I love the premise of and representation in Love & Other Disasters, but, for some reason, I struggled with it a bit. Things seemed to move slowly, while the story was also a bit too much insta-love for me? Still, I had fun with this one overall!

Love & Other Disasters is a cozy rom com following two contestants, Dahlia and London, as they compete in a Top Chef-esque amateur cooking competition. While things start off in a slow burn, it's clear that these two will not be able to keep their hands off of each other for long. My favorite thing about this book was the main characters giving each other the grace to just be themselves. There was no judgment, just pure enjoyment of each other. I also loved the inclusion of the nonbinary, pansexual and queer communities in the main characters and not just as secondary support roles. Overall this was a cute, quick read and I'll definitely keep an eye out for more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!

Thank you Forever, NetGalley and Author for this advance ebook copy in return for an honest review!

WoW! What can I say other than I absolutely loved this story!?!
And I loved every word of it. This was so fast-paced, hilarious and so realistic in the best way possible.
I literally devoured this book.
Anita's characters are real people with real struggles and deserve the happiness that she beautifully encapsulates.
The author did such a great job with London's struggle to find acceptance and love.
The romance between London and Dahlia was beautiful and something I couldn't get enough of.
The writing for this book was refreshing and there were plenty of times that I had that stupid smile on my face because of how lovey the characters were. Such an amazing story!
Loved everything about this outstanding novel!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanks again NetGalley, Publisher and Author for the chance to read and review this amazing book!
I'll post to my Social media platforms closer to pub date!

A very fun romance!! I really enjoyed the setting and the exploration of conflict within romance in that setting! It's very lovers to reluctantly enemies in a way. Low stakes Hunger Games vibes (lol there's a cooking show joke in there somewhere) almost, where the situation has more influence over what their roles should be than they do. There were some moments that felt very "this is a teachable moment where I will briefly diverge to talk about what is Right" which, isn't my favorite thing, but old white men have been doing this in their books for a long time so it's all in the wash.

Felt absolute solidarity with London when they said brussel sprouts were their comfort food. Genuinely will be clinging to that affirmation for a good long time.

I also felt that the nonbinary representation was expressed well, and I'm a little surprised, but pleased that Anita Kelly didn't shy away from writing sex scenes with a nonbinary character.

The ending left me very satisfied! HEA but with both of the characters having done some personal growing to get them from their main clonflict to a spot where that HEA can last.

4 stars
Love & Other Disasters follows London, the first non-binary contestant on a cooking show, and Dahlia, their competitor as they fall in love on set. It's a super cute premise that I really enjoyed. Overall this book did a great job balancing light-hearted romantic moments with strong discussions about queer identity. I'm really glad I picked it up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love, love, love this book. If you've ever watched Hell's Kitchen or Master Chef and were like. This but in book form and a queer romance, well this the book for you. I love the nonbinary representation and the complicated relationships with parents and I cannot tell you how happy I was to see some Tennessee rep. Amazing.

I absolutely loved this book!! It threw me at first to read about London since I'm not used to seeing nonbinary pronouns used in books - something that clearly will be changing and so glad this book is part of that change! I loved London and Delilah's story and reading about their struggles together and separately. I laughed out loud multiple times and was so engrossed in the story i read most of the book in a single sitting. I really enjoyed the cooking show premise and how everything was tied back to food one way or another, right up my alley. Cannot wait to read Anita Kelly's next book!

Oh my gosh, I loved this book so much! Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read this one early!

We follow Dahlia and London as they are contestants on a cooking show, where 100k is up for grabs. Both have their reasons for participating, as well as their own ideas for what they'd use the prize money for. Dahlia is drowning in student loans, and London wants to start up a non-profit as well as make a statement as the show's first non-binary contestant. But neither of them expected to find each other, let alone fall in love.

I read this book at the perfect time in my life. I connected so much with Dahlia's character so much because, much like Dahlia, I'm coming to a crossroads in my own life and deciding what I want to do and the kind of person I want to be. She's very hard on herself for her past mistakes, and almost doesn't believe she's good enough to be on the show. It was wonderful to see her come into her own and discover her passions. I was also super invested in London's rocky relationship with their father, and how everything would turn out.

London and Dahlia's relationship was so sweet. London was into Dahlia from the very beginning, while it took Dahlia a beat to even realize London was an option. Watching them fall in love was so sweet, and I also really enjoyed the steamier parts as well.

Overall, this was an absolutely FANTASTIC read. I can't wait for it to come out and other readers to discover how great this story is. I look forward to anything else Anita Kelly puts out in the future!

Love & Other Disasters is so achingly sweet and tender. Such a beautiful foodie romance. London and Dahlila are so adorable, relatable and easy to root for. I’m always a sucker for forced proximity and competition tropes and this book had it all. The tension and flirtation at the beginning kept me turning the pages 🥰

This was a tender, lovely story between two contestants on a cooking competition show. I loved the characters and the non-binary rep.

Dahlia and London are complete opposites who have a wonderful romance with plenty of cute and steamy moments. I don’t want to spoil anything since it’s such a pivotal moment, but the scene where they’re at the beach was my favorite—it was the perfect combination of funny banter and heart-pounding chemistry.

I also enjoyed the setting of the cooking competition show, which was part of what drew me to this book. I thought the author did a great job balancing the romance with the action on “Chef’s Special”—both the cooking and the behind-the-scenes stuff.

This was such a satisfying and well-written romance. I highly recommend it.

