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#RomanceClass NomCom: A Foodie Romance Anthology for Charity
ebook
Published February 14, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 8, 2022
3.5, rounded up. I always enjoy food-centered stories, and I also enjoy stories where a certain place is the focal point because of the community. The dishes described in this anthology were really yummy.
Combo Meal A was my favorite. The three stories set the tone for the whole book. Each one of them captured the emotional connection of the couples perfectly. “The Best Tacos in Town” 🥺🥹
The first two stories of Combo Meal B were great as well. “Mystery Date” was sheer chaotic fun. Unfortunately, from there on out I couldn’t get into the stories as much as Combo A. This has been the thing with many anthologies; too many hits and misses.
One reason for said misses is the pacing. There were three Level 3 Heat Level stories, and for me, sex scenes are effective when there’s enough tension leading up to it. Unfortunately, these go from 0-100 real quick, which make the scenes jarring. Even more so when the majority of the stories in the books are Heat Level 0, so those three kinda feel out of place for me. And yeah, you can argue they’re short stories and so you don’t have much space to develop tension, but effective short fiction could and should pull that off.
Another example of off pacing is when the couple act like friends for the majority of the story, but then since it’s a romance, you just have them kiss in the end, like you just threw that in there because it’s a romance. Give me some yearning, please!
I wish there were more queer stories in this book. There were only two. ☹️
And lastly, romances really have to stop trashing single people on their way to their HEA. Was “miserable, anti-dating spinster” even necessary to say in a certain scene? Sounds amatonormative and weirdly aphobic with a side of internalized misogyny, and it makes me want to root against the couple 🤨
Combo Meal A was my favorite. The three stories set the tone for the whole book. Each one of them captured the emotional connection of the couples perfectly. “The Best Tacos in Town” 🥺🥹
The first two stories of Combo Meal B were great as well. “Mystery Date” was sheer chaotic fun. Unfortunately, from there on out I couldn’t get into the stories as much as Combo A. This has been the thing with many anthologies; too many hits and misses.
One reason for said misses is the pacing. There were three Level 3 Heat Level stories, and for me, sex scenes are effective when there’s enough tension leading up to it. Unfortunately, these go from 0-100 real quick, which make the scenes jarring. Even more so when the majority of the stories in the books are Heat Level 0, so those three kinda feel out of place for me. And yeah, you can argue they’re short stories and so you don’t have much space to develop tension, but effective short fiction could and should pull that off.
Another example of off pacing is when the couple act like friends for the majority of the story, but then since it’s a romance, you just have them kiss in the end, like you just threw that in there because it’s a romance. Give me some yearning, please!
I wish there were more queer stories in this book. There were only two. ☹️
And lastly, romances really have to stop trashing single people on their way to their HEA. Was “miserable, anti-dating spinster” even necessary to say in a certain scene? Sounds amatonormative and weirdly aphobic with a side of internalized misogyny, and it makes me want to root against the couple 🤨
March 1, 2022
Romance! Food! Tropes! Three things that make my heart go pitter-patter and my hand reaching for my wallet.
As a long time romance reader, I rejoiced in the coming of #romanceclass books since they are stories I can relate to, in locales that I know. NomCom meets all my expectations.
Food is an integral part of Filipino culture. (Hello! We greet each other with, "Kumain ka na?" (Have you eaten?)) Relationships are built and solidified through the sharing of food experiences so it's a no-brainer to have a food park as the setting of all these stories. (Although the downside for me, living in another country, is that I was constantly hungry and craving for the featured dishes.)
As someone who is currently in a reading rut, the anthology worked well to slowly get me up to speed. You can choose which one to start with, go with the combo meals suggested, or read through from beginning to end just like I did. I appreciated that there are stories that featured older MCs because it reflected where I am in life and it made me think of the decisions and fears and consequences of my own lived experience.
I also love the fact that proceeds from this bundle are donated to For our Farmers PH.
Kudos to all the writers and I hope to read more of your stories soon.
Now I've got to go get me a taco.
As a long time romance reader, I rejoiced in the coming of #romanceclass books since they are stories I can relate to, in locales that I know. NomCom meets all my expectations.
Food is an integral part of Filipino culture. (Hello! We greet each other with, "Kumain ka na?" (Have you eaten?)) Relationships are built and solidified through the sharing of food experiences so it's a no-brainer to have a food park as the setting of all these stories. (Although the downside for me, living in another country, is that I was constantly hungry and craving for the featured dishes.)
As someone who is currently in a reading rut, the anthology worked well to slowly get me up to speed. You can choose which one to start with, go with the combo meals suggested, or read through from beginning to end just like I did. I appreciated that there are stories that featured older MCs because it reflected where I am in life and it made me think of the decisions and fears and consequences of my own lived experience.
I also love the fact that proceeds from this bundle are donated to For our Farmers PH.
Kudos to all the writers and I hope to read more of your stories soon.
Now I've got to go get me a taco.
July 24, 2023
Parang comfort food ang book na ito. Ang sarap basahin ng stories, light lang at nakakarelax after a long day of stress. Sometimes I even make it a point to eat the food featured in the story. Aside from the different tropes, may variety din ng main characters like LGBTQ, characters na mula sa ibang lugar ng Pilipinas (not just Metro Manila), characters na middle aged, different social classes etc. It took me a while to finish this--ang dami ng stories! Sulit ang bayad and it's for a good cause pa.
October 9, 2022
Fun collection of Filipino foodie romances. 🙂
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews