This was such a wonderfully, realistically British, queer little story. I loved the Bristol setting, having lived there myself for a few years.

I loved it a lot, the witty and heartfelt moments, also the emotional and vulnerable ones.

The found family aspect was beautiful, and I like how friendship played a big part - it wasn't purely a romance.

The third person POV did initially confuse me a little, but only in the first chapter, and the writing overall was excellent. And the ending was fantastic, so incredibly heartwarming.

@currentlyreading__
Book 34 of 2024

When I saw that the brilliant @betholearyauthor had raved about the upcoming ‘Experienced’ by @kateyoungwrites I had to request it. So, thank you to the author, @4thestatebooks and @netgalley for granting me access to it prior to publication on 6th June. I loved it! It was fresh, spunky (very Lucinda from MAFS iykyk!) and a really engrossing read.

Thirty-something Bette is in a happy relationship with Mei. But when Mei says that Bette hasn’t had enough experience with women as it’s not long since she came out, she requests that Bette (with her blessing) goes off to sow her wild oats with as many women as she’d like for three months. So they are on an official break and Bette dips her toe, foot and then her whole self into the pool of online dating and embarks upon a dating odyssey. There’s hedonistic scene after hedonistic scene as Bette discovers what she’d like to experience.

I loved not only the brilliant Bette but the friendships she has with other women. They were heart-warming and full of wisdom. And then there’s the spicy scenes… 🌶 Forget whether you’re into LGBTQIA bay fiction, this is all about the heart and whatever your sexual orientation, you will love it.

#bookworm #iamreading #bookreview #experienced #kateyoung #4thestatebooks #upcomingpublications #junereads #netgalley

This is a delightful and refreshingly honest exploration of self-discovery, sexuality, and modern queer dating. The novel follows Bette, who embarks on a journey of exploration after her girlfriend Mei suggests they take a break.

Young's writing is insightful and relatable, capturing the complexities of Bette's emotions as she navigates her newfound identity. I would recommend this read to anyone struggling to find their ‘place’. It’s also steamy!!

This was just a plot that has been done so many times before. One partner wants a ‘break’, in this case for the other partner to experience some other lovers, the plan being that they will come back together in three months. The partner who didn’t want the break does some pretty unsuccessful dating and the inevitable happens…………….one or the other or both fall for someone else while the other wants to get back together. You’ll have to read it to find out who wants what.
The USP of this book is that both partners are women, nothing more.
It was an ok book, but I could take it or leave it.
Thanks as always to the author, the publishers and to NetGalley for an advance e.reader copy of this book.

3.5 stars

After coming out as a lesbian in her late 20s, Bette thinks she found the person she’s gonna spend the rest of her life with. That changes when Mei suggests a three months break so that Bette can live the experiences she missed out on.

The story was fun and a very entertaining way to spend time. The perfect amount of messiness to keep you hooked all the way through.

The characters had their moments, but they were overall very pleasant to follow. Bette’s journey was so interesting and I truly enjoyed the way it all wrapped up.

Many thanks to 4th Estate, William Collins & Netgalley for allowing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Bette is on break from Mei, so that Bette can experience other women. As Bette sets out to do as her girlfriend wants she’s confused and initially doesn’t want to do this. However she does as she’s told and starts make new friends and connections!

Although an easy read nothing very interesting actually happened and I could easily have put the book down and not bothered.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC

A fantastic book about Queer Love set in a city I know incredibly well.
A central character called Bette with no mention of The L Word. When you know, you know.
At the start of this book, Bette and Mei are in bliss. That is until Mei unexpectedly breaks up with Bette. She gives her a three month mission to sleep with as many women as she can. In theory, this is for Bette to know she is certain about settling down, but I smelled a rat.
Bette is immediately cast as an anti-hero in her adventure, because she has to do things that will upset herself and others in order to get back to Mei. Along the way, she meets the real star of this book: Ruth. A new ride-or-die friend, or maybe something so much more.
A must-read

A debut by this author and it was a good one too! Finished the book in a day and enjoyed the story. Characters were brilliant and I wish I had a friend like Ruth! Sex scenes were written well and relationships came across as loving and tender.

I was so excited for this book, but sadly it did not click with me. I might come back to it in the future, but for now it is a DNF :(

4.5/5 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book.
Let me start off by saying, if Mei has one hater - it’s me, if she has none - I’m dead.
This book really has it all! Queers! Friends to lovers! Fake dating (albeit brief)! Amazing friend groups!
It was a delightful LGBTQ+ read with SO MUCH representation.
It is a bit slow at the start but give it time and you won’t be disappointed.
Honestly, my main gripe with it is that I still have NO idea what Bette did for a living.

