annieb123's Review of Chef's Kiss

by Jarrett Melendez

"A perfect mix of romance and self-discovery." -- Publishers Weekly

2023 Alex Award Winner

2023 GLAAD Award Nominee

2023 YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens

2022 New York Public Library Best Book

Watch things start to really heat up in the kitchen in this sweet, queer, new adult graphic novel!

Now that college is over, English graduate Ben Cook is on the job hunt looking for something...anything...related to his passion for reading and writing. But interview after interview, hiring committee after hiring committee, Ben soon learns getting the dream job won't be as easy as he thought. Proofreading? Journalism? Copywriting? Not enough experience. It turns out he doesn't even have enough experience to be a garbage collector! But when Ben stumbles upon a "Now Hiring--No Experience Necessary" sign outside a restaurant, he jumps at the chance to land his first job. Plus, he can keep looking for a writing job in the meantime. He's actually not so bad in the kitchen, but he will have to pass a series of cooking tests to prove he's got the culinary skills to stay on full-time. But it's only temporary...right?

When Ben begins developing a crush on Liam, one of the other super dreamy chefs at the restaurant, and when he starts ditching his old college friends and his old writing job plans, his career path starts to become much less clear.

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Chef's Kiss is a sweetly humorous slice-of-life NA graphic novel based around the everyday life of 20something Ben Cook written by Jarrett Melendez. Due out 1st March 2022 from Oni Press, it's 160 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook (comiXology) formats.

This is such a sweetly romantic book. Being a middle aged curmudgeon, I'm usually not such a fan of NA romance titles since I'm a few decades outside of the target audience, but this one was exceptionally good. Protagonist Ben is shy and just beginning to find his way after university and is living in a houseshare with his 3 friends. Despite applying for lots of jobs in his field, he's had a fruitless few weeks on the job front when he stumbles into a job training in a local upscale vegetarian restaurant. It doesn't hurt that there's a cute chef working in the same kitchen.

The character driven plot arc includes a seriously irascible head chef, an ensemble cast of coworkers and friends, and an adorable (actual) pig called Watson. The plotting is tight, and the dialogue is very well done and believable. The pencils, inking, and lettering are clear and precise. It's easy to read and well done all around.

This will absolutely appeal to fans of light romantic manga and NA graphic novel romance. There is no explicit content whatever.

Four and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Chef's Kiss

by Jarrett Melendez

Reviewed by annieb123 on Feb 25, 2022

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