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kristiap 's review for:
Love & Other Disasters
by Anita Kelly
I wanted to like this book so much, it had such potential, but in the end it fell flat for me.
Love the LGBTQIA+ representation throughout the book, and the book started off really strong for the first few chapters.
Dahlia (she/her) and London (they/them) are both contestants on a cooking show for ammeter cooks, the prize is $100,000. Dahlia is recently divorced and quit her job to go on the show, if she wins she plans to use the funds to pay off her debt. London hasn't dated anyone since they came out as nonbinary three years ago, they're from an incredibly wealthy family, and if they win they intend to use the prize money to start a non profit.
Immediately London is attracted to Dahlia. They both slowly figure out their feelings for one another, they know they probably shouldn't hook up since they're competitors on the show and things could get messy, but they of course hook up anyways.
My issues are:
- we jump though so much time with so little happening. The show films Monday - Thursday, but we're constantly reminded about their 'three day weekend,' when it could have been stated they don't film on Fridays and that's their weekend. The book with use about half a page to talk about the challenge for the day, or it might just be them showing up to hair and makeup and then bam, day is over. And it glosses over the challenges they have to complete. At the finale episode, we hear who had the best app, but nothing about the main course, it just jumps to the desserts the finalists are making, then here's the winner, glitter falls done. We'll skip almost entire weeks just so the characters can get to their weekend and have a sex scene.
For a book about a cooking show (and romance, yes) there is very little about the actually cooking which was annoying.
The characters also don't do much other than go to the competition and their hotel. There are a few times they venture out of the hotel but all in all very little happens. At one point they make a list of the things they want to do before they leave LA and they do none of them, or if they do any of them, we sure don't know about it.
The only real character development comes from the main character's parents. There is very little character development for Dahlia or London.
The book had a done of potential, and I feel the author wanted to take it in a few different directions, but it reads like they couldn't decide where to actually take it.
Love the LGBTQIA+ representation throughout the book, and the book started off really strong for the first few chapters.
Dahlia (she/her) and London (they/them) are both contestants on a cooking show for ammeter cooks, the prize is $100,000. Dahlia is recently divorced and quit her job to go on the show, if she wins she plans to use the funds to pay off her debt. London hasn't dated anyone since they came out as nonbinary three years ago, they're from an incredibly wealthy family, and if they win they intend to use the prize money to start a non profit.
Immediately London is attracted to Dahlia. They both slowly figure out their feelings for one another, they know they probably shouldn't hook up since they're competitors on the show and things could get messy, but they of course hook up anyways.
My issues are:
- we jump though so much time with so little happening. The show films Monday - Thursday, but we're constantly reminded about their 'three day weekend,' when it could have been stated they don't film on Fridays and that's their weekend. The book with use about half a page to talk about the challenge for the day, or it might just be them showing up to hair and makeup and then bam, day is over. And it glosses over the challenges they have to complete. At the finale episode, we hear who had the best app, but nothing about the main course, it just jumps to the desserts the finalists are making, then here's the winner, glitter falls done. We'll skip almost entire weeks just so the characters can get to their weekend and have a sex scene.
For a book about a cooking show (and romance, yes) there is very little about the actually cooking which was annoying.
The characters also don't do much other than go to the competition and their hotel. There are a few times they venture out of the hotel but all in all very little happens. At one point they make a list of the things they want to do before they leave LA and they do none of them, or if they do any of them, we sure don't know about it.
The only real character development comes from the main character's parents. There is very little character development for Dahlia or London.
The book had a done of potential, and I feel the author wanted to take it in a few different directions, but it reads like they couldn't decide where to actually take it.