Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Selling Pitch:
Do you want to read bonkers food porn that is somehow a well-developed queer romance for new adults on par with the likes of Hannah Grace, Ali Hazelwood, Abby Jimenez, Elle Kennedy, or Chloe Walsh?

Pre-reading:
On the Samantha, what the fuck are you reading list, but also, how was I not supposed to click on this?

Thick of it:
This is gonna be iconic garbage, isn’t it? (Not garbage! Not even kind of!)

Idli

Burek

I’m a little confused when they’re saying the people are these foods. I’m assuming some VeggieTales shit, but then their foods are different from their names which is weird to me.

Ithyphallic

Uttapam

This is cute.

This is funnnn

This is so cuteee.

I kinda hope Leftovers and Keto get together.

This reads like the chemistry in an Off-Campus book. It reads like Icebreaker and Wildfire. You know it reads like all those basic romance books. I would love if this author wrote a basic romance book. I’d be excited for that. Like Lefty reads like Chloe Walsh’s Gibsie.

I am loving this. I think it is an easy four stars for bonkers smut.

Nacre

Guys, this is so well written.

It’s like metaphors and suggestive and it’s dirty and it’s great.

More Sam lore: I could drink chimichurri.

Me: wait, are they saying this is pee? Surely not.
The book: the golden shower
Me: oh no.
Also me: what sort of flavors do they mean then? Not like asparagus or-? You know what, I gotta go.

I can’t tell if their food forms are mood-dependent. I’m also just not sure like logistically where the food is all situated if they have hair and mouths. But like I also don’t care because that’s not the point of the book?

Manioc

All these girlies championing Abby Jimenez for being so deep and having representation of character growth in her novels… bitch doesn't have shit on this book, and I didn't have to suffer for 400 pages.

This was fabulous.

Post-reading:
I fully picked this up as one of my jokey little smut reads. And like it is bonkers for sure, but there's more character growth and emotional depth in this little novella than most of the mainstream romances I’m picking up.

My biggest complaint with it is that the world-building leaves a bit to be desired. What are the logistics of being food but also eating food? Were their forms mood-dependent or something they were able to choose? What did it mean to be breakfast vs lunch vs dinner?

But like the gender commentary was fab. The food sex scenes were well chosen and suggestive and even a little confusingly hot. It’s well-paced. The characters are stock archetypes but done well.

This was such a good time. Would highly, highly recommend for the bonkers smut readers and would love to see the author put out a full-length contemporary romance. I think it would be easily on par with Hannah Grace, Abby Jimenez, Ali Hazelwood, Elle Kennedy, or Chloe Walsh. And if you’re like Samantha, those are big names. I am such a picky bitch. The book is genuinely that good. The dialogue is never stilted and it has something to say about life lessons for new adults. Gimmie more.

Who should read this:
Bonkers smut fans
Queer romance fans
The basic bitch romance cohort

Do I want to reread this:
No, but I would/will continue!

Similar books:
* The Deal by Elle Kennedy-easy read rom-com, life lessons for new adults
* Icebreaker by Hannah Grace-easy read rom-com, life lessons for new adults
* Keeping 13 by Chloe Walsh-wattpaddy romance, family drama
* Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez-easy read rom-com, life lessons for new adults
* Book Lovers by Emily Henry-bookish romance, family drama
* Happy Place by Emily Henry- contemporary romance, life lessons for new adults, found family drama
* The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas-easy read rom-com, life lessons for new adults
* Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver- bonkers dark rom-com, questionably a cooking romance
* The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz-queer romance graphic novel, food schtick for the lols
* Anatomy of a Meet Cute by Addie Woolridge-easy read bucket romance, family drama
* The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams-easy read bucket romance, men read romance novels for the lols schtick
* The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood-easy read rom-com, life lessons for new adults
* For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa-easy read cooking romance

Thank you to the publisher for the e arc in exchange for an honest review
This was such a great book. Engaging, entertaining, thought provoking, and definitely original. The title on its own drew me in. How could it not? And let me say, it does not disappoint. 4 stars.

"Trans-Continental Breakfast" was more charming than I would have guessed by cover and full title alone. In the book's world, every person is a subgenre of cusine, including International Fusion (aka Nat), Keto, Brunch, Diner, Homestyle, and Leftovers (Lefty). They manifest into different specific dishes across the plot based on condition, effort, and mood in a similar way to outfits or hairstyles.
One of the main sources of friction in the plot is others' reactions to one character being trans, but refreshingly part of the conceit is that his gender as a trans man is accepted by one and all as a matter of course (no pun intended, for once). It's that he was assigned dinner at birth and transitioned to breakfast that causes raised brows and poor reactions by certain characters. I was also intrigued by the metaphor of falling in love and engaging in intimacy as a literal change in chemistry akin to cooking or baking.
Rating: four cups of coffee ☕️☕️☕️☕️
(It's a coffee shop meetcute)
Content warnings: racism (verbal microaggressions) transphobia (verbal microaggressions), detailed food s*x scenes, fear of being seen as different, hint of diet culture (quickly dismissed), lack of understanding from parents, love interest hesitating because of trans identity.
Kudos for main characters talking it through, acknowledging where they failed each other, and putting in the work to make it up to the one(s) they wronged.

