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A review by wendythegeekgoddess
Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly
3.0
Synopsis:
Dahlia’s life is falling apart. She’s divorced and in huge amounts of debt. When she gets the chance to compete on a cooking show on National television, Dahlia drops everything, including her job, to go. That’s where she meets London, a non-binary person and one of Dahlia’s competitors. When the two start off on the wrong foot Dahlia tries to make amends with London and the two become friends and soon, something more but what will happen when one of them gets the boot from the show?
Review:
Alright, here’s the thing. I’m starting to realize that simple basic romance books just aren’t my thing. At least not right now. They’re so predictable that it’s just boring. I mean even certain “plot twists” are predictable.
Here’s what worked:
- The Dynamic between London and Dahlia. These 2 had that grumpy sunshine trope that just worked!
- The Non-Binary Representation: I have read A LOT of books and I hardly have read any that contain non-binary characters, ESPECIALLY non-binary MC’s.
Here’s what didn’t work:
- The Plot & the Predictability of the whole story, especially the ending. I read books to ESCAPE reality and to keep me at the edge of my seat but you don’t get that with romances. You get the Hallmark channel.
- The Cooking Competition: I was excited to see a story that took place within a cooking competition (I don’t watch much reality tv but I love me a good cooking competition show) because it gave it a new and fresh take on a romance novel. Here’s the thing though, THE COOKING COMPETITION WAS HARDLY IN THE BOOK! Yes, I understand the romance is the main focus and Yes, it is referenced BUT I FEEL LIKE WE HARDLY GOT TO TOUCH ON THE ACTUAL SHOW! I wish they had infused it more within the story but when characters were kicked off the show (even characters we get to know) it was a simple quick mention and “let’s move on”. I was expecting more of a balance between competition and romance. There was so many ways the plot could have gone if they had infused the competition a bit more and without, it just felt very lackluster.
The Takeaway:
- Love the Grumpy X Sunshine Dynamic
- Love the Non-binary and Queer Representation
- DONT go into this book expecting to see much of a cooking competition, you won’t
- DO go into this book expecting a fun lighthearted romance with a predictable ending
You’ll also like THIS book if you enjoyed…
- Written in the Stars by: Alexandra Bracken
- Delilah Green Doesn’t Care By: Ashley Herring Blake
Dahlia’s life is falling apart. She’s divorced and in huge amounts of debt. When she gets the chance to compete on a cooking show on National television, Dahlia drops everything, including her job, to go. That’s where she meets London, a non-binary person and one of Dahlia’s competitors. When the two start off on the wrong foot Dahlia tries to make amends with London and the two become friends and soon, something more but what will happen when one of them gets the boot from the show?
Review:
Alright, here’s the thing. I’m starting to realize that simple basic romance books just aren’t my thing. At least not right now. They’re so predictable that it’s just boring. I mean even certain “plot twists” are predictable.
Here’s what worked:
- The Dynamic between London and Dahlia. These 2 had that grumpy sunshine trope that just worked!
- The Non-Binary Representation: I have read A LOT of books and I hardly have read any that contain non-binary characters, ESPECIALLY non-binary MC’s.
Here’s what didn’t work:
- The Plot & the Predictability of the whole story, especially the ending. I read books to ESCAPE reality and to keep me at the edge of my seat but you don’t get that with romances. You get the Hallmark channel.
- The Cooking Competition: I was excited to see a story that took place within a cooking competition (I don’t watch much reality tv but I love me a good cooking competition show) because it gave it a new and fresh take on a romance novel. Here’s the thing though, THE COOKING COMPETITION WAS HARDLY IN THE BOOK! Yes, I understand the romance is the main focus and Yes, it is referenced BUT I FEEL LIKE WE HARDLY GOT TO TOUCH ON THE ACTUAL SHOW! I wish they had infused it more within the story but when characters were kicked off the show (even characters we get to know) it was a simple quick mention and “let’s move on”. I was expecting more of a balance between competition and romance. There was so many ways the plot could have gone if they had infused the competition a bit more and without, it just felt very lackluster.
The Takeaway:
- Love the Grumpy X Sunshine Dynamic
- Love the Non-binary and Queer Representation
- DONT go into this book expecting to see much of a cooking competition, you won’t
- DO go into this book expecting a fun lighthearted romance with a predictable ending
You’ll also like THIS book if you enjoyed…
- Written in the Stars by: Alexandra Bracken
- Delilah Green Doesn’t Care By: Ashley Herring Blake