Cooking up something spicy, funny, and utterly heartwarming, Love & Other Disasters is must-read you don't want to miss out on it! It will make you laugh then hit you right in the feels as you're devouring the pages.

4.5/5 ⭐️ | 2/5 🌶 | 18+ | LGBTQ+

I really love reading outside of my norm, and Anita Kelly did an exquisite job writing/creating this story. What's not to about adorable character(s) that can cook!

A super cute read with some non-binary rep! As a non-binary individual myself I am really happy to see more representation of identity alongside sexual preference in lgbtq+ works. It was wholesome and a great fluffy escape to delve into after a long day. I also greatly appreciate the perspective switching, to give us more insight to both London and Dahlia. I wish more romance stories did this!

From the moment I started this book, I didn’t want to put it down. I love a love story…any kind. Love and Other Disasters has queer, pansexual and nonbinary representation in the main characters alone. This was my first encounter with nonbinary, but it didn’t disappoint. It also made my Top Chef loving heart happy too with food talk!

Dahlia and London are competitors on a reality cooking competition. Dahlia is recently divorced and struggling with the guilt over her failed marriage while being unapologetically herself. London has introduced themselves to the world as nonbinary. The electricity started sizzling as soon as they ran into each other…literally…on day one. There is family drama, raw emotions, transphobia, acceptance, and lots and lots of steam!

This book and characters are beautiful and original. The only issue I really had is the author never had Dahlia and London discuss why she got divorced which seems like important life information. Regardless…I still loved it!

5 Stars!

Thank you to @readforeverpub @netgalley and @anitakellywrites for a copy of this box in exchange for my honest opinion.

I honestly thought I was tired of cooking/baking plot focused romance books but this one proved me wrong.

Love & Other Disasters follows two contestants on a popular cooking competition show. Dahlia is a quirky and clumsy recent divorcee who is trying to find her place in life and London is serious and focused and also the show's first non-binary contestant. Despite their differences, the two start a behind the scenes romance. But how far can things go when they are literally competing against each other.

Adorable is the first word that comes to mind after first finishing this book. London and Dahlia, ESPECIALLY Dahlia, are so lovely that I could read so many more stories about them.

First, the cooking premise. I thought this kind of plot was overdone by now but I still enjoyed it in this context even though it become just a little repetitive. I also enjoyed that we got to see some of the other contestants and it wasn't just focused on Dahlia and London. Everyone wasn't just a cardboard cutout.

I'll be honest, this is the first book I've ever read with a non-binary lead and with a lead that uses they/them pronouns. I absolutely loved reading about London and her experience of a non-binary person. I hope to read similar books to this in the future.

The romance in this book is something that will make you smile as you read. London and Dahlia love each other so completely and honestly that it's a true delight to read. The trust and respect between them was palpable and I loved seeing how protective Dahlia was over London and their identity.

I thought the ending wasn't as strong as the rest of the book but I had such a fun time throughout it all.

Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose and unfortunately this was not a winner for me.

Let's get the obvious out of the way - the representation in this book? 5 stars. However that alone should not be a reason to love or dislike a book. The chemistry here was non-existent and felt very forced.

The story was simply meh - I never got invested or that interested.

I do think this will be well loved and I am the outlier, but this just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and Anita Kelly for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was perfection and has set such a HIGH bar for romcoms starting 2022 on such a great foot for reading!

I was hooked with the premise of a romcom set in a Masterchef style competition for $100 000, but this book is so much more. Dahila and London are two very fleshed out characters that have very intricate lives and challenges outside of Chef’s Special and their romance could only be described as Chef’s Kiss.

This book had the perfect balance of rom to com while tackling many important and relevant conversations from gender identity, shifts in sexual identity, creating found family within existing family members, setting boundaries with family for mental health, life after divorce and more!

Lastly, as someone that loves to cook and sees so much value in the community food can create, Kelly checked every box I could think of and more. I cant wait to go back and read Kelly’s backlist of Novellas and reading their second novel in 2023!

I really wanted to love this story, but in reality it mostly left me feeling “meh”. One of my pet peeves is being “told” and not “shown” what’s happening in a story. Sadly, this book was packed-full of “telling”, which got in the way of my enjoyment of the story. Then there was the romance element. To me, the chemistry between London and Delilah felt off, especially when it read like a slow burn but with aspects of insta-love thrown into the mix too. IDK, the romance, as it was executed, just didn’t work for me at all. For me, the best part about this story was the non-binary rep and how it was handled. I just wish that the rest of the story would have been as well-written and as interesting as London’s character was.

