The Politics of Love by Jen Jensen

“If I am who you want me to be,” Shelley said, “I can’t be who I am. It’s killing me.”
★★★★☆

The Politics of Love is a new, opposites attract lesbian romance novel by Jen Jensen, out today (July 14th) from Bold Strokes Books. It follows two characters – Shelley Whitmore, a closeted lesbian who is sick of hiding who she is for the benefit of her powerful Evangelical Christian Republican family, and Rand Thomas, a therapist and prominent transgender rights activist – who first meet by way of a television appearance wherein they’re placed on opposite sides of a political debate.

The romance between Shelley and Rand seemed at first like it would be fast moving, but then settled into a leisurely slow-ish burn pace for the majority of the novel. At times, the romance felt like an addendum to the larger, overarching themes of the book, but I didn’t mind that at all. I can appreciate when romance novels aim to be something “more”, and The Politics of Love does just that. I found both of the leads likable in their own way, for completely different reasons. There were absolutely a few times when I wanted to take Rand by her shoulders and shake her, but the angst felt logical, rather than unnecessarily inserted by the author to spice up the plot.

To be totally honest, after I was approved for an ARC of The Politics of Love, I began to panic. “Why didn’t I just wait and read this on my own?” I groaned to my friend via Messenger. “Politics are so divisive right now, and this book has the potential to be a PR minefield!”  

“You’re overthinking,” she replied. “Just read the book.” So I did. And I loved it, and now that it’s over, I realized the irony of the entire situation. My anxiety about reading a romance that crosses the political divide in our hyper-polarized society because of our hyper-polarized society is, in fact, peak irony. 

I suppose now is as good a time as any to mention that I myself am a Democratic Socialist, but, like Shelley, I was born and raised in the Bible Belt, and have lived here for my entire life. My mother is a Baptist Sunday school teacher. I grew up going to church multiple times per week, hearing myself damned to hell by our fire and brimstone Southern Baptist preacher. I knew I was a lesbian from fourteen on, and cried myself to sleep each night, praying to at least be bisexual instead of a lesbian, so that I’d have a chance of falling in love with a man and making my family happy. 

So, unlike some other reviewers, I went into The Politics of Love fully expecting to identify with Shelley, the closeted gay Republican, at least on a base level, and I was not disappointed. At some points, I related to her inner dialogue so much that I was practically highlighting entire pages. I would be remiss not to mention that The Politics of Love also includes really excellent anxiety representation. In addition to identifying with Shelley’s experiences with compulsive heterosexuality and repressing her sexuality for her family, the way Jensen wrote Shelley’s anxiety really rang true for me, as someone with multiple anxiety disorders.

In the end, I think a lot of my worry about this book was unfounded. After seeing a lot of negative commentary accusing the YA M/M romance The State of Us of trying to humanize the Right without expecting them to humanize the LGBTQ+ community (and that’s not even touching the issues with the racism), I feared The Politics of Love might fall prey to the same mishaps, reworked for an adult audience, but that wasn’t the case at all. It was obvious that Rand and Shelley respected and learned from each other, genuinely finding middle ground on which to build their relationship. 

Final thoughts: The word politics might be in the title, but The Politics of Love was far from a manifesto or evangelism for either side of the aisle. Instead, it was a sweet, slightly angsty romance about finding love and acceptance in unexpected places.  

Synopsis:
Is it possible to love across the political divide?

Shelley Whitmore is a successful attorney, working on behalf of her Evangelical parents’ faith-based organization, championing conservative values of individual liberty and limited government. Everything’s totally fine, except that it really isn’t. Shelley manages depression and crippling anxiety because of the secret she can never reveal: she’s gay.

Rand Thomas is a psychotherapist, transgender rights activist, and political liberal. Widowed and struggling with her wife’s toxic parents, Rand isn’t going to allow herself to love again.

When Shelley and Rand meet in Manhattan, neither one expects to find that the other is exactly who they need.

