This was such a cute read about a pastry chef’s goals are interrupted and must save her career with a cute non-binary kitchen manager. This book started off well and I love how the author captures the readers attention with food imagery (not even kidding). The author has a great writing style as their storyline was just amazing. The pacing was perfect and I enjoyed the setting plus all the food the main character would make/test out. I didn’t have any problems with the author’s writing style and thought it was amazing.

The main character is Simone (bisexual) and let’s just say that she was honestly very annoying. I honestly could barely stand her which is why she dropped the star for this book. She does have a development but her character was just not it. This book has two main side lgbtq characters (I could think of), Ray and Simone’s roommate but there are also other side characters in this book. Ray is such an amazing character and I enjoyed their story in this book. They helped Simone a lot with her career which was so sweet. The romance in this book is enemies-friends-lovers (more like boss-worker) romance but it was a tad to basic of a love story for me.

The ending was well done and I enjoyed this book. Honestly the main thing that dropped the star for me was Simone. She was just not the character I wanted to read about. Overall the author did such an amazing job with this story. I recommend this book for fans of Love and Other Disasters also Charm Offensive.

I enjoyed many aspects of Chef's Kiss. The author explores the experience of a non-binary character with honesty and doesn't shy away from Ray's negative experiences. Also, Ray is a charming character with adorable quirks and humor. For me, the weakness of this book is Simone. I found her too neurotic, and I didn't enjoy spending time with her as I read the book, I thought Ray deserved a better love interest. However, I did enjoy aspects of this book, and I will read more by this author in the future.

I chose the book because of the title and the cover and I wasn’t expecting such a delightful story. Simone is a chef working in a magazine test kitchen (something like America’s Test Kitchen). She loves her job. But the magazine’s readership is down and so they want to start shooting YouTube videos to help the bottom line. Simone is the epitome of grumpy and she changes wonderfully over the course of the book. Ray is the new kitchen manager. They are sunshine and friendliness and very good at their job. Ray is natural on camera and together viewership with the two of them takes off. But corporate politics and policies add drama to the story.

The food in this book is amazing. For the first half I was absolutely drooling at the enticing descriptions. This is a slow, slow-burn romance. Everything is told from Simone’s POV and it takes her ages to realize she has feelings for Ray and even longer to express them. The book is also very good educationally in learning about terms and difficulties of being nonbinary in a gender oriented world. Simone herself is Bi, and her roommate is trans and she still needs to learn to be more aware of terminology.

I’m so glad I had a chance to read the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and the author for the book..

What a fun story about food, friendship, and standing up for what’s right.

I really enjoyed seeing Simone and Ray’s relationship progress. I liked Simone working out how to best support Ray in the workplace and come to realize how toxic the environment was.

I really liked Simone’s roommate Luna and the deal they made to compensate education and assistance. Obviously that doesn’t work for everyone, but just really liked how Simone acknowledged the need to properly compensate Luna’s emotional work.

Overall a really enjoyable story.

[cw - transphobia, homophobia]

This was such a sweet read. I had a good time reading this and following these characters. Their chemistry was adorable! The food involved was also “chefs kiss”, I could not refuse to use that.

Ahhh this one was SO charming and just utterly perfect! One of my new favorite tropes is sunshine and grump so Simone’s crabbiness next to Ray’s upbeat mood coupled with SO MUCH FOOD made for a delicious read for me. This one is a super slow burn, like really slow but I honestly didn’t mind for once. I think because there was so much going on for the characters personally that I was so emotionally invested anyway I didn’t care about waiting for the romance aspect to develop. Another thing I’ve been loving in my books lately is found family and that plays a huge role here making the secondary characters just as lovable as the main ones. Overall I can’t say enough good things about this one and highly recommend it if you like any of the above! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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Thanks to the tagged partners for my copy!

Did I think I needed a thinly described Fix It FanFic of the Bon Appetite test kitchen? Hell no. Was this slow burn character driven rom com exactly what I didn’t know I needed? Absolutely. Thoroughly enjoyable quick read, looking forward to more from this author.

Simone finally has her dream job. She gets to develop recipes for The Discerning Chef and share them with the world in their magazine. Except the company is struggling. Now they want Simone to create video content, and they have hired hot shot Chase to direct. Needless to say, the rave reviews do not start to roll in, nobody is even seeing the videos, so why are they bothering? Plus not she has to deal with the new kitchen manager Ray, bright sunny, always in her face wanting to chat, Ray. When Ray accidentally starts a rave show, Simone is forced to join her, and finds herself softening toward Ray as the days go by…

Again with the cooking/cooking show theme. I could say it’s being overdone right now, but honestly I love them all so keep em coming! I loved how vastly different Ray and Simone’s personalities were. I would completely picture the two facing off in the kitchen! I also always enjoy a great non-binary character and the education that character can add to a book in such a unique way. Overall this was a super fun and enjoyable read!

