Eve is divorced and is working through some struggles internally and externally with accepting her sexuality when she meets Lynette. Author Lynette is drawn to Eve immediately, but she hasn't been keen to start a relationship with someone who is closeted. The attraction is undeniable, and the two women grow closer, while trying to navigate their new relationship with Eve's family and Lynette's work.

I really enjoyed this book, I thought it was sexy and fun while still dealing with a lot of emotions which deepens the readers connection to the book. The chemistry between Eve and Lynette was off the charts! I think was my first full length novel by Shade, although I've enjoyed some short stories in the past, and I look forward to catching up on all her other novels.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this story and always appreciate having more Black sapphic romance. Having said that, why was this story so quick? It felt like it should have been a 300-page book that was condensed into half that size. I love a good novella, but this didn't read like one. Shade did this thing where she would skip over entire time periods and give a brief description of what happened. Um, I wanted to read about that. Also, I didn't find the romance believable because their interactions were snippets of the time they actually spent together. I didn't feel them fall in love, I was told they fell in love. Rather than try and jam a much larger story into this one, I wish she had just simply told the story of them falling in love, Eve coming out and Lynette dealing with someone in the closet and her hangups. That would have been more than enough to do in novella size.

I can tell that Shade is a good writer and I do think that had this been more showing and less telling, I would have enjoyed it more. Despite my misgivings, I do recommend it.

This was my first book by Anne Shade, and I thought it was a pretty well-written, easy read. It’s not a bad book, but unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me.

Eve Monroe (lesbian, Black, half Puerto Rican) wants to embrace her lesbian identity after being closeted her whole life. Lynette Folsom (lesbian, Black) has been burned in the past by a woman who was closeted. Eve and Lynette are instantly attracted to each other, but they have to work through their respective conflicts before their relationship can work.

I did have some issues with how the story was told. While the writing was mostly good, there’s some head hopping that took me out of the story. In addition, several of the MCs’ meetings are purely coincidental, which got old really fast. There’s also an unnecessary flashback of Eve meeting her ex for the first time. Why was this included??

I also thought some elements of the story were unintentionally problematic. I don’t know how I feel about how Shade handled the story of Eve’s trans cousin Juliana. Since she was a kid, Eve has known Juliana was trans, but for half the book, she refers to pre-transition Juliana by her deadname and dead pronouns. Eve also outs Juliana to Lynette at some point. Eve’s therapist, who’s supposed to be progressive, says unnecessarily gendered things such as “women are overthinkers and use their hearts/intuition more than men.” Furthermore, Eve’s lesbian identity is frequently referred to as a “new lifestyle.”

Though this one didn’t work for me, I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a quick, steamy romance.

content warnings: homophobia, graphic sex, transphobia, manipulation, outing, deadnaming, misgendering, d-slur, vomiting, mentions of colorism, alcohol (recreational)

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great characters, and storyline. I enjoy sapphic books that aren't just smooth sailing girl meets girl. This is an interesting read, and one I definitely recommend. Light to read, but deeper perspectives under it all. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for another review.

Lynette Folsom, author, not really interested in being in a relationship with someone who is closeted. Eve Monroe, event planner, recently divorced, bisexual, closeted and has a strong and supportive family. She knows what she wants but is afraid to go after it. When the women meet, the attraction is felt by both of them. As the story unfolds, there is story telling from not only the present but the past which at times seems a little disjointed. Eve and Lynette are both likable characters and I appreciated how they both spent time self-reflecting. I also liked that Eve sought out counseling to help her deal with coming out to her family. In my opinion, this provided a statement that counseling is a good thing, not for all but from some. In general, the read is enjoyable but the connection between the characters was not as enjoyable as I would have liked.

I wanted to love this, i really did but unfortunately it contained a few tropes that i do not love. I’m rating this based on how i would if the tropes didn’t bother me so much because i feel that’s only fair.

what i loved: the character development, how relatable eve is as a character, the writing style, the romantic tension between the two love interests, the representation. All in all, this is well written, really cute insta-love romance book and a story of a closeted lesbian coming to love and accept herself.

what i didn’t love: the cheating trope. i, unfortunately, cannot get over this aspect of the book because the trope bothers me so much.

