Book has a fake dating trope, with a cooking competition thrown in. This is the only romance I’ve ever read where both characters are trans. Love the representation!

I rounded up on my actual rating of 4.5. This book was so wonderful! I love that it was T4T which I do not often see in traditionally published books.

Luna was an amazing character and I just love everything about her. I also really enjoyed that she was a likable character right from the start and this wasn't a book where she had to go through a bunch of changes to become likable.

Jean-Pierre took a little longer for me to like. He certainly had his moments in the beginning but it wasn't until he found his place with some of the side characters and Luna that I really started to root for him as the love interest.

The only thing that I think could have made this even better would have been to get Jean-Pierre's POV as well.

Overall I would definitely recommend this one to others!

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review*

Chef's Choice is one of my most anticipated reads of 2023, and even though I took so long to finish it (because I didn't want it to ENDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD), I absolutely f-ing loved it.

Luna and JP themselves are amazing, and I love their dynamic between the two of them. Sure, there were some miscommunications but hey that's what happens in relationships! They worked through each miscommunication and it worked out in the end and I just love them both oml. And having Simone and Ray be prominent side characters? I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE it. Chef's Kiss is one of my favourite books, and Chef's Choice has earned a spot in my favourites as well.

If you are looking for a fake dating, T4T queer romcom with cooking??? Pick up Chef's Choice FOR SURE

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I LOVE queer fiction, and I think this is the first t4t story I've read. I've been missing out! What a cute, tender, quirky book. Even though it was full of tropes (annoyance to romance, cooking as a central theme, etc.), I just loved it. I wanted more!

Thanks to NetGalley for my gifted copy.
Dnf. Just couldn’t get into it. Wasn’t my cup of tea.
0 stars but had to give 1

I had read Chef’s Kiss by TJ Alexander.  If, like me, you were a fan of the sweet romance between bisexual chef Simone and nonbinary kitchen manager Ray than you will want to check out Alexander’s second novel, Chef's Choice, which features Simone’s charming roommate, Luna O’Shea.  Luna gave up college in order to fund her transition, and is currently working as a personal assistant, that is until she is fired.  She therefore jumps at the chance that French transman, Jean-Pierre, provides her to be paid to pretend to be his girlfriend and compete in a cooking challenge that will allow him to inherit his Grandfather’s culinary empire.  Of course romance fans know that often pretend relationships have a way of becoming real ones; the fun is always how they develop along the way.  Alexander puts some daunting challenges to overcome including differing cultural and economic backgrounds that have impacted Luna and Jean-Pierre’s world views, along with the fact that neither has the kitchen skills to whip up an elaborate multi-course meal.  This is delightful treat for foodie romance fans.

When Luna O’Shea is fired from her job, she does not see it coming. She has some savings, but knows she is going to have to find a new job soon. But she was not expecting the job she lands after she crosses paths with Jean-Pierre, the heir to a French culinary empire created by his grandfather, a celerity chef. Jean-Pierre asks Luna to pretend to be his girlfriend and to help him with a challenge his grandfather has created to secure the inheritance -- he and Luna will need to cook all the courses of his grandfather's world famous menu. In exchange, he will pay her an amount several times what she made in a year at her old job. Even though she just met Jean-Pierre and she does not know how to cook, Luna agrees -- with little idea what is in store for her.

This was a heartfelt and often hilarious novel, with two great main characters, a fun cast of supporting characters, a creative premise, and a well-written fake-romance-to-more story.

Highly recommended!

I will never get enough of fake-dating and forced proximity! God-tier tropes! This was great, a bit slow but ultimately a fun and quick read. There's no glossing over transphobia or toxic family members, in that way it feels very true to life but our characters are allowed the happy ending they deserve. Trans romance continues to be excellent!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

sadly I dnfed this title. I was really excited for it but this book didn't jive with my like Chef's Kiss.

Chef's Choice was a sweet and bubbly follow up to Chef's Kiss, with two delightful leads learning to grow alongside one another, be stronger together, and brave enough to be honest (in the walk-in cooler of all places, of course). A wonderful interplay of food, awkward situations, different languages, and spice.

I adored this book and desperately want everyone to read it! This is a wonderful example of romance fiction between two transgendered people, and I really want books like this one to become the new norm for us all.

Jean-Pierre is a not so great cook in a family of highly skilled chefs. In order to become the heir of his grandfather, Henri's celecbrity chef empire, he needs to prepare a 12 course meal of Henri's choosing that is deemed 'acceptable' in its taste. When JP introduces Luna as his girlfriend to Henri over the phone, Henri insists that she become a part of his cooking challenge. Only problem is that Luna and JP have just met, and now need to become a fake couple to keep the deal going. Luna has just lost her job, so the $600k payday that JP offers her makes the entire scheme worth it.

This book was absolutely wonderful. Not only do we get to learn about some of the prejudices that a transgendered person faces in a cis gendered world, but we are able to see both positive and negative examples of the relationships that their transition has made with their parents and grandparents. We also get an education via the wonderful girl and bro talk that each character have with their freind groups.

This book made me laugh and cry, it made me smile and cuss out some of the characters, and it left me hoping desperately that many more books like this are published. I absolutely loved this book and I hope that there are many more to come like it!

Thank you so much to Atria Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Pub date: 5/30/23
Genre: romcom
Quick summary: After being fired from her job, trans woman Luna finds herself fake dating French heir and trans man Jean-Pierre. Just one problem - for him to inherit, they both need to become experts in cooking French cuisine - and neither knows how to properly crack an egg.

