just to check if I can connect with it a little bit more.
“Dahlia Woodson was a firefly in the darkness, a hummingbird at your window. Maybe you got to see her brightness for a fleeting moment, but you couldn’t chase her. She didn’t deserve to be caught.”
“Dahlia Woodson was a firefly in the darkness, a hummingbird at your window. Maybe you got to see her brightness for a fleeting moment, but you couldn’t chase her. She didn’t deserve to be caught.”