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A review by hobbithopeful
Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly
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? No
4.75
Cozy queer romances are always such a great spot of respite in the sea of darker books I sometimes find myself reading. Love & Other Disasters was such a great palate cleanser for me, I feel like my mood improved 1000% after reading it!
Dahlia quit her job and flew across the states to enter the number one tv show cooking competition in America, she is adrift in life, coming off a divorce and trying to find herself. The prize money from winning could change her life, and allow her to pay off her bills and crawl out of the pit of crushing debt she has found herself in.
London is nonbinary and dreams of being able to start a nonprofit back in Tennessee for LGBTQ kids, but soon finds themselves being thrust further into the spotlight then they anticipated, being the first openly nonbinary contestant on the cooking show.
As the episodes continue and people are eliminated one by one, the two find themselves inexplicably drawn to one another, and becoming close. But at the end of the day it *is* a competition, which puts a deadline on whatever it is they are starting to have with each other.
Sizzling chemistry and A++ spicy scenes sprinkled through the book just enhance Anita Kelly's humorous writing style, I was laughing one second and fanning myself the next! The characters are so lovable, well rounded, and everyone had a happy ending. (Except for any "bad guys" of course!) I am going to keep my eye on the author, I know whatever they write next will be a book I'll wait in line for.
The Cover
The cover and title is so sweet but really I wish it conveyed in any kind of way what the book is about, or the fact that food is so entangled with the themes and plot. The book ended and opened with Dahlia cutting an onion, it would have been nice to have seen maybe an onion motif of some kind.
That aside it is such a bright joyous cover. I love the style that Dahlia and London are depicted in, they actually look like their character descriptions which is always a plus. It is such a sweet and well designed book cover, from the title font to the way the characters look at each other. I do really love the cover, but again I wish it was a bit more in line with the book themes. (The cover or the title would do well to have been shifted to convey how fantastic this book was, as it is the title is a bit basic)
Cover & Title by Hattie Windley
Dahlia quit her job and flew across the states to enter the number one tv show cooking competition in America, she is adrift in life, coming off a divorce and trying to find herself. The prize money from winning could change her life, and allow her to pay off her bills and crawl out of the pit of crushing debt she has found herself in.
London is nonbinary and dreams of being able to start a nonprofit back in Tennessee for LGBTQ kids, but soon finds themselves being thrust further into the spotlight then they anticipated, being the first openly nonbinary contestant on the cooking show.
As the episodes continue and people are eliminated one by one, the two find themselves inexplicably drawn to one another, and becoming close. But at the end of the day it *is* a competition, which puts a deadline on whatever it is they are starting to have with each other.
Sizzling chemistry and A++ spicy scenes sprinkled through the book just enhance Anita Kelly's humorous writing style, I was laughing one second and fanning myself the next! The characters are so lovable, well rounded, and everyone had a happy ending. (Except for any "bad guys" of course!) I am going to keep my eye on the author, I know whatever they write next will be a book I'll wait in line for.
The Cover
The cover and title is so sweet but really I wish it conveyed in any kind of way what the book is about, or the fact that food is so entangled with the themes and plot. The book ended and opened with Dahlia cutting an onion, it would have been nice to have seen maybe an onion motif of some kind.
That aside it is such a bright joyous cover. I love the style that Dahlia and London are depicted in, they actually look like their character descriptions which is always a plus. It is such a sweet and well designed book cover, from the title font to the way the characters look at each other. I do really love the cover, but again I wish it was a bit more in line with the book themes. (The cover or the title would do well to have been shifted to convey how fantastic this book was, as it is the title is a bit basic)
Cover & Title by Hattie Windley
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Homophobia