Take a photo of a barcode or cover
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It’s was interesting to me how much I am used to reading in the gender binary and how different it was to get out of it. I liked that
The reason I knocked stars off is the main character is so stupid - like can’t two people who have sex be next to each other without freaking out? And her end choices went against everything she had been saying
The reason I knocked stars off is the main character is so stupid - like can’t two people who have sex be next to each other without freaking out? And her end choices went against everything she had been saying
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia
Moderate: Outing, Toxic friendship
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol
Minor: Deadnaming, Injury/Injury detail
Sexual content of NB character is explicit without being overly descriptive! Respectfully avoids description of genitals.
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
reading a romance novel with a main character who has (almost) the same name as me is a dangerous game, but this book was so good that i think it actually improved my reading experience (<- cringe admission)
aside from a few small things (ex. a paragraph where london describes dahlia much in the same way a straight male mc in a movie would describe his MPDG love interest) i have almost no complaints. i loved reading about them swoon over each other and will def be recommending this!!
aside from a few small things (ex. a paragraph where london describes dahlia much in the same way a straight male mc in a movie would describe his MPDG love interest) i have almost no complaints. i loved reading about them swoon over each other and will def be recommending this!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia, Alcohol
Minor: Biphobia, Mental illness, Lesbophobia
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia
Moderate: Alcohol
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia, Mental illness
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Happy #PrideMonth, also, I hope you're hungry! I've found a sub-sub genre that I am very much enjoying: queer romance set on cooking competition shows. After I reviewed Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, more than a few of you reminded me of Love and Other Disasters, which has been on my radar for quite some time after several rave reviews for it showed up in my feed!
I knew I would love this book the moment I opened it, since it begins with Dahlia, one of the MCs, waxing poetic about onions. From there, we enter a Top Chef-style reality cooking competition featuring an array of characters, most notably, the other MC, London. This book is so soft and swoony, and I absolutely loved Dahlia and London not only together but in each of their beautiful human messiness.
This is the first book I have read with a nonbinary protagonist, and I am thankful for the window this book provided into London's existence and their day-to-day joys but also all of the small ways the gender binary and people's perceptions and assumptions about it either dragged them down or buoyed them up. I loved that each of the contestants on the show outside of Dahlia and London represented interactions with the general world. Most of all, I appreciated the care and thoughtfulness Anita Kelly put into this queer love story. I loved how fiercely Dahlia wanted to protect and hold London and also how much London wanted to do the same for Dahlia.
Of course I was intrigued by the depth of non-binary portrayal so immediately went to the author bio where I quickly discovered that Anita uses they/them pronouns, so that makes this an #OwnVoices read, too.
👍🏻Recommended! If you love cooking competitions and super swoony love stories told from unique and important perspectives, this is for you! If you enjoyed Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake or the Charm Offensive for their reality show settings, you will love this!
I knew I would love this book the moment I opened it, since it begins with Dahlia, one of the MCs, waxing poetic about onions. From there, we enter a Top Chef-style reality cooking competition featuring an array of characters, most notably, the other MC, London. This book is so soft and swoony, and I absolutely loved Dahlia and London not only together but in each of their beautiful human messiness.
This is the first book I have read with a nonbinary protagonist, and I am thankful for the window this book provided into London's existence and their day-to-day joys but also all of the small ways the gender binary and people's perceptions and assumptions about it either dragged them down or buoyed them up. I loved that each of the contestants on the show outside of Dahlia and London represented interactions with the general world. Most of all, I appreciated the care and thoughtfulness Anita Kelly put into this queer love story. I loved how fiercely Dahlia wanted to protect and hold London and also how much London wanted to do the same for Dahlia.
Of course I was intrigued by the depth of non-binary portrayal so immediately went to the author bio where I quickly discovered that Anita uses they/them pronouns, so that makes this an #OwnVoices read, too.
👍🏻Recommended! If you love cooking competitions and super swoony love stories told from unique and important perspectives, this is for you! If you enjoyed Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake or the Charm Offensive for their reality show settings, you will love this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia, Outing
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ngl this was the first, and only book as of right now, I've read with a non-binary character so I have no books to compare it to, but as a non-binary person myself I think if you're lookin for good nb rep this book is an amazing choice. Both London and Dahlia are such real characters with human flaws and relatable personalities. And the whole setting of the story is unlike anythin I've ever read before, you get to worry about the outcome of the completion along with the characters. It's a very gripping story. Oh, and it's 🌶!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Alcohol
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A romance novel set against the backdrop of a cooking competition show, a queer leading lady and a pansexual nonbinary love interest. I was like - say less, I'm down, and I'm so glad I did.
This was just so damn good. The chemistry between these two was almost too much for me most of the time. They were incredibly steamy together - way steamier than I expected the book to get, but it wasn't unwelcome at all. It had me WIDE EYED a lot of the time in that regard. I also just thought that these two characters, as people, felt really real. They were extremely imperfect and stumbled a ton, but in the end, they were perfect together and I just loved them.
I had little issues here and there, but they were just that: little. Like, they were such non-issues that I never once considered giving this any less than 5 stars. I have nothing intelligent to say about this, just vibes. The best vibes in the *world.*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Excrement
There's quite a bit of misgendering / misgendering mention but that's not available as an option for me to tag so I'm putting it here.
challenging
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Transphobia, Alcohol
Misgendering
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Whewwwwww this was all over the place! A fun read overall, some of the characters made me frustrated at times. Loved the reality TV elements, and the non-binary representation. Also, this was a LOT more sexual than I was expecting, so beware of that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Injury/Injury detail