This is my first Anne Shade book and there were things I liked about it but also things that didn't work for me.
Eve Monroe is recently divorced and has denied her bisexuality because she fears her family's reaction to her interest in women. When she plans a book signing event for author Lynette Folsom, the attraction is instantaneous for both women. They begin spending time together, taking the relationship slowly as Eve tries to navigate how to deal with her sexuality and Lynette tries to deal with her concerns about getting involved with a woman in the closet.
I liked both women but didn't feel a lot of connection with them. I appreciated both of their concerns with getting involved with each other, but I think the jumping from the present to the past made it difficult to connect more with them. I think there was a lot of potential here that I didn't really feel was fully realized. While I may not have loved the book, it might appeal to others. It is obvious Anne Shade is a talented writer and I will look for more of her books and hope that I can connect better with those.

An ARC was received from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley for an honest review.

This was an easy read and I enjoyed it very much. Eve is happy but is struggling to come to terms with her sexuality. Shes scared of the way her catholic mom and family might react if they found out she was gay. She meets Lynette and instantly there's an attraction. They both decides to take it slow. However, it's obvious that whenever Eve is in Lynette's company, she feels free, empowered, bold and quite happy. Overall, a great read. I recommend.4 stars.


Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately, I couldn't finish the book because I didn't know that I received it. Still from the cover ti is nice to actually see a black woman on the cover.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley.

Eve is recently divorced from her ex-husband when she meets Lynette and sparks instantly fly, but Eve isn’t ready to come out to her Catholic family.

This is an easy read and overall a good story, but it felt rushed and jumpy at times and I felt that the characters weren’t fleshed out enough which made it hard to connect to them.

This was such a heartfelt story!
Eve was endearing in her willingness to put herself out there and live her truth, fear and all.
It was great to see her work through her issues, felt like a realistic journey.
Lynette was also a great character and you can really relate to her insecurities.
As a couple, you love to see that level of communication between them.
Great plot, really likeable side characters (Juliana <3). I really felt the part about not living up to the parent's expectations. It was beautifully written.
Some events that would have been interesting to explore (ex: meeting the mum) happen BTS but since it's a shorter book it makes sense in story.
Netgalley ARC

This book is an easy read an written well enough, but it wasn’t for me.

I understand coming out can be hard but there is one thing I just can’t stand… being a lesbian or anywhere on the queer spectrum isn’t a lifestyle. It really irks me that people call it a lifestyle, in and out of the community. A lifestyle is something you are actively choosing to participate in, sexuality isn’t a choice, is it… This book references the lesbian lifestyle a lot and it annoyed me. I feel like the author rushes through the life of the characters, but as a reader I was a little lost. At times there was a lot of detail and at times just a lot of rushing.
I couldn’t connect with the characters either. Neither Eve nor Lynette held any appeal for me.

As said the writing style is pretty good, but I just didn’t connect with the way this story is told. Please read other reviews to figure out if this is a book for you

Eve is happy with her life but she struggling to come terms with sexuality. When she set up a book event planning she meets Lynette and attraction is instant. Lynette is still hesitant to start anything with anyone especially since she had a past relationship who hurt her deeply. As they both decides to take it slow and get to know each other we go on the journey with them because it’s jumps from the present and the past. Good read.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Eve is coming to terms with her sexuality post divorce and Lynnette is still weary after her last serious relasionship ended with her ex leaving her for a man. So they decide to take is alow with dinner, phone conversation, a day at the beach. The relasionship goes back and forth with counselling and therapy involved to help Eve with her coming out. The timeline jumps from a couple of dates to 6 months into the relashionship and It sometimes jumped to between present and past timeline without warning, A lot was going on at the same time. But in essence this is a fast read, I feel like it could have had more substance. Not a bad book just falling a little short both in lenght and essence.
Free ARC provided by BSB via NetGalley

Eve Monroe is running a successful event planning business. She is coming to terms with her bisexuality, but hasn’t dated in the couple of years since her divorce. She plans a book signing event for new author Lynette Folsom and the attraction is instant. I love that even with the instant attraction these two mature women take their time. Lynette had a closeted partner in her past that really hurt her and she doesn’t want to run that risk again. So they start off slowly with dinner, texts and even taking a break. In an unusual move (for a novel) the author has Eve seek counseling to help her come out to her Puerto Rican/black family. Family is important to both women.

Overall I like the story. The feelings, timeline and conflict seem realistic. I had a some issues with the writing style. Occasionally the story awkwardly jumps to a memory from the past. Other moments felt more told than shown. And the book felt short overall even though it covers a good deal of time. (I couldn’t tell how many pages on my reading device.) Thank you to NetGally and Bold Strokes Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

To me, this book felt like the plot spanned too long of a timeline compared to the length of the book. By fast forwarding through the main characters lives the story felt a little choppy. But overall, the book was well written and was an easy read.