A review by leahlovesloslibros
Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
London and Dahlia meet on the set of reality cooking show Chef's Special, where Dahlia hopes to win the prize money that will help her get back on her feet after a messy divorce, and London hopes to make a statement by announcing their pronouns on national television and proving all the haters wrong. What neither of them expects, however, is to fall in love.
This story was heartwarming and fun to read, yet somewhat slow-paced for my liking. I found that I liked reading this book in spurts, as opposed to being totally sucked into it and not being able to put it down. The romance between Dahlia and Parker was sweet but somewhat disjointed, although I think that was kind of what made it work? They were from very different worlds, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes made it a but unbelievable (ex: discussions of rent money when discussing living together). I really loved that the book featured a non-binary pansexual character and a cisgender female queer (non-specified but not monosexual) character. There needs to be more representation of trans/enby characters in books, so I was super excited to see that in this one!
There are some graphic sex scenes in this book, including one that features a description of toe-sucking, so if that's something that you're not into, reader beware.
Overall, I would say that I didn't love this book, but I definitely liked it. I would recommend to those who like cheesy romcoms, reality cooking shows, and light, queer reads.
This story was heartwarming and fun to read, yet somewhat slow-paced for my liking. I found that I liked reading this book in spurts, as opposed to being totally sucked into it and not being able to put it down. The romance between Dahlia and Parker was sweet but somewhat disjointed, although I think that was kind of what made it work? They were from very different worlds, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes made it a but unbelievable (ex: discussions of rent money when discussing living together). I really loved that the book featured a non-binary pansexual character and a cisgender female queer (non-specified but not monosexual) character. There needs to be more representation of trans/enby characters in books, so I was super excited to see that in this one!
There are some graphic sex scenes in this book, including one that features a description of toe-sucking, so if that's something that you're not into, reader beware.
Overall, I would say that I didn't love this book, but I definitely liked it. I would recommend to those who like cheesy romcoms, reality cooking shows, and light, queer reads.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia
Additional TW/CW: divorce, misgendering