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A review by kingrosereads
Chef's Kiss by TJ Alexander
emotional
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
To start, I wouldn’t really categorize this as a rom-com or contemporary romance (I mean the book itself is labelled as just “fiction”) like others have made it out to be. Really it’s a dramedy with a mild romantic component. Other than a sex dream and quick sex scene at the very end, it’s not all that spicy. People have characterized it as a slow burn, but really it was about two coworkers dealing with real shit that happened to be crushing on one another.
The story follows Simone, cis bisexual white woman in her late 20s. She’s very Type A, believes in rules, and has a naive belief about how the world works because of her privilege. Ray is her very opposite, loud, funny non-binary coworker. Simone is a pastry chef for a prestigious and snobbish culinary magazine and Ray is the new kitchen manager. The company has decided to start making online content and produce videos to help their failing financial situation. This means hiring a social media coordinator, Chase (aka the biggest douche on the planet) and camera operator, Petey (sweet baby). But Chase is wrong about his approach to social media and it’s Ray that accidentally goes viral and becomes the face of the magazine’s new direction. Ray and Simone end up creating a show they co-host together and it’s a hit.
At first, Simone believes Ray to be a woman and refers to them as she/her for the first 6-ish months they’ve been working together. But Ray decides to make the tough choice to come out to her close co-workers (they’ve been out for years in their private life). This throws Simone for a loop as she’s made it a point to stay in the closet at work to avoid any negative reactions. But it also becomes about how hard it is for her to get used to Ray’s pronouns. Her roommate, Luna, a trans woman, and her group of friends decide to help her practice using the correct pronouns. But Simone slips up here and there for most of the book until about the last quarter of it. It isn’t Simone’s first time finding the idea of interacting with a trans person difficult. She’s got alot of cis guilt that she feels she has to overcompensate for and it ends up becoming about her feelings which is just so cringe. Even when she first meets Luna, she asks an insensitive question and Luna points out that she’s not there to make Simone or anyone else feel better or be anyone’s trans whisperer (trans people and POC are not there to be your guide to understanding them and your cis/white privilege). But Luna does this anyway when Simone offers to bake for her in exchange for the emotional exhaustion Luna will go through.
But I digress. When Ray comes out to their co-workers, the crew also seems to have their eyes opened to how gendered the world is and it’s also pointed out by the crew that the only POC that work at the company are the camera crew and the CEO’s assistant (the people behind the scenes). This is when Simone finally checks her privilege and also has this realization. Unsurprisingly, the company wants to shove Ray back into the closet. Simone’s boss/work friend says extremely transphobic things and makes homophobic remarks, to which Simone blows up on her for (I have to admit I love it when someone lashes out at a bigot). Chase and pretty much everyone who’s not camera crew or Simone, deadnames and misgenders Ray for the next few months. Simone and the crew decide to help Ray take legal action, but Ray doesn’t want to do that. Simone calls them a coward, which is such a dick move, given the backlash and hostility Ray would experience if they did sue the company. Ray is only staying with the company for the health insurance that will cover their top surgery. Ray has to explain this to Simone for her to understand Ray’s decision when Simone should’ve respected that it wasn’t Ray’s job to stick it to the man for the people that come after them (because it’s not).
This book is more about the journey of a cis white woman (who just happens to be bi, but that doesn’t mean she understands anything about the trans community) finally having their privilege checked. I think this book is fine for similar cis individuals to read if they want to be a better ally, if anything just so they can be told via this book that it’s not about their feelings and to just get over themselves. But this is not the book for cis people who are there or anyone looking for a cute F/NB romance. Cause really it’s just stressful to read someone struggle with something that isn’t really a hardship compared to the person actually going through it. Plus, I didn’t really see the chemistry between Simone and Ray.
Also, I have to say this is my second food/chef book about a blonde enby and brunette bisexual woman getting together and one of them is Type A and the other Type B. Like is this a trope I’m unaware of?
Anyway, this book had its moments. It has funny moments and even though it had like the cis white woman savior vibe, when Simone stepped up to her boss and the CEO and was ready to rock Chase’s shit, I was a little down. Mostly because I’m tired of the whole “turn the other cheek” and “rise above it” when it comes to dealing with bigots.