The Politics of Love At A Glance
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Themes/Tropes: Opposites Attract, Age Gap (< 10 years), Coming Out, Slow burn
LGBT Rep? Yes!
OwnVoices? Yep
Content Warnings (CWs): Non-consensual public outing, homophobia, death of family member, grief

ARC Note: Thank you to Bold Strokes Books and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

 

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner

“How novel,” she said. “This is perhaps the first time two women seen together weren’t labeled gal pals.”
★★★★☆

I knew I was either going to love Something to Talk About or hate it, with no in between. On the one hand, as a lesbian in a long term relationship with an older woman, I’m a sucker for age gap romances. I’ve loved them since I was a teenager printing Miranda/Andy (from The Devil Wears Prada) fanfiction out in my school library and racing to snag it before anyone else could see. On the other hand, I’m too impatient for most slow burns, and extended mutual angst/pining drives me up a wall. Something to Talk About has all of those things, but in the end, everything must have balanced out because I genuinely loved this book!

I binged Something to Talk About within a twenty-four hour period (oops!). To be honest, I think I would have enjoyed this book even if there hadn’t been a romance plotline (though I’m unendingly grateful there was), because I loved Jo and Emma’s dynamic from the start, even when it was still purely professional. Once the two leads began to recognize their feelings for each other, the extended, angst-ridden mutual pining was broken up by scenes with two hilarious supporting characters: Avery (Emma’s snarky but fiercely supportive older sister) and Evelyn (Jo’s pithy lifelong best friend). These scenes also provided a fun contrast between the way our leads behaved around each other vs. how they relaxed when interacting with loved ones. I’m tempted to start a petition for Wilsner to write a spin-off novel where Evelyn and Avery have to plan Jo & Emma’s wedding as the brides’ respective Maids of Honor, because it would be hilarious.

Something to Talk About was already on my radar, but my friend Dom’s Goodreads review is what finally pushed me to read it. Dom did an excellent job of addressing the concern many readers will have about a boss/employee romance novel in the #MeToo era, so rather than trying to reinvent the wheel I’m going to quote that section of their review:

“One thing that stands out to me is how this novel handles power dynamics and consent. […] This novel does deal with a definite mentor/mentee romance, but Wilsner takes great pains to navigate the situation with the imbalance in mind. At no point did I make the human facial equivalent of the unamused emoji at my pages; in fact, it was so comforting to see an interaction style I love handled in such a graceful way. Jo and Emma are both aware of the complications them deepening their relationship could cause.”

Synopsis:
A showrunner and her assistant give the world something to talk about when they accidentally fuel a ridiculous rumor in this debut romance.

Hollywood powerhouse Jo is photographed making her assistant Emma laugh on the red carpet, and just like that, the tabloids declare them a couple. The so-called scandal couldn’t come at a worse time—threatening Emma’s promotion and Jo’s new movie.

As the gossip spreads, it starts to affect all areas of their lives. Paparazzi are following them outside the office, coworkers are treating them differently, and a “source” is feeding information to the media. But their only comment is “no comment”.

With the launch of Jo’s film project fast approaching, the two women begin to spend even more time together, getting along famously. Emma seems to have a sixth sense for knowing what Jo needs. And Jo, known for being aloof and outwardly cold, opens up to Emma in a way neither of them expects. They begin to realize the rumor might not be so off base after all…but is acting on the spark between them worth fanning the gossip flames?

Final Thoughts: Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner was a fun, easy read that’s perfect for Pride or any other month of the year! I would definitely recommend giving it a chance, even if you (like me) aren’t usually a fan of slow burn romances!

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Something to Talk About At a Glance:
Genre: Contemporary Romance 
Themes/Tropes: Slow Burn, Mistaken for Dating, Mutual Pining, Age Gap (> 10 years), Mentor/Mentee (with care taken re: power imbalances)
LGBT Rep? Yep! Our two leads are Emma, who is bisexual, and Jo, a closeted older lesbian.
OwnVoices? Yes, OwnVoices queer
Content Warnings (CW): Sexual harassment

Something to Talk About paperback displayed over yellow flowers.

Note: Thank you to Berkley Publishing and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey

“That’s the key to doing stuff you’re scared of. You gotta run at it.”
★★★★☆

When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey is a contemporary YA fantasy with a cast of incredibly diverse, memorable characters that will stay with me for a long time.

