This was a sweet, feel good rom com. I really liked how strong the characters were and how open and honest they were in their relationship. I think this was the first non binary MC I’ve read and the dual POV added a lot to the book, especially in this way.

I was lucky enough to get to read an advanced reader copy of this and can personally vouch that this book would be a great way to start off a year of 2022 reading.

I’ve read a couple books recently involving romance and reality baking shows, but this was my first cooking show and word of advice- don’t read this while hungry! I loved the descriptions of the food and the way both the main characters, Dahlia and London, used cooking in order to come to terms with different aspects of their lives. Dahlia is fresh off a divorce and isn’t sure who she is anymore. London likes their job but wants more for themselves while also having dreams of helping LGBTQ+ youth through cooking.

This was my first book with a non-binary main character and I really appreciated the different conversations the book has about pronouns and navigating relationships as a non-binary person. The romance between London and Dahlia is paced really well in tandem with the competition part of the narrative and the book never felt bogged down with all it was trying to do.

This was a fantastic and lovely romance that had me in equal parts swooning and fanning myself. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book and the story and characters. London and Dahlia were so soft, the tension from the cooking contest was so real, and the sex scenes were super hot. I also really loved the integration of social media when it came to London - the mix of negative reviews and people who appreciated the NB rep on tv. Overall it was a great book and I can wait for the next one!

I really appreciated reading this book with its use of they/them pronouns and featuring a non-binary character. It was really nice to see how naturally the pronouns flowed in the narrative and how quickly my brain adjusted to the grammar of it all. I did think that the relationship was a bit of insta-love, which is not a trope I love. However, I liked both Dahlia and London as characters and enjoyed the baking show setting. I would definitely read further books by this author.

Just finished this lovely story. First of all, as a PNW lady myself, so happy to read from a local librarian! Onto the story! As someone who loves a good food romance and has watched a lot of cooking competitions, I was already excited for the premise of this novel. But more importantly it was wonderful to see amateur chefs and I absolutely adored London and Dahlia. I teared up at London's journey of being a public figure while not being just about their self discovery. I felt like Dahlias energy made sense without being hackneyed. I liked their chemistry, the way they cashed the weddings was wonderful and most importantly the FOOD SEX WAS SO GOOD it's been a while since I read sex scenes that were sexy but vulnerable and natural and FUNNY. Can't wait to see what Anita has next for us!

Thank you @readforeverpub for a copy of Love & Other Disaster. I loved this book and the author creating a non-binary MC. I felt the nerves for London coming out on national TV as non-binary and how people would treat them. I loved the interactions between Dahlia and London and their attraction was hot!!! Plus they make a lot of dishes that sounds so yummy which is always plus.

This was a delightfully fun read. I genuinely adored Dahlia and London as individuals, and their relationship was so sweet. Dahlia and London each had such strong backgrounds, and I adored the character growth throughout. Since this is a character-driven novel (normally my favorite) I wasn't disappointed in that regard. I do wish that we'd gotten a bit more context to some character relationships outside of the main romantic pairing, because the side characters were interesting and unique but I felt that we didn't get enough of them. Additionally, I wish we'd gotten to see a bit more of the cooking show (the main setting) because I wanted to know more about what they were doing rather than have small little fillers in between the deeper, more involved character-centric chapters, which is what the show-based chapters veered into fairly often.

Overall, I really really enjoyed this book. It was fun and sweet and queer as hell, which is always so pleasant.

Foodies London and Dahlia fall in love while competing on a nationally televised cooking competition. London, the first openly nonbinary contestant, has goals of starting a nonprofit with her winnings while Dahlia is trying to get her life back together after divorce. They both find comfort and creativity in food and as the competition heats up, so does their romance. Perfectly matched, their chemistry and banter is very cute and sweet. The flirting is steamy and funny. The setting of the competition keeps the book moving at a good pace. And the ending is *chef's kiss*.

I really loved this book. I went in without reading any of the blurbs and went based just off the cover.

It is so refreshing to see a LGBTGQ romance novel that isn’t just lovey dovey, but has really well written characters with great character growth. Much like cooking, character growth comes with lots of steps. The plot is excellent. The romantic part is excellent. And being set within a cooking show makes it much more unique and fun than anything else I’ve read in such a long time. This will be one of my favorite reads of the year.



I would like to thank Anita Kelly, Grand Central Publishing, and Netgalley for this ARC to read and review in exchange for my honest review.