This book was everything! It was so soft and sweet, yet VERY steamy; funny with witty dialogue and deliciously awkward situations (usually involving Dahlia!), but also heartbreaking at times (Mr. Parker, I'm looking at you!) Full of supporting characters to love (Barb/Julie and both character's mothers) and to hate (Lizzie!) I loved London and Dahlia. They were such opposites who completed each other perfectly. This was my first book with a NB main character and it was amazing. I hope there will be many more to come. I love romance novels. Love is love and chemistry is chemistry and Dahlia and London had it for days. Anita Kelly is an author to watch. I can't wait for their next book.

I liked the premise of the book so much! A cooking reality show, with Non-binary and bi characters that fall in love against this backdrop. However and unfortunately, it took me so long to get through this book because it felt really slow for me. So even though I did push through, it felt really slow and boring in the middle. I liked the idea of this story and the rep a lot better than I liked how it was actually told.

This whole story is just yes. Yes to the cute MC’s, Dahlia and London. Yes to the interesting cooking show competition storyline. Yes to the gradual, slow burn relationship that crackles the entire story. So much yes for side characters with dimension that provide balance and realism to the story. This story was a great read and I recommend others check it out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

A queer love story set in the middle of a reality cooking show? What more could I ask for?

Dahlia is recently divorced and has followed her passion for cooking and ended up as a contestant on Chef's Special (Very similar to Master Chef) While she's competing she runs into London, a non-binary contestant with who she starts a friendship with but of course, they have major sexual tension.

I loved Dahlia and London's relationship and oh my goodness they're the absolute cutest. This was such a good read and thank the food gods it got me out of a huge reading slump. Although I do have to say I felt like the food competitions were written very fast-paced and honestly, I would have to re-read a couple of times to figure out who got eliminated but hey maybe that was just my own problem.

Overall this was a very cute read and if you're in the mood for a simple and adorable queer romance then I would definitely recommend for you to get this book once it's been published.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with this eArc in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first romance novel I’ve read with a non-binary leading character, and I’m so glad to see this title in what will hopefully soon be a tide of inclusive romantic fiction.

An engaging read, Love & Other Disasters is fun/serious (it’s a little insta-love-y to me, others may enjoy that aspect more than I did). Both London and Dahlia are beautifully real characters with foibles and failures, and non-”perfect” bodies and baggage. The realness alone made this a pleasure to read, but the story itself moved along nicely and was definitely fun (I love a kitchen romance).


Thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for an eARC of this title. Opinions shared are influenced only by my reading experience.

i wasnt super sure how much id enjoy this one but thought it was worth reading and boy was i right! absolutely in love with this one.

*eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
firstly, i am so happy a book that represents the kind of relationship i want exists, i've never read f/nb before because i haven't heard of many f/nb romances out there but this exists!!
the nonbinary rep is so good!!!! and so accurate!!!!!! london is allowed to exist fully as they are, as attractive and not as educational for the cis characters (especially dahlia) or readers - it's much more about them existing and moving through the world as a nonbinary person, which was done so well. got a bit emotional seeing my pronouns on page for the first time i won't lie.
i will say that i thought, aside from their gender, they weren't as fully fleshed out as dahlia - the narrative felt 60/40 balanced in favour of her more than them, however i did really enjoy her character development. the relationship was a tad insta love-y, probably not the world's best execution of the grumpy/sunshine trope but still good! (spoiler for non-explicit discussion of sex) <spoiler>i did really enjoy the intimate scenes as well - anita kelly managed to be clear about what was happening without using gendered terms for london. a tiny thing but it was mentioned that london wore a binder, but them getting it off was brushed over kind of quickly which isn't super realistic those things tend to be pretty tight. still great though.</spoiler>
additionally the cooking show setting was really good and appropriately dramatic - i think the other contestants could have been more fleshed out.
overall i really like anita kelly's writing style and am looking forward to getting a copy of this and also reading her karaoke novellas and later books!

QUEER MASTERCHEF - NEED I SAY MORE??

Oh really? I do? Okay.

I honestly went into this book expecting a culinary romance, but was oh so pleased when it was also an LGBT romance. London and Dahlia have undeniable chemistry both in and out of the kitchen which leads to some very steamy scenes. But more than that, they delve into personal trauma over transitioning, divorce, and children that really humanizes the characters. Personally I wish there were some recipes at the back of the book because lord knows it left me hungry...

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

I loved this book so much. It was funny, entertaining, and at times, touching. I loved seeing how the reality show and cooking went and I also loved how it touched on serious issues like misgendering in a great way without being offensive. the characters were also loveable and worked well together. Overall, definitely a five star read that i’ll be recommending to my friends!

I, unfortunately, DNF'd this book at the 40% mark.

I did have high hopes for it. It's a queer romance with a non-binary main character and it's focused around a cooking competition. As a GBBO fan who loves queer romances, I was looking forward to this book. But this gradually lost my interest.

London and Dahlia were compelling characters and their little romance was sweet, but I felt there was too much telling in this book and not enough showing. I was told a story of Dahlia's, but I didn't get to hear it in her words. I was told so and so did this well or this badly on a competition, but I didn't get to see what went wrong or what went right. I felt like I was reading a summary of what was happening instead of actually seeing it unfold.

Also, the cooking competition isn't a prominent feature and that was disappointing.

I did want to like this book, but it failed to keep me interested. And that's just what happens sometimes.