Welcome to the second installment of April mini-reviews! A mixed bag, with lesbian vampire romance, an m/f farmer romance, and a memoir of a pro dominatrix.
Rating refresher! Categories are based on whether or not we recommend them to fellow readers - DNF (Did Not Finish), Pass, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary), Read it Eventually, Read it Soon.
Hunger for You, by Jenny Frame
Suzanne says: DNF (but also YMMV)
I was cautiously optimistic about HUNGER FOR YOU, as I haven't had great luck with Frame's books in the past but was super excited for lesbian vampires. I'm disappointed but not terribly surprised that I ended up unable to finish and DNF'd at 22%.
The central issue I have with the story is that it starts six months into the relationship and I'm completely unsure why the two heroines fell in love. I read in another review that there's a prequel novella, and perhaps if I had read that, my opinion would be different.
The book starts with the two of them in Amelia's uncle's tailor shop, where she works and where Byron has been shopping for decades. They're about to go on a vacation to Italy, which is where Byron intends to finally tell Amelia that Byron's a vampire. This is all fine... if it was like 30% into the book. As it stands, I was confused where the plot was hiding, where the chemistry was, etc. The book picks up at around 10% of the way in, with the introduction of a rival vampire clan, but the half of the narrative that follows the central couple plods along awkwardly.
I'm sure the book improves after the point that I stopped reading, but I gave a month of my reading life to trying to get through this and at some point, you have to throw in the metaphorical towel. I will say that it reads like a lot of the vampire romance that came out after Twilight, just chock full of queer women. If that sounds like something you'd like to read, you may want to check this out. I have no complaints about the sex, the representation I read, etc. It's just that the storytelling itself didn't work for me.
(Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)
You can buy it at Amazon, iBooks, Bold Strokes Books, etc.
Cream of the Crop, by Alice Clayton
Suzanne says: Read it Eventually
This is the second in Clayton's Hudson Valley series, which is about a trio of friends who met at culinary school finding love in a town north of NYC with hunky farmers. This one had a bit of an awkward info dump at the beginning, but once you get past that, Clayton settles into a familiar rhythm of sex, banter, sexy banter, and... cheese. The heroine in this book is a size 18 and flaunts her curves, but she's also got a history of an emotionally abusive/controlling relationship. The hero in the book is divorced and played football before an injury stopped his career after only a handful of pro games.
Mild Spoiler - What I really liked about the book is that neither of them moves or changes jobs to be together. They find a way to make it work without either of them losing what they love best about their lives. I liked that Clayton pushed the HEA envelope a little bit there, to get this couple their HEA without the woman (or the man, really) sacrificing too much. I'm all for grand gestures sometimes, but this HEA felt authentic, which is even nicer.
(Book purchased by reviewer.)
Buy from Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, The Ripped Bodice, etc.
The Scarlett Letters, by Jenny Nordbak
Suzanne Says: Read it Eventually
The Scarlett Letters is a memoir about a young woman's journey of sexual self-discovery and self-confidence... via a sex dungeon. It follows the author, who goes by the pseudonym "Scarlett" for a while before she starts at the dungeon. She has a complicated family life marred by divorce and mental illness, and we see her in more than one objectively terrible romantic relationship. Eventually, she identifies her kinks and starts working as a submissive as she trains to become a dominant, which is where her interests lie. Most of the book is told through the lens of her sessions with various clients, and the stories encompass a full range of emotions - some are funny, some are embarassing, some are downright scary. There are also off-shift adventures at parties, at Burning Man, at her day job. There's a certain amount of lurid thrill to reading some of the stories, but for the most part, it's a great memoir - a deeply emotional journey with passages that still resonate with me weeks later.
I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by the author.
Content warnings: attempted assault, discussion of abortion, suicide, and murder, all sorts of fetishes, emotional abuse, probably more that I'm forgetting. There's also a lot of use of the word "sissy" and other terms used to humiliate and degrade, but it's in the context of consensual BDSM, so make of that what you will. I was irritated by the characters mocking a client's accent, but then that character tried to assault the narrator and I lost any sympathy for him. If you have a specific concern, please ask and I'll do my best to answer.
(Book purchased by reviewer.)
You can pick up a copy at Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, The Ripped Bodice, etc.