Love and Other Disasters is a delicious, funny, steamy, beautifully written queer romance story featuring two contestants in a cooking show: a non-binary person London (the Grump) and an a bisexual woman Dahlia (the sunshine). It is about finding love after divorce, about identity, being around people who don't approve of or understand their identity, about standing up for themselves even to one's own father.

This is my first romance with a non-binary character so it took me some time to get used to the they/them pronoun use. I had to remind myself that every they/them refers to London.

What I liked about this book is how Anita Kelley kept the tone positive. She could have easily written down the potentially negative comments by the trolls and made some scenes more dramatic but she stayed clear of that approach.

Both characters are very likable. You cannot help but root for them to be together. When they come together, it gets very steamy. The relationship starts of as a bit of a insta-lust but it slowly turned to love. The characters act like adults, they talk to each other, get to know each other but also their sexual relationship makes them grow as a couple. There is that expected romance novel conflict at the last 25% of the book but it is not blown out of proportion.

I regularly say that because of the rural area where I live and the people that I interact with, if I don't read diversely then I won't experience much of the world. Love and Other Disasters helped me experience a perspective that I would not have gotten otherwise. It was sweet and kind and thoughtful while giving clear points and thoughts on how we can navigate the world with people who aren't exactly like us. Anita's discussion of misgendering and pronouns and how we perceive others is a push but also a gift. And lets not forget to mention the FOOD. This romance that takes place during a Top Chef style cooking competition is fun and delicious.

A cooking show, a non-binary MC, romance! I was hyped for this book but it fell flat for me.

It was sweet, I loved the representation, but I was bored. Kelly did a good job giving us both character's POV but it felt like they were both stuck in their own head and that's where a lot of the story took place, the rest was underdeveloped.
I think like many readers, I was drawn in by the cooking show but I never understood the rules. That would be fine since this is a romance not a cooking book but the show was a catalyst for so much and it felt like the author didn't know whether to commit to the show or not.
I didn't get the romance either, it felt like a fun fling for Dahlia and infatuation for London.

What a fun read! I loved the queer representation (w/nb) and the reality show backdrop was easy for me to love. The stress of the competition seemed to amplify a lot of the character’s emotions, so there are a lot of peaks and valleys that arise somewhat abruptly. The intimate scenes are quite steamy and are fairly frequent after the first half of the book, but the chemistry between Dahlia and London is fantastic. I do wish that Lizzie had been exposed on tv for being terrible, but I’m probably just being petty. Apparently there are more books coming, this being the first of a gay series, and I will be checking out the others!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the advanced copy!

4.25 stars

Sweet, sexy, and heartwrenching, Anita Kelly delivers a delicious story of queer love set against the background of a nationally televised cooking show. Being able to close out the year with a well-written romance is exactly what I needed this holiday season.

Love & Other Disasters has so much to recommend it: great characters who are both funny and flawed, a romance that really packs in the steam factor, and well-executed social commentary. I was a bit worried that I wasn't going to be able to finish this before the start of 2022, but Kelly's writing had me hooked! I did find myself wishing that the conclusion hadn't been as drawn out because I would have loved a few more cooking scenes, but I really, REALLY enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read Kelly's next releases!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

cw // drinking, divorce, misgendering

rep // non binary MC

Love & Other Disasters is s dual POV following Dahlia, a broke, recent divorcee and London, the first Non Binary contestant on a cooking show. While they have a adorable grumpy meet cute, these two settle quickly into insta love (and more!) - this is definitely an adult romance.

As a lover of many cooking shows, I was really hoping to like this one. But too much of the story focuses on the romance, to the point where I didn't even feel like I really understood the rules of the cooking show. The side characters are barely fleshed out besides having one personality trait - "the comforting grandma, the homophobe, the jerk". I could only name 1 or 2 of them out of a cast of 12.

So anyways, this book suffers from everyone only experiencing heightened emotions all the time? Like the protagonists are always either really overjoyed or really sad and distressed? Also the writing doesn't hype up the tension at all, I was simply bored.

As for the actual romance of this book, I was torn between liking it and being confused. It seemed like all the characters were on level 100 all the time. They were constantly having heightened emotions, to the point where the plot was furthered by that and that alone. I did like the intimate scenes because they were written in a respectful way to London's gender identity. Love & Other Disasters has fantastic queer representation and I loved the multiple conversations that occurred surrounding gender and non-binary experiences.

This was wonderful, a stellar book to end my year on and one I will be recommending to everyone. Anita Kelly's characters of London and Dahlia are so incredibly lovable. I was rooting for them from the beginning. The TV show aspect was believable without it seeming lime the author was *of course* going to sway it towards their characters. There was also really great commentary on pronoun usage, respect, nonbinary identities, and sexuality. 5 out of 5 glowing stars for me. I can't wait to see what else Anita Kelly writes.

