Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Chef's Choice

A wonderfully thoughtful, expansive, romantic book. A slower burn than I typically enjoy but I was so grateful for TJ Alexander’s really generous treatment of cis characters/readers.

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hannahmichele5's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book deserves all the stars! What a wonderful sophomore novel by Chef's Choice!! This was my first T4T romance and it was just so so sweet. I loved that we got to see so much of Ray and Simone from the first book in this series. It is a slow burn but the pay off is sooooo good. ;) ALSO this book had a lil unexpected celerity trope and I was living for it.

My co-host and I picked this for our June romance book club pick and it is such a good book club book! Would highly recommend!

Thank you so much to Atria for my advanced copy! CHEF'S CHOICE is out now so yall rush to go buy this cute pink cover! :

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displacedcactus's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I didn't know that I'd be reading two foodie-themed queer "fake dating a rich boyfriend while the paparazzi follows us around" books* this spring, but that's what I get for not reading the blurb when I see an author I've liked before has a new book!

I wanted to like this book because I enjoyed Chef's Kiss and I honestly don't think I've ever seen a trans-femme/trans-masc relationship in a mainstream romance novel! The problem is, not only does the rich boyfriend fantasy not really appeal to me, but I specifically didn't vibe with Jean-Pierre. I think if he had been allowed to be a POV character, I might have liked him better. However, we only get Luna's POV, and what we see of JP through her leaves a lot to be desired. He's entitled, brusque, he vapes (not as bad as smoking but still gross in my book), and it was hard to get behind his idea to claim his inheritance when he's already rich. I could guess at the reasons for some of the brusqueness (he seems autistic-coded, like he's dealing with some serious dysphoria, and maybe some depression and/or anxiety?) but without spending any time in his head, it was hard to be sympathetic when he'd do something like refuse to help with a chore because he didn't know how.

There were things I did like. I liked the moments when Jean-Pierre or Luna showed how attuned they were to something the other said. I liked how the challenge plot point was resolved. I loved how much Luna and JP appreciated each other's bodies, in really affirming ways. I was amused by the send-up of how ridiculous Fine Dining can be.

I suspect that people who really like fake dating and/or rich boyfriends may enjoy this one more than I did. I do hope that it finds its readers, and that it's popular enough that we continue to see even more trans romances exploring many different tropes, so everyone can find a sweet or sexy trans romance that hits all the right buttons.

(Disclaimer: I'm a pan, demi cis woman, so I recognize am not the main target audience of this book. I just love to read romance from all across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum and support marginalized authors)

*The other one was Fake Dates and Mooncakes, and it's a M/M YA romance that also features a cute corgi, so if this combination of tropes is your specific catnip, go read that one too.

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analenegrace's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed this one even more than the first book in the series! Alexander is a fantastic writer; Luna and JP came so alive in this book.

Plot-wise, I would have wanted a little more substance, but I think the characters and relationships were so much more important; the actual cooking plot felt like a B or C plot to the book. I loved Luna in the first book so I was excited to get more of her and the fake dating plot worked so well, especially with a character like JP.

Alexander did queer discourse in many ways in the book in a way that felt personal to the characters and their experiences while also taking on some important conversations had in the queer community.

I look forward to their next book!

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hazelgirl21's review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Thanks to Atria Books for the free copy of this book.

- CHEF'S CHOICE has cemented me as a fan of TJ Alexander's bubbly, heartfelt romances. Besides, how could I not love a T4T fake dating story!
- I loved that Luna and Jean-Pierre were just a touch grumpy/sunshine, but also that they had some worldview differences to work through. Even better were that these were discussions that would only be had between queer and trans characters, something we don't often see in mainstream books in this genre.
- It's just the precise right blend of silly and serious. I loved it so much and I really hope there are more books to come in this series.

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starrysteph's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This was so charming!

We follow Luna, who has just been fired from her already-slightly-demeaning office job in NYC. She’s got a great friend group and a lot of dreams, but is worried she won’t be able to afford rent. That all changes when she has a chance encounter with Jean-Pierre, the French heir to a massive culinary empire. But to get his fortune, he’s got to a) cook his snobby grandfather’s renowned menu and b) get a girlfriend.

Jean-Pierre makes Luna an offer she can’t possibly refuse: a massive amount of money (as in, a sum that would make Luna’s dream of becoming a yoga teacher and running a center in the Catskills very possible) in exchange for pretending to be his girlfriend through the end of the competition. And as the pair learn to cook from the ground up, they also lean into each other and discover some very real feelings.

Luna & Jean-Pierre are both trans and both have incredibly different experiences with and opinions of identity and queerness. They talk a lot about different aspects of privilege (financial privilege and how that relates to the trans experiences comes up a lot). They share heartwarming moments of understanding and also respectfully challenge each other and learn and grow.

There was a really fun & earnest cast of side characters as well. I loved all the friendships highlighted - and really, the friends-who-become-family. Luna has an incredible community. We also witnessed the highs and lows of parental figures, whether they’re well-meaning but clueless or aggressively ignorant and toxic.

While all the dialogue felt very sincere and real, the relationship as a whole felt surface-level to me. I would have loved the arc of the story to have shifted a little faster so we could have deeper conversations and get to know them a bit more as a couple. Luna went from 0 to 100 really quickly (from a strong dislike to battling intense romantic feelings).

I think it was also tricky to not really hear more of Jean-Pierre’s perspective at the end (not necessarily a POV chapter, but even just to hear him express to Luna what was going on in his head - he went through SO much growth).

Chef’s Choice was often delightfully silly and I had some laugh-out-loud moments. Overall, I had a great time reading!

CW: transphobia, body shaming, toxic relationship (with family), sexual harassment, dysphoria, blood/injury (very brief), sexism, explicit sexual content

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runlaurarun's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful informative lighthearted tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

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