So yeah, read it or don’t. You won’t be missing much. It’s not making waves for the queer or trans community.
The story follows Simone, cis bisexual white woman in her late 20s. She’s very Type A, believes in rules, and has a naive belief about how the world works because of her privilege. Ray is her very opposite, loud, funny non-binary coworker. Simone is a pastry chef for a prestigious and snobbish culinary magazine and Ray is the new kitchen manager. The company has decided to start making online content and produce videos to help their failing financial situation. This means hiring a social media coordinator, Chase (aka the biggest douche on the planet) and camera operator, Petey (sweet baby). But Chase is wrong about his approach to social media and it’s Ray that accidentally goes viral and becomes the face of the magazine’s new direction. Ray and Simone end up creating a show they co-host together and it’s a hit.
At first, Simone believes Ray to be a woman and refers to them as she/her for the first 6-ish months they’ve been working together. But Ray decides to make the tough choice to come out to her close co-workers (they’ve been out for years in their private life). This throws Simone for a loop as she’s made it a point to stay in the closet at work to avoid any negative reactions. But it also becomes about how hard it is for her to get used to Ray’s pronouns. Her roommate, Luna, a trans woman, and her group of friends decide to help her practice using the correct pronouns. But Simone slips up here and there for most of the book until about the last quarter of it. It isn’t Simone’s first time finding the idea of interacting with a trans person difficult. She’s got alot of cis guilt that she feels she has to overcompensate for and it ends up becoming about her feelings which is just so cringe. Even when she first meets Luna, she asks an insensitive question and Luna points out that she’s not there to make Simone or anyone else feel better or be anyone’s trans whisperer (trans people and POC are not there to be your guide to understanding them and your cis/white privilege). But Luna does this anyway when Simone offers to bake for her in exchange for the emotional exhaustion Luna will go through.
But I digress. When Ray comes out to their co-workers, the crew also seems to have their eyes opened to how gendered the world is and it’s also pointed out by the crew that the only POC that work at the company are the camera crew and the CEO’s assistant (the people behind the scenes). This is when Simone finally checks her privilege and also has this realization. Unsurprisingly, the company wants to shove Ray back into the closet. Simone’s boss/work friend says extremely transphobic things and makes homophobic remarks, to which Simone blows up on her for (I have to admit I love it when someone lashes out at a bigot). Chase and pretty much everyone who’s not camera crew or Simone, deadnames and misgenders Ray for the next few months. Simone and the crew decide to help Ray take legal action, but Ray doesn’t want to do that. Simone calls them a coward, which is such a dick move, given the backlash and hostility Ray would experience if they did sue the company. Ray is only staying with the company for the health insurance that will cover their top surgery. Ray has to explain this to Simone for her to understand Ray’s decision when Simone should’ve respected that it wasn’t Ray’s job to stick it to the man for the people that come after them (because it’s not).
This book is more about the journey of a cis white woman (who just happens to be bi, but that doesn’t mean she understands anything about the trans community) finally having their privilege checked. I think this book is fine for similar cis individuals to read if they want to be a better ally, if anything just so they can be told via this book that it’s not about their feelings and to just get over themselves. But this is not the book for cis people who are there or anyone looking for a cute F/NB romance. Cause really it’s just stressful to read someone struggle with something that isn’t really a hardship compared to the person actually going through it. Plus, I didn’t really see the chemistry between Simone and Ray.
Also, I have to say this is my second food/chef book about a blonde enby and brunette bisexual woman getting together and one of them is Type A and the other Type B. Like is this a trope I’m unaware of?
Anyway, this book had its moments. It has funny moments and even though it had like the cis white woman savior vibe, when Simone stepped up to her boss and the CEO and was ready to rock Chase’s shit, I was a little down. Mostly because I’m tired of the whole “turn the other cheek” and “rise above it” when it comes to dealing with bigots.
So yeah, read it or don’t. You won’t be missing much. It’s not making waves for the queer or trans community.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming and Transphobia
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia