Didn’t care for this one much at all. Not for any particular reason, I just didn’t not like the books

Dahlia is looking to reinvent herself as a contestant on the popular cooking competition show, Chef’s Special. But she meets London, who is also a competitor and like no one she’s ever met before. When they announce their pronouns on national TV, London’s focus is pulled while trying to manage their family and the internet trolls that feel the need to comment. Dahlia and London grow closer and become support for each other as well as competitors.

Cooking competition shows are a favorite of mine, so it was fun to hear about the recipes and the fails/successes with the food and judging.

This is the first novel I’ve read with a nonbinary character and I loved it. I hope it becomes more commonplace. While there is transphobia and misgendering as a content warning, I love the way it was addressed in the story. Neither Dahlia and London were heteronormative and it was a refreshing take to see the interaction as the main story. The diversity in the cast of characters was phenomenal.

this was warm & fuzzy (& also steamy!) and should work well for fans of books like The Charm Offensive.

I liked this, but it felt like it was missing something. It moved a little too quickly and we didn’t get enough time on a lot of the plot points. There wasn’t enough character development for London. & I hated that they never talked about their very different financial situations.

I received a free e-ARC from the publisher!

Gosh so cute!!!!!! The plot was a bit slow at points but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it's incredibly hard to pull off dual POV because you urn the risk of the narratives having the same voice, but Anita Kelly brilliantly overcomes that common issue.

this had such an interesting premise! I adored the idea of a a f/nb romance with the whole cooking show aspect but this just wasn't for me

i'm not a huge fan of insta love but there are some instances where it's done really well— this was not one of them. I didn't care for the romance which of course is the main focus. I didn't love the cooking aspect either and found myself just hoping for it to end.

the lack of people of color is always something to note in books, that's not my main problem with the book but that did make me hesitant on. continuing the book.

the main positive in this novel is the nonbinary rep! I loved London and their character so much the representation was done wonderfully and I appreciated reading about someone like me in that way.

overall this had a great idea but executed it a bit poorly.

I did NOT want to write this review. I loathe being the black sheep of books because I always feel like someone is going to say, “you just didn’t understand it” when that’s not it at all. It’s just the fact that this is my opinion. So please, if you liked this, don’t be mad that I didn’t…. Now that that’s been said…. In short, I hated this lol

London Parker is the first openly non-binary person on the Cooking Show, Chef’s Special. Dahlia is recently divorced and doesn’t know what to do with herself quite yet. However, they both know they want to be the one to win the competition at the end of the day. But with everything going on, like them being competitors, the nasty judges and other competitors, etc. neither one of them thought they might fall for someone. Until they do…

This book is an example of why I should read more than just a few first lines of the synopsis. I try to avoid all spoilers and go in a book blind, so when I saw the words, “The first openly nonbinary contestant…” and I didn’t even bother to read the rest, let alone any reviews. But if I had, I would have seen some of the TW/CWs saying “toe sucking.” OK, so you might think this is funny, but there are real people out there who have real phobias of feet. I am one of them. I’m not really scared of them, but I just think they’re really gross. Like your feet sweat all day when you wear socks and shoes, or they get gross and dusty when you wear flip-flops and ugh they’re just gross. So imagine my surprise when I’m listening to this and they mention that they’re about to do it and that happens. Y’all I wanted to throw up! But so many people said this was good, so I kept listening thinking it would get better. Newsflash, it does not.

The romance was not really believable either? Idk, I just didn’t like Dahlia. She was meant to be the quirky and funny character, but I did not care for her. The only thing she did that I laughed at (and God forgive me for this lol) was when she fell at the beginning and the fact that they still showed it lol And I think from there, it spiraled down. Because I didn’t care for her, I didn’t care about them together. I wasn’t really sold on it either. I knew she would be the cause for the third act break-up. (Which by the way, I despise lol) Unfortunately, London got lost in all this. Dahlia was this big over bearing character and London seemed quiet and Idk, I just wanted more from them. So since I wasn’t a fan of them apart, I wasn’t really a fan of them together. I didn’t swoon when they got to the sweet parts and I didn’t like fan myself when it got to the steamy parts.