4 ⭐️ This might be the most brilliant, weird smut I have ever read.

This novella was a journey into self-discovery, creativity and acceptance that has left me, in one word, speechless.

Do I believe that there might be a very real possibility that something is wrong with me after thoroughly enjoying this book?
Maybe. But who's to say?

What I do know is that this was beautiful, hilarious, non-sensical, and at the same time, an exploration into identity, self-worth and the very real injustices of the world we live in, as a blend of different communities and backgrounds.

This was one of the strangest things I have ever read, but I have no regrets. The smutty food scenes made everything both gross and delicious, graphic but also not really, and to be honest, I still have no real idea of the anatomy or physiognomy of any of the characters in this book. I think they had arms and legs, but where, or how, or made of what? Could not tell you for the life of me.

Even so, the plot really did carry me through the unknown, and as hard as it was to read some of the very pointed, hurtful comments from certain characters here, there's beauty in recognising one's privilege and changing opinions when faced with the truth. Also, I'm a grovelling fiend, what can I say? Lefty and Homes deserved better, but I suppose that's neither here nor there.

Would I recommend this novella to just anyone?
No. If you're easily weirded out, this is not the book for you.

BUT, if you have explored smutty books before, you're into monster romances and you want to give this one a go - I 100% recommend it then. Beware that there are a lot of transphobic /trans-adjacent issues in the main narratives of this book.

Thank you so much NetGalley for providing me with an eARC. As always, my opinions are my own.
This review has already been posted on Goodreads :)

Thank to Netgalley for a copy for an honest review

‘Transcontinental Breakfast: A Romantic Food Porn’ is overall a good read and I enjoyed it.
Rating 4 Stars

#Queer Romance 🌈 Literal #FoodPorn 🍆 and a touching lesson in #TransRights 🏳️‍⚧️Holy moly I don’t think a book could be more specifically written for Jason Pippi than “Trans-Continental Breakfast” by @thundertailslapbush! This quippy romance was a quick read, and had me lol-ing page after page. It’s more than just the sexcapades of main characters International Fusion (aka Nat) and her hot beau Homestyle Cookin’ who was assigned dinner at birth, but is finally free to live his life as the breakfast he always knew he was - it’s an incredibly smart commentary on societal norms and #genderidentity. I FELT every line of this sexy read. From the heart wrenching moments of self actualization to the oddly hot sexual encounters. As someone who identifies as #nonbinary, there are so many lines I wish I could force people to read to help them understand the battle SO many people in our world fight each day for simple basic human rights. Here are a few of my favs:“I’m not a dinner, goddamnit, no matter what people assume. I never have been. I spent most of my life living a lie, and now that I’m finally living my truth, people still think it’s up for debate.” ““Allies don’t let their friends run at the mouth like that, or prioritize their toxic friendships over the well-being of everyone else.”Get baked with this sexy book. You’ll be flipping your pancakes nonstop 🥞#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #gaylife #gaylove #bookstagramfeature #gaysofinstagram #transrightsarehumanrights #bookstagramcommunity #bookstagramfeatures #instabookstagram #gaybookstagram #gaygeeks #booknerds #booksaremylife #bookworld #foodpornshare #brunch #breakfastporn

This was a very different type of read for me! But I really enjoyed it overall even though it was out of my comfort zone, definitely recommend it to people who want to read something new to them!

International Fusion (Nat) is the owner of Pig-In-A-Poke breakfast place. She’s never quite felt like she fit in, the daughter of immigrants and being mixed race, she’s played it safe with some of her choices to fit in. Homestyle Cookin’ (Homes), was assigned Dinner at Birth. Homes was born a girl and as Dinner, but when he came out his parents were much more accepting of his gender identity rather than his new Breakfast identity.

Homes has been crushing on Nat for a while and when he finally makes a move, they get along great! However some internal holdups from Nat might be the thing that makes their fledgling relationship fall apart.


I really loved the writing here! Between the description and the author’s Content Notes, there is obviously some heavier topics for discussion within the fantasy world within this book. All the heavier topics were handled amazingly.

The biggest thing for me (and probably would be for a lot of others), was the actual sex scenes! I just could not get over the detail provided with the sex stuff. I also just don’t really understand how the various food dishes have sex/the introduction of condiments and spices being sex toys. I’d probably need some infographic style diagrams but I also do NOT need to know 😂

I ended up skimming a lot of the sexy times but ultimately really enjoyed this and I definitely recommend to anyone that thinks they could get through the food sex bits or are just completely okay with skimming that for a great romance!

This was an absolutely ridiculous mind-fuck and I loved it.
My brain could not compute how food could be doing human things, and trying to figure out the logistics gave me a migraine, but it was so much fun nevertheless.
The nice underlying message of acceptance and self-love gave this read an extra layer of depth to contrast the OTT-ness and abundance of food puns.

The smut was a constant what-the-fuck for me and weirdly.. hot?
Also, I’m starving after reading this, so fair warning.

This was an extremely unique and creative read.