"French Pressed Love" by M.C. Hutson is a sapphic romance filled with drama, tension, and unexpected love. The story follows Jordan, a stressed coffee shop manager, and Noémie, a high-maintenance customer, who are forced into a shared living situation. Their slow-burn relationship is intense and messy, which some readers enjoy for its angst, while others find it frustrating. The book offers strong LGBTQ+ representation and pop-punk nostalgia but has a polarizing romance dynamic. Overall, it's a dramatic and fast-paced read that will appeal to those who enjoy emotionally charged love stories.

Overall, I loved this book, however, the slow burn was a little too slow for me and the ending was somewhat predictable. I would personally have preferred it if the build-up tied in more with the ending and was different to what I expected but nevertheless, I still really enjoyed and would love to read more from this author!

Thanks to NetGalley and MC Press for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. Sapphic representation? Check! BIPOC rep? Check! Cross class romance? Check! Hot butch barista with a motorbike and a bad reputation to cover up her trauma history reps? Check, check, check.

Sadly though I didn’t really like any of the characters. The friendships fell flat. I never saw any proof that the MC and LI actually liked each other, despite the MC telling me on a fairly regular basis. The character I liked best turned out to have been lying for almost the entirety of the book, and despite that there was still a neat and tidy ending.

It took 60% of book for me to want to know what was going to happen next and I only got that far because this is an ARC and I felt like I ought to finish it.

Still it’s a whole book, that the author has clearly put a lot into, and I feel like that should be celebrated.

This book was a difficult one for me to get into, and I really really wanted to love it. A coffee shop sapphic romance! I was very excited for this one and it started out well enough. I enjoyed meeting the characters at a moderate pace and feeling like I was actually getting to kind of know them. I was also a fan of the romance for most of the book right up until the last 25% or so of the book, and things happened that just kind of ruined it for me at least, I know other people have really enjoyed it and the writing is, in my opinion, well done. Just sadly not as much of a book for my tastes as I was hoping it would be.

I did receive an eARC of this from NetGalley but chose to leave this review on my own terms.

The drama, the tension, the banter. I loved it all. So well written and an excellent slow burn. I really enjoyed the coffee shop setting and liked seeing the roommate to lover dynamic play out. Such a quick read and definitely recommend.

I promised myself that in 2025 I would DNF any book I am not enjoying, no matter what. No excuses, life is too short to do anything you’re not loving. I wasn’t enjoying the dialogue and I felt like the character interactions were inauthentic. Thank you for the opportunity and I’m sorry it didn’t work out.

I picked this up because the cover is gorgeous, but that's where my enjoyment ended. The writing was rough, the story were hard to get through, and the characters were extremely toxic. I finished it, but it was a struggle. Definitely not for me.

This was not really my cup of tea (pun not intended). I originally sat down to read this for a cute lgbt romance, but some of the themes were triggering and I felt like the romance kind of became unhealthy further into the book. I didn't feel as connected to the characters anymore, and wasn't really as excited to sit down and read anymore. The writing style was easy to follow, but some wordings and references kind of threw me off.

Not my cup of tea, the style of the book was not for me but the love story was sweet nonetheless. I did love the nods to Toronto and that’s probably what brought my rating up! I do want to try reading other books from the author.

How could I describe this book? A rollercoaster of emotions, angst, and tension-filled romance that keeps you hooked. If you love messy, complicated love stories with characters who challenge each other in all the best (and worst) ways, this book is for you.

Jordan Alexander is stuck—financially, emotionally, and in a job that barely pays the bills. Enter Noémie St. Pierre, the ultimate nightmare customer whose privileged attitude rubs Jordan the wrong way. But when Noémie’s charmed life suddenly crumbles and forces her to get a real job, she and Jordan become unlikely roommates. What follows is a beautifully frustrating, slow-burning romance filled with misunderstandings, jealousy, and undeniable chemistry.

Jordan is guarded, independent, and wary of love, while Noémie is a spoiled rich girl learning what it means to struggle. Watching them challenge and slowly open up to each other is both painful and incredibly satisfying.

This isn’t your typical romance—Hutson doesn’t shy away from the messy, complicated nature of attraction, especially when it comes to exploring sexuality and self-discovery.

Just be warned—you might never look at your morning coffee the same way again.

After reading reviews and feedback for this book I do not believe it would be in my best interest to read it due to some themes present and therefore I can not leave a sufficient review.

People seem to either love or hate this. I gotta say I loved it up until we find out what Noémie did. I think this kind of betrayal shouldn't be forgiven and I felt really bad for Jordan when they inevitably got back together. Also I feel like Wayne is a shit friend and Jordan deserved better than him and Noémie. So even though this didn't really stick the landing for me I immensely enjoyed reading this book. I got super invested and couldn't put it down so huge probs to the writing. I think I'll check out the author's other work following this.

It was interesting to see two different lived experiences of unaccepting families. When perspective from an underprivileged family and the other perspective from a family of means. It's also pretty typical to have messy connections with exes and to be in community with them so I like that that was included. I did find myself annoyed with the characters constantly being referred to as broken or unlovable. I was also annoyed by the concept of the bet it doesn't really seem like it was necessary as a plot point.

