Thank-you to Simon & Schuster, NetGalley, and TJ Alexander for the eARC!

Okay I won't lie, I was a bit leery at first because the first book in this series was, unfortunately, a bit of a let-down for me. However, I LOVED the concept of this one and, since I didn't DISLIKE the first one, decided to give this a shot and MAN am I glad I did!

This was everything I was hoping for and more. I loved both the MCs (which could not be said for CHEF'S KISS, unfortunately) and was thoroughly entertained with all their antics.

If the series continues — and I hope it does! — I will definitely be checking out future instalments. ◡̈

French accents, fine dining, and fake fiancees make this flirty follow-up to TJ Alexander's "Chef's Kiss" a frolicking good time.

"Chef's Choice" centers on Luna, a trans woman scrambling to make ends meet after unceremoniously being let go by her thankless job as an administrative assistant.

Opportunity comes knocking when she meets Jean-Pierre, a too-serious trans man and verified celebrity who offers her $500,000 to pose as his partner to appease his discerning but beneficent grandfather.

But feigned romance becomes all too real when Luna and JP must learn to work together to replicate a nine-course meal's worth of finicky family recipes.

Let's call it love at 350 degrees.

Funny and lighthearted, this offbeat romance also makes some interesting points about queerness and identity, and the vagueness of the labels we sometimes force on ourselves, even within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

There is so much about this book to love, and I know a lot of people will feel very seen by this book. It's also the first T4T book I've seen in the trad pub space, and that's absolutely something to be celebrated! I loved seeing Trans joy and love being so beautifully portrayed in this book.

The lower rating reflects the writing. I unfortunately had a lot of issues with how the content was executed. It was really hard to get through at times, although I do think the last 15% was extremely strong. I just found myself wanting more, especially when it came to the development of the character's relationship.

Despite those issues, I do still recommend this book. It gives something new, fresh, and important to the romance genre, and offers a unique story and perspective.

I really enjoyed this book. I am always looking for new LGBTQIA+ romance books. And while sapphic and achillean books are relatively easy to find (relatively, but still not as mainstream as they should be), books about other members of the LGBT community, like asexuals and transgered indivudals are not. So when I saw that the second book in a series that I was already enjoying was about two transgendered people I was so excited.

And this book lived up to my expectations. You get to learn about both of their experiences, Luna's, directly as she is the narrator and JP's, more secondhand as he and Luna get to know each other and share their own experiences.

All of this is a wonderful fake dating, cooking competition, trip to france, package. I loved it.

4 stars and 2 spice

I really enjoy this book. The romance had me giddy and I was super invested in the cooking competition. I was infuriated with people and some made me want to scream. Side note people are awful do better. I loved the friendships in this story and to group supports. I am egar for more in this world and need to head off and read chefs kiss. Thank you #netgalley for this book.