K.J. Charles's Reviews > Chef's Choice
Chef's Choice (Chef's Kiss, #2)
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A T4T m/f romance in which newly unemployed trans woman Luna gets into a fake dating thing with super rich French guy JP and must learn to cook a Michelin level menu with him in a week when she literally doesn't know how to crack an egg. The TV / cooking / inheritance set-up is wildly improbable but who cares.
There's a huge amount to like here. I loved JP, the frankly absurd French guy (all black clothes and nihilistic remarks), and kind of wish we'd had his POV because it would have been hilarious. Luna is a lively and determined heroine, and the relationship is in many ways great, with much fun had out of the fake dating premise, and a lot of sweetness as well as hotness.
The issue I had is very much a YMMV, and also one I've seen in a few romances recently, which is the book basically takes one character's side. In this case, Luna is pretty much always right in every interaction, and even when she argues with JP because she feels he's doing transness wrong, there's no sense that he's entitled to his feelings, however misguided she might think them. I can absolutely see that a fierce trans woman hero owning everything/everyone around her is going to be a big part of the pleasure of the book for many readers, but a character who isn't ever wrong doesn't really get to grow, and by the end, Luna's determinedly 'small town USian in Paris' approach felt a touch limited to me.
I realise that "a proper American gas station burger is better than a poncy Michelin-starred meal" is a deeply beloved trope of US culture, so again, many people's responses will differ violently. In the end, I wanted her to be open to a wider world, spread her wings, and make the most of having a super rich French boyfriend, but that wasn't what Luna wanted, and it's her book, so there we go.
There's a huge amount to like here. I loved JP, the frankly absurd French guy (all black clothes and nihilistic remarks), and kind of wish we'd had his POV because it would have been hilarious. Luna is a lively and determined heroine, and the relationship is in many ways great, with much fun had out of the fake dating premise, and a lot of sweetness as well as hotness.
The issue I had is very much a YMMV, and also one I've seen in a few romances recently, which is the book basically takes one character's side. In this case, Luna is pretty much always right in every interaction, and even when she argues with JP because she feels he's doing transness wrong, there's no sense that he's entitled to his feelings, however misguided she might think them. I can absolutely see that a fierce trans woman hero owning everything/everyone around her is going to be a big part of the pleasure of the book for many readers, but a character who isn't ever wrong doesn't really get to grow, and by the end, Luna's determinedly 'small town USian in Paris' approach felt a touch limited to me.
I realise that "a proper American gas station burger is better than a poncy Michelin-starred meal" is a deeply beloved trope of US culture, so again, many people's responses will differ violently. In the end, I wanted her to be open to a wider world, spread her wings, and make the most of having a super rich French boyfriend, but that wasn't what Luna wanted, and it's her book, so there we go.
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