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emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Transphobia, Alcohol
Minor: Mental illness, Dysphoria
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is such a sweet love story. Finally, a non-binary main character ! Their love story is amazing and you fall in love with them both. I love the cooking perspective and the cooking show. It was such a fun ride. I highly recommend for those who want to read an lgbtqia+ Romance.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Outing, Dysphoria
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Dysphoria
I don’t know what to say. Majority of people I know who have read this book kind of feel like it’s “mediocre” but I loved it. Only once did I stop and be like “seriously, are we stereotyping this still?” which happened to be that “all” lesbians dress in “farmer clothes”.
Trigger warnings: misgendering
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Dysphoria
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
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: Biphobia, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Dysphoria
Minor: Blood, Injury/Injury detail
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:
Complicated
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 😬
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 😬
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia
Minor: Dysphoria
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book brings me so much unabashed joy!! Both Dahlia and London are amazing, funny, super fleshed out, lovably flawed main characters... we get some really good side characters (like Barbara <3)... we get an actually good take on transphobia in media (where it's obviously an issue for, say, Lizzie to misgender and belittle London, but where it's also an issue for producers to monetize the conflict between London and Lizzie for ratings, without regard to London's comfort or safety )... we get maybe the most authentic, heartwarming sex scenes I've read in a romance... everything about this was so enjoyable and well-done, and I feel like this book is rapidly going to become my go-to comfort reread and recommendation!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Transphobia, Alcohol
Minor: Dysphoria
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia, Alcohol, Dysphoria
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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: Transphobia, Alcohol, Dysphoria
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
"She did not want niceness that was only granted because she appeared to fit into the boxes deemed acceptable by society."
"When you were around someone who felt everything, it mad you feel like you could feel everything, too. Like the depths of the world were suddenly limitless."
"You deserve more than you think you do. Go and get it all."
I loved this romance so much. It was so cool to see a non-binary love interest on page. I definitely would love to read more romances like this. I love that LGBTQ characters are becoming more mainstream because representation matters!
The steam was pretty good. If you like steamy books, it probably won't make you blush but it was still written quite well. The romance itself was a little slow-burn but not overly so. I also loved how well this novel modeled consent without having to have a whole conversation. It was just a natural part of how the characters interacted with one another.
I also really liked the food aspect. That was a fun addition to the story that kept things interesting. But definitely don't read this book while hungry! The competition really gave it a unique atmosphere since both London and Dahlia were very aware that they could be sent home at any moment.
My biggest complaint would probably be that I wish the competition had been fleshed out just a little bit more. I felt like we only got to know the other characters in the competition at a very surface level. Getting to know them better could have really added to the tension and intrigue of the story.
"When you were around someone who felt everything, it mad you feel like you could feel everything, too. Like the depths of the world were suddenly limitless."
"You deserve more than you think you do. Go and get it all."
I loved this romance so much. It was so cool to see a non-binary love interest on page. I definitely would love to read more romances like this. I love that LGBTQ characters are becoming more mainstream because representation matters!
The steam was pretty good. If you like steamy books, it probably won't make you blush but it was still written quite well. The romance itself was a little slow-burn but not overly so. I also loved how well this novel modeled consent without having to have a whole conversation. It was just a natural part of how the characters interacted with one another.
I also really liked the food aspect. That was a fun addition to the story that kept things interesting. But definitely don't read this book while hungry! The competition really gave it a unique atmosphere since both London and Dahlia were very aware that they could be sent home at any moment.
My biggest complaint would probably be that I wish the competition had been fleshed out just a little bit more. I felt like we only got to know the other characters in the competition at a very surface level. Getting to know them better could have really added to the tension and intrigue of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Deadnaming, Transphobia
Minor: Blood, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Dysphoria