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jediroot's review against another edition
4.0
I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I enjoyed this one much more than her first novel, The Scissor Link, and could see improvement in her writing. Technically, you don't have to read the first novel, but I recommend you to read it to become familiar with Wendy/Janet (Elizabeth's friends) plus you get to know Elizabeth as a side character in that novel. Not required but still will add more depth to this novel.
Georgette cut down sex scenes by A LOT in this novel which is a good thing. I remember reading The Scissor Link and become tempted to skip sex scenes because those were getting redundant. Her writing in general improved with the dialogue, better developed side characters, and flow of the story. Kudos to her.
I'm big fan of some pop culture references in the novel and I feel like I related to Elizabeth and other characters better due to the references they used in their dialogues. This novel is heavily dialogue driven, so if you want more action then this might not be for you.
Yay for bi/pan representation and autism representation as well! (I have to say I'm not autistic so I don't know if this representation is accurate so don't take my word)
Recommended for anyone who is a fan of quirky dialogue heavy romance.
I enjoyed this one much more than her first novel, The Scissor Link, and could see improvement in her writing. Technically, you don't have to read the first novel, but I recommend you to read it to become familiar with Wendy/Janet (Elizabeth's friends) plus you get to know Elizabeth as a side character in that novel. Not required but still will add more depth to this novel.
Georgette cut down sex scenes by A LOT in this novel which is a good thing. I remember reading The Scissor Link and become tempted to skip sex scenes because those were getting redundant. Her writing in general improved with the dialogue, better developed side characters, and flow of the story. Kudos to her.
I'm big fan of some pop culture references in the novel and I feel like I related to Elizabeth and other characters better due to the references they used in their dialogues. This novel is heavily dialogue driven, so if you want more action then this might not be for you.
Yay for bi/pan representation and autism representation as well! (I have to say I'm not autistic so I don't know if this representation is accurate so don't take my word)
Recommended for anyone who is a fan of quirky dialogue heavy romance.
lezreviewbooks's review
3.0
This is the second book of the 'Scissor link' series that I recommend to read chronologically as this book reveals a couple of spoilers from the first book.
Elizabeth Smile is contacted by Michelle Harlow, an old college fling, to pose as her girlfriend to beat her cheating husband. For Elizabeth, it's good money and an opportunity to help her old friend, provided she can ignore her feelings towards Michelle and an awkward week with her fake girlfriend's family. Will they succeed in their deception? Will it change their relationship?
There's been a number of fake relationships books in lesfic lately with diverse success. It's hard for me to rate this book as it has its good and not so good parts. I liked that it's got some twists and unexpected situations and it's generally well written. Most of the plot describes the time Elizabeth spends with Michelle and her family during the Christmas holidays. Each member of the family (dog included) has a distinctive personality and quirks which made them easy to recognise in a relatively short novel. However, the dialogues and their banter sounded artificial, as if the author was trying too much to be witty. There are also a lot of references to popular culture (actors, books, films, music, TV shows, etc.) which are a bit excessive even for a well informed person. So much so that in a decade's time this book will probably be outdated. There are also long parts of the book dedicated to phylosophical discussions between the characters around a number of subjects such as racism, environment, feminism and religion, among others. While some discussions were interesting, I kept wondering if this is the type of book to dwell on them as the plot loses focus on the romance. Consequently, the end seems a bit rushed and the 'I love you' moments too fast.
Overall, an ok read if you don't mind a few philosophical discussions and multiple references to popular culture. 3 stars.
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at
www.lezreviewbooks.wordpress.com
Elizabeth Smile is contacted by Michelle Harlow, an old college fling, to pose as her girlfriend to beat her cheating husband. For Elizabeth, it's good money and an opportunity to help her old friend, provided she can ignore her feelings towards Michelle and an awkward week with her fake girlfriend's family. Will they succeed in their deception? Will it change their relationship?
There's been a number of fake relationships books in lesfic lately with diverse success. It's hard for me to rate this book as it has its good and not so good parts. I liked that it's got some twists and unexpected situations and it's generally well written. Most of the plot describes the time Elizabeth spends with Michelle and her family during the Christmas holidays. Each member of the family (dog included) has a distinctive personality and quirks which made them easy to recognise in a relatively short novel. However, the dialogues and their banter sounded artificial, as if the author was trying too much to be witty. There are also a lot of references to popular culture (actors, books, films, music, TV shows, etc.) which are a bit excessive even for a well informed person. So much so that in a decade's time this book will probably be outdated. There are also long parts of the book dedicated to phylosophical discussions between the characters around a number of subjects such as racism, environment, feminism and religion, among others. While some discussions were interesting, I kept wondering if this is the type of book to dwell on them as the plot loses focus on the romance. Consequently, the end seems a bit rushed and the 'I love you' moments too fast.
Overall, an ok read if you don't mind a few philosophical discussions and multiple references to popular culture. 3 stars.
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at
www.lezreviewbooks.wordpress.com
corrie's review
4.0
I guess it’s no secret I love Georgette Kaplan. I love her special brand of biting humor. I love how she tells her story. I love her banter. I am in awe of her knowledge of pop-culture (I already was in her fanfic days when she tirelessly produced chapter after chapter in a dizzying array of fandoms). I was reading this one with book club buddie D. as we also enjoyed the first Scissor Link together (D. also knows Kaplan from her fanfic days and is just as me, a big fan).
Maybe I should have re-read Scissor Link #1 first because to be honest, I don’t remember Janet Lace’s administrative assistant Elizabeth Smile at all (where is that photographic memory when you need it).
Fake girlfriend is my favorite trope and this was one with a little twist. I understand why some people think the time spent with the Harlow family in Ohio was too long but I think it was the only way to make believable what Kaplan has planned for these characters. We really need that time.
As per the usual, I needed a little mind adjustment halfway down the story when it turned out that Michelle was a bit of a calculating asshole and never going to be good for Elizabeth but Kaplan left plenty of hints along the way that it didn’t come as a complete shock.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself with Face It. Maybe not as much titillation as Scissor Link, but then that was a different kind of romance. I also would have liked some more private time for the girls to be togetherand not just the one scene in the car and the epilogue .
f/f explicit
Themes: Holidays with the Harlows, those asshole McQuarries, Anne’s t-shirts are a hoot, OMG that scene on the roof when Santa’s sleigh catches fire, lesbians in Ohio love Willie Nelson, Barry Harlow is a treasure.
4 stars
Maybe I should have re-read Scissor Link #1 first because to be honest, I don’t remember Janet Lace’s administrative assistant Elizabeth Smile at all (where is that photographic memory when you need it).
Fake girlfriend is my favorite trope and this was one with a little twist. I understand why some people think the time spent with the Harlow family in Ohio was too long but I think it was the only way to make believable what Kaplan has planned for these characters. We really need that time.
As per the usual, I needed a little mind adjustment halfway down the story
I thoroughly enjoyed myself with Face It. Maybe not as much titillation as Scissor Link, but then that was a different kind of romance. I also would have liked some more private time for the girls to be together
f/f explicit
Themes: Holidays with the Harlows, those asshole McQuarries, Anne’s t-shirts are a hoot, OMG that scene on the roof when Santa’s sleigh catches fire, lesbians in Ohio love Willie Nelson, Barry Harlow is a treasure.
4 stars
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