And lastly, the writing style just didn’t do it for me. I remember speeding it up to 2x’s just so I could finish it faster. It was so telly and not showy. I wanted to see what they were doing in the kitchen. Telling me what they made, but not how it looks, what it’s supposed to taste like, or just saying yeah it’s good or bad. As a foodie person who loves foodie books, I live for those descriptions. It just didn’t do it for me. And the world-building was terrible. As someone who once worked in a restaurant, I know the struggle of cooking in a big setting and having other people around. There’s so much going on all the time and you don’t have time to be watching someone else or doing 1651951 other things like they were. It just wasn’t good.

I hate writing reviews of books that I don’t like. They never get easier. But since I finished it, I wanted to write one. If nothing else to give an opposing viewpoint.

OH MY GOD i don't think i've had the delightful pleasure of reading a book (let alone a romance) with a nonbinary character yet. idk how!! because it was great!!! like i read it in four hours without standing up great!!!!!
so i loved dahlia and london. and honestly i don't think i have a ton of other thoughts beyond incomprehensible squealing? please for the love of everything just read this damn book <3
also thank you to netgalley and forever/grand central publishing for letting me read this arc! sorry it took me 2 months after the publishing date to actually read it 😬

This was such a great romance read! I loved that one of the main characters is a non-binary person and it was really interesting to hear about their experience coming out to their family as well as daily challenges they encounter. Their interactions with Dahlia were so cute. It was also interesting to see how they handled their first sexual interaction with Dahlia as understandably they were questioning if they would be an experiment for Dahlia. I do wish that Dahlia had previously discussed her queerness a bit more because it just seemed almost too convenient for them to bring it up right when they were about to have sex. I also kind of cringed at Dahlia's passive comments about having a transgender brother and how that basically made her completely understand London's perspective. I think that there are similarities but for some reason it came off as Dahlia deserving to get a pass. The sex scenes were steamy and definitely appealing for readers that are looking for that and I am so happy that there is representation of sex between non-binary and a cis person. I would recommend this book to people that are looking for a non-binary romance.

I just loved the idea behind a cooking show competition and it was refreshing to see a non-binary romance featured in LOVE & OTHER DISASTERS.

I loved the impactful conversations being told through this story of Dahlia and London, and the tender moments London shares from their past.

There were plenty of funny moments too, as the cooking competition kicks off, and I loved Dahlia’s frenetic energy and personality.

*many thanks to Forever Publishing and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review.

*PUB 1/18/22

I loved this book! I didn't even know how much I needed a cooking show romance in my life until I read "Love & Other Disasters". And the spice, oh my god, the spice. It. Was. So. Good. I really hope we're getting many more books by Anita Kelly soon, because I love their writing so much.

This is a really solid romance! I thought Dahlia was a little annoying sometimes but overall the characters were three-dimensional and interesting. I really loved London as a main character and their storyline/character arc was my favorite aspect of the book. Honestly, I would have read an entire book just about them. This is a must read for people who love cooking or reality tv aspects of books.

This is a great story! I fell in love with London and Dahlia right away and just adored reading about their relationship developing. I thought London was very well written as a nonbinary character and I really hope to see more of these kinds of love stories between people of all genders in the future! Great book. Definitely a bit spicier than I usually read but that's ok too!

What a delight! I loved the banter and sheer effervescence of this adorable rom com. The cooking show competition was a great backdrop for Dahlia and London to connect and fall for each other. I literally laughed out loud at parts and swooned in others.

Love & Other Disasters is a much-needed contribution to the contemporary romance genre. Dahlia, a recently divorced, self-described mess, enters a cooking show, where she meets London, the show's first openly nonbinary competitor. Sparks fly immediately between the two of them. While the book as a whole is very light in tone, there are some serious undertones as Dahlia tries to figure out what to do with her life, and London navigates transphobia from fellow competitors, the internet, and their own father. I loved London and Dahlia together, almost as much as I loved reading about all of the food they cooked. (I'm obsessed with cooking shows.)

