I received an eARC from NetGalley and the publishers. My review is my own and unbiased.
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.
To be released: January 18th, 2022
I couldn’t have asked for a better first adult romance of the year!
This book is about two cooking show contestants who fall in love! It’s not a Great British Bake-off sort of show, it’s set in America where the contestants can cook or bake what they want as they compete for $100,000. We do see parts of the show, the interviews, the reactions from the viewers, but overall, the book is very internal. We see a lot of the character’s thoughts while they’re cooking, their reactions to who wins and loses the challenges. This is also a book about food that doesn’t have paragraphs long descriptions of food and tastes every page, which I honestly appreciate. I can sometimes get lost in those, so there are only some lengthy food descriptions sprinkled throughout.
For a little bit on our main characters, Dahlia is a queer woman going through divorce and dealing with the debt from that. London is pansexual and nonbinary. Also, this is the first traditionally published romance where not only is the main character nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, they also get their own POV! And I just loved that a lot!
Throughout the whole book, you were rooting for these two, both in terms of the show and for where their relationship goes. Speaking of their relationship, the sex scenes were everything I wanted, fun, with a lot of communication, but also sexy!
Dahlia was a little more fleshed out in terms of B-plot. London did too, but it was to a lesser extent and wasn’t really there for the whole book. Meanwhile, Dahlia is dealing with questioning who she is after her divorce for most of the book. I just wanted London to be going through it a little more throughout the book, but their personal plotline was good as well.
I also liked the supporting characters! The author has confirmed that Dahlia and London will make a cameo in future books, so I can only hope those books will center or at least feature Julie or Hank or Cath or Barbara!
I rated this book 4 stars! This book was funny with a solid cast of characters!
Kappa Reads 