This was a quick and fun romance! I appreciated the queer representation and hope we continue to get more romances like this. I wasn't a huge fan of the cooking reality show setting, which is my own personal preference, but it did keep me from rating higher. Worth a read!

This book!!! This book was everything!

I loved this book from the very start! The story, the characters, the cooking show! I've never wanted soup and cake more than I did when reading this book. I love love love the characters, Dahlia and London are the cutest together and their relationship happened so naturally and easily, you couldn't help falling in love with them too!

Everyone is going to love this book when it comes out I just know it! It's perfect for people who love cooking shows and cute and steamy romances!

Out on January 18, 2022!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Pub for the earc in return for an honest review.

I DNF'ed this book at the 40%. I did appreciate some aspects of this story, especially the non-binary representation in London's character. Kelly addresses gender identity professionally and sympathetically, and it's refreshing to see. Ultimately, however, the lack of grounding in the story (such as the very aggressively in media res beginning), the flatness of the characters and the lack of chemistry between them, and the slightly confusing nature of the reality baking show made the novel difficult to finish.

Every reader reads differently, and given the wealth of four- and five-star reviews of this novel, I think it's safe to say that I may be an outlier. Love & Other Disasters wasn't for me, but it may be for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my goodness, I love this book so so so much! What a cute romance, fantastic character development, great queer rep, incredible secondary characters, STEAM, and the sweetest ending. I love the reality cooking show setting, I love the conversations this book is going to start, truly I am obsessed. Five easy stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advance reader’s copy.

Redemption. Identity. Romance. This book brought it all. Thrust immediately into the spotlight following her divorce, Dahlia enters a cooking competition where, with all her quirkiness and charming lack of boundaries, she meets London--a non-binary, Nashville chef with quite a fortress protecting their heart.

I loved their friendship and how through her earnestness, Dahlia cracked through London's attempt at distancing themself from others.

The cooking competition was fun and made me wonder if this sort of drama is really what goes on behind the scenes at cooking competitions (I'd bet it is!)

But most of all, I loved the circular ending--the story starting and ending with an onion being chopped. The onion--the first real skill she learned as a cook, is now something she can always return to as she embarks upon her new adventures.

Gosh, I want to launch so many spoilers right now, but I won't. Instead, I'll say that this is an adorable story--super touching--and London is a lovable character. Them and Dahlia both! Absolutely sweet!

Absolutely charming.

It opens on the set of a "Top Chef" style reality show with a distracted Dahlia running smack dab into London in a classic romance "that's not a wall, that's a tall attractive human" moment. The tall attractive human in question is London, a nonbinary person who freezes in reaction to Dahlia's chatter.

It takes Dahlia, who's known she's queer for a long time, but has only ever been in a relationship with her ex-husband, a little while to figure out that she and London have a thing which is sweet and adorable and I totally get because I am also 1000% oblivious. London, meanwhile, knows that they are very much into Dahlia.

Dahlia and London are both lovely. They're both dealing with difficult relationships with a parent and with having their first relation since her divorce in Dahlia's case, and since they came out as non-binary in London's case. But they are both extremely into each other.

While this story takes place against the backdrop of a reality cooking show, food (for the most part) is not at the center of the story. The competition sometimes fades into the background a bit more than I would expect for people who are trying their best to win a lot of money.

I'm so glad to see a contemporary romance with a non-binary main character who knows who they are and has a supportive network. Like, I cried at the description of the support London had when they came out. I hope publishing gives more nb authors a voice. And I can't wait to see what Anita Kelly does next.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoy reading romances which is why I was super excited for "Love & Other Disasters" by Anita Kelly - a queer romance featuring the first openly nonbinary contestant on America’s favorite cooking show.

Thank you ReadForeverPub for the ARC, I appreciate it so much.

Overall, I had a great time reading this novel. Both main characters, Dahlia and London, are likeable characters - and they each get a POV, which makes understanding them and their actions (and feelings towards each other) easier.

While I loved getting to know more about them, I do wish that some side characters would have been given more than just side note here and there. This got better towards the end, but it would have been nice to have more than just the romance plot evolving.

There's amazing queer representation, including trans and non-binary representation. It made me so happy to read about a non-binary main character in their 20s. I would have loved a couple of mentions about the different experiences non-binary people have though. I feel like media often depicts just a one universal experience of being non-binary (wearing binders, hating make-up etc.) and other experiences are left out. Still, I'm sure that a lot of people will feel represented by London and that is so very wonderful!

At last, the pacing is good and the writing is simple - it's definitely the right book for a sweet quick read!

If you're a fan of baking/cooking shows like me and are currently missing The Great British Bake Off, this might be a good way to fill that cake-shaped hole in your heart!

