A review by sarahesterman
Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“Hey, London?” 
They unclicked their seat belt and met her gaze, raising an eyebrow. 
“Fuck anyone who doesn’t see you.” 
 
I have started, deleted, and retyped this review so many times now I just have to get it out. I loved this book. Love & Other Disasters’ character’s lives were a little bit messy and honestly the way I loved this book was a little bit messy as well. And thus my review is also kind of messy. 
 
Here are some things I loved about the book: 
 
I loved how real Dahlia and London felt. I loved that Dahlia’s ex-husband wasn’t painted as a bad guy but rather that they grew apart and ended up wanting different things. I loved that there was some angst with both of their families, what with Dahlia ending her marriage and London coming out first to their family as pan and then later as nonbinary when they realized there was a word to describe how they felt in their body. I loved that Anita Kelly chose not to disclose what sex London was assigned at birth until pretty far into the book. I loved that the book was written in third person so we could feel the impact of London’s they/them pronouns (and how easy it is to use them when referring to a singular person). I loved the background of a cooking competition, and the important of London matter-of-factly using their pronouns on national television. I loved the sex-positive nature of the book and that we got queer sex scenes instead of fade to black. I loved that it was cute and sweet and funny and emotional and real. 
 
And even though I had a few nits while I was reading, they weren’t big enough for me to change how I felt about the book because I loved it so goddamn much.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings