Reviews

Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly

bookshelvesandtealeaves's review against another edition

emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

Y’ALL I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS BOOK.

Ugh. I laughed, I cried, I read almost all of it in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down. I was absolutely hooked.

I loved both of these characters so, so much. London being utterly obsessed with Dahlia and her hair the moment they laid eyes on her is such a goddamn mood. And Dahlia just forcing herself into London’s orbit instead of letting herself be brushed off was just *chefs kiss*. These two were made for each other.

Alongside this sickeningly sweet romance, this book also tackles some pretty heavy topics including transphobia, homophobia, biphobia (technically pan but I have a feeling panphobia is a word for something else???) and depression. And it is all tackled so well, with so much kindness and empathy and realistic heartache.

I especially appreciated the conversations around gender, and I loved having London stand their ground, to be so brave, to be shown NOT to be fearless in doing this but doing it all the same.

Also yeah, reality tv romances have me in a chokehold, apparently. This one is no different.

briannehuffman's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

3.75

jacquibear's review

lighthearted

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

2.75

lindsnoelle's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

4.5

coatsy44's review against another edition

3.0

I loved reading a book with a non binary protagonist! And who doesn’t love a cooking show themed. I don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t The toe sucking sex scene. I was listening to this at work in my headphones and was like HOLD UP. Anyway. It was a cute read.

But the ending. Wtf was that. Are you laying the groundwork for something or was the knife just suspenseful lol.

walkintime's review

hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

4.0

Feels so good to read a romance book featuring a nb MC. I felt so seen and it made me feel all sorts of things along with it. I loved London and Dahlia throughout the book, they were so cute. Both their problems and questions were very real and palpable, I loved it. I wish some scenes were better constructed as I was reading because sometimes it felt like it lacked a bit of emotion, even in romantic contexts. It was such a fast read though, I kind of wish there was more to see about them. I'll definitely look forward to more books like this one! 

ark99's review against another edition

4.0

arc from netgalley
This was a really cute romance!! I haven't read a book with a nb love interest before and it was really interesting!! I'm not nb myself so I can't really say if it was accurate or not, but from my point of view I do feel it was done pretty well. I do think towards the end it was a bit odd because there was this big sort of fight and it got resolved sort of idk too quick?? or with not enough talking im not sure.. aside from that really cute romance!

tayloreve07's review against another edition

That was so cute. I love a little romance novel at the beach. I think that’s what I was built for. But I certainly do not feel this type of way about cooking; good for them though

sayyahtobookseh's review against another edition

funny lighthearted 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

4.25

alanathehangry's review against another edition

Liked it.

A very sweet love story, full of gentle lightness and adorable chaos. My favorite part of this story was the characters. They felt real and messy and didn’t always win.

I learned a lot through this book about the non-binary experience.