Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - Yerba Buena: A Novel

This book feels like warmth. The way that Emilie and Sara kept finding each other was as beautiful and tender as it was heartbreaking and tense. I loved how they fell in love with each other, how Emilie began to find her voice, how Sara began to heal from the past. The ending was bittersweet in a way too: not necessarily happy and satisfying but not without hope.

I loved the side plot of Collette and how her and Emilie grew closer. This book felt like a love story to romantic, platonic, and familial relationships.

My only issue is that I felt the beginning and ending chapters could have been longer. It felt like so much happened in such a short amount of time (especially at the end with Sara going back to her hometown) that it would have been explored more. These were such pivotal moments and I wanted more!

All in all, a fantastic read. I think Nina Lacour is slowly becoming one of my favorite authors.

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kaseybereading's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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rliedtke's review against another edition

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4.0

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breacommelafromage's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

An absolutely stunning adult debut from Nina LaCour! A sapphic literary romance that pulls no punches and shows the complexity of queer womanhood, trauma, and the uncertainity adulthood brings to all of us. This is a story about two young queer women, set over the course of ten years that explores elements of family trauma, self doubt, grief, and the pain that often comes with love.

Something to keep in mind - this book is not your typical genre romance novel, and I do not say that as a slight to this book; this is one of my only full five star books of 2022. This is just something to consider when book talking or when you go to pick it up to read yourself. It has element of a romance and does have a Happlily for Now ending, but this reads much more like a literary novel that is character driven and about self exploration, trauma and grief (and beautiful prose) than about plot and getting to that HEA.

THANK YOU TO THE PUBLISHER FOR SENDING ME AN ARC IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

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youshouldreadthisif's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A tender, raw love story perfect for fans of All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

Emily is stuck. Lost. Floundering as she tries to live up to her only somewhat self-imposed role as the “easy” daughter. Sarah is broken. Let down by virtually every adult in her life, she runs away from home at 16. Years later, Sarah and Emily meet, only briefly, at Yerba Buena. But, true to form, author Nina Lacour doesn’t allow the two women’s love story to begin so simply, so flawlessly. Their fledgling relationship is fraught with issues borne from their respective traumas, but it’s incredibly satisfying to see them truly come together in the end.

This isn’t escapism romance. It’s not light, fluffy, stop-it-I-can’t-handle-the-cuteness romance. It’s a love story that acknowledges that, first and foremost, we’re people with our own, sometimes traumatic, histories, and we bring all of that into our relationships with other people, both romantic or not. Yerba Buena was incredible - poignant, heartbreaking, tender. This is a must read for 2022.

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