I tend to be hypercritical with Sapphic romance because I believe that we deserve better than a lot of the romance books that have Roughly 3.5 stars.
I tend to be hypercritical with Sapphic romance because I believe that we deserve better than a lot of the romance books that have been published recently. That being said, I did enjoy the characters and the general plot structure even though the chemistry between the two leads felt a bit forced as they did not know each other prior to the funeral that opens the book. I enjoyed the quirkiness of Cade’s family, and it was a unique premise as far as the “lesbian has mommy issues” trope is concerned.
Given that a sex toy store is the primary setting of this book, I was surprised at the structure of the sex scenes in the novel. The author is clearly passionate about queer sex education, which I did appreciate. I also appreciated the representation of performance anxiety and the harm of the expectation that Sapphics have to be perfect both giving and receiving pleasure. However, the attempt to incorporate these important concepts into the limited number of sex scenes made the scenes feel almost clinical in a way that could have been resolved with allowing the scenes to continue for a longer period of time. Cade’s concerns about her performance during sex felt too quickly resolved and did not feel like it really accurately portrayed the anxiety and pressure that comes with feeling you aren’t “good enough.”
Now is the time where Erin gets on her soapbox. I recognize this issue is the result of selection bias because the majority of media, particularly novels, I consume is Sapphic. I will probably continue to read books with this trope in it because if you’re dying of thirst in the desert, you don’t complain that the water handed to you is Dasani. However, I’ve noticed a trend towards the portrayal of queer female professors as innately predatory and eager to take advantage of young female students. This primarily occurs in coming-of-age stories in which the predatory lesbian professor is a catalyst for the protagonist to find her voice. It was particular jarring to find this trope in a romance novel in which a B plot is that one of the love interests was the victim of one of these faculty.
This trope frightens me as the nation surges forward in its attack on LGBTQ+ educators. I was a lecturer for a couple of courses and am wrapping up my time on the academic job market. States are slashing DEI programs and tenure so that marginalized faculty could be removed from classrooms. I had to explain to my advisor that there were schools that could legally discriminate against me in the hiring process. I am not in the business of respectability politics, but do we really need to perpetuate the stereotype that queer educators are inherently predatory? I don’t find the “exploitative lesbian professor” trope to be necessary to coming of age stories and certainly not in romance novels. There are other ways to give your characters trauma from which to grow. Also, the scene where a formal complaint is filed against Alex went way too smoothly for Selena (just wanted to nitpick the accuracy a bit).
Overall, I will read more from the author, but as always, I will find something to lecture about. I am a lesbian professor after all....more
I thought this was a fun Sapphic horror with interesting themes of racism and classism. I think Henderson does a good job of making h3.5 to 3.75 stars
I thought this was a fun Sapphic horror with interesting themes of racism and classism. I think Henderson does a good job of making her themes and symbolism clear without being heavy-handed. I'm not an expert on horror, but I most enjoy horror media when the creators do this well. I think the ending was a bit rushed in comparison to the pace of the rest of the novel, but otherwise, this was an enjoyable spooky time....more
Follow one young queer person as everyone in her life gaslights her into thinking she’s the worst person in the world while they do and say much worseFollow one young queer person as everyone in her life gaslights her into thinking she’s the worst person in the world while they do and say much worse things than her.
Not much to say about this one except for Liz needs way better friends. Is she perfect? No. But wow everyone is determined to make her feel awful for making accurate judgments of people from their first impressions. Enemies to lovers is not super believable to me as a trope anyway, but Daria was particularly cruel at the beginning of the book.
