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eliotts_library 's review for:
Chef's Kiss
by Jarrett Melendez
3.5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for review (even though I'm very late on posting said review, oops)
Chef’s Kiss is a new adult graphic novel following Ben and his roommates right after graduating college. After several years of working hard for his English degree, Ben is expected to find a job in the field of his dreams and become a writer, as he always thought he wanted. But when interview after interview goes terribly wrong due to his lack of professional experience, Ben is desperate for money and ends up taking a job as a chef in a rather eccentric restaurant, no experience required. It doesn’t hurt that his coworker is cute, too. But as time goes on Ben starts to realize how much he enjoys his job, and that maybe he doesn’t want to be a writer after all. Between the ridiculous challenges of the restaurant, difficulties with his friendships, and all the other troubles of being a young adult, Ben must decide between the life he is expected to have, and the one that he wants to create for himself.
This was a very sweet, hilarious graphic novel. The art was incredibly beautiful, I couldn’t stop myself from staring at the pages just taking in the illustrations. My favourite thing about this though were the characters; Ben, his coworkers, and all his roommates were such a delight to read. I wasn’t expecting the level of humour and absurdity that is present throughout the entire novel (the Shakespeare roommate and the cigarette smoking pig are my favourite examples), but it was a welcome surprise! The absurdity did teeter on being a bit much at times, and I think this book would have benefitted from having just a little bit less of it in order to make room for getting to know the characters better. There were also some panels, or entire sections in some cases, that I didn’t feel were necessary to the story, such as Watson’s fake backstory, and a very drawn out yoga class. But otherwise this was a very fun book and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for review (even though I'm very late on posting said review, oops)
Chef’s Kiss is a new adult graphic novel following Ben and his roommates right after graduating college. After several years of working hard for his English degree, Ben is expected to find a job in the field of his dreams and become a writer, as he always thought he wanted. But when interview after interview goes terribly wrong due to his lack of professional experience, Ben is desperate for money and ends up taking a job as a chef in a rather eccentric restaurant, no experience required. It doesn’t hurt that his coworker is cute, too. But as time goes on Ben starts to realize how much he enjoys his job, and that maybe he doesn’t want to be a writer after all. Between the ridiculous challenges of the restaurant, difficulties with his friendships, and all the other troubles of being a young adult, Ben must decide between the life he is expected to have, and the one that he wants to create for himself.
This was a very sweet, hilarious graphic novel. The art was incredibly beautiful, I couldn’t stop myself from staring at the pages just taking in the illustrations. My favourite thing about this though were the characters; Ben, his coworkers, and all his roommates were such a delight to read. I wasn’t expecting the level of humour and absurdity that is present throughout the entire novel (the Shakespeare roommate and the cigarette smoking pig are my favourite examples), but it was a welcome surprise! The absurdity did teeter on being a bit much at times, and I think this book would have benefitted from having just a little bit less of it in order to make room for getting to know the characters better. There were also some panels, or entire sections in some cases, that I didn’t feel were necessary to the story, such as Watson’s fake backstory, and a very drawn out yoga class. But otherwise this was a very fun book and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author!