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ramintah's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
latinxsupergirl's review
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
judeinthestars's review
5.0
Edit: December, 13rd, 2021, audiobook review.
I loved everything about this book when I first read it, and reacquainting myself with the characters in audio was pure joy. I love them all, Tilly and Evie of course but also Sean, Cal, Evie’s mum Lin, Luke, Laura… And I might be just a tiny little bit in love with Tilly and Evie, separately and together. Cat Gould’s narration brought them to life wonderfully. Her voices, in particular, are perfect. All of them but, again, especially her voices for Tilly and Evie.
I don’t have much to add to the review I wrote a year ago (to the day). It was a pretty detailed – but spoiler-free – review (see below) and I still stand by every word. If you’re into beautifully-written slow burns, this book is for you.
------------------------------------------------
If you’re looking for a fast burn with low angst, this is not the book for you. And that’s okay but I feel a little sad for you, that you won’t get to experience the precious joy that is this book.
I have only read two of G Benson’s books before this one but they were enough for me to know that she’s one of a handful of authors I have to read when I’m in a good place. Not that her books are bleak or depressing – on the contrary, they leave me full of hope and love and all things warm – but damn, so many feelings. Angst. Emotions. And these get into me, invade my heart and my soul and I have to remember to breathe. Don’t get me wrong, I love that feeling but I also have a real life to live where I can’t stop functioning because I’m feeling too much.
Which kind of sounds like Tilly, come to think of it. When things get too much, Tilly leaves. She sets off almost without notice and comes back after periods of time of variable lengths. Evie and Sean, her best friends since uni, are resigned to the fact. When Tilly comes back, she fits right back into their life. Except this time doesn’t feel like usual. Evie and Tilly had a fight just before she left and when she returns, the whole universe is upside down: Evie, who has been Tilly’s rock for over a decade, is unexpectedly pregnant and Tilly wants to be there for her. Which implies earning Evie’s trust back, convincing her Tilly won’t skedaddle again, unveiling secrets and being one hundred per cent truthful – including about the fact that they’ve both been in love with the other forever.
I don’t often quote from books because I’m not a fan of taking sentences out of context but I’ll make an exception here for two reasons. First, this description of who Evie and Tilly are and how different they are is just perfect. And second, I found myself reading these two sentences over and over because they’re gorgeous, quite simply: “Evie was solid and still, the roots of a tree, embedded and deep. Tilly was all wild leaves that blew about in the wind and only sometimes found themselves whipping back to where they came from.”
While Evie and Tilly are at the heart of the story, it is told from three points of views, Sean’s a counterpoint to the other two, at once an insider and an outsider, sometimes angry but always supportive. Sean really is a wonderful character and his work shenanigans bring welcome comic relief to both the characters’ lives and the story.
I love the way Benson writes characters on the whole LGBTQIA* spectrum and it doesn’t read like a catalogue. Sean is genderqueer and aromantic in a queerplatonic relationship, Evie is pan, Tilly uses bi. And maybe some readers will at first feel like everyone is gay or something in this book but it’s only true of the main characters and it just feels real. It’s not surprising nor rare that one would tend to gravitate towards people who will understand them, with shared experiences they can relate to. At one point in my life, my whole world was queer, with the exception of my parents and siblings and a couple of old friends. Obviously, we weren’t using as many words to define identity, orientation or relationships (yes, I had to google queerplatonic), as it was a long time ago in a slow-moving country and most people were still trying those words on for size, but just because the words weren’t used yet, or not as much, doesn’t mean the people weren’t already there. It only changed when our child started school and we, now parents, became friends with other parents (an interesting number of which turned out to be queer too, which we didn’t know when we first met waiting for our kids in front of the school). What doesn’t feel forced either is that neither Evie nor Sean are white and it defines them without being a big deal. It’s important to who they are, not so much to the story.
Oh and I love love love Evie’s mother. All the secondary characters are fantastic, none is superficial, whether it be Cal (Sean’s partner), Tilly’s family, one-night-stand Luke, but my favourite is unequivocally Evie’s mother, Lin, for all the love she has for her children but also for the mischievous pleasure she finds in embarrassing them. I laughed a few times while reading and she’s the one who made me laugh most often. She’s also the one who made me cry first.
Family is the main theme of this book, what defines a family, chosen or not, what makes a parent, finding one’s place in a family, biological parents and not, and of course it speaks to me, as a non-bio parent (who is finally legally a parent to my child) in a family with more than two parents.
