Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Read Between the Lines

I liked the premise of this story, but the execution was really lackluster for me. The conflict felt overly drawn out and like it would keep being resolved and then a problem again, which made it hard to feel invested as the story went on. There were also several smaller conflicts always going on, so it was tough to feel invested in each of them throughout the story.

The sex scenes were also boring, from my perspective. Some of the choices (like blacking out or the scene fading to black) felt like the author trying to get out of writing the racy content.

A few additional thoughts:

- "Brie" with no last name feels like a really odd choice for a pen name. I feel skeptical that a publisher would say okay to that.
- I hate landlords and gentrification, so I was into the idea of a person recognizing the immorality of that kind of work and pursuing different avenues of labour. But it felt like the author wanted to say "oh but they're just doing their job", despite making the negative impacts of those professions a central conflict. Even Amy effectively says "we only renovate buildings and honestly, if that upsets Rosie, don't date her". After we spend an entire book looking at how those renovations price people out of their city, cut families off from the neighborhoods they've lived in all their lives, and threaten small businesses???? What about that is morally neutral?? Why is Rosie suddenly okay with that??
- The George thing comes completely out of left field in a bad way. I think if the conflict was better planned earlier in the story, you wouldn't need this additional villain to make the point clear.
- Brie quits her job, because she wants Rosie to like her and not because the things she does for work hurt people. That feels like a really problematic approach. Brie also doesn't like her work, but it feels obvious that the actual thing driving her to quit is wanting this relationship with Rosie.

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jackiie's review against another edition

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emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

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athenathestorier's review

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

It was a simple cozy lesbian romance with protagonists in their 30s. And dare I say that it felt like it? The way that they handled their needs and emotions were so mature. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic was prevalent but understated - with an awareness that circumstances made them enemies, not each other.

It also had a potent since of relatability - as a book lover, as a writer, and as someone who's just trying to make their way in the workforce. In fact, the book both served as a lovely romantic escape, and a subtle motivator for my life after closing the book. A rather meta reminder that there's life to tackle once you close the book.

Something else that stood out was the fact that one of our protagonists, an extremely avid book lover, was an extrovert. I, myself, am deeply introverted but I am all too aware that there's a common assumption that extroverts aren't big readers. That they have other things to do. So this was quite refreshing and appreciated.

Possibly inspired by "You've Got Mail" (if I'm understanding that acknowledgements page correctly), I was also reminded in style of the Fandom Hearts series by Cathy Yardley (which is one of my favorite romance series).

Favorite Quotes:

"Books spoke to her on a soul-deep level. They had the power to change lives when someone saw themselves represented on the page for the first time, and nothing made her happier than helping a customer find that connection."

"Sometimes I feel more comfortable with myself behind a keyboard than in person."

"But when she finished the book and put it back on her shelf, she was all alone in her bedroom."

"Her online crush, her real-life crush, and the woman who'd crushed her dreams were all the same person, and her mind was still struggling to snap all the pieces into place."

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analenegrace's review

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emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I received this book in a book swap, and I hadn’t heard of the author before, but I’ll definitely be reading Rachel Lacey’s others! This book was fun and easy to pace through, making it a great vacation read. I love that it's about a bookstore owner, although I was pretty wary going in knowing it was about a landlord, but I loved and related to Jane’s character a lot. It was well-written, and the characters felt really realistic, making their relationship nice to read about!

Jane’s character was especially intriguing as her work is complicated; while landlords are not inherently evil, the actions of her father's business are bad, and I did wish that we had maybe reached that conclusion a little bit more rather than

just the “alls well that ends well” conclusion to the bookstore location plot. Jane’s choice to leave her job and comfort zone to pursue her goal as an author was great, although it felt like the characters were moving in together way too fast, same with saying I love you.

I tend to prefer characters whose romance feels a bit more realistic in their speed.

Usually, my least favorite trope is any of sort of hidden identity because it leads to the miscommunication trope, which is just awful, but Rosie and Jane were such good communicators for the most part that it was fantastic.

Jane choosing to tell Rosie who she was rather than keep it from her was not what I expected but was highly appreciated.

The characters felt their feelings strongly, and I enjoyed that they were lesbians and comfortable in saying lesbian because too many WLW romances choose to skirt around the word lesbian like it is dirty rather than many people’s identities.

I also really enjoyed the way the side characters were written, and I’m very interested in the possibility of a Gracie/Lia book which it felt like the author was hinting at! All in all, a good read by an author who writes well and isn’t afraid of lesbian!!

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decklededgess's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

trigger warnings: gentrification, eviction, emotionally distant family, death of parent

This was so tense and so cute. I love when the dual irl enemies digital besties with a crush is done well. This was so spectacular. Their animosity was so valid bc like I too hate gentrifying ass corporate landlords. I liked how the conflict was deeply rooted in morality and appreciated that the resolution wasn't one of "accept your flaws" but "distance yourself from something that is unequivocally bad."

Jane's sister was a bit of a shit though for getting mad that Rosie was hating on corporate landlords??? Like what, you want people to just LET gentrification happen?? Like the helplessness and "it is what it is" attitude towards some really armful corporate practices was really reckless and annoying. If you're going to tackle issues like that you better be on the right side of the argument or the charm of the romance is lost.

Overall a solid story if I ignore the gentrification nonsense.

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librariangeorgia's review

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emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

3.5

I loved the concept of this book and while I did enjoy reading it, there were some things that annoyed me too much to enjoy it fully.

I found it quite fast paced - too much so in some places, especially when it jumped between time periods and it felt like you'd missed a chunk of the story. The writing wasn't great in the sense of that there wasn't a lot of exploring emotions, the sex scenes weren't great (it was basically 2 paragraphs and then it moved on to something else), the reactions were either underwhelming or over the top.

It really niggled at me when romance books were called 'sexy books' - to me it was as if they were talking about a mills and boon novel (a stereotype, i know, but they are known for their 'filthiness'). There were other things that the wording just wasn't quite right and it came off as either super cringy or just not realistic at all.

I hated how much of the storyline the demolition took up - I know it's a key part of linking the main characters but it was very repetitive with how often it was mentioned. Especially with how much it negatively impacted Jane and Rosie's relationship. And the fact that Jane was painted as the heroine, yet the whole situation is her fault in the first place - why?!

However, I loved Jane and Rosie as a whole (despite all their imperfections)! They are both absolute disasters and i'm living for it. Jane was very businesslike with the hint of niceness at the beginning so it was really nice to see her loosen up by the end of the book. Their relationship was quite the rollercoaster with all the conflict (too much at times) but i'm really happy with how the book ended.

I can see why this isn't everyones cup of tea - I feel like the concept of author/bookstore owner relationship made me enjoy it that little bit more. I'm also slightly bias when it comes to sapphic romance novels ...

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town_scar's review

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I just really dislike the writing style. A lot of unnecessary details, the romance isn't believable, and it's just way too meta ("this situation is just like the romance books you read!" Is just annoying). Also was really annoying that the characters were really well off white women living in Manhattan, making it utterly unrelatable when combined with a goofy plot.

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imaginingly's review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

4.5

this was such a cute read. i loved the characters and i loved that there was actually a plot to follow—some romance doesn’t have that. i would probably rate it a 2/5 spice wise. loved the romance aspect and i love how it ended. had me crying several times throughout it because it was so wholesome.

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