I absolutely loved the transgender representation in this story. Luna and Jean-Pierre have two very different philosophies of being trans, and TJ Alexander did a wonderful job showing their uniqueness. Seeing them fake date and learn to cook JP’s family French menu was so much fun, and their banter was perfect. You don’t need to have read Chef’s Kiss beforehand - but you totally should!

Thank you to Atria Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such a sweet and fun book! Highlights include: absolutely wonderful descriptions (of food and otherwise), one of the most cry-worthy lines I've ever read in a book, and telling transphobes to fuck off.

Tropes: Trans FMC and MMC, fake relationship, famous MMC, Cooking :)
Check TW: Homophobia and Transphobia

Honestly, I loved this book so much. I am OBSESSED with JP and I loved his character growth throughout the story. I completely understand not feeling worthy of affection. Luna's character which we got to know some in Chef's Kiss had such a good arc. She is a very independent and strong-willed person, which I really appreciate in my FMCs.
I love when books are interconnected standalones. Simone and Ray have such a sweet story so it was nice having it continue on in this book.
The fake dating trope has become one of my favorites- I love reading all the tiny things that come together for this beautiful romance- it makes me happy.
I genuinely hope that there is another book in this series- maybe about Bea???
TJ Alexader has become an instant buy author for me.

Chef's Choice by T.J. Alexander is a phenomenal queer romcom.

I have read ALOT of queer romance, I mean a lot! I have yet to read one with two trans characters.

I love the tropes of fake dating and forced proximity.

Luna & Jean-Pierre are wonderful characters that each have a different idea of what it means to be trans and to be queer.

Important topics, funny moments, and romance had me swoony and cheering for these two!

But the representation is so fantastic!

Rating: 4.5🌟/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️/5

Wow I absolutely adored this book. We’ve got fake dating, a one bed situation, and the beauty of queerness! I loved watching the juxtaposition of wanting to be accepted and embracing the defiance that is being proudly queer in our world. It was amazing to see two trans people be in love and have sex on page.

The only part of this book I didn’t like were the bad French accents I made up in my head.

Five Emojis to Describe this Book:
🏳️‍⚧️🧑‍🍳☕️🌻🇫🇷

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. I really enjoyed this book. I liked the author's last book in this series, and I think I liked this one even better. I love a good fake dating story, and loved the queer rep.

Have you ever been surprised by how much you liked a book? Given my first experience with an ARC book, I went into Chef's Choice with pretty low expectations, and T.J. Alexander exceeded them by leaps and bounds. This is a trans for trans love story following Luna, a trans woman, and Jean-Pierre, a trans man (who is French). After Luna is fired from her job, she agrees to help a somewhat frantic Jean-Pierre (who she just met) by pretending to be his girlfriend on a phone call with his (wealthy/legendary) grandfather. Living in New York City, she is justifiably concerned about making rent on time, so $1000 for a couple minutes of her time is a significant hourly wage (I'd pretend to be a wealthy French man's partner for that kind of money!). But whoops, Luna then gets roped into pretending to be Jean-Pierre's girlfriend for a longer period of time so they can complete his grandfather's cooking competition together (if Jean-Pierre fails, he will be written out of his grandfather's will). At least Luna barters $300,000 out of Jean-Pierre for her troubles (okay, where is my wealthy French man?!). Oh, and she'll have to travel to Paris with him for the competition (what a hardship).

Luna and Jean-Pierre are opposites in every way, including in their relationship toward the trans experience. This has as much to do with culture as it does with personality (and Jean-Pierre is a stereotypical French man). Whereas Luna intentionally surrounds herself with a group of trans friends who understand her, Jean-Pierre is more secretive of his identity. He is not in the closet, but he does not see being trans as a big part of who he is. This difference causes confusion and conflict between them. I love how Alexander handled this, showing how the trans community is not a monolith.

Maybe it was because Jean-Pierre is trans, but he didn't feel as entitled as other millionaire/billionaire heirs I've read in other books. This made him much more likeable (though it took me as second to warm up to him). I ended up liking Jean-Pierre more than Luna by the end; he is such an ooey gooey cinnamon roll!

This book was highly entertaining. It starts off slow (like, we're talking turtle's pace), so the pacing could have been more balanced. I feel like the romance was secondary to both Luna and Jean-Pierre's relationship toward their transness and the conversation on privilege. Don't get me wrong, the two have chemistry, but I would have liked to see more development of their relationship (while not sacrificing the important discussion of trans issues). For being a slow burn, there was plenty of room for this development to occur.

But the intimacy and vulnerability of doing their hormone injections in the same room? Chef's kiss (lol).

I received an advanced reader copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up
My first t4t romance and definitely not my last. I loved the Chefs kiss and this one is equally good. Fake dating to enemies to lovers. At the beginning of the book I wasn't really a fan of Jean-Pierre. He's kind of arrogant but he's been trying to live in a cis world with homophobic family members. I love how Luna secretly learned French. This is a must read for everyone.

I finished this book and then spent a while staring at the ceiling and sighing happily. I would have hugged it if it weren't an e-galley. (E-galleys are great, but not as satisfying to hug as a physical book. Why does no one talk about huggability in the book format debates?) I think I liked Chef's Choice even better than the first book, Chef's Kiss, and that's saying a lot, since I loved Chef's Kiss. This, though, features several of my favorite things: T4T (trans for trans) relationships, found family, french accents, fake dating, and queer people with zero skills attempting to do something that takes a LOT of skills through sheer tenacity. This is immediately one of my favorite romance novels and I immediately need everyone I know to read it so I have people to shout about it with.