This book promised queer witches, a sapphic romance plot, and healthy female friendships. What’s not to love? The cast of characters and their interpersonal relationships were very well developed, and the six witches were complex, fully realized individuals. Gailey also found a solid balance between being plot driven and focusing on character development, which made for a compelling and engaging story that I devoured in a single day. 

Admittedly, I did have a few gripes about this story, but they’re more about my own personal likes and dislikes than a reflection of the author or story. My main issues were with the romance plotline, because I’m not a huge fan of extended mutual pining and I largely prefer Enemies-to-Lovers over Friends-to-Lovers.  Overall, I enjoyed the book enough to order a physical copy for myself after reading the ebook via Scribd, and I still highly recommend checking out When We Were Magic!

 Synopsis:
Keeping your magic a secret is hard. Being in love with your best friend is harder.

Alexis has always been able to rely on two things: her best friends, and the magic powers they all share. Their secret is what brought them together, and their love for each other is unshakeable—even when that love is complicated. Complicated by problems like jealousy, or insecurity, or lust. Or love.

That unshakeable, complicated love is one of the only things that doesn’t change on prom night.

When accidental magic goes sideways and a boy winds up dead, Alexis and her friends come together to try to right a terrible wrong. Their first attempt fails—and their second attempt fails even harder. Left with the remains of their failed spells and more consequences than anyone could have predicted, each of them must find a way to live with their part of the story.

Final thoughts: When We Were Magic is the queer witch girl gang novel we want and deserve. 

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When We Were Magic At a Glance:
Genre: Contemporary YA Fantasy
Themes/Tropes: Slow burn, Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining
LGBT Rep? Yes! This book features multiple queer/sapphic characters of varying identities, and a slow burn f/f romance plotline.
Own Voices? Yes!
Content Warnings (CW): Death/murder (unintentional, but still), body horror 

 

The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

“They don’t let you have anything whole, you know. If you don’t follow the pattern. You have to find your happiness in bits and pieces instead. But it can still add up to something beautiful.”
★★★★☆

Like many other reviewers, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m generally not a historical romance reader, but after reading so many glowing recommendations on various platforms, I decided to give The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite a shot. To be fair, I’ll give almost anything with positive sapphic representation a try, but rarely do I fall in love with these shot-in-the-dark novels the way I did with Lady’s Guide. 

In fact, this novel and the relationship it chronicles was so engaging and well written that I was shocked (and disappointed, because now I have to wait for the second Feminine Pursuits novel to come out instead of binging the rest of Waite’s books) to discover that Lady’s Guide appears to be Waite’s first foray into f/f romance, because the story was devoid of the pitfalls and tropes that many first time f/f authors often fall prey to.

Synopsis:
“As Lucy Muchelney watches her ex-lover’s sham of a wedding, she wishes herself anywhere else. It isn’t until she finds a letter from the Countess of Moth, looking for someone to translate a groundbreaking French astronomy text, that she knows where to go. Showing up at the Countess’ London home, she hoped to find a challenge, not a woman who takes her breath away.

Catherine St Day looks forward to a quiet widowhood once her late husband’s scientific legacy is fulfilled. She expected to hand off the translation and wash her hands of the project—instead, she is intrigued by the young woman who turns up at her door, begging to be allowed to do the work, and she agrees to let Lucy stay. But as Catherine finds herself longing for Lucy, everything she believes about herself and her life is tested.

While Lucy spends her days interpreting the complicated French text, she spends her nights falling in love with the alluring Catherine. But sabotage and old wounds threaten to sever the threads that bind them. Can Lucy and Catherine find the strength to stay together or are they doomed to be star-crossed lovers?”

Final thoughts: As I said, I’m typically not a big fan of historical fiction or straight up romance novels. Lady’s Guide is both, but I was really glad I decided to give it a chance anyway. This is a fairly quick and easy read, perfect for when you’re in the mood for something light hearted and steamy!

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Lady’s Guide At A Glance:
Genre: Historical Fiction/Lesbian Romance
Themes/Tropes: Rich Girl/Poor Girl, Breaking the Glass Ceiling, Friends to Lovers, Coming Out, Age Gap (< 10 years)
LGBT Rep? Yes! Both of the romantic leads are WLW, with allusions to other sapphic characters/relationships.
Content Warnings (CW): None that I can think of!

