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.

Anita Kelly has crafted a romance that made me both cry and laugh out loud. I found both leads deeply relatable, and that's one of the things that propels me through a romance, is the capacity to root for both people. The setting added a lot of great character tension, and the steamy scenes were well crafted and HOT while still being respectful. Kelly is masterful, and a name to watch in romance!

YES YES YES 100% YES! i adored this book! and to my knowledge anita kelly is a debut author and i’m insanely obsessed!!! instant buy for sure. loved the plot, setting, and characters in this book!

I LOVED THIS BOOK! My favorite things in the world are reality cooking shows and romances and this is both! With the addition zest of it being a queer romance which is even better! I felt a strong tie to Dhalia being from Maryland and ending a long term relationship. I enjoyed knowing the backstories to both Dahlia and London’s lives. This was a pure delight.

Thank you Read Forever and Netgalley for the early copy of this gem!

Love and Other Disasters was honestly, beautiful. It follows two contestants on a reality TV cooking competition, London & Dahlia. At first Dahlia (who’s a bit of a tornado) thinks pensive, quiet London doesn’t like her. When in reality, London practically stops breathing when Dahlia is near, they like her so much. And that right there is my jam. What follows is a new friendship and that turns to something more, with the backdrop of a cooking show. It’s funny, swoony, emotional and sexy. We get a lot of on-page together time for the MCs and I loved that.

Shenanigans & tropes you can expect:
-Bisexual female MC, Non-binary MC, white couple
-idiots in love
-opposites attract
-cooking as foreplay
-a disaster bi
-forced proximity

But did I swoon? You bet. Watching these two slowly fall for one another was honestly a real treat.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat level: 🔥🔥🔥
Swoon factor: 💖💖💖💖💖

CW: love after divorce, transphobia (challenged), misgendering (challenged), on page explicit sex, alcohol consumption, strained parental relationship, financial instability/stress

a baking romance - seriously a perfect match! characters you root for and whom feel so real, witty banter, and depth of figuring yourself out and being exactly who you are. highly, highly recommend!

I fell into Love & Other Disasters and never looked back.

London and Dahlia are contents on a baking show and things end up really heating up. London takes a leap in the beginning of the show by announcing their pronouns on the show, which as expected wasn't 100% smooth. Dahlia gives them the most support both personally and professionally by demanding that their pronouns be respected.

Dahlia has some issues of her own, recently divorced and trying to make her own way. Dahlia was super fun and I really enjoyed how her relationship with London developed.

Highly recommend, wonderful LGBTQ+ representation, in showing the ups and downs of their lives and how others on the outside view them.

Thank you to @netgalley and @anitakellywrites for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was such a pick me up from my time change doldrums. I know that it’s been out for a little while, and I know I’m super behind in my reading, but I’m so pleased that I got around to this book this week when everything felt hard.

The premise is a cooking show, and Dahlia and London are contestants. Dahlia is a recently divorced, wild haired home cook from Maryland, where she went after her divorce to figure herself out. She’s been with one person her whole life, her ex David, and she’s recently come out as queer.

London is from Nashville, and they are non-binary. They come from money and have a huge family with a non accepting father.

When Dahlia and London meet, they don’t like each other much, but as the show progresses, each character separately realizes they like each other. A lot. And then they’re attached at the hip.

London’s POV is particularly emotional, as they respond and confront being an openly non-binary person on television, and also a person looking for love and acceptance. Dahlia’s trajectory is a little more recognizable as a more stereotypical romance heroine, as she’s a woman trying to rebuild her life after blowing it up without a clear picture of what she’s looking for in the end.

The cooking competition was kind of swirling around them as their romance developed, but I thought it was cool that they both couldn’t win it, thus a real problem was born.

Dahlia and London don’t always talk about expectations, which is a real problem, mostly because they’re wrapped up in the thrill of being together physically. My one gripe is that London does a lot physically to Dahlia, whereas they seem not into being pleasured themselves - now I know there is a lot of talk of body image issues as a non-binary afab person, but I didn’t know if they were connected in terms of sexual pleasure — but that aside, it was cute and hot and funny and the characters were super likable. The non-binary rep felt super authentic and true. I enjoyed this book and recommend it!

Love & Other Disasters is easily my favorite romance of the year so far! Dahlia and London are so vividly written that it seems impossible that they're not real. I absolutely adored seeing the two characters fall for each other. I'm so happy to have such a fantastic romance with a nonbinary main character. The author allows the characters to have such vulnerable and honest conversations that it feels completely real that they would make such a strong connection during a short reality show taping. Anita Kelly is definitely an author to watch!