All in all, not the rom-com for me, but kudos for the representation and the overall concept of the story.

I really wanted to love this story, but in reality it mostly left me feeling “meh”. One of my pet peeves is being “told” and not “shown” what’s happening in a story. Sadly, this book was packed-full of “telling”, which got in the way of my enjoyment of the story. Then there was the romance element. To me, the chemistry between London and Delilah felt off, especially when it read like a slow burn but with aspects of insta-love thrown into the mix too. IDK, the romance, as it was executed, just didn’t work for me at all. For me, the best part about this story was the non-binary rep and how it was handled. I just wish that the rest of the story would have been as well-written and as interesting as London’s character was.

All in all, not the rom-com for me, but kudos for the representation and the overall concept of the story.

Thanks to Forever for an advanced copy of Love & Other Disasters.

I love books set in cooking competitions so was looking forward to reading Love & Other Disasters, but I thought the cooking show aspect was only in the background.

I liked the conversations on gender/non-binary experiences and sharing their struggles, especially around preferred pronouns.

The romance between London - the first non-binary contestant on a cooking show and Dahlia - a recently divorced felt flat to me. They were completely hating each other and then seconds later absolutely in love, but not in your typical enemies to lovers fashion.

I liked that the main message of this book was to be yourself and if you love a steamier open door romance you'll enjoy this book!

THIS BOOK. Adorable, gently-paced, food descriptions that made me so hungry, and a grumpy x sunshine couple that yearned for each other in all the ways I adore.

Thank you NetGalley and Anita Kelly for an ARC of this book. I love a book with some competition between the leads and I love a cooking competition even more. And this book definitely had the recipe for success. I thought the dynamic between the two MCs was electric and seeing them develop together and apart was definitely interesting. I loved seeing a non-binary lead shine and get the attention they deserve!

If you are looking for a book to curl up with that will make you feel all warm inside and leave you with a huge smile on your face, then do not hesitate to grab Love & Other Disasters. Just make sure that you don't have anything planned for your day because once you pick it up, you will not be able to put it down!

This book had so many of my favorite things:
- a cooking competition! Dahlia and London meet each other competing on the set of a cooking show and I loved the setting that it provided for their meeting and the role it played as their relationship began to develop.
- representation! Dahlia is a queer female main character, and London is a pansexual non-binary main character. I thought that Anita Kelly did an amazing job of helping readers understand the challenges that the LGBTQ+ community faces on a daily basis and how their gender or sexual orientation may impact their relationships and family dynamics. What I think they got absolutely right is that it didn't feel like either Dahlia or London existed as a vehicle to educate the reader, but instead their experiences and interactions resonate on a really human level which bring readers awareness and empathy to life experiences of others. I have never read a book with a non-binary character before and I loved seeing the use of the they/them/theirs pronouns, and the book also helped me understand the concept of misgendering and how hurtful and disrespectful it is.
- great banter! I have struggled through a couple romance books recently that just didn't seem to flow and didn't have good chemistry between the leads. I felt like London and Dahlia's connection was super realistic, and their banter/conversations were engaging and really served to move the plot forward. They had chemistry right from the start that developed through the beautiful intimate scenes depicted in the book.

This book gets a solid 4.5 stars from me. Do not hesitate to read Love & Other Disasters if you want a warm fuzzy feeling - you might just learn something along the way! Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Love & Other Disasters is a wonderful queer story set in the world of a competitive cooking show. Dahlia is recently divorced and unemployed. Dahila, a home taught chef, quit her job to be on Chef's Special (similar to Master Chef, Top Chef, etc.). During the competition, she meets London, a non-binary contest. The two become fast friends. As their friendship grows, the sexual tension grows with her as well.

I loved this book! It combined all of my favorite things - romance, LGBTQ+ folks, cooking shows, and sassy comments. Dehila and London were such a great couple and I could imagine their relationship grew. I do wish some of the side characters had a bigger part, but I over-all enjoyed it.

I also love that Anita Kelly also handled non-binary and misgendering wonderfully. The media doesn't typically address either topics well. But this was done wonderful!

I would definitely recommend this book!

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.