In my review of Who’d Have Thought, I wrote that Benson writes “with small delicate touches that never feel fragile”. It’s true in this book too. There’s a lot of vulnerability but it never crosses the line to frailty, there’s this sense of strength beneath that never entirely lets up. And even though they’re completely different characters, with a very different story, there is something in Evie and Tilly’s relationship that reminds me of Cari Hunter’s Meg and Sanne, the best meant-to-be fate-denying couple in lesfic. Or ever. It’s the vulnerability between them, when they finally allow it to show. It breaks my heart and I just absolutely love it.
The secrets, both big and small, the love too, make it all feel heavy and deep and borderline stifling at times but that’s when Benson will inject the right dose of humour, the perfect amount of banter that best friends share, the word that breaks the tension. Then, when Tilly and Evie finally let love be, it’s beautiful, a miracle, an awakening. It’s happy and giddy and so lovely. And how does Benson write kisses that are soft and gentle and fierce at the same time?
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
I loved everything about this book when I first read it, and reacquainting myself with the characters in audio was pure joy. I love them all, Tilly and Evie of course but also Sean, Cal, Evie’s mum Lin, Luke, Laura… And I might be just a tiny little bit in love with Tilly and Evie, separately and together. Cat Gould’s narration brought them to life wonderfully. Her voices, in particular, are perfect. All of them but, again, especially her voices for Tilly and Evie.
I don’t have much to add to the review I wrote a year ago (to the day). It was a pretty detailed – but spoiler-free – review (see below) and I still stand by every word. If you’re into beautifully-written slow burns, this book is for you.
------------------------------------------------
If you’re looking for a fast burn with low angst, this is not the book for you. And that’s okay but I feel a little sad for you, that you won’t get to experience the precious joy that is this book.
I have only read two of G Benson’s books before this one but they were enough for me to know that she’s one of a handful of authors I have to read when I’m in a good place. Not that her books are bleak or depressing – on the contrary, they leave me full of hope and love and all things warm – but damn, so many feelings. Angst. Emotions. And these get into me, invade my heart and my soul and I have to remember to breathe. Don’t get me wrong, I love that feeling but I also have a real life to live where I can’t stop functioning because I’m feeling too much.
Which kind of sounds like Tilly, come to think of it. When things get too much, Tilly leaves. She sets off almost without notice and comes back after periods of time of variable lengths. Evie and Sean, her best friends since uni, are resigned to the fact. When Tilly comes back, she fits right back into their life. Except this time doesn’t feel like usual. Evie and Tilly had a fight just before she left and when she returns, the whole universe is upside down: Evie, who has been Tilly’s rock for over a decade, is unexpectedly pregnant and Tilly wants to be there for her. Which implies earning Evie’s trust back, convincing her Tilly won’t skedaddle again, unveiling secrets and being one hundred per cent truthful – including about the fact that they’ve both been in love with the other forever.
I don’t often quote from books because I’m not a fan of taking sentences out of context but I’ll make an exception here for two reasons. First, this description of who Evie and Tilly are and how different they are is just perfect. And second, I found myself reading these two sentences over and over because they’re gorgeous, quite simply: “Evie was solid and still, the roots of a tree, embedded and deep. Tilly was all wild leaves that blew about in the wind and only sometimes found themselves whipping back to where they came from.”
While Evie and Tilly are at the heart of the story, it is told from three points of views, Sean’s a counterpoint to the other two, at once an insider and an outsider, sometimes angry but always supportive. Sean really is a wonderful character and his work shenanigans bring welcome comic relief to both the characters’ lives and the story.
I love the way Benson writes characters on the whole LGBTQIA* spectrum and it doesn’t read like a catalogue. Sean is genderqueer and aromantic in a queerplatonic relationship, Evie is pan, Tilly uses bi. And maybe some readers will at first feel like everyone is gay or something in this book but it’s only true of the main characters and it just feels real. It’s not surprising nor rare that one would tend to gravitate towards people who will understand them, with shared experiences they can relate to. At one point in my life, my whole world was queer, with the exception of my parents and siblings and a couple of old friends. Obviously, we weren’t using as many words to define identity, orientation or relationships (yes, I had to google queerplatonic), as it was a long time ago in a slow-moving country and most people were still trying those words on for size, but just because the words weren’t used yet, or not as much, doesn’t mean the people weren’t already there. It only changed when our child started school and we, now parents, became friends with other parents (an interesting number of which turned out to be queer too, which we didn’t know when we first met waiting for our kids in front of the school). What doesn’t feel forced either is that neither Evie nor Sean are white and it defines them without being a big deal. It’s important to who they are, not so much to the story.
