Recently divorced, Dahlia is looking to reinvent herself. Too bad her first impression in the Chef's Special TV show is tripping and sending her fish tacos across the room in front of the judges. After announcing their pronouns on the show, London has their eye on the prize to win, but love was never on the menu...until they meet Dahlia and decide to throw their recipe right out the window.

Love & Other Disasters was an absolutely beautiful and endearing love story. It is a story about self-discovery, sexuality and friendship. Full of touching and emotional moments, I laughed, I cried and I swooned. Both London and Dahlia are struggling with their own inner demons, which gave their characters and the plot great depth. They have fun together, but handle each other’s emotions with care and when obstacles arise, the figure it out together.

Frantic and a little all over the place, Dahlia brings the quirky charm. She can be a friend to anyone with her eccentricity. I loved how messy and vulnerable she was throughout the book. Ever reserved, London tends to observe their surroundings. In a world full of inequalities and uncertainty, cooking is what London can control. Dahlia and London balance each other out and truly make each other better.

Let's be honest. There's something super sensual and sexy about cooking together and this book brought the heat. It was super steamy and yet intimate and tender at the same time. With a bisexual and non-binary leads, I loved the diversity portrayed in the book. I hope Love & Other Disasters starts a trend for more open and honest romances that celebrate all forms of love.

Love & Other Disasters follows Delilah, an exuberant recent divorcee who fell in love with cooking as a form of healing, and London, a non-binary person who's passion is to help others like themselves. The two meet on the set of a cooking competition show called Chef’ Special where they are both competitors for their new season. The two quickly become fast friends and while spending time getting to know each other, they develop feelings and throw caution to the wind by not thinking about how much time they have together…

I loved both of these character's so much. Delilah had the perfect amount of spunk. She is outgoing, speaks at a mile a minute, and is just an overall ball of energy and joy. London is amazing as well. They are smart, caring, calm and collected and they balance out Delilah perfectly.

The setting of the cooking competition show was amazing to me but I will say you definitely have to be a fan of cooking shows to read this or it will most likely be too much for you. Now I’m someone who grew up with insomnia and lived on night time cooking competitions and Chef’s Special was SO fun to see our characters in for me and I know many others will love it as well!


This romance is a good slow burn, the type that will make you yell, "Just kiss already!" I also really loved seeing their friendship blossom throughout their time on set even before the romance kicked. Speaking of the romance, once it kicked it it KICKED in. There is some spice in this book for sure so that is a definite win for you smut fans. For those, like myself, who don’t love a lot of spice in books, it was still enjoyable and nothing too over the top, just right for the plot and characters.

Overall this was such a cute read with great representation and a fun setting. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who wants to just have fun reading a cute and sweet story!

Where there’s a cooking competition, there must be plenty of steam, right? Well when Anitia Kelly is writing them there certainly is.

Love and Other Disasters introduces the first nonbinary contestant on a national cooking competition show and the romance between them and clumsy, full of life, newly divorced competitor Dahlia. Can they manage falling love on TV with a whole nation watching while competing for the $100,000 prize? It’s a romcom, so I think we all know the answer is equal to or greater than probably.

There’s a lot to love about this one. The representation is great. I’ve read YA books with nonbinary main characters, but I can’t think of an adult book I’ve read that had one and it was great to see. The book covers London’s struggle to come out to a nation and the strain it can put on a family when all the members haven’t accepted their identity. I loved how fun and open the character of Dahlia was. And of course there’s the food. So much delicious food. I also really enjoyed the relationship between the two characters and how careful they were with each other throughout most of the book.

For me, this story fell into the category of insta love, which I don’t necessarily mind if I know enough about the characters for me to fall in love along with them. Personally, I would have liked to know a little more about Dahlia’s divorce and how she ended up where she was, and I would have liked to know a little more about London’s coming out process and how they got to be such a great cook. It’s explained in the story, but I would have loved more details. When it was mentioned that they were one of the strongest competitors, it surprised me.

That said, if you’re looking for a steamy queer romcom set in a studio kitchen, this is the book for you! It comes out tomorrow so you don’t have to wait long. Thank you so much to @readforeverpub and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

4.5

Newly divorced Dahlia Woodson is trying to figure out what she wants out of her life. Determined to reinvent herself, Dahlia tries out for and is accepted on Chef's Special - America's favorite cooking reality show. Cooking was something Dahlia turned to in the last couple of years as her marriage was crumbling and she's very proud of all she's learned and accomplished. Of course, no one ever prepares you for falling flat on your face on reality tv...so Dahlia has that going for her.

