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jadealmeida's review against another edition
5.0
J'ai noté 5 étoiles alors que jais pertinemment que ce roman a de nombreux défauts, à commencer par être un peu trop "cheezy" et manque de subtilité. Mais Gosh je ne serai pas objective sur ce coup parce que ça fait vraiment du bien de lire une histoire avec un couple lesbien, un bon gros bouquin (et pas juste un assortiment de nouvelles) et en plus qui tente de présenter une intrigue policière. Donc il n'est pas parfait mais j'ai adoré Tori et Sam, et leur relation, et l'enquête. Je vais me jeter sur la suite (soyons honnête) et les scènes de sexe étaient franchement pas mal mais pas trop présentes. Bref je lui donne donc 5 étoiles et je recommande
ghosthermione's review against another edition
4.0
I have such conflicted feelings about this book! It drew me in really quickly, and I haven't read anything so quickly in such a long time - I just couldn't put it down. But the hints of transphobia made it lose quite a lot of points with me.
I want to give it the benefit of the doubt, because the misgendering happens before we know for sure the person in question is really a trans woman, and not just a cross-dressing gay man, and once she knows, the main character makes some efforts to gender her correctly and to stop deadnaming her, but I'm not sure it's quite enough, and some passages do reek of gender essentialism. I hesitated to give it much less but it still gets 4 stars, only because it's up to debate whether it really is transphobic or no, but that really bothers me, and for that reason I'm not sure I'll buy the next books in the series, despite my enjoyment of this one.
I was however really positively surprised that bisexuality was mentioned as a possibility even though the writer didn't seem to go there.
I also didn't find the rape scene that shocking, in my opinion it was respectfully written, and it and the aftermath were addressed properly. Though I had the advantage of having been warned since I'd had a look at the reviews just before I got to that passage.
As for the plot itself, I was really taken in, it's really easy to read, I could guess some things (which in my opinion is the best about crime novels/crime shows) but it wasn't too obvious so I didn't feel like it was handed to me. Also, it was really funny, the dynamics between the two main protagonists were really enjoyable, and especially Tori's character development (her apparent misogyny at the beginning made me fear I'd hate her). And the team dynamics do get really interesting.
I love that even though it gets really violent, it's not actually graphic(and the victims are targeted for being queer, but since the main characters are gay, it counterbalances that) . I also liked how the book addresses homophobia in the workplace (esp. in the South) without making it too dark, although the writer seems to think all homophobes have to turn out to be gay...
Oh, and a personal pet peeve: I wish the author would sometimes write "have sex", instead of "make love" every. single. time. It's just... so cheesy, and often doesn't fit the characters.
I want to give it the benefit of the doubt, because the misgendering happens before we know for sure the person in question is really a trans woman, and not just a cross-dressing gay man, and once she knows, the main character makes some efforts to gender her correctly and to stop deadnaming her, but I'm not sure it's quite enough, and some passages do reek of gender essentialism. I hesitated to give it much less but it still gets 4 stars, only because it's up to debate whether it really is transphobic or no, but that really bothers me, and for that reason I'm not sure I'll buy the next books in the series, despite my enjoyment of this one.
I was however really positively surprised that bisexuality was mentioned as a possibility even though the writer didn't seem to go there.
I also didn't find the rape scene that shocking, in my opinion it was respectfully written, and it and the aftermath were addressed properly. Though I had the advantage of having been warned since I'd had a look at the reviews just before I got to that passage.
As for the plot itself, I was really taken in, it's really easy to read, I could guess some things (which in my opinion is the best about crime novels/crime shows) but it wasn't too obvious so I didn't feel like it was handed to me. Also, it was really funny, the dynamics between the two main protagonists were really enjoyable, and especially Tori's character development (her apparent misogyny at the beginning made me fear I'd hate her). And the team dynamics do get really interesting.
I love that even though it gets really violent, it's not actually graphic
Oh, and a personal pet peeve: I wish the author would sometimes write "have sex", instead of "make love" every. single. time. It's just... so cheesy, and often doesn't fit the characters.
horrorqueen's review against another edition
4.0
A very competent lesbian crime thriller which introduces 2 detectives, Tori Hunter and Samantha Kennedy, and their squad in Dallas, Texas.
This book manages to create a compelling crime narrative, following the actions of a vicious serial killer, whilst creating a believable and very readable romance between the two leads. The characterisation shines in this example of lesbian crime writing, which doesn't always happen in this genre. The reader grows to really care for Tori, and indeed Sam, because of the way the characters have been carefully crafted. There is just enough backstory to keep up our interests in the history of the characters, paired with a very well done love story (I generally can't/don't read or like any romance in my crime novels, so anything overly soppy or cliche is out for me, but the romance here is wonderfully told).
I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series; if it is anything like this first outing, I'll be very pleased.
This book manages to create a compelling crime narrative, following the actions of a vicious serial killer, whilst creating a believable and very readable romance between the two leads. The characterisation shines in this example of lesbian crime writing, which doesn't always happen in this genre. The reader grows to really care for Tori, and indeed Sam, because of the way the characters have been carefully crafted. There is just enough backstory to keep up our interests in the history of the characters, paired with a very well done love story (I generally can't/don't read or like any romance in my crime novels, so anything overly soppy or cliche is out for me, but the romance here is wonderfully told).
I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series; if it is anything like this first outing, I'll be very pleased.
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