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pinkalpaca's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia and Alcohol
frantically's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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? No
3.0
This was a fun and spicy queer read and I loved all the representation in this! I couldn't connect with the characters as much as I wished to and it was hard to differentiate their voices but it's always nice to read adult sapphic novels! Not the best book for me but it could be for you.
Be aware that there are multiple instances of transphobia directed at London by another competitor and their dad, who doesn't accept them coming out. I love reading queer books but I love them even more when they're not filled with discrimination plots...
Be aware that there are multiple instances of transphobia directed at London by another competitor and their dad, who doesn't accept them coming out. I love reading queer books but I love them even more when they're not filled with discrimination plots...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia, and Alcohol
Moderate: Deadnaming
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
mkstalcup's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia and Alcohol
purplepenning's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Read during the #TransRightsReadathon March 20-27, 2023..
Sweet, silly, spicy, serious, sensual. This is a contemporary rom-com between two cooking show contestants who are each experiencing a bit of a quarter-life crisis. Dahlia (f/queer) is recently divorced from her high school sweetheart and feels disappointing and directionless. Teaching herself how to cook and develop warm, comforting flavors has helped her get through the worst of it. Winning the $100k competition prize might help her get through the rest. London (nb/pan) is settled in their non-binary identity even if they're still unsettled by their father's lack of acceptance. They're hyper-focused and prepared — to put the strained relationship with their father aside, to ignore the trolls, and to establish their place as the first non-binarycontestant winner of a major cooking competition so they can use the prize money to start a nonprofit for LGBTQ kids. There's an undeniable spark between the two, but is there a future together ahead of them?
An entertaining and enjoyable read that had me laughing out loud in places even as I cringed at others. The writing is vivid and tactile. Which is generally great, but ... I don't ever want to recall someone's hands working with raw chicken when they're in the middle of a sensual massage. There's also a large cast of secondary characters and not nearly enough time to develop them, and a background of socioeconomic disparity that's not explored much. Overall, a really good debut with excellent LGBTQ rep!
Sweet, silly, spicy, serious, sensual. This is a contemporary rom-com between two cooking show contestants who are each experiencing a bit of a quarter-life crisis. Dahlia (f/queer) is recently divorced from her high school sweetheart and feels disappointing and directionless. Teaching herself how to cook and develop warm, comforting flavors has helped her get through the worst of it. Winning the $100k competition prize might help her get through the rest. London (nb/pan) is settled in their non-binary identity even if they're still unsettled by their father's lack of acceptance. They're hyper-focused and prepared — to put the strained relationship with their father aside, to ignore the trolls, and to establish their place as the first non-binary
An entertaining and enjoyable read that had me laughing out loud in places even as I cringed at others. The writing is vivid and tactile. Which is generally great, but ... I don't ever want to recall someone's hands working with raw chicken when they're in the middle of a sensual massage. There's also a large cast of secondary characters and not nearly enough time to develop them, and a background of socioeconomic disparity that's not explored much. Overall, a really good debut with excellent LGBTQ rep!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Transphobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Blood, Excrement, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
misgendering (alluded to and explored without being explicitly written), coming out, unaccepting family, internet trolls (alluded to and explored, not explicitly written), cooking gore and detailed descriptions of animal proteins, food-related sex play, public sex, divorce (backstory), pressure to have kids (backstory), socioeconomic pressure and disparitytakarakei's review against another edition
Yeah I can't do this book as a vegan. I've read other cooking based rom-coms and there was just one too many eye rolls situations for me
- Eating fish/seafood is not vegetarian
- Cows are not 'dangerous' - no more so than a horse which is a similar sized animal
- Dairy farms do not milk cows by hand - describing it this way just perpetuates this fake reality that cows on dairy farms are 'happy' and not the reality that they are continually abused for their milk.
- Apparently if you don't like barbecue you're now a fascist (that was the last straw and I really don't care that it was a joke)
If you're looking for a rom-com with cooking and trans rep perhaps try Chef's Kiss (which has less eye roll food situations).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Alcohol
Misgendering, divorceaesantiago's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia and Alcohol
andloveistoolong's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Transphobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Mental illness and Dysphoria
books4em's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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? It's complicated
3.75
I definitely enjoyed Love & Other Disasters. I do wish we had actually learned what horrible thing Lizzie said though! Both London and Dahlia were nice characters and had some decent personal growth. I appreciated most of the parts detailing London’s journey with their gender, but I do wish that we had gone a little more in depth into their self-discovery. I also liked the ultimatum they gave their dad at the end. Nice love story, somewhat relatable nonbinary character story, and delicious recipes I have to try!
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia, Transphobia, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
lunarmagi42's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
leighannezinsmeister's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Homophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, Blood, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Deadnaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, and Alcohol