I ended up not finishing this one. While I put it down this time around from lack of interest, I am still intrigued to try again sometime. I liked the character introductions, feels very cooking show like, which I hoped would happen. Honestly I love a slow burn romance, so some things in this just didn't match with what I like.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a arc in exchange for a honest review.

I'm excited to see nonbinary people represented in a romance novel, but honestly, this was not a great romance book. Romance can be my genre, but it has to give me all the feels. To be fair, I'm a heterosexual, cisgender female, so maybe it's not for me to say about this one, but a lot of it was boring and not super exciting. I skimmed a lot. Hopefully, lots of others will find the feels and comfort in this one though, and I'm in the minority.

Thank you to @netgalley for this advanced reader's copy for an honest review.

I loved Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly! This romance is set during a cooking competition that reminded me a lot of MasterChef. London is the show's first openly nonbinary contestant and they're immediately drawn to Dahlia, another contestant who is recently divorced and near bankruptcy. I loved that even though they were competing against each other, London and Dahlia were quick to support each other. Their relationship develops somewhat quickly, but they also spend enough time together that it didn't feel too insta-love for me. I loved the nonbinary and pansexual rep in this book and I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a steamy LGBTQ+ romance!

It was also great to see London's determination to be true to who they are as a nonbinary individual even as they struggled with anxiety over how others would treat them and perceive them. Dahlia's feelings about her recent divorce also felt very poignant. We don't see MCs in their twenties who are divorced very often and I really loved the way it was handled. It felt real and messy. The only complaints I had were wanting a little more development of some side characters and more descriptive cooking scenes since it IS a cooking competition. I loved London and Dahlia and will definitely be keeping an eye out for Anita Kelly in the future!!

I debated writing this review at all because as nonbinary romance reader I’m happy to see a traditionally published romance with a nonbinary LI. However…This isn’t what I was looking for and it’s not really the book’s fault. I just really wish I could pick up a romance with a nonbinary lead or love interest and not have the main conflict in that character’s story be about transphobia and being nonbinary. I know this book will, hopefully, open up doors for more of those kind of narratives to be told—but, I went into this wanting to see a nonbinary character get a love story without their entire storyline being about overcoming people not accepting them. Especially since people keep shipping this book as fun and fluffy. It’s not “fun” or light for me to read about transphobia within a romance novel as a trans person. It was nice that their identity was never questioned by the MC and there wasn’t any transphobia there but I don’t know…it just bummed me out. And this is not to say that these stories don’t need to be told, it’s just not what I was hoping for so I was really let down by that. I think that’s more so on my expectations as a reader and not on the book itself. I think I also just wasn’t in the right headspace to read this when I did. I think this plot will probably serve more to educate cis people about nonbinary people than it will to truly make nonbinary people feel scene in the romance genre. At least, that’s how I currently feel about it.

My other issues were more personal in a different way. I just don’t think the writing style worked for me, which made it hard for me to connect to the romance. Also, neither did the cooking show plot. I don’t think I tend to enjoy cooking show plots, so I know to steer away from them in the future.

Overall, just disappointed by this because it wasn’t what I was hoping for.

I love a nonbinary romance, especially one that takes place on a cooking show! This was a fun book that was a delightful read. I enjoyed both the characters and the plot moved well. There was a nice mix between the plot of the cooking show and the romance, and I found the conflicts believable. I enjoy romances that take place on reality shows or competitions for this reason. It creates a believable conflict that I can understand. I often feel the conflict is "forced" in romances, however this felt believable to me as a reader.

This book was adorable and fun. I enjoyed following along on this competitive cooking journey. It is beyond refreshing to read a story from the perspective of a non-binary chef who is quickly falling in love with their crush-worthy competitor while also trying to win a contest and come to terms with their father's resistance to accept them for who they are. This was a super sweet read.