Absolutely adored this book, set against the backdrop of a cooking competition. Dahlia, fresh off of a divorce and London, openly NB, are opposites, Dahlia is a clumsy, delightful chatterbox and London is quiet and reserved, anxious about revealing themselves to be NB on national tv. But when they let down their guard, its so lovely and charming and sweet, I loved it. It is a bit of a slow burn and does take a while for Dahlia and London’s friendship to blossom into something more but overall, I really enjoyed it.

CW: transphobia, misgendering, rejection by father, divorce, anxiety

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun, really lovely romance novel. It was a joy to spend time with both London and Dahlia. The fact that this is nb/f romance was just the cherry on the cake for me--and that it takes place in a food competition was an actual delight. I would highly recommend for anyone who enjoys happiness, really.

What an amazing queer positive story.

Dahlia is recently divorced. Her newfound hobby has landed her on one of America's top cooking competitions.

During her time there she meets London. London has been navigating their life in a way that doesn't feel true to their self. They are also a part of the competition.

Dahlia and London start with a kindred friendship that blossoms into a very beautiful romance. Together they must find ways to overcome their family drama, their competition towards one another, and what the dynamics of this relationship looks like.

This was just beautiful. The writing was very creative and very inclusive.

I will say I still struggle with the grammar of a they/them situation at times. This does not take away from my inclusivity, its merely a learning curve for me and I'm happy to have learned more about how to approach that from this novel.

Thank you Forever Pub and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this story. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

‘Love & Other Disasters’ - Anita Kelly

It’s been less than 24 hours since completing this novel, and I already know these characters will be living rent free in my mind for the unforeseeable future. London and Dahlia are 2 contestants competing for $100,000 on a cooking show ‘Chef’s Special’. But what happens when feelings start to fly for the competition?

Kelly did an absolutely exquisite job with this queer/nonbinary romcom. I laughed, I cried, I got a little flush in the face if you know what I mean. The steam levels were off the charts, but what I loved even more was the active communication between the two main characters. This being the first romcom(that I’m aware of) with a NB MC, I know it will be new ground for a lot of readers. While I admit it took some time for me to get used to the use of ‘they’ throughout the novel, it just shows we need more books and visibility like this. Kudos, Anita!

And it wasn’t just the main roles that blew me away, the supporting characters also have a solid space in my heart. Kelly crafted a lesbian, trans-sibling, and a Grandma Barb that each complimented the story into perfection.

I would recommend this book to ANYONE. My heart was so full by the end. It might possibly even be my new favorite queer romcom. Thank you to netgalley, Forever & Grand Central Publishing for access to the ARC. And thank you Anita Kelly for writing this.

Following Dahlia Woodson and London Parker as they compete and fall in love on the set of a television cooking competition, Love & Other Disasters is a charming, sweet, and often cheeky queer romance.

Dahlia and Parker are likeable leads, and damn is it ever nice to read a romance with two characters who are so earnestly into each other. I appreciated the frank discussions of life's challenges, ranging from Dahlia's recent divorce and uncertainty in life to London's experiences as a nonbinary person, both within their immediate surroundings and now on national television.

The cooking show setting was pretty fun, and should appeal to fans of the genre, though I do wish we'd been a little more immersed in it. The rapid pacing of it all taking place over the course of the month-long television filming schedule did lead to some rather up and down pacing in the romance, and I'd have liked to get to know the character's histories a little better. It would also have been nice to see a little more maturity in the dialogue,

Overall this was a quick and fun read that I'd recommend picking up for fans of steamy romances, queer love, and food!

Actual rating: 3.5/5
TW: misgendering, transphobia, smut, animal-derived food products

Finally an enby love interest in a romance novel! So refreshing to see. This was such a heartfelt and easy to connect with romance. I loved Dahlia and London and was happy to see them get their ending together.

This cooking competition brings the heat in this new queer romance from Anita Kelly! Dahlia's life is a bit of a hot mess-- she just quit her job, got divorced and gave everything up to compete on this cooking show, with no training. On the other hand, London has little to lose, they are independently wealthy and want the prize money to do good in their community. However, they are the first non binary contestant and their dad is not accepting of their identity. Despite getting off on the wrong foot, London and Dahlia quickly become allies in this game but are hesitant to evolve into more, despite their obvious chemistry. Can this shomance last after one of them inevitably wins the competition and the other loses? Read this steamy romance to learn more about this fun couple and get lots and lots of recipe inspiration :)

Love & Other Disasters is about a romance that forms between Dahlia and London on a competitive cooking show, Chef’s Special. Dahlia is recently divorced and feeling lost. London is Chef’s Special’s first openly nonbinary contestant. Neither of them anticipated falling in love when they signed up for the show. I really enjoyed this book. The cooking show was a fun setting for these two characters to fall in love. Food is such an important element in this book and to the characters. The romance between them was very sweet and steamy. I also like that they were able to grow as individuals throughout the book. Reading a romance novel that wasn’t between two straight, cisgender individuals was special. This debut novel is worth the read and I cannot wait to read more from Anita Kelly! Also, the cover is so perfect.

*Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for this eARC! Love & Other Disasters will be out January 18, 2022 and is available for pre-order now.

Wow, where do I start. This is the most perfect romance I've read all year. Where do I get my hands on more just like it??

thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

as a cooking show and rom-com enthusiast, i knew immediately that this book would be right up my alley, and i was absolutely right. between the amazing banter, adorable romance, and wonderful non-binary and queer representation, this book felt like a warm hug. while this book does also cover more serious topics, i had the biggest smile on my face with the overwhelming about of cuteness (and lots of spice)!

I absolutely loved both london and dahlia as characters and how beautifully messy they were. London and dahlia’s relationship with each other warmed my heart so much as they complimented each other perfectly and had off-the-charts chemistry. The plot was very well-paced and didn’t feel lacking in any parts. I know that these two will definitely be staying on my mind for a while.

I absolutely recommend this to lovers of LGBTQ+ rep and rom-coms when it is published in 2022!

Dahlia started cooking only a few years ago, when her marriage was in shambles and she needed a distraction. Now, she has turned her life completely upside down and quit her job to be a contestant on Chef's Special, a TV cooking show with a $100,000 reward. That's where she meets London, the first openly non-binary contestant on the show. They are supposed to be rivals but how can they, when the most unexpected ingredient - love - is there to change their plans?

Love & Other Disasters is one of the best queer romances I've ever read. It's sweet and spicy, and delightfully charming. As someone whose comfort TV is 90% cooking shows, I adored the TV show setting, although I do wish we got even more scenes during the challenges. I loved how, while being cute and funny, this book managed to touch on so many important themes, like divorce, finding oneself, transphobia, and family relationships. I was especially impressed by how Kelly handled the two latter ones - transphobia is crucial to the plot of this story, but not once is London misgendered in the text itself. London stole my heart, but Dahlia was adorable, too, and it was truly refreshing to read a romance story between two such well-rounded and interesting characters. Their behavior during their fallout (because we all know it's never just sunshine and rainbows all the time) was realistic and it was great to see them having to grow individually, outside the relationship.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book and will recommend it to anyone hungry for some delectable queer romance!

Love & Other Disasters follows Dahlia, who got recently divorced, and London, who is nonbinary, competing on a reality TV cooking show and falling in love. I really enjoyed this book. I loved how both of the characters were struggling with outside issues. Dahlia feels like a disappointment after getting divorced, and London is dealing with their relationship with their dad who doesn't except them. I liked how the author dealt with coming out and the conversations around that. London is nonbinary and pansexual, and Dahlia is queer. I also enjoyed the setting of the cooking show with all of the foods. I felt that the romance was a little rushed, but I still liked their chemistry. It was an important and heartwarming read overall.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Netgalley for the eARC of this title!

So, I confess, for some reason I stalled on this title in the first few pages. I do not have a proper reason why, something about the first chapter gave me pause, and I sat on it almost until my time was up with ARC, but then I randomly opened it back up the other day and could barely put it down, I just devoured it! So, we'll just not consider that stall as a comment on the book, maybe I just needed to get some spec-fics into me before I read a romance again.

This was such a sweet and wonderful story! Dahlia and London were wonderful, multilayered characters, and their chemistry together was incredible! I could happily plenty of stories of their HEA. I liked how they were flawed, at times very damaged characters. I also like that they weren't stereotypical love story tropes...they both had their sweet sides and their dark sides, and they challenged one another. It was a fantastic dynamic!

They supporting cast, when we got to know them, was often wonderful, with the obvious exception to Lizzie, the closest we come to an external antagonist (but she's mostly background noise, really the main antagonist was principal characters own internal anxieties). The supporting characters we get to know the best were Barbara, the wonderful grandmother-like contestant, and Julie, London's twin sister. Many of the others were a little more vague...a name and an attribute...Cath, the cool lesbian; Jeffrey, the Gordon Ramsay wannabe, the judges...and then there were the contestants that were literally just a name. This is not a book that focuses much on other characters, it's very much about London and Dahlia only.

Anything else I would talk about would very much be a spoiler, I think, so I'm going to cut this off here by just saying it's a wonderful little romance about food, identity, and being true to yourself. 4.5 stars rounded up.