In 2020 cooking videos became very popular. The popularity of the test kitchen chefs at one large food magazine in particular exploded. But by the summer of 2020 the wholesome façade was shattered by revelations of decades of racial discrimination and pay disparities. Even a podcast miniseries about the scandal ended in scandal when it was revealed the podcasters were themselves perpetrators of a toxic and racist work place. It’s not hard to imagine the difficulties that would arise when a company suddenly decides to pivot to video and finds that the faces that bring in the viewers aren’t the faces they are most comfortable with.

In Chef’s Kiss, Simone is very happily testing and writing recipes, not interacting with other humans and generally being happy in her grumpy cave. In one morning her happy existence all goes to hell when she finds out she’s going to have to make videos now (no extra pay), there’s a new kitchen manager, and the new kitchen manager has moved her sourdough experiment (which she should have labeled, but didn’t). The kitchen manager earns her ire by being a change she didn’t know was coming, being tall, and moving her stuff. The new video guy earned my ire by introducing himself as a visionary.

Once Simone settles into her new reality, she begins to appreciate Ray, but tries not to think about how tall and strong Ray is. She’s made it clear that she doesn’t flirt with or become friends with co-workers. In other words, Simone is the architect of this slow burn romance. Simone grudgingly gives in on becoming friendly, and then friends. She keeps feeding Ray (food is a love language). When Ray comes out to her as nonbinary, she wants to be a good friend and ally. While she comes to see Ray as a positive addition to the kitchen, it becomes clear to Simone that the company itself has some fundamental problems.

The romance itself is sweet with a growing friendship and trust before finally admitting feelings. Simone’s feelings take her by surprise. Everyone else knows how Simone feels about Ray long before Simone and Ray know. Because we only get Simone’s point of view, we see a woman (white, cis, closeted bi) wake up to the toxicity around her and have it pointed at her for the first time. Watching Simone flail trying to be an ally was certainly relatable for me.

There is a danger to taking inspiration from a real life scandal centered on a history of racial discrimination and changing the focus to the gender orientation/sexual preference of white characters. As a cis white woman, I am not the person who gets to decide how well TJ Alexander did on that front. I think they told the story they told well.

CWs: misgendering and dead naming both unintentional and intentional, homophobia/biphobia, racist microaggressions, toxic workplace, alcohol use, blood and fluids related to recovering from surgery, discussion of past child abuse.

I received an advance reader copy from Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐️ I thought this was a sweet read. Enemies to friends, friends to lovers. Very slow burn. Simone Larkspur, awkward, great cook, working her dream job at a cookbook publishing company. Ray Layton, non-binary, extroverted, friendly and loves to eat.

I like the development of Simone and Ray’s friendship although a tad slow. At first, I couldn’t relate with Simone because she tends to overthink when it’s out of her comfort zone. Eventually I finally warmed up to her of how she handled toxicity in the workplace regarding Ray’s sexuality.

What you will also find in this book is courage, great friendships, awareness, and love. But I think my favorite so far is the food described. So darn appetizing.

I received this ARC from @netgalley and @simonandschuster for an honest review.

Make sure you have snacks readily available while reading because this book WILL make you hungry.

This book was so warm and cozy, I absolutely devoured it in one sitting. The writing is phenomenal. Character development is spot-on. The slowest of burns but it's so worth it.

This book is for you if you want:
-enemies (sort of) to friends to lovers
-grumpy/sunshine
-workplace romance
-queer representation galore
-found family

The MC, Simone, is a little intense in the beginning but she goes through amazing character development. Please stick it through even if you're not feeling her at first. I promise it's worth it.

eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story is ground-breaking! At a time when trans people (especially youth) are being attacked by power-hungry, inhumane politicians and church leaders playing on the fears of white, “Christian” homophobes, it’s so important to have representation in literature. This isn’t an easy book to read because it highlights the struggles, discrimination, rejection, and hatred non-binary people face in the workplace, their families of origin, and the community at large. However, it’s encouraging that Ray finds a chosen family who loves, supports and champions them.

Fear is often due to ignorance, and it’s not the job of members of marginalized groups to educate people. In order to be allies to the LGBTQ community, we must seek out information, and one of the easiest ways to do this is by reading both non-fiction books and fictional stories that discuss the use of pronouns and define terminology (e.g., dead-naming). Chef’s Kiss is an excellent vehicle for learning about this and for building empathy. It would also be a great choice for bibliotherapy for trans teens and young adults who rarely see themselves portrayed in books.

