ARC review: Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly

I was sent this book as an advance copy by the publisher via NetGalley for reviewing purposes, but all opinions are my own.

The first openly nonbinary contestant on America’s favorite cooking show falls for their clumsy competitor in this delicious romantic comedy debut “that is both fantastically fun and crack your heart wide open vulnerable.” (Rosie Danan, author of The Roommate)

Recently divorced and on the verge of bankruptcy, Dahlia Woodson is ready to reinvent herself on the popular reality competition show Chef’s Special. Too bad the first memorable move she makes is falling flat on her face, sending fish tacos flying—not quite the fresh start she was hoping for. Still, she’s focused on winning, until she meets someone she might want a future with more than she needs the prize money.

After announcing their pronouns on national television, London Parker has enough on their mind without worrying about the klutzy competitor stationed in front of them. They’re there to prove the trolls—including a fellow contestant and their dad—wrong, and falling in love was never part of the plan.

As London and Dahlia get closer, reality starts to fall away. Goodbye, guilt about divorce, anxiety about uncertain futures, and stress from transphobia. Hello, hilarious shenanigans on set, wedding crashing, and spontaneous dips into the Pacific. But as the finale draws near, Dahlia and London’s steamy relationship starts to feel the heat both in and outside the kitchen—and they must figure out if they have the right ingredients for a happily ever after.

Release date: January 18th

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★★★★.5✩

I can’t start this review without saying right away that I had SO MUCH fun with this book!

Confession: I’ve never watched a cooking competition show?? But I have a general idea of how both cooking and how reality shows work, so… I just had to check out this contemporary nb/f romance. But I didn’t expect to like it so much and, again, have so much fun with it.

I think both main characters, Dahlia and London, were very were fleshed out and their POVs felt distinct enough that I had no issues remembering whose POV I was reading at any given time. I can’t judge/speak of London’s experience but I think the author managed to balance showing some of the negative experiences of a lot of (at least afab) nonbinary people and the joy of being seen (both by other queer people and by allies) for who they are, and they did it in a way that didn’t feel too heavy (of course some of it could still be too much for trans/nonbinary readers). I also loved how London managed to set their boundaries and send the message that blood family should face consequences for not respecting who you are.

Dahlia was a little of a mess, and she had some typical over-the-top-romance-novel-heroine especially at the beginning. But while the second-hand embarrassment was definitely there a couple of times, I really ended up loving her and her backstory and arc. I could relate to a lot of the experiences she faced as a queer woman when it comes to relationships and also getting to a point where you realize you’re just going with the flow without really liking where the flow is supposed to bring you to.

The actual romance, after a bit of a wild first meeting, felt very organic and real. I can’t stress enough how much I love a queer romance that is HORNY and where the characters aren’t two cis guys or two straight people. That isn’t to say it didn’t have its sweet moments, because it did! And they were so sweet! But it was also sexy and while I wasn’t a fan of everything they did (iykyk) I still appreciate the author taking some slightly nonconventional routes for the sex scenes.

With that said, there were still some small elements that didn’t make this a full 5 stars for me. Like the fact that, while the ongoing narrative about the difference in privilege was good, I felt like it ended up going nowhere (and most of all, Dahlia and London didn’t really have a proper conversation about it). For a book that confronted so many issues, the conclusion to that arc within the romantic art felt a little cheap.

But overall I really loved this and and I can wholeheartedly recommend it for anyone in need of a sexy queer romance with a pansexual nonbinary character who exclusively uses they/them pronouns, a queer (that’s the actual label she uses! yes!!) heroine that doesn’t have any of her shit together, and lots of food.

TWs: transphobia, minor cooking injuries, food (+ slightly uhhhh,,, inappropriate use of food i guess)