London Parker becomes the first openly nonbinary contestant on Chef's Special after deciding to announce their pronouns during their individual interviews on camera. Bracing for the worst commentary on social media, London doesn't have time to pay attention to the gorgeous accident-prone contestant at the table in from of them.

While romance was not something either Dahlia or London were looking for when they started Chef's Special, they slowly form a bond with one another. But as the weeks go by and contestant after contestant are sent home, they begin to realize that there's more at stake than a $100,000 prize.

I am a big fan of reality baking/cooking competitions so when I read that Anita Kelly's book would revolve around two contestants falling for each other while competing I knew I would read this. It's always interesting to see the behind-the-scenes workings of these types of shows and the friendships and bonds formed between the people through their shared experiences.

Love & Other Disasters really delivers on all fronts. What really got me about the story was the vulnerability that both Dahlia and London exhibit throughout. They are both putting themselves out there so openly and honestly even without knowing exactly how things are going to play out.

The slow build of their initial friendship to something more was so sweet. Seeing two people from different parts of the country meeting by chance (on a reality show of all places) and recognizing something that has been missing from their lives. Dahlia had been unhappy in her marriage for years and wasn't seeing eye-to-eye with her husband on what their future looked like. And London who is finally able to say who they are and who they want to be, but still experiencing those who can't just let them live their truth - including their own father. Together, Dahlia and London make all that doubt and uncertainty go away. They truly see each other. They fit together so effortlessly I loved every minute.

Coupled with the delicious food descriptions and this was such a great comfort read by a new-to-me author.

3.5 out of 5 stars

I requested an ARC of this book solely based on the nonbinary rep. It's exciting to see a range of queer rep and having those queer characters get a HEA in romance novels.

Examining the story, without taking into consideration the queer rep, I found myself not very invested in the romance. The cooking reality show aspect was nice, though. I've watched A LOT of cooking competitions, and that could be why I liked that arc of the story.

One thing that popped out for me was London's almost interchangeable use of "nonbinary" and "trans". I consider myself nonbinary, but do not consider myself trans, so I was confused with the way London's character was presented throughout the book. This confusion is all on part part, clearly, and some research is on my to-do list.

As I mentioned above, I didn't get the romance between London and Dahlia. To me, the connection between the two felt more like friendship rather than couple-ish. And I cannot forget to mention THAT SCENE with the toe that just completely turned me off, which sucks (heh) because it was early in their relationship once they gave into their feelings for each other.

Love and Other Disaster is a solid 3-star read for me, with the other .5-star for the nonbinary rep.

***Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.***

Thank you Forever, NetGalley, and Hachette Audio for advance reader/listening copies of Love and Other Disasters.

Love and Other Disasters is a cute, quirky and queer rom-com full of food and feelings. It revolves around a reality cooking competition and a budding romance between two of its contestants. Dahlia is divorced, questioning her path in the world, and in desperate need of the show’s hefty prize money incentive. London is the first nonbinary contestant on America’s favorite cooking competition, and they’re hoping to open closed minds and silence the trolls.

This was such a tender, sweet story of two people who really brought out the best in each other. I loved that they grew more confident not only with each other, but also with themselves along the way. Some of my favorite parts of the book were the interactions between Dahlia and her brother and also London and their twin sister. Each sibling was the biggest cheerleader and sounding box. It was especially heartwarming to see glimpses into those relationships. I also was such a fan of listening to London go through “fan” comments and see how much of an impact they were making in the world. I enjoyed the kind of “behind-the-scenes” look at the popular (if fictional) reality cooking show, interactions with most of the contestants, and seeing Dahlia and London really get to know each other off set. A really enjoyable read overall, and one that will leave your appetite for a HEA totally satiated.

Narrator Lindsey Dorcus was a new-to-me narrator, and she infused a really delicious layer of depth to the story. While there were plenty of fun, funny, and lighthearted parts, there is so much else going on–the high stakes of reality television, dark parts of Dahlia and London’s pasts, anxiety for the present and future–and Dorcus did a beautiful job portraying and balancing those emotions through her narration. Congrats to Anita Kelly for a stellar debut!