Beyond the afore-mentioned, this is also a sweetly awkward, slow-burn, workplace romance between kitchen manager Ray and pastry chef Simone. Together, they demonstrate how, even with the best intentions, mistakes can be made and feelings hurt, but that sincere apologies and forgiveness can lead to happiness. Add to this a literary feast for foodies and author Alexander has cooked up a winning romance that deserves a place in every library. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Atria/Emily Bestler through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

You know how you feel when you're watching an easy going romance? The one where you see the MCs slowly getting together and it's not wrapped up in any toxicity so you can easily root for them? Yeah that is reading Chef's Kiss.

I loved multiple things about this story: first of all, it is a slowwwww burn. It allowed us to get into the lives of these characters and see how they fit with each other. I absolutely adored the pacing of this book, nothing ever felt too soon or felt out of place.
It is a queer grumpy/sunshine novel, need I say more? Simone is one of the grumpiest grumps I have ever read. Then we have Ray, a person after my own heart.

TJ Alexander told a very compelling story and crafted even more compelling characters. Ray, Simone, Petey and the rest of the cast are so life-like we can all point to people like that in our every day lives. Their way of describing the food made me feel left out and wishing I too were a professional pastry chef.
Alexander does so many great things and talks about so many things but none feel too much or too little for this book- just perfect.
I rooted for them. I got angry for them. I screamed for them. I teared up for them. I love this story and I want to thank Atria Books and Netgalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I REALLY need to stop reading food/chef rom-coms, especially at night... all I want to so is snack, especially when books like Chef's Kiss make the food sound SO good. I mean seriously, I desperately want to try it all. 🙃

Chef's Kiss is a good rom-com, but not great. I say this because it was a suuuuper slow burn, and because I felt like there were parts of the story that were forced. I really wanted to like it, but by the end of the book I was a bit disappointed. I'd give this a 3.5 stars, but I've rounded down simply because the food writing stood out more than the "romance."

Simone is a grumpy and standoffish perfectionist pastry chef, who has learned that she can't trust anyone. When an upbeat new kitchen manager named Ray is hired, she alternately finds herself loathing Ray and yet being attracted to her. Things heat up when Ray comes out as nonbinary at work, and as a cis-het, it taught me a lot about the process and how I can better support those going through a similar process. Although I learned a lot in this book and it tackled some difficult topics around discrimination in the workplace, it was still a fun read and I was cheering for the budding romance. And I always love books about the restaurant / cooking industry! Definitely recommended when you want something light and happy without being totally frothy and saccharine.

Wow. Wow. WOW! This may be one of my favorite books I have EVER read! The characters in this book are phenomenal , and the authors writing did not shy away from any of the hard topics. I think this book can be a huge win for the LGBTQ+ community, specifically the Bi, Trans, and Nonbinary people who struggle to come out into the open about their journey's and struggles!

Unique story with relevant plot. Does have a coming out that isn't always well accepted.

*I received an ARC from NetGalley. My review is my own.

This book was heartwarming and lovely. I adored the found family, the education (truly!) and the journey that Simone traveled in this book. The romance was sweet, and honestly, the support of friends who became family, and the value of them all, made this book what it is.




Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC version of this book. Review is my own personal opinion.

I saw a #booktok video about this book and HAD to read it.

Was able to arc read via NetGalley.

Oh there were times I was angry for them. So flipping angry.

I will say it's a very slow burn. But I enjoyed that.

I've only read a handful of trans/bi/lesbian books. I'm hoping to get more into this (sub)genre.

I found it not only well written, but I learned some things I hadn't expected to learn.

Now to get all the recipes. #cookbook please.

Debut author TJ Alexander has certainly cooked up something special with their delectable new culinary romance novel, “Chef’s Kiss.”

The budding relationship between respected pastry chef Simone and her new kitchen manager Ray is as sweet as pie, but also impeccably well-paced.

And throughout the book, I was equally as entertained as I was educated on some of the finer points of pronouns and gender identity.

As a queer educator, it makes me so happy that positive LGBT representation has become more and more common in general fiction over the years.

But I still find that non-binary characters are dangerously underrepresented. And as a result, I feel like I am not as sensitive to this subsection of queer issues.

We need books like "Chef's Kiss" so that teens across the entire queer spectrum can see themselves represented in the literature they read.

Especially when those stories are told by exemplary writers like TJ. This is definitely a book I will recommend for years to come.