3.5 stars/ I really loved How You Get the Girl by Anita Kelly so I was excited to pick this one up. While I enjoyed this one, I did not love it nearly as much. Dahlia is great, but I did not like London. I found them to be abrasive and kind of a dick. Also, if you're constantly calling your romantic interest annoying maybe you just don't like them that much! The setting was super fun.

This was okay. The pacing was a bit off and made it difficult to really get into but the live story was cute and I enjoyed that part.

This book is so precious and made any Anita Kelly book a must read for me!! I wish that more reality TV is queer, and this was such a fun and complex version of what it could look like to queer reality tv.

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVVVVVVEEEEEE THIS BOOK SO MUCH AHHHHHHHHH LONDON 5EVER

What an absolute joy of a novel. There are plenty of rom-coms set on reality cooking shows out there, but this one *ahem* takes the cake! (Forgive me for the pun.) Both the lead characters were extremely likeable and relatable with their emotions and past baggage, and the steam level was perfect. Steamy scenes with consent - sign me up! This novel really dug in to the characters' back stories and the baggage they had to move on from or deal with and I felt like these issues were handled perfectly. And let's not forget the trans rep! This is one of the best, if not THE best, trans rep I've seen. London's identity was a joy to read. I'm definitely recommending this book to any romance lovers out there.

Dahlia and London's story was a lot of fun. I was captivated by the story and loved both characters. I loved Anita's writing style and look forward to reading more.

This was a fun read. I always love romance stories with really good individual conflicts. It was really cute how they almost always temporarily forget about the things they're grappling with when they get close to each other.

Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly is a delightful and heartwarming read that is perfect for fans of romantic comedies, cooking, and LGBTQIA+ stories, who will be swept away by the charming and relatable characters, witty banter, and mouth-watering culinary adventures.

Loved, loved, loved the rep in this. This story was super cute, I love a good food-based romcom. I look forward to reading more from this author!

"Love & Other Disasters" is a delightful rom-com with charming characters and a witty narrative that keeps readers eagerly turning pages. Anita Kelly crafts a tale of love, mishaps, and unexpected connections, drawing readers in with fully realized characters and authentic relationships. The novel's humor shines through, balancing romance with clever wit and comedic timing. While the plot follows some familiar rom-com tropes, Kelly's fresh spin and surprises keep readers engaged until the satisfying end. Overall, "Love & Other Disasters" is a feel-good read that leaves a smile on your face and warmth in your heart.

I adore everything Anita Kelly. Loved this romance in particular--even if it's taken me so long to review! Also, Anita is just a delightful human.

TBH I was really interested in this book, and I'm super interested in more queer and nonbinary rep in romance, but have been deeply disheartened by the author's comments on current events to which they have no personal stake in or clearly any education in, as well as their blocking and dismissing people who tried to educate them, and it has completely killed my desire to read any of their books.

Anita Kelly's Love and Other Disasters was a beautiful read with well rounded characters and a romance that made sense on all levels. Cooking show romances was all the rage for a minute there but none gave us representation like this book did.

I enjoyed this book but it's been awhile since i've read it. I'm trying to update the books on netgalley that i've read already so I can focus more on the ones that I haven't read. I'm hoping to be better about reviewing books as I read them.

I loved this so much and my heart feels so full!

Reality TV cooking show, messy and beautiful characters, and LOOOOVE.

So adorable and exactly what I was looking for!

I really wanted to love this one, but I just did not and I probably should have DNF'd it. My biggest issue was that I didn't feel chemistry between Dahlia and London. They started out as interesting characters, but I don't feel like either one of them grew or changed throughout the story, nor did I feel much in the way of chemistry or tension between them. I also felt this book was too long - it dragged in the middle and the competition part of the story was just not engaging (and I love cooking competition shows). Finally, I found the dialogue (and internal dialogue) to be clunky and unnatural at times.

This was cute! Very cheesy romcom vibes, which is exactly what I signed up for when I picked this up. I love the representation present as well.

Cute queer romance, and loved the scene involving reality tv and food. I would have preferred a bit more intimacy, beyond them exploring each others' insecurities and vulnerabilities.

I had such a blast reading this book. Being turned onto this by way of reading more diversely, I knew I would enjoy this one.

Anita Kelly has a way with writing that is so wonderful and heartfelt, you are literally transported to into the story.

As a queer person, it’s wonderful to see other queer characters in books, and also lessens the “stigma” against being queer..

I really enjoyed the bake off aspect of this book because since reading the Charm Offensive by Alison Cochran, the TV side of the story adds another dimension to the overall story being told.

The characters were fantastically written and I aspire to write like Anita, but also, I will sit here and observe the masses coming to read her books.

Was happy to include this offbeat and engrossing reality-romance in my January Novel Encounters column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction. In Zoomer magazine’s Zed Book Club section. Column at attached link!
2023: Delighted to include this title in my recent round-up “10 Queer Rom-Coms to Read if You Loved ‘Red, White & Royal Blue” for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)