June 2023 MBR The LGBT Fiction Shelf

The LGBT Fiction Shelf

Chef's Choice
TJ Alexander
Emily Bestler Books
c/o Simon and Schuster
www.simonandschuster.com
9781982189105, $17.99, PB, 336pp

https://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Choice-Novel-Kiss/dp/198218910X

Synopsis: When Luna O'Shea is unceremoniously fired from her frustrating office job, she tries to count her blessings: she's a proud trans woman who has plenty of friends, a wonderful roommate, and a good life in New York City. But blessings don't pay the bills.

Enter Jean-Pierre, a laissez-faire trans man and the heir to a huge culinary empire -- which he will only inherit if he can jump through all the hoops his celebrity chef grandfather has placed in his path.

First hoop: he needs a girlfriend, a role that Luna is happy to play -- for the right price. She's got rent to pay, after all! Second hoop: they both need to learn how to cook a series of elaborate, world-renowned family recipes to prove that Jean-Pierre is a worthy heir.

Admittedly, Luna doesn't even know how to crack an egg, but she's not going to let that (or any pesky feelings for Jean-Pierre) stop her.

Critique: Original, fun, and deftly crafted, "Chef's Choice" by TJ Alexander is another of those 'swoon-worthy' and heartwarming LGBTQ love stories that will have both a special attraction and universal value for readers with an interest in contemporary romantic comedy. While also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9781797160894, $39.99, CD), "Chef's Choice" is a unique and unreservedly recommended pick for community library LGBTQ Fiction and Contemporary Romance collections.

Editorial Note: TJ Alexander (https://tjalexander.com) is an amateur baker and author who writes about queer love. Originally from Florida, they received their MA in writing and publishing from Emerson College in Boston. They live in New York City with their wife and various houseplants. They are represented by Larissa Melo Pienkowski of Jill Grinberg Literary Management (https://jillgrinbergliterary.com).

Love at First Set
Jennifer Dugan
Avon Books
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
www.harpercollins.com
9780063307483, $18.99, PB, 336pp

https://www.amazon.com/Love-at-First-Set-Novel/dp/0063307480

Synopsis: The gym is Lizzie's life -- it's her passion, her job, and the only place that's ever felt like home. Unfortunately, her bosses consider her a glorified check-in girl at best, and the gym punching bag at worst.

When their son, Lizzie's best friend, James, begs her to be his plus one at his perfect sister Cara's wedding, things go wrong immediately, and culminate in Lizzie giving a drunken pep talk to a hot stranger in the women's bathroom -- except that stranger is actually the bride-to-be, and Lizzie has accidentally convinced her to ditch her groom.

Now, newly directionless Cara is on a quest to find herself, and Lizzie (desperate to make sure her bosses never find out her role in this fiasco) gets strong-armed by James into "entertaining" her. Cara doesn't have to know it's a setup; it'll just be a quick fling before she sobers up and goes back to her real life. After all, how could someone like Cara fall for someone like Lizzie, with no career and no future?

But the more Lizzie gets to know Cara, the more she likes her, and the bigger the potential disaster if any of her rapidly multiplying secrets get out. Because now it's not just Lizzie's job and entire future on the line, but also the girl of her dreams.

Critique: A deftly crafted and fun read from cover to cover, "Love at First Set" by novelist Jennifer Dugan will have a very special appeal to readers with an interest in contemporary and romantic LGBTQ comedy. While also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99), "Love at First Set" is a recommended pick for community library Romance Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Jennifer Dugan (https://jldugan.com/about) is the author of the young adult novels Melt With You, Some Girls Do, Verona Comics, and Hot Dog Girl. She is also the author of the YA graphic novel Coven.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, internet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.

The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "California Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwatch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview (dot) com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugalmuse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publisher, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number, and list price).

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review