Ah this was such a fun story! I cannot say how much I enjoy books where the characters cook and/or bake. As someone who can't cook anything, I like hearing about the delicious food and pretending like I'm a critic lol. I also thought the characters were great. Dahlia is a sweetheart who's always excited and friendly. London is the opposite, grumpy and prefers to keep to themselves. The clash of their personalities was entertaining and watching them develop feelings kept me smiling.

The setting of a cooking competition was perfect and having Dahlia and London's peers cheer on their romance was a nice addition. There were some dramatic parts and I didn't mind seeing the main characters have some self doubt as it makes them human. Overall this was a superb read with some great LGBTQ+ representation!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the copy

I really enjoyed reading a romance book that revolves around a non-binary character. It came with family drama surrounding using their correct pronouns and a certain contestant who doesn't. understand the they/them pronouns, or perhaps just wont try to understand it. I enjoyed the fact that it didn't take the whole book to get the couple together. It was playful and steamy and revolves around food. Whats not to like?! But that being said, overall I'd give this 3.5 stars. I enjoyed it but was able to put it down many times without feeling the need to pick it up. The storyline was a bit predictable, a close proximity cooking competition romance.

Love & Other Disasters is queer romance that takes place as the love interests compete on a national cooking show, à la Master Chef.

I must start out by applauding the author, Anita Hill, for the representation she included in this book. One of the main characters identified as nonbinary and pansexual and the other as queer. In Love & Other Disasters, the nonbinary character grapples with acceptance, identity, and beginning a relationship with someone who has never dated another queer person. I think that this was executed well and in a sensitive manner. Although it should not need to be said, representation matters, and I am always happy to see it done properly.

The characters in Love & Other Disasters are very likable. You can not help but cheer for them both in terms of their relationship and the cooking competition. That being said, I had a hard time feeling the chemistry between them. For me, it was not apparent and left the book and the relationship feeling a bit flat.

The setting of the show was almost just a backdrop. I was really hoping for the show to be more woven into the story. I wanted to know what they were cooking and how the challenges went. Instead, it was mostly skimmed over, and the story happened within its world and at the hotel at which the contestants were staying. I think if the television show had been more infused in the story rather than just as context Love & Other Disasters would have been a much more interesting and compelling book. Instead, I found the book overall slow and a bit boring. In fact, I considered not finishing it but decided today to push through since it was a book that was gifted to me by the publisher. I am somewhat glad that I did finish it because the ending redeemed it a bit.

A friend of mine mentioned in her review that the writing style felt pretty YA, and I would have to agree. I thought Love & Other Disasters was readable and not atrocious, but there is definitely some room for improvement.

Overall, I did not quite end up liking Love & Other Disasters. Instead, I fell somewhere between thinking it was okay and likeable. If you do not mind YA writing and a slow book, I would still give this book a shot, and hopefully, you end up enjoying it more than I did.

"Love & Other Disasters" by Anita Kelly is a quick-paced, breezy love story between two people competing in a cooking competition show. Delilah is a fly-by-night, recently-divorced woman who wants to use the prize money to pay off debts. London, on the other hand, is meticulous, cautious and determined, and wants to use the prize money to start a non-profit. Sparks fly immediately, but what complicates their on-screen flirtation is that London has used the show's platform to come out as nonbinary to all of America. With the outside looking in, and their own insecurities turning up the heat, can Delilah and London make their love work? ...and who will win the cooking show?

I enjoyed "Love & Other Disasters", which was a fun, lightweight love story featuring a nonbinary protagonist, something I haven't seen too much in the publishing world. London was a great character - smart, focused, and kind, but not without their faults. Delilah veered a little Manic Pixie Dream Girl from time to time, but stayed on the edge of the trope for the most part; I liked her character less than London because sometimes her reactions felt a little cartoonish and over the top. What shined the most in "Love & Other Disasters" for me was the surrounding cast of friends and family - who accepted who, who encouraged what - and how their support (or lack of it) effected Delilah and London.

My one big quibble is that I wish we'd gotten to know the other cooking contestants better. With the exception of who supported London and who didn't, we didn't really get to know much about them, and I would have enjoyed a greater focus on the competition itself. But, as this book is a romance, it focused predominantly on the romance - so I can't complain too much about that. 3.5 out of 5, rounded up to 4.

Thank you so much to the publisher for granting me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair opinion!