I inhaled this book in a couple of days. I loved the world of this story so much, from the descriptions of Bristol and Edinburgh to all the comfort foods Bette and Ash eat. And, thankfully, the sex scenes are well-written too! I thought that this might end up being a book about non-monogamy, but it was actually sweetly monogamous. The perfect read for a newly-out queer woman.

“Her life lately had been so infused with Mei that it was almost impossible to scrub her from any corner of it.”

This book is so good 😭

When Bette’s gf encourages her to take a 3 month relationship break in order to gain more queer experience, it is so incredibly entertaining (and emotional) to follow her 3 month sexually-promiscuous sabbatical.

The 3-month deadline and countdown format makes the book hugely digestible, you can’t wait to find out what happens next!! But the dialogue and partnerships are what makes it such a memorable and heartwarming read, I couldn’t wait to get to the next page.

I would like a sequel please, or a TV adaptation! One of my favourite reads of the year.

Favourite quote:

“Bette woke the next morning with more company than she had energy to handle.”

I really liked Experienced! A Bristol-set lesbian rom-com about a girl who came out in her late twenties, it's chaotic yet believable, and has exactly the sort of setting and characters that I always really enjoy reading about. I empathised with Bette, the protagonist, for her attitude towards relationships (I literally married my first proper boyfriend and hate when people say you have to date around to experience life in your 20s properly!) and I really liked her love interest, Ruth – I would like her as a friend pls. The writing did feel a bit stilted at times, but it didn't upset my reading experience, which is good because I'd been looking forward to this one for ages!

I absolutely love EXPERIENCED! Who wouldn't love a sapphic romcom with the best ending!!

The story had us exploring what 'experience' truly means. It's very common in the lesbian dating world to fast forward to living happily ever after and skipping all the other steps. Gosh, I've done it a couple of times, and honestly, it never ended well. It took a good chunk of my life to accept my own sexuality, likes, dislikes, wants, and needs, etc, so I can relate to how Bette is feeling at the beginning of this book.

This was a rom-com in every sense of the word. It had fake dating, a life changing epiphany, the straight best friend who I felt definitely rolled her eyes on more than one occasion, lol But I absolutely loved Bettes' journey it was an absolute must to get to the happy ending. 😊

I adored all the characters they were all diverse and had many different perspectives, which added so much more depth to the various scenarios Bette found herself in.

I loved how the author covered many topics from the LGBTQ+ community that aren't always talked about such as knowing what you like instantly and the feeling of having to prove yourself and also how someone's family may take the news of coming out. Sometimes, it's not always unicorns and rainbows, sadly.

Yes, this is a masterpiece. I'm so excited for this one to hit the shelves, and I'll definitely be ordering a copy. I can't wait to recommend this to my friends.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a sweet romance of girl meets girl in an unconventional way. I loved Ruth and all of the side characters really made the novel.
I did feel the characters acted a bit younger than their proposed ages, but overall I liked it.

Warm sexy writing that tries to set out the frustration of someone who is not sure if they are bi or lesbian?

It does go into graphic detail of sexual acts and this might be distasteful to some readers. I felt that the book could have done with a bit more editing as it seemed to drag in places. All in all a light hearted read.

I really enjoyed this book. Great characters and a really interesting insight. The relationships were really well written. Highly recommended.

This is funny , sexy and sweet novel with realistic characters, believable friendships and relationships. A really enjoyable read.

So, last week was lesbian visibility week. At the weekend, I went to an event to hang out with my fellow London lesbians. Naturally, this devolved into us talking about being unlucky in love, about how ideally we'd like to meet a woman in real life, about whether it's simply easier to give up on that dream and download dating apps (despite there being a dearth of apps actually aimed at lesbians)...

This book very much resonates with the experiences we shared that night. Take this premise: 'A fresh, sexy romantic comedy about a newly-out lesbian finding herself, finding her tribe, and finding her partner—in that order.' I think it's a very common experience to try to skip to that last step. One of my first forays into the gay scene in London was a speed dating event! It took several years to form deep friendships with other lesbians and come to terms with my own sexuality. And this certainly isn't exclusive to gay people.

At its heart, 'Experienced' is a romantic comedy. It has many of the classic traits of the genre, including the long-suffering best friend who supports the protagonist, fake dating, the epiphany realisation, the quirky job and especially<spoiler>the love interest the main character wants versus the love interest the readers are rooting for</spoiler>. But as with all romantic comedies, the journey is more important that the inevitable destination, and Young pulls all these traits together skilfully. I emphasised very deeply with Bette's situation. She is a sensitive soul and whenever she had a punch-to-the-gut moment, so did I. The ending was very emotionally fulfilling.

I wish all the success for this impressive debut and I hope that we continue to be blessed with well-written novels about the lesbian experience, like this one!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and 4th Estate for the ARC!

This book is just such a gorgeously warm and witty depiction of a woman finding herself with the help of friends, both old and new.