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bvllator's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
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? Yes
5.0
It’s a Lee Winters book, can’t go wrong.
banrions's review against another edition
4.0
Lady reporters falling in love!!! One's an ice queen who's not really and one's an optimistic idealist!!! Oh my god they are perfect and I want to die.
hsinjulit's review against another edition
4.0
<3 victoria mei/natalie naudus’ narration... started one last stop 4th listen immediately
(sorry folx, i miss y’all but i’m gasping in the sea of schoolwork rn *cries*)
rtc. maybe.
(sorry folx, i miss y’all but i’m gasping in the sea of schoolwork rn *cries*)
rtc. maybe.
rebl's review against another edition
4.0
Lee Winter is an Australian writer and one of my goals has been to read, review, and promote more Australian women, as they often find it more difficult to get their work out there into the world than other writers. I'm glad I picked this book up -- for the most part, I quite enjoyed it.
I struggled with the opening chapters of the book and, at first, wondered if I was going to be able to finish it. Lauren didn't endear herself to me as a character, and I found the early anecdotes of her time at A-list LA parties unexciting because I personally don't take to those sorts of characters or situations. The early mystery involving a large group of prostitutes at a corporate event also seemed like a bland mystery to be investigating.
However, as I said, I ended up fairly engrossed as the story progressed. The 'Ice Queen' trope was well executed in the form of Catherine Ayers, the acerbic senior journalist mentoring Lauren with an awful lot of tough love. Ayers is intelligent, forthright, and apparently rather sexy. She challenges Lauren in a number of ways that are pivotal to the character development as well as the progression of the plot. The romantic subplot suited me just fine. There was enough between Lauren and Catherine to keep me cheering for them along the way, but as someone who isn't a huge fan of straight out romance novels (and I generally don't need/want explicit scenes in the books I read), it was just the right amount of flirting and connection.
There are hints of the "men are bad rapists" cliche that I've established previously as something I quite dislike in lesbian books (not because these things don't happen in the real world, but because it felt, for a while there, that every lesfic I read relied on women being sexually assaulted to propel the drama). I could handle the cliche more in this book than in others I've read though, because the threat didn't become a reality for the character involved and I could see that the author was establishing the courage and concern of the person who comes to her aid and stands up to the sleazy guys.
The story has been cleanly edited, I only spotted one typo/mistake, which is phenomenal in a novel-length work. Those pesky errors are very good at hiding, so the author and her editors did an amazing job producing such a crisp manuscript.
The strongest element of this book was definitely the writing. Winter's skill with language kept pulling me onward in those opening chapters I wasn't enjoying, and kept me interested until the final page, long after the plot and characters had convinced me it was an excellent novel. The various elements of the investigation into corruption and politics were effectively planned and executed, gradually unfolding as one would expect from a high quality mystery. A fine book, indeed.
I struggled with the opening chapters of the book and, at first, wondered if I was going to be able to finish it. Lauren didn't endear herself to me as a character, and I found the early anecdotes of her time at A-list LA parties unexciting because I personally don't take to those sorts of characters or situations. The early mystery involving a large group of prostitutes at a corporate event also seemed like a bland mystery to be investigating.
However, as I said, I ended up fairly engrossed as the story progressed. The 'Ice Queen' trope was well executed in the form of Catherine Ayers, the acerbic senior journalist mentoring Lauren with an awful lot of tough love. Ayers is intelligent, forthright, and apparently rather sexy. She challenges Lauren in a number of ways that are pivotal to the character development as well as the progression of the plot. The romantic subplot suited me just fine. There was enough between Lauren and Catherine to keep me cheering for them along the way, but as someone who isn't a huge fan of straight out romance novels (and I generally don't need/want explicit scenes in the books I read), it was just the right amount of flirting and connection.
There are hints of the "men are bad rapists" cliche that I've established previously as something I quite dislike in lesbian books (not because these things don't happen in the real world, but because it felt, for a while there, that every lesfic I read relied on women being sexually assaulted to propel the drama). I could handle the cliche more in this book than in others I've read though, because the threat didn't become a reality for the character involved and I could see that the author was establishing the courage and concern of the person who comes to her aid and stands up to the sleazy guys.
The story has been cleanly edited, I only spotted one typo/mistake, which is phenomenal in a novel-length work. Those pesky errors are very good at hiding, so the author and her editors did an amazing job producing such a crisp manuscript.
The strongest element of this book was definitely the writing. Winter's skill with language kept pulling me onward in those opening chapters I wasn't enjoying, and kept me interested until the final page, long after the plot and characters had convinced me it was an excellent novel. The various elements of the investigation into corruption and politics were effectively planned and executed, gradually unfolding as one would expect from a high quality mystery. A fine book, indeed.
jennabeebs79's review against another edition
5.0
I listened to the audio of this incredible book and loved every second of it. Victoria Mei does a wonderful job performing this story.
Catherine Ayers has become one of my favorite ice queens of all time. She's caustic, witty, intelligent, and unapologetic. Lauren King is honest, charming, quirky, and the perfect person to melt Catherine's ice. Their journey is so much fun to be a part of. The dialogue is sharp, the descriptions are detailed, and the characters are multidimensional. Catherine's character arc is phenomenal. What an amazing book! I can't wait to listen to the next book in the series!
Catherine Ayers has become one of my favorite ice queens of all time. She's caustic, witty, intelligent, and unapologetic. Lauren King is honest, charming, quirky, and the perfect person to melt Catherine's ice. Their journey is so much fun to be a part of. The dialogue is sharp, the descriptions are detailed, and the characters are multidimensional. Catherine's character arc is phenomenal. What an amazing book! I can't wait to listen to the next book in the series!
mchutson's review against another edition
4.0
The beginning was a little slow, but once the story got going, I was hooked. This is a must read for sapphic fiction lovers.
neurorobin's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the action/mystery plot line but I couldn’t get into the characters as much. They didn’t feel as developed as I’d have hoped.
queerlitloft's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first Lee Winter's book i've read but it certainly won't be the last.
This book had everything i enjoy all rolled into one - a love/hate relationship, Ice Queen, a mystery to solve and witty banter throughout.
The two main characters King and Ayers are perfectly established - Winter's certainly knows how to write a simmering, catty Ice Queen with Ayers stealing the show.
Imagine my joy at discovering there's a sequel . . .
This book had everything i enjoy all rolled into one - a love/hate relationship, Ice Queen, a mystery to solve and witty banter throughout.
The two main characters King and Ayers are perfectly established - Winter's certainly knows how to write a simmering, catty Ice Queen with Ayers stealing the show.
Imagine my joy at discovering there's a sequel . . .
spencer0200's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
g_ah's review against another edition
4.0
there was an absolutely minor character introduced in the book, just by name, javed singh, which made me laugh real hard, cause javed is a muslim name, and singh a sikh one. other than that, the book was quite good.