This was a lot of fun! Sometimes reviewing books on Netgalley feels like a chore, so I love when a book like this one can make it feel fun! The writing quality was great as far as flow and fun dialogue, and the backdrop of a cooking show was so fun to envision!

I had a fun time reading about the hijinks of the main characters, although as I read the book I felt there weren't many distinct differences between the two leads beyond their gender identities. Often I felt I had to check who's POV the chapter was from because their narrative voices bled together. Regardless, this was a fun read that was an overall enjoyable experience!

It's so nice to read a romance that has non-binary & trans representation and is good! At times the emotional turmoil is too distracting from the plot which is my biggest issue and the reason I'm not giving it 4 stars. I really appreciate how much communication goes on during the sex scenes and how fun/steamy they were. Overall it's a fun read and I can't wait to read more in this universe!

THIS. BOOK. IS. EVERYTHING. I have many thoughts, none of them coherent, listed here not in any specific order of importance.

1. Grumpy MC & Outgoing MC is a trope that I never knew I needed in my life but am now absolutely obsessed with.
2. This book never actually misgenders its main characters and only references when other people do it which is so smart and important!!
3. London's obsession with Dahlia's hair is weirdly adorable
4. London can wreck me any time they want
5. Dahlia's character growth is AMAZING
6. I wanted to knock their dumb heads together half of the time
7. so much *spice* and not just from cooking
8. Can London pls teach me how to cook
9. I want all of their siblings
10. Cath and Barbra are the real mvps
11. The imperfect parents in this book are so realistic and relatable
12. reading this book made me very very happy
13. their *first time* scene is the most relatable/funny/sweet spicy scene I think I have EVER read

The biggest takeaways are that I loved this book. I loved the NB rep and I loved the setting and I loved the characters. This book is exactly what I needed to get out of my reading slump and I am so positive many people will feel the same. Go read this NOW!!

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Netgalley for the ARC!

I loved this feel-good romance that is filled with sweet and tender moments. Besides being a great combination of two of my favorite things — cooking reality tv and romance, Love & Other Disasters is a great mix of humor, emotions, and empowerment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for an early copy of Love & Other Disaster. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Love & Other Disasters was such a pleasure to read. The premise already interested me as I love books based around reality shows, social media, and celebrities. It definitely lived up to the hype!

I really loved the complex characters Kelly created and their awkwardly adorable personalities. I could not help but relate to Dahlia in her anxiety and with London with their perfectionism. Neither character is perfect which makes for a much more interesting read. I have read several books where one character in the relationship is basically perfect and the other character is the reason for the third act breakup, but it's so refreshing to see a much more realistic and complex relationship.

I also appreciated that while this is a queer romance with a non-binary character as one of the leads, the main focus was not on their struggle with their identity. Coming out stories are important, but it is equally important to showcase LGBTQIA+ people in stories living their lives and not just undergoing traumatic situations. I really did love this book and cannot wait to see what Kelly writes next!

queer romances set on baking shows are my new favorite thing. yes i only read one. i don’t care, it’s amazing. this book still had it flaws, but it made me smile so incredibly hard, because baking show romance!!! think very great british baking show but a bit less wholesome and in LA. it’s a romance between dahlia, recently divorced, bored of her life, a ray of sunshine looking for something new, who also makes good fricking soup, and london, a nonbinary foodie revolutionizing the cooking show by being the first openly nonbinary contestant, and trying to stay focused in the competition. (so yes, a lil’ sunshine/grump.) pure delightful joy.

there are so many aspects of this romance i loved. at it’s heart it’s competitors-to-lovers, but competitors who, though ambitious, never are enemies. it’s grumpy x sunshine, but there’s never too much grumbling, mostly love. i loved the communication and the consent between dahlia and london, and it was simply swoony, how they meet on a cooking show in an unfamiliar place and fall in love with themselves, each other, and the food they make. it’s such a comfort.

