Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly

e-Audio,  10:38:36
Narrated by: Lindsey Dorcus
Release Date: January 18, 2022
Published by: Hachette Audio
Read from: January 26-28, 2022
Stand-alone
Source: Libro FM
TW: Toe Sucking
For Readers Interested In: Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction, LGBTQIAP+ (Non-binary/Female Relationship), Adult

  The first openly nonbinary contestant on America’s favorite cooking show falls for their clumsy competitor in this delicious romantic comedy debut “that is both fantastically fun and crack your heart wide open vulnerable.” (Rosie Danan, author of The Roommate)
     Recently divorced and on the verge of bankruptcy, Dahlia Woodson is ready to reinvent herself on the popular reality competition show Chef’s Special. Too bad the first memorable move she makes is falling flat on her face, sending fish tacos flying—not quite the fresh start she was hoping for. Still, she’s focused on winning, until she meets someone she might want a future with more than she needs the prize money.
     After announcing their pronouns on national television, London Parker has enough on their mind without worrying about the klutzy competitor stationed in front of them. They’re there to prove the trolls—including a fellow contestant and their dad—wrong, and falling in love was never part of the plan.
     As London and Dahlia get closer, reality starts to fall away. Goodbye, guilt about divorce, anxiety about uncertain futures, and stress from transphobia. Hello, hilarious shenanigans on set, wedding crashing, and spontaneous dips into the Pacific. But as the finale draws near, Dahlia and London’s steamy relationship starts to feel the heat both in and outside the kitchen—and they must figure out if they have the right ingredients for a happily ever after.

*MY THOUGHTS*

I did NOT want to write this review. I loathe being the black sheep of books because I always feel like someone is going to say, “you just didn’t understand it” when that’s not it at all. It’s just the fact that this is my opinion. So please, if you liked this, don’t be mad that I didn’t…. Now that that’s been said…. In short, I hated this lol

London Parker is the first openly non-binary person on the Cooking Show, Chef’s Special. Dahlia is recently divorced and doesn’t know what to do with herself quite yet. However, they both know they want to be the one to win the competition at the end of the day. But with everything going on, like them being competitors, the nasty judges and other competitors, etc. neither one of them thought they might fall for someone. Until they do…

This book is an example of why I should read more than just a few first lines of the synopsis. I try to avoid all spoilers and go in a book blind, so when I saw the words, “The first openly nonbinary contestant…” and I didn’t even bother to read the rest, let alone any reviews. But if I had, I would have seen some of the TW/CWs saying “toe sucking.” OK, so you might think this is funny, but there are real people out there who have real phobias of feet. I am one of them. I’m not really scared of them, but I just think they’re really gross. Like your feet sweat all day when you wear socks and shoes, or they get gross and dusty when you wear flip-flops and ugh they’re just gross. So imagine my surprise when I’m listening to this and they mention that they’re about to do it and that happens. Y’all I wanted to throw up! But so many people said this was good, so I kept listening thinking it would get better. Newsflash, it does not.

The romance was not really believable either? Idk, I just didn’t like Dahlia. She was meant to be the quirky and funny character, but I did not care for her. The only thing she did that I laughed at (and God forgive me for this lol) was when she fell at the beginning and the fact that they still showed it lol And I think from there, it spiraled down. Because I didn’t care for her, I didn’t care about them together. I wasn’t really sold on it either. I knew she would be the cause for the third act break-up. (Which by the way, I despise lol) Unfortunately, London got lost in all this. Dahlia was this big over bearing character and London seemed quiet and Idk, I just wanted more from them. So since I wasn’t a fan of them apart, I wasn’t really a fan of them together. I didn’t swoon when they got to the sweet parts and I didn’t like fan myself when it got to the steamy parts.

And lastly, the writing style just didn’t do it for me. I remember speeding it up to 2x’s just so I could finish it faster. It was so telly and not showy. I wanted to see what they were doing in the kitchen. Telling me what they made, but not how it looks, what it’s supposed to taste like, or just saying yeah it’s good or bad. As a foodie person who loves foodie books, I live for those descriptions. It just didn’t do it for me. And the world-building was terrible. As someone who once worked in a restaurant, I know the struggle of cooking in a big setting and having other people around. There’s so much going on all the time and you don’t have time to be watching someone else or doing 1651951 other things like they were. It just wasn’t good.

I hate writing reviews of books that I don’t like. They never get easier. But since I finished it, I wanted to write one. If nothing else to give an opposing viewpoint.

Overall, I give this