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A review by analenegrace
Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This is a review for a second reading of the book, about a year after the first, where I'm giving it the same star rating but adding a written review for the first time.
When this got assigned for the June book for the romance book club I'm in, I was excited because I remember really enjoying this book, and I recently read the sequel and enjoyed that a lot as well; but then I looked at my 3.75 rating and wondered what I didn't like, but after re-reading, I am remembering why 3.75.
I really liked a lot of aspects of this book: I liked the cooking show setting, I liked the resolutions of the characters' arcs, and I liked that their growth as people did feel real.
But I also realized what I didn't quite like about this book. Dahlia feels like an incredibly fleshed-out character with an arc more about her personal growth rather than her romance with London, whereas London's arc felt more like the romance was their main plot, with their growth being minor and mostly about gaining some confidence in their identity. I like when books focus on characters' growth in their romance, and I felt like this book got caught up in Dahlia's life, and we didn't get enough of London's.
I also didn't think this was particularly a rom-com, which is how it's marketed (the front calls it "fantastically fun"), and I didn't see much humor throughout it beyond some of Dahlia's more "quirkiness."
I also found the sex to be written odd, again very focused on Dahlia, with London either not finishing or being about three sentences at the end of the scene, almost in a fade-to-black manner. The author's own identity as non-binary feels very personal in this character which is why this isn't much of a big deal, although I would love to know why.
I really enjoyed Kelly's other book and their novella, so I look forward to the third in this series and to talking about this book in my book club!
When this got assigned for the June book for the romance book club I'm in, I was excited because I remember really enjoying this book, and I recently read the sequel and enjoyed that a lot as well; but then I looked at my 3.75 rating and wondered what I didn't like, but after re-reading, I am remembering why 3.75.
I really liked a lot of aspects of this book: I liked the cooking show setting, I liked the resolutions of the characters' arcs, and I liked that their growth as people did feel real.
But I also realized what I didn't quite like about this book. Dahlia feels like an incredibly fleshed-out character with an arc more about her personal growth rather than her romance with London, whereas London's arc felt more like the romance was their main plot, with their growth being minor and mostly about gaining some confidence in their identity. I like when books focus on characters' growth in their romance, and I felt like this book got caught up in Dahlia's life, and we didn't get enough of London's.
I also didn't think this was particularly a rom-com, which is how it's marketed (the front calls it "fantastically fun"), and I didn't see much humor throughout it beyond some of Dahlia's more "quirkiness."
I also found the sex to be written odd, again very focused on Dahlia, with London either not finishing or being about three sentences at the end of the scene, almost in a fade-to-black manner. The author's own identity as non-binary feels very personal in this character which is why this isn't much of a big deal, although I would love to know why.
I really enjoyed Kelly's other book and their novella, so I look forward to the third in this series and to talking about this book in my book club!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Transphobia