besides (obviously) the romance, my two other favorite things about this book were the cooking show, chef’s special, and the individual characterization. i was so relieved that this book had some amazing depictions of food, and anita kelly put a lot of care into the recipes and foods that dahlia and london made on the show. if you like food, or even just like watching cooking shows, you’ll love it. the setting on a cooking show is quite unique, because under the overarching romance, you have the threat of being kicked off. you have the challenges, the other contestants, the manipulation, and the way chef’s special acted as a setting and a plot point was incorporated wonderfully. also, the characterization of dahlia and london themselves. dahlia specifically stood out to me, as at the beginning of the book, she lacked a path, and even if by the end she wasn’t completely on her feet, you could clearly see the confidence and freedom she found in LA, which i loved. london also showed lots of growth as they not only learned to open up about their nonbinary identity, but also accept to cut off those who don’t respect them, that they’re worthy of respect.

my biggest issue with this book was the perspective. i genuinely have never had this issue before ?? but this book is in third person and also dual point of view, and the points of view weren’t distinct enough for me to often pick up on who was saying what. thankfully, london and dahlia’s different pronouns helped me differentiate some, but the voices were both so similar and i often had to reread due to confusion. i often felt disconnected from the story, though i still enjoyed every minute.

thank you forever (grand central publishing) and netgalley for this earc in exchange for an honest review.

In 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 & 𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦, the first openly non-binary contestant on a reality cooking series falls for their competition, recently divorced, Dahlia. As someone who produces food competition shows, I can tell you @anitakellywrites gets so much right. And as the mother of a non-binary teen, I can't even begin to tell you how much this book touched my heart.

I loved that London is out from the start. So many novels with queer main characters seem to focus on them coming out and while I understand why, it's refreshing to find a story where their being non-binary is just a fact. The relationship between London and Dahlia is believable and gets very steamy, and the inevitable conflicts they face are relatable and not drama for drama's sake or focused on anyone's sexuality or gender.

It seems silly to say that I hope a romcom will help readers learn about the non-binary experience but I do. The more characters like London and their chosen pronouns are normalized in books, movies, TV shows, etc., the easier it is for people to understand what kids like mine go through, and for them to see themselves represented is long overdue.

Thanks to Forever Publishing and etGalley for the copy to review.

love & other disasters is a delicious, unbelievable sexy, and funny romcom that i have no doubt will be greatly appreciated by its readers. from someone who spent most of their childhoods watching masterchef australia, the setting of this book truly made me happy. i can see all this happening in that masterchef kitchen, which was just like a great thing you know? to be able to envision what you read so clearly in your head.

i also love the representations in this book. london, one of the mc is non binary and is the first openly non binary contestant in the cooking show. it was incredibly brave of them to do that, and i love them for how unflinchingly honest they are about themselves. this book does deal with heavier topics especially about gender identity and acceptance (tw: misgendering), and i love how everything was handled. i also really appreciate the conversations surrounding london's experiences and no doubt feel like there will be a lot of readers out there that would feel seen by reading this book.

dahlia, the other half of the pair, is my favorite character though, just because she reminds me so so much of eve brown. i feel like in an alternate universe, they would be friends who hang out together and cook each other dishes.

what i wasn't expecting was how spicy this book was. i went in ahead thinking it was going to be a cute rom com with probably a max of 2 spicy scenes at the end but nope, there was so much more. i also was not expecting the food hijinks in one of the spicy scenes to happen but it did. there's also one with a toe suck. and one when they were doing it in public. and as someone who usually HATES reading the spice scenes because they're usually just well either terribly written, boring, or just downright horrifying, i did not feel that way about the scenes in this book however, and i also love how sex positive this was. i honestly had fun reading them LOLLL. this is a first.

okay now for my dislikes about this book. i do think that the romance was rushed and therefore i didn't grow that attached to the romance itself, especially of how quick their emotions seem to turned around in every single chapters. i wish we could've gotten more scenes of them before they fell for each other. besides that, i also felt like that ending (considering the problems that they faced through out the book which is about the class difference between them) could've been better handled. i was honestly really annoyed at london in the last bits because i didn't think they really understand what dahlia was going through and the fact that it was also brought up again by their sister at the end (which they also had gotten pissed at because of it) really made me thought that the ending would fix that but nope.

all in all, this was still a really amazing read and i would highly recommend you to pick it up. it was refreshing, it was delicious, it was everything.

I think I’m going to cry. Anita Kelly has written a master piece. I don’t think as a nonbinary/genderfluid person I’ve ever felt so represented before in a book. Dahlia and London’s romance was so delightfully queer and beautiful and sexy. I connected with London in particular. Their character arc was so good, especially at the end where they stood up to their dad. I loved the cooking show setting(i adore cooking shows). This book was funny, so so sexy and just so heartfelt. I literally couldn’t put it down, and when it ended I wanted to cry because it was over and I had to say goodbye to the characters. I wish I could give it a million stars. 5/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the chance to read an early copy of this book!

This is a soft but sexy rom com set on a reality cooking competition, with lots of delicious food descriptions. Though the chapters alternate point of view between the two protagonists, Dahlia really jumps off the page while London remains a cipher. Dahlia was a LOT of personality to take but she eventually won me over, and she felt like the main protagonist. I wanted to know more about London, and I felt bad for them that their conflict and story arc was basically all about their non-binary identity. The author uses they/them pronouns like London, and I imagine they were drawing on personal experiences, but it was sad that London was constantly fighting for respect and needing to justify their existence, and it weighted down the otherwise fairly light tone.

I don't know enough about cooking shows to know which ones are being referenced, but I enjoyed this setting. There are solo competitions for showing off signature style, or interpreting a certain kind of dish, but there was also a fun team event where they made food for a real-life celebration.

Overall, despite my quibbles with the balance between protagonists I enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more from this author.

Love & Other Disasters is set in the competitive cooking world and is a female/non-binary friends-to-lovers that is full of steam and love.

I adored watching London and Dahlia together. I enjoyed how the stress of the show and the possibility of being sent home was ever-looming but didn't detract from the romance the two had. Their story is about falling in love with someone as they are, from Dahlia loving all of London to London loving all of Dahlia. The tension was real and I loved that they figured out who they were together. Dahlia was real and authentic and did her best to be an ally to London while being supportive of what they wanted. When London gave the ultimatum to their dad I was both proud and wanted to give them a hug. I loved that they knew they were worthy of being loved for who they are.

Love & Other Disasters is a beautiful queer romance that romance readers all over should pick up to read.

CW: misgendering, nonbinary-phobia, divorce

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you know me, you know I love romances with cooking or baking as a major plot point and this one was no exception! Set on a reality cooking competition, you will immediately be rooting for Dahlia and London - both in and out of the kitchen!

This was the first romcom that I’ve read with a non binary main character, and I feel like I learned so much from it! Read this one if you love:
•Food Network
•LBGTQIA+ representation
•A touch of family drama
•A bit of insta love/friends to lovers with forced proximity
•Sweet and kind romance
•Great steam

[Pub Date 1/18/22]
Thank you to @netgalley and @readforverpub for the eARC

This book is...
-A warm bowl of soup in the fall
-The smell of peppermint
-The season premier of your favorite TV show

Thoughts:
Just reading the synopsis of this book had me hooked. I love a romance story. I love any book that has a reality TV show premise. I love any book about cooking and food. This romance about a reality cooking competition. HELL YES. This book was IT.

I absolutely loved the two main characters, Dahlia and London. Words can not describe how much I adore London. I wanted to hug London and cheer London on. Dahlia was sweet and funny and absolutley someone I'd want to be friends with. London's relationship with Dahlia was absolutely everything and, despite being opposites, I was fully invested in them as a couple from the first chapter. They compliment each other beautifully and the steam was top-notch.

I loved the nonbinary representation. I've ready books with nonbinary characters, but this was the first contemporary romance with a nonbinary character as the main protagonist, and I know how important this book will be for so many people to see themselves in.

Sweet, spicy, and absolute perfection. This was just the book I needed to pull me out of my slump, and I'll definitely read any other book Anita Kelly writes!

4.5 stars

This book was perfect! Between the adorable romance, reality TV cooking competition, queer and nonbinary representation, second chance romance and a $100,000 prize hanging in the balance of it all I was hooked! This book was fun but also very real and emotionally raw. I loved how well the different points of view of the love interests dove into the characters in such a vulnerable way. You truly went on a journey with them as they discovered new versions of themselves in LA while filming, and of course falling in love!

I cannot recommend this enough! The writing was excellent and the characters were even better! The only way I can think describe to them is vibrant! I predict this will be a favorite read of 2022!