There’s a lot of reasons why reality TV shows make good settings for romance novels: forced proximity; an excuse for a quirky and diverse group of side characters; the characters are removed from their day-to-day which creates both new opportunities and potential emotional turmoil; there’s easy built-in conflict; and people really like watching reality TV so they also tend to enjoy books that remind them of their favorite shows.
And let’s not forget, different types of reality TV set-ups lend themselves to different popular tropes. Any sort of competition show is ripe for rivals-to-lovers. A dating show can easily lead to fake dating, if one or more contestant is just there to boost their career or for other non-romantic reasons. And any show can include an element of the forbidden romance, depending on the rules of the show.
Love at 350° by Lisa Peers gives us that last one, by setting up a romance between a baking show contestant and a judge. Sometimes, show rules feel arbitrary and like the author just came up with them as a way to keep the characters apart, but I think we can all agree that any competition show should in fact forbid any sort of romance or other close relationship between a contestant or judge — especially when the show has a large cash prize.
Tori (the contestant) and Kendra (the judge) both recognize the importance of this rule, and being a part of the show is also a big deal for both of them, as a means towards other goals they want to achieve. But they can’t deny the pesky attraction between them…
Peers does a good job of keeping her characters apart for most of the book. Almost too good of a job. I love a good slow burn, but Tori and Kendra spend so little time together on the page, that when their happy ending finally arrived, I wasn’t particularly convinced by or invested in it. It didn’t help that the little bit they did to try to connect with each other while technically obeying the rules left me feeling really uncomfortable, as I imagined how any other contestant would have felt if they’d known about it.
Love at 350° does have some strong points. First of all, I loved that Tori and Kendra are both in their 40s, and they behave like actual adults. While they make some foolish choices about how to interact with each other, they do mostly think through the decisions that they make, and consider the impact it could have on their future and those around them.
I also felt like the reality TV show element was pretty well implemented. It’s very closely modeled on the Great British Bake Off, obviously, but the author gave it her own twist. Because Kendra is a POV character, we also get to see some behind the scenes of how the contestants are chosen and how the judging goes.
And most importantly, there are beautiful depictions of baked goods. We get to see Tori baking on the show and practicing at home. We see Kendra working in her restaurant. We get the same sort of info that you’d get in those voice-overs on GBBO, where a recipe or technique is explained. We even get a recipe at the end!
The book is also well-paced and filled with likeable fellow contestants and other supporting characters. And so while I wasn’t fully convinced by the romance, I did tear through it in just a couple of days and generally enjoyed the experience. I’d possibly pick up another book by this same author, if I liked the theme or tropes she was playing with.
CWs and TWs: Honestly this book is so mild, I don’t remember anything! It’s a smooching-only romance and I seem to recall there’s no adult language. There may have been a minor kitchen injury?
Source and Format: I read this as an ebook from Seattle Public Libraries.
Book Bingo Prompts
SBTB Summer Romance: New to You Author. This was my first time reading a book by Lisa Peers.
Book Bingo Progress
Nook & Cranny (Card 1): 20 out of 25 prompts complete. 3 bingos.
Nook & Cranny (Card 2): 17 out of 25 prompts complete. 3 bingos.
SAL/SPL Adult Summer Reading: 21 out of 23 prompts complete, 6 bingos.
SBTB Summer Romance: 8 out of 24 prompts complete, 0 bingos.