Butch main, and that is the pov the story is told from. Although I have read many books with “butcher” mains, they tend to be chivalrous and providers rather than like this…… but at 30% in I’m not sure enough of this character to describe them, except to say I am interested in more. I didn’t like the sister, but we aren’t supposed to. To be honest, I didn’t like most of the secondary characters. It’s not that they weren’t well written, just not likeable.
It’s great to be exposed to different cultures, although I am glad the whole book wasn’t written in the style of the sisters dialect. It was understandable (and a glossary was provided!) but I had to focus.
I’m a bit torn by this novel. The story or conflict between the mains keeps the tension going. As I said the main is a bit more butch, (self identified as a pretty stud!) and of the style - “physical with someone you can have to forget someone you can’t” than I am used to reading. Not always likeable….. (The last 2 comments may be related,)
The physical scene didn’t work for me. That is purely personal taste. Again, not an issue with the writing, or me. I think that is where my issue with this book comes from. There were aspects of people’s behaviour I didn’t like, so didn’t enjoy reading that, but enjoyed the rest. It certainly felt like a fresh voice! 3.5.

In this charming and emotional LGBTQ+ romance, readers follow artist and barista Jordan Alexander as she deals with a major life rut when she is scraping by on her salary and no closer to her dream. Forced to choose between a new roommate or a new place to live, Jordan has no idea that the Poutine Princess Noemie St. Pierre is also having her own issues, being recently cut off from her wealthy father, and that the two new coworkers will also become roommates. As the two navigate their new work and living arrangements and deal with their own issues and assumptions about each other, readers will have to see if complications appear between this unlikely duo. With a host of fascinating characters and complex and flawed protagonists, readers will love this new novel for its surprising reveals and the twists in the character narratives. The characters are easily the star of the show, and readers’ perspectives will change as the book progresses. For those looking for a nuanced LGBTQ+ romance relatable to modern readers, this is definitely it because the changing tropes, different locations, fantastic characters, and unique cultural elements really bring this new and immersive romance novel to life.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and M.C. Hutson Press INC. for this arc of French Pressed Love!

I went into this book with some high expectations, from the banging playlist provided to the premise, it all sounded so promising! This was a good book, but there are a lot of things I wish could be improved on. Drama is a necessary plot point sometimes in novels, but I felt as if the drama in this one was becoming way too overwhelming and I was tired of both Jordan and Noémie's mess and lack of communication. The plot was enticing and it did keep me interested in seeing what happened next for our two fmcs. However, the characters and their own experiences felt underdeveloped and I was wanting much more from them. A dual pov would have made this have much more depth along with giving us more about the main characters and even the side characters. Overall, this was a fun read and was pretty solid when it comes to sapphic fiction, I just wished there was more romance and less unnecessary drama.

DNF’d at 45% i wasn’t a fan of the writing style. The synopsis sounded so good but I found the delivery was lacking. Sorry

4.5 stars

I loved this angsty, slow-burn sapphic romance.

firstly, touch-me-not/stone top rep is so, so important and I loved seeing it in this book. We need more of it! (and pillow princess rep too)
secondly, I don't think this book is as toxic as people are claiming? It's a bit messy and the character's aren't the best at communicating due to past traumas. But people don't have to be perfectly healed to be deserving of love.

This book felt realistic to me in a way that most other sapphic romances don't. The frequent use of lesbian terms, the messy friendship group full of exes, and the masc rep stood out to me. (from memory, Jordan never refers to herself as a butch or stud)

my only criticism is that I think an epilogue showing them healthily together and a bit more healed would've gone a long way. and some of the transitions felt a bit jarring.

one last thing: I think the SA aspect was handled wonderfully. The assault shouldn't have to be explicitly explained for you to understand why or how it impacts the character. The people I've seen criticising that have pissed me off. The assault was mentioned/alluded to a few times throughout the book, which is realistic.

This was a good Lesbian romance with lots of emotional layers with people leery about relationships! Read it

Let me be real here, I have rarely read something that the premise sounded interestingly good for this to be possibly the most toxic sapphic what the f*ck I have ever read.

I thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read this but honestly my overall annoyance to the general nonsense that I read is mind blowing. So much unnecessary drama, where one MC basically sleeps around with any woman that moves and the other is well… manipulative. Both MCs are so toxic that not even the worst trope ever of miscommunication can save this.

The family and friends are horrible people, truly awful. Rich vs poor dynamic which honestly didn’t make sense, homophobia / internal homophobia which really was a poor plot lead back to a weird try at being “hetro-normative”. Which I found actually a bit insulting to any queer person! Ridiculous volume of jealousy, lots of trauma that really is not explored nor anything moved forward to support them. The only positives I can take away was great to see some Jamaican culture with some top notch food choices and that the story was fairly short!

I am sorry to say but I would not recommend this, honestly what have I just read! Enjoy getting through this for everything to happen in the last 95% and then just end. There is no pay off plus by that point who actually cares!