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A review by legalplanner
Chef's Choice by TJ Alexander
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I went into this like rapid fire finishing the first book. I was absolutely excited to learn more about Simone's roommate Luna. We never got to learn much about her in the previous book and that made me want more.
The pros of this novel are: T4T representation and working through internalized transphobia/sexism.
The cons of this novel are: hot and cold characters, irrelevant plot points, and not great villains.
I truly was so excited to see that this was a transgender woman and man in a relationship. It was very exciting to see this in a traditional published book. However, as many other commenters mention, it is slightly worrisome that cis readers will think that only "passing" couples count as real couples and that just isn't the case. I really enjoyed that the main characters were constantly talking about transgender rights and issues. However, it seemed that Luna was always its got to be agreed that what I'm thinking is right, and it often led to them gaslighting Jean-Pierre to a point. I was glad that Luna could share some acceptance insight with JP, but sometimes it would have been better in a conversation not an argument.
I was very confused by how hot and cold the two characters were. One second, they seemed like everything was real and that it didn't matter what JP's grandfather did to them they were going to make it through. Instead, I felt as if they were going to end things immediately and go back to being who they were prior. The grandfather was not a great villain because he wasn't even really used until the very end or when he was calling to be rude to JP. I felt like his family as a whole was the problem aside from his grandma.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this and would snap at another book in this world. I would love to see how Simone and Luna grow as humans since they have learned that we have to broaden our horizons to work well with others.
The pros of this novel are: T4T representation and working through internalized transphobia/sexism.
The cons of this novel are: hot and cold characters, irrelevant plot points, and not great villains.
I truly was so excited to see that this was a transgender woman and man in a relationship. It was very exciting to see this in a traditional published book. However, as many other commenters mention, it is slightly worrisome that cis readers will think that only "passing" couples count as real couples and that just isn't the case. I really enjoyed that the main characters were constantly talking about transgender rights and issues. However, it seemed that Luna was always its got to be agreed that what I'm thinking is right, and it often led to them gaslighting Jean-Pierre to a point. I was glad that Luna could share some acceptance insight with JP, but sometimes it would have been better in a conversation not an argument.
I was very confused by how hot and cold the two characters were. One second, they seemed like everything was real and that it didn't matter what JP's grandfather did to them they were going to make it through. Instead, I felt as if they were going to end things immediately and go back to being who they were prior. The grandfather was not a great villain because he wasn't even really used until the very end or when he was calling to be rude to JP. I felt like his family as a whole was the problem aside from his grandma.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this and would snap at another book in this world. I would love to see how Simone and Luna grow as humans since they have learned that we have to broaden our horizons to work well with others.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia