Leah's Reviews > Love & Other Disasters

“Love & Other Disasters” by Anita Kelly is a steamy queer romantic comedy featuring a bisexual woman and a pansexual nonbinary person.

Dahlia Woodson and London Parker are contestants on a cooking competition show called Chef’s Special. Dahlia is a rather new chef and is mainly wanting to learn more about cooking and could really use the $100,000 grand prize. London, on the other hand, has been cooking for years. They really want to start a non-profit for queer and trans kids and is also wanting to put out some good nb/trans representation.

Honestly, I really really liked this book. Kelly wrote the mains in such a way that they came across as real people. They’re both messy and imperfect and as the title suggests, also a bit of disasters. Neither one is perfect and they have all kinds of other things going on outside of the cooking show. While it took me a minute to like each character, once I did, I really liked them both and was rooting for them as a couple and as individuals.

Dahlia is recently divorced (within the last year or so) and seems a bit lost. While likable and sweet (although she did make me cringe a time or two), she’s unhappy with where her life is at but also doesn’t know what the next step is. She’s on an emotional roller coaster throughout the story and sometimes it affects her relationship with London, which felt realistic. I liked how protective she was of London from the very beginning. London is more grounded and has things mostly figured out. Their biggest issue is being accepted as nonbinary, especially with their dad who hasn’t taken it well. Once I got to know London, I absolutely adored them.

My only real complaint is that the relationship is very insta-love to me and I was a little disappointed how quickly the I-love-you’s came about in relation to how long they actually knew one another. I wish the hadn’t said them at all and I would’ve been happier by the ending. Their first month together is not their real life and it’s just hard to imagine they got to know the real person in such a high-stress environment.

Also, we warned of toe sucking.

I recommend this for any rom-coms fans out there. This is cute, fun, and had me laughing several times.

I received an ARC from Forever (Grand Central Publishing) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.