I will say one highlight is the Spotify playlist prank. That honestly is very funny, and I might steal that idea. Otherwise, not much stands out in this novel. Like in most Sapphic romances I’ve read, Kellogg is very determined to teach you lessons with a heavy hand, which is a little clumsy at points. ...more
A fun exploration into the nebulous in-between of queer breakups and all of the "what-ifs" we ask ourselves. A fun exploration into the nebulous in-between of queer breakups and all of the "what-ifs" we ask ourselves. ...more
This is closer to 2.5 stars. I think I might be burnt out of romance, but this book still had some of the same writing issues that I find in many otheThis is closer to 2.5 stars. I think I might be burnt out of romance, but this book still had some of the same writing issues that I find in many other Sapphic romances, unfortunately. This, like other Sapphic romances I have read, reads like a YA novel (except for the sex scenes of course). Character descriptions are told and not shown to you because the author does not give enough time to develop the characters properly. Any moments of tension are immediately resolved, which feels as though the author does not believe in the viability of the scenarios that they created. This book particularly suffered because it felt as though Lacey forgot that a third-act conflict in a romance novel is a sought-after trope of the genre and quickly wrote something. While this would be mildly annoying at worst with a trivial conflict, the conflict makes light of the inherent power dynamic between the two characters and past trauma of one of the characters, which cheapens this very real concern of the premise.
Anna brings up her fear of entering in a relationship like this, which is actually refreshing given that the Sapphic romance genre does tend to romanticize inappropriate physical, emotional, and societal power dynamics in relationships. As the reader, I felt queasy at how quickly these concerns were swept under the rug. Anna idolized Eden from a young age, which already makes the relationship inappropriate, and then they enter into a business contract that could make or break the younger woman's career. It was a necessary conflict that was never actually addressed, which left a bad taste in the mouth.
I recently read Cleat Cute, and I will say that the characters in Stars Collide did not annoy me to the extent that the characters in Wilsner's work did, but there are some interesting parallels to draw between the two works that highlight my issues with Sapphic romance. I will say that one person's yuck is another person's yum, and fiction can be a healthier way to explore these dynamics that would not be feasible or ethical in real life, so these are more personal issues than objective criticisms. Again, the romanticization of inappropriate power dynamics that are either not discussed at all or swept under the rug is off-putting to me as a reader. The general preachiness of the genre is also a bit confusing as well and contributes to the overall "YA" feeling I get from these books. It feels as though queer romance authors feel obligated to teach the audience a lesson but don't want the lesson to be so subtle that it missed, so characters will engage in unnatural dialogue with one another regarding issues of queerness. It's clunky and also can miss the mark when the majority of your audience are other queer people that know the lessons you are trying to teach them. Stories in which one character realizes they are queer through the romance also can be a bit tricky with the preachiness because the character is learning this information in real time, and there is a way to make it feel more natural and not as condescending to the audience, but that's a difficult task. Perhaps my feelings on this stem from the fact that I realized I was queer in my early 20's ("late in life" according to some), but that took a lot of self-reflection rather than through a magically convenient relationship and so Eden's journey feels a little odd. Lastly on this point, the age gap trope may encourage an author to overexaggerate the maturity gap between the two characters. It's almost as if the author can't just show you how the differences in two characters' ages can create conflict or excitement through differences in life experiences and goals. They have to create an emotionally immature younger character and an overally stunted older character. This usually causes more problems with the younger character in which no matter how old they are, they feel like a teenager. Anna is a great example of this. Her mannerisms, language, and general understanding of the world presents her as a teenager, but she is 27. This characterization is also incongruent with one of the conflicts of the story, which is Anna's frustration at being perceived as younger than she is because of her prior career, but she makes no real attempts to combat this perception of her besides at one point getting a haircut. It would have made more sense if she tried to act older than she was to overcompensate for this stereotyping but no one took her seriously. But again, these are generally my issues with some of these genre conventions that are informed through my reading preferences and life experiences.
Overall, a pretty standard addition to the catalogue of Sapphic romance. I just need a break from this genre....more
I thought this was a great queer horror novel though I think some of the pacing could have used a bit of fine-tuning, especially when it came to the cI thought this was a great queer horror novel though I think some of the pacing could have used a bit of fine-tuning, especially when it came to the climax of the story. Especially great if you enjoy Kafkaesque horror and want a queer twist. Though honestly this book is most horrifying for airport dads like myself. ...more
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