Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly

Book Review: Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly

I am a sucker for a book featuring a reality TV competition show. Make it a food or cooking related show & I’m even more invested. Add in lovable characters with amazing narration & I’m a goner!

This books was so wonderful. That’s the review – okay, I’ll give a bit more detail. For starters, I highly recommend the audio, but I still want a print copy for my shelves. London, a nonbinary contestant on a reality show, is so great and Dahlia, a recent divorcee competing on the same show is awesome too. The tension is there and the stakes are high for each of them.

No spoilers, but the first and last lines of this book is my new fave. They tie in together so well & it just made me squeal. While I’ve read books featuring characters whose pronouns are they/them, hearing London referred to as they/them repeatedly on the audiobook really made me aware of how my brain recognizes those words. by about halfway, my brain quit asking me “who is they?” and recognized that “they” is London. I hope that makes sense – I don’t think I would have had that realization reading print & I’m grateful for it.

I highly recommend this book to all my fellow romance lovers. Also, if you’re not a huge romance fan, this may be a gateway for you! It’s so easy to fall i love with these characters!

Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly is on my 2022 Must Read Romance List & my January 2022 Romance TBR!

Thank you Read Forever & Hachette audio for our gifted review copies.

Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly has the following:

• Reality TV tie-in
• Queer characters
• Fresh start after divorce
• Conversations about pronoun use
• Sexy times on the beach
• Crashing a wedding
• Characters who communicate

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Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly – Synopsis

Publication Date: January 18, 2022

The first openly nonbinary contestant on America’s favorite cooking show falls for their clumsy competitor in this delicious romantic comedy debut that USA Today hailed as “an essential read.”

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.