(Note: This was meant to be the first post on my blog, but then the plague happened and everything got all topsy-turvy. Hope you enjoyed the review anyway – this is truly a gem of a book!)

Poptastic by Victoria Holmes

“Why do lesbians have so many feelings?” (★★★★☆, 4/5)

Don’t let the cover and synopsis fool you – Poptastic isn’t your run of the mill, fluffy celebrity romance, and, at least in my opinion, that’s a good thing! I went into Poptastic expecting a quick, lighthearted read, something totally unlike the dense, dark fantasies I’ve been reading as of late. The majority of the story fit within those bounds, but it goes to some dark places (see content warnings at the bottom of the post).

Victoria Holmes’ debut novel, Poptastic, follows Julia, a lesbian in her late twenties stuck in a job she hates. Julia spends most of her time scrolling through the sapphic dating app Kiss’er, worried that she’s already dated all the available lesbians in London. The official synopsis already focuses heavily on the bridesmaid and celebrity dating aspects, so I wanted to talk about some of the less publicized aspects of the novel, because they were the things that really sold Poptastic for me. However, the synopsis is important for context, so I’ll go ahead and share it here:

“Bridesmaiding is a tedious business at the best of times, but as Julia discovers, the task is particularly cumbersome when one of the brides is your ex and her fiancée won’t stop sulking about it.

With the wedding threatening to dominate everything for the rest of the year, a bewildering embrace with a devastatingly attractive pop star offers a welcome distraction. Dating Krisha catapults Julia away from the paltry concerns of dress fittings and hen dos, but it also takes her away from her friends, and directly leads to her most disastrous fuck up yet. Much to her surprise, she discovers that embracing the role she’d accepted so reluctantly might just be exactly what she needs.”

To me, Poptastic was primarily a story of personal growth more than anything else. From the very beginning of the book, Julia is rapidly headed towards a self-destructive breakdown. She drinks entirely too much, accomplishes nothing at work despite repeated warnings, and treats her friends like shit. For the first half of the book, I hated her, because she reminded me of myself before I got sober. I just wanted to shake her. Julia’s “relationship” with popstar Krisha Mistry made me profoundly uncomfortable, because I could see right through Krisha’s intentions from the get go and it drove me crazy that Julia couldn’t (this is just another point to Holmes in the realism category, though).

Eventually, Julia crashes and burns, hitting rock bottom. It was the moment I had been waiting and hoping for the entire book, and was worried I wouldn’t get, more from bad past experiences with books than anything Holmes did wrong. Reading as Julia suddenly became self-aware and tried to right her wrongs was honestly refreshing. Even more refreshing was the fact that her friends didn’t make it easy for her – Julia tried at least a dozen times to apologize to her best friend Kit, and the two were only finally able to make up after a shared traumatic experience (that I won’t go into because of spoilers). 

In the latter half of the novel, Julia almost made a few questionable decisions that I worried would unravel all of her hard won progress, but changed her mind before she could do anymore lasting damage. The ending of Poptastic was sweet and wholesome and wonderful and made the entire wild emotional rollercoaster of the novel worth it. 

In closing: this isn’t the review I expected to write, because Poptastic turned out not to be the novel I expected to read. If you’re not a fan of romance novels and find yourself tempted to give this one a pass, I’d urge you to at least download a sample. There’s so much more to this story than meets the eye. Holmes knocked it out of the park with the realism here, an – as a former alcoholic/all around nightmare of a person – I heavily related to both Julia’s toxic behavior and her transformation from garbage person into reliable friend and girlfriend.

A big thank you to Victoria Holmes for being the first author I don’t know personally to send me an e-ARC for review! I look forward to reading your future novels!

Poptastic is available for pre-order here, and will be out May 7th!

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Note: Please pay special attention to the content warnings listed below. Though Holmes handles the sensitive topics well and with respect, Poptastic does include some potentially triggering content, so read with care! ❤

Poptastic At a Glance:
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Lesbian Romance
Themes/Tropes: Friends to Lovers, Celebrity Dating
LGBT Rep? Yes – nearly everyone in this novel is gay. Julia’s best work friend is literally the token straight person.
Content Warnings (CW): Intimate partner violence (emotional and physical abuse), fairly graphic suicide attempt, drug use/overdoses