We love a good romance, and the tropier, the better. Foodie romance is exploding, and anything “and make it queer” gives us life. Luckily, there are now more novels in that very specific niche than ever! Check out this collection of six romantic queer books about food.
Bloom
Now that high school is over, Ari is dying to move to the big city with his ultra-hip band — if he can just persuade his dad to let him quit his job at their struggling family bakery. Though he loved working there as a kid, Ari cannot fathom a life wasting away over rising dough and hot ovens.
But while interviewing candidates for his replacement, Ari meets Hector, an easygoing guy who loves baking as much as Ari wants to escape it. As they become closer over batches of bread, love is ready to bloom … that is, if Ari doesn’t ruin everything.
Our first queer romance book about food is Bloom, written by Kevin Panetta and illustrated by Savanna Ganucheau. This graphic novel is, in one word: cute. I admit that Ari sometimes irritated me, but I also understood him to the core. The familial obligation in his Greek family is not much different from my Turkish one. Plus, the teal and grey color scheme is just gorgeous!
How hungry did we get? Ready for a coffee break and a nice pastry!
RELATED: New Release Radar: New Books Coming Out on July 25
Chef’s Kiss
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…
RELATED: 15 Animated Barbie Movies to (Re)Watch After Barbie (2023)
Fake Dates and Mooncakes
Dylan Tang wants to win a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake-making competition for teen chefs — in memory of his mom, and to bring much-needed publicity to his aunt’s struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn.
Enter Theo Somers: charming, wealthy, with a smile that makes Dylan’s stomach do backflips. AKA a distraction. Their worlds are sun-and-moon apart, but Theo keeps showing up. He even convinces Dylan to be his fake date at a family wedding in the Hamptons.
Can Dylan save his family’s business and follow his heart — or will he fail to do both?
Our next queer romantic book about food is Sher Lee‘s Fake Dates and Mooncakes. Fake dating and food? Yes, please. As a sucker for all the tropes, this young adult novel is right up my alley. I could not put it down. Partly about loss and family, partly about teenage shenanigans, Fake Dates and Mooncakes scratches many itches. Read our full review here.
How hungry did we get? Is it the Lunar New Year yet?
Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies
The first time Daisy Ellery killed a man with a pie, it was an accident. Now, it’s her calling. Daisy bakes sweet vengeance into her pastries, which she and her dog Zoe deliver to the men who’ve done dirty deeds to the town’s women. But if she can’t solve the one crime that’s not of her own baking, she’ll be out of the pie pan and into the oven…
She finds a letter on her door, threatening to reveal her unsavory secret sideline of pie a la murder. The upcoming statewide pie contest could be Daisy’s big chance to help wronged women everywhere … if she doesn’t meet a sticky end first. Because Daisy knows the blackmailer won’t stop until her business is in crumbles.
Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies by Misha Popp is utterly ridiculous — tediously so at times. But I kind of loved it? This book’s magic system is neat and has some fascinating twists and turns. Daisy herself is a charming piece of work. But the pies — oh, the pies — I wanted to eat them all! (And don’t worry, the book isn’t quite as twee as its synopsis.)
How hungry did we get? Almost enough to run to the local bakery! (But then we got worried about murder. )
RELATED: New Release Radar: New Books Coming Out on July 18
Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble
Paris Daillencourt is a recipe for disaster. Despite his passion for baking, his cat, and his classics degree, constant self-doubt and second-guessing have left him a curdled, directionless mess. So when his roommate enters him in Bake Expectations, the nation’s favorite baking show, Paris is sure he’ll be the first one sent home.
But not only does he win week one’s challenge — he meets fellow contestant Tariq Hassan. Sure, he’s the competition, but he’s also cute and kind, with more confidence than Paris could ever hope to have. Still, neither his growing romance with Tariq nor his own impressive bakes can keep Paris’s fear of failure from spoiling his happiness…
Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall is a pleasure of a roller coaster ride. Part of the Winner Bakes All series, the novel deals with a character with severe anxiety that manifests in self-sabotage. It also deals with religious sexual politics in a way I haven’t seen often, especially in queer media. All in all, though Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble is difficult to read at times, it’s well worth it.
How hungry did we get? Honestly, not very, but the book’s still fantastic.
RELATED: The Marvels Star Iman Vellani to Co-Write New Ms. Marvel Comic
Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake
Rosaline Palmer is just barely holding her life together. Her paycheck might as well be parchment paper, her house is falling apart, and help from her parents is always served with a generous slice of disappointment and judgment. And the cherry on top? Now her daughter’s school is charging all sorts of outlandish extra fees for trips that Rosaline can’t afford. But where there’s a whisk there’s a way … and Rosaline has just landed a place on the nation’s favorite baking show…
The last book on our roundup of romantic queer books about food is Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, also written by Alexis Hall and part of the Winner Bakes All series. That a novel about a bisexual woman in a love triangle with two men is written so authentically queer is a feat not many writers could accomplish. Even though that is how it should be. It’s a sexy, sexy book as well. My hat’s off to Hall on this one.
How hungry did we get? Give us all the cake.
There you have it: Six queer romance novels about food for all you bookish foodies out there. Have you read any of these? What’s your favorite romance about food? Let us know in the comments below!
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/12-words-and-phrases-coined-in-books-tv-and-film/
- Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: PRINCESS ZELDA - August 13, 2024
- Book Review: KEY LIME SKY - August 11, 2024
- Millennial Misremembers: BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY - August 6, 2024