Oh and I love love love Evie’s mother. All the secondary characters are fantastic, none is superficial, whether it be Cal (Sean’s partner), Tilly’s family, one-night-stand Luke, but my favourite is unequivocally Evie’s mother, Lin, for all the love she has for her children but also for the mischievous pleasure she finds in embarrassing them. I laughed a few times while reading and she’s the one who made me laugh most often. She’s also the one who made me cry first.
Family is the main theme of this book, what defines a family, chosen or not, what makes a parent, finding one’s place in a family, biological parents and not, and of course it speaks to me, as a non-bio parent (who is finally legally a parent to my child) in a family with more than two parents.
In my review of Who’d Have Thought, I wrote that Benson writes “with small delicate touches that never feel fragile”. It’s true in this book too. There’s a lot of vulnerability but it never crosses the line to frailty, there’s this sense of strength beneath that never entirely lets up. And even though they’re completely different characters, with a very different story, there is something in Evie and Tilly’s relationship that reminds me of Cari Hunter’s Meg and Sanne, the best meant-to-be fate-denying couple in lesfic. Or ever. It’s the vulnerability between them, when they finally allow it to show. It breaks my heart and I just absolutely love it.
The secrets, both big and small, the love too, make it all feel heavy and deep and borderline stifling at times but that’s when Benson will inject the right dose of humour, the perfect amount of banter that best friends share, the word that breaks the tension. Then, when Tilly and Evie finally let love be, it’s beautiful, a miracle, an awakening. It’s happy and giddy and so lovely. And how does Benson write kisses that are soft and gentle and fierce at the same time?
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
elvang's review
4.0
One of those books that grows on you as you read it. Tilly was frustrating to begin with and turned out to be brave. Evie was brave from the start but still needed Tilly to be there for her. Loved the variety of characters and Tilly's complex emotions.
A unique read.
A unique read.
rogue_raven's review
4.0
Ok I'm not usually in to these books but I really liked this. It's a slow burn but it's incredibly sweet and emotion filled. I don't normally get invested in books like this but I found myself just wanting to shake Tilly and Evie lol. There's the story about why Tilly is the way she is, why she disappears a lot. But the bones of this book is about Tilly and Evie's relationship and their navigation of each other and life. It was just really lovely
tyrostone's review
3.0
I enjoyed this, although it did drag a bit toward the last third or so of the book. There was interesting and diverse representation going on (two bi/pan mains, one of whom is East Asian, a trans man bestie, his genderqueer love interest) but I think the POC representation fell a bit flat, in that it was mentioned in passing, but didn't appear to impact the character at all.
There was a lot of non-traditional family stuff going on (specifically around having a baby), which I thought was neat, and a lot of affirming messages about forgiveness and being allowed to make mistakes, but still be happy/loved.
The thing that I really didn't like about this book was how much miscommunication went down between the two mains, the whole "we're best friends but there's just some stuff we don't talk about" is fascinating to me but not in an appealing way.
Overall the book was just a little too long and contained a lot of little details that, past the first third of the book, probably could have been cut/edited down.
There was a lot of non-traditional family stuff going on (specifically around having a baby), which I thought was neat, and a lot of affirming messages about forgiveness and being allowed to make mistakes, but still be happy/loved.
The thing that I really didn't like about this book was how much miscommunication went down between the two mains, the whole "we're best friends but there's just some stuff we don't talk about" is fascinating to me but not in an appealing way.
Overall the book was just a little too long and contained a lot of little details that, past the first third of the book, probably could have been cut/edited down.
jathura's review
5.0
It's very hard to summarise how one might feel after reading this book. It's so very deep and broad, incredibly queer, and hits a variety of themes that can each strip a reader's feeling bare. Benson's books are now definitely shuffled to the front of my mental to-read priorities. There's just a depth of humanity here that makes it such an experience to read.
brennooth's review
5.0
I was nervous when I picked up this book. I knew that if it was anything like the other books I've read then my heart would hurt throughout the entire thing. It started hurting halfway through the prologue. And it's one of those books that makes the feeling completely justified. I was unable to put the book down as soon as I had a quiet moment to myself. I spent the entire day reading, ignoring the world around me because Tilly, Evie, Sean and Cal became my world and it was so so easy to just make them your family for the time. The diversity of this friend group is brilliant and I loved every second of it. The humor? Yes, I need more of this, brilliant. I want to have Evie's mum as my mum. Or Tilly's... I'm good either way, really. The relationship between Tilly and Evie... so fragile and yet so strong. Taking one step forward, two steps back. The way Evie was Tilly's support, hell, still is Tilly's support when it comes to her relationship with Laura.. this book was painful and brilliant and I miss them already. I ended up crying more than once and now all that's left is melancholy because I'm done reading and now they're "gone" and I'm sad.