I feel the Big Sad because I didn’t love this. And it was a highly anticipated read for 2022! :(

I didn’t feel the chemistry for the two characters and because of that, the romance was just sort of *meh* for me. I don’t know if it was instalove vibes turning me off, or just not enough buildup/pining, but I was just not feeling it. And the steamy scenes were super cringey. (IYKYK)

But the biggest issue I had was that it feels like N O T H I N G happens. I was so bored. I am all for low-angst books, but I think this one hit the “low-plot” end of that scale unfortunately. It felt like there just wasn’t enough conflict to keep anyone reading. The cooking show felt like an afterthought? And I love the author, but the writing unfortunately was a bit lackluster for me. It felt almost juvenile?

I know, however, that the rep in this book is going to mean a lot to many people, and for that, I applaud the author. It's resonant and thoughtfully done.

It’s hard to write this review, because I wanted SO much to love this book. But unfortunately, it just wasn’t the book for me. I truly hope it finds its audience!

A big thanks to Forever for the ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. LOVE AND OTHER DISASTERS is out 1/18/22.

Dahlia and London find that the cooking show where they are competing is less important than their feelings for one another in this romantic story of people finding themselves. It's a good read with interesting characters you will root for. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

DNF at 33%. This book had a really interesting premise but really did lose me on the bland characters and mediocre writing. The exposition felt rushed and the actual premise was only implemented for about 1/5 of what I had read. You might like it if you like really unrushed Rom-Coms but this was not for me.

Already one of my favorite romances of the year! London and Dahlia are so incredibly sweet together, Kelly's writing is pitch perfect, and I am already a huge fan looking forward to whatever they write next.

I LOVED this book. Also, have some snacks on hand because all the cooking components can make a reader HUNGRY, haha. This is Anita Kelly's full length novel debut and they absolutely hit it out of the park. They've also got a novella series centered around a queer karaoke bar - uh, yes please, you know I immediately went and bought book one as soon as I finished reading this book!

I love both leads, and Dahlia and London have such amazing chemistry. They are also both on journies of self-discovery and growth, Dahlia because she's trying to find herself again after getting a divorce from her husband (who was her high-school sweetheart) and London because while they're been out as non-binary for a while their TV debut as a non-binary person is a big, scary thing (and it forces some of their family to deal with the reality that person was in some denial about, as well). From the first moment Dahlia crashes into London, there are SPARKS FLYING. I just adore London so much - they're a bit quiet and awkward and definitely the grumpy to Dahlia's sunshine, especially at first. They both push each other outside of each others' comfort zones, and often in doing so push themselves as well.

It felt a bit awkward sometimes reading they/them pronouns, but I think that's just because I'm so used to seeing binary pronouns in media it took a chapter or two to re-orient my brain. I have a few non-binary friends so I'm used to SPEAKING with they/them pronouns, but not wasn't used to reading them. After a few chapters it felt a lot more natural and comfortable - another example of how representation matters in all types of media! So all I can say is that if this is one of your first books with a non-binary MC and you're struggling with their pronouns, try to sort of relax your mind a bit and let it happen, and it will become easier to read as you go on. I used to have to do the same thing whenever I read a book written in the present tense, until I started reading more of them. I still have to with books written in the third person present tense!

Speaking of tenses, Love & Other Disasters is written in the third person (limited) past tense and alternates between London and Dahlia's POV. I really appreciate that we get to see inside the thoughts and motivations of both main characters (especially as there's a bit of mutual pining happening, which is always SO MUCH more delicious when we get to see both sides of the forest!) In additional to the main characters being excellent, there are a lot of fun side characters. I would totally watch the heck out of Chef's Special and would probably be #TeamLonlia (or whatever their couple name would be, lol).

I believe this is the first of a three book contract with Forever, and I'm so excited to see what Anita Kelly brings next!!

There is a lot of hype on my instagram & twitter feed about this book, so I thought I would give it a shot. London and Dahlia are fun, lovable couple and it was fun to root for them. There was a good balance from the author of handling London's conviction to present themselves as non-binary to the public scrutiny of television contrasting with the vulnerability with their father's questions and showing that they are still figuring things out as they go. The authenticity of this was kind and gentle and I appreciated it. There is a definite heat level here, so don't be fooled into thinking this is closed door. It's pretty hot!
Thanks so much for the ARC!

This is a charming, heartwarming read that's certainly original. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters, and especially appreciate the way London's non-binary identity is handled. If you enjoy very contemporary culture--social media, cooking shows, etc--you'll certainly love this one. It's a romance with other stakes (winning a cooking competition) plus some touching on heavier topics, like family expectations, divorce, and gender identity, pronouns, respect, coming out, etc. Definitely worth sitting down with if you want a cozy read featuring queer folks!