This is a decent book.

I enjoyed the plot and how it discussed non-binary / gender / sexuality issues in the context of work and friendship. I liked the setting in the cooking space and how it contrasted Test Kitchen precision vs stupid (but useful) Tasty videos and how SEO drives engagement. I even liked Ray, the non-binary character. But Simone, the heroine, was hard for me to like. She seemed like the very definition of a stick in the mud and I have no idea why Ray would be interested in her.

( )

I tried soooo hard to at least get halfway but dnf'd at 22% according to my kindle. The mc is super unlikable, barely even tolerable really, and extremely stuck up with a "better than everyone" personality. I had to put the book down for a minute and question what I just read after the "hands-n-pans" vs "hands and pans" incident. Because apparently shortening conjunctions means you're "operating some roadside tavern" which, based on the tone it's said in, is something that should be looked down on I guess. Then out of nowhere there was a 1 month time jump that made no sense and didn't feel like it fit with the way everything was happening.

And that's not even taking into account the deadnaming and transphobia. Other reviews definitely have better analysis of that, it seems like it gets worse later in the book and I haven't gotten that far because why would I want to keep reading just for it to get worse? ( )

i liked that this was more about the characters and the issues than about the budding romance. i liked that a realistic nonbinary person is a main character, and that they were the most likable person in the book. (actually petey was pretty great, too.) the antagonists were pretty awful (like had no redeeming qualities) so they generally weren't fleshed out as much as they could have been (the "good guys" too, really) but that was less bothersome than it usually would have been to me. ( )

Mmmm, I'll try to finish this audiobook. I'm over halfway, but despite its delicious moments, as a romance there isn't enough excitement. I can't give this a chefs kiss!

Ray is a great character, and so is the aptly described "high strung" Simone for that matter.

Ray is supposedly the non-binary character in this LGBT+ though I'm not up to the part where she comes out yet.

Ray is a natural - she is charm personified being herself, and becomes a sensation online for her funny videos, which are as far from what the self-important gourmet empire she works for as a kitchen manager had in mind when they wanted to expand their audience.

...something Simone never has been and never could be - herself, or charming. She is too serious, too much of a perfectionist, too self-conscious. However, the story is told through Simone's perspective and we see her falling for Ray.

TJ Alexander has all the talent to write a good romance...I just didn't find this one had the "bite". Hard to say if the narrator, Em Grosland, shares some of the blame. On the surface she does a competent job. I can imagine she is the voice of someone like Simone! ( )

Engaging F/NB romance between a chef and the kitchen manager at a test kitchen (probably modeled on Bon Appetit?). ( )