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A review by liralen
Eyes Like Those by Melissa Brayden
3.0
A peculiar thing: this is the third Bad Lesbian [b:Romance|25898774|Built to Last|Aurora Rey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1445050779s/25898774.jpg|45781600] [b:Novel|29502578|Pathogen (A Dr. Kate Morrison Mystery, #2)|Jessica L. Webb|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459328448s/29502578.jpg|49789821] (no, they're not actually all bad, but let me have the category anyway) I've read in the last couple of weeks...and all three of those books, by different authors, have had sexual harassment plotlines. In [b:Pathogen|29502578|Pathogen (A Dr. Kate Morrison Mystery, #2)|Jessica L. Webb|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1459328448s/29502578.jpg|49789821] the harassment is real (directed at both heroines), and in both [b:Built to Last|25898774|Built to Last|Aurora Rey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1445050779s/25898774.jpg|45781600] and Eyes Like Those a heroine is falsely accused of sexual harassment.
Oh, right: If you wanted a real book review, please go away and read somebody else's; the book was fine, if not my favourite by Brayden, and I'll carry on with reading the series later, but that's about all of use that I have to say about it.
But the sexual harassment: I don't know what to do with this. Brayden's not responsible for either of the other books, of course, so I don't so much mean to critique Eyes Like Those specifically when I say this...but it's quite sad to me that the options are basically 1) somebody is falsely accused of sexual harassment, and it threatens their career, but those accusations are conveniently swept away sooner or later, or 2) somebody is the target of sexual harassment, and they can't say anything because it might damage their career. And nothing happens.
This is not to say, mind you, that either of these scenarios is impossible, but...oof. False reporting (i.e., false accusations) is not common, about on par with false reporting for other crimes, and I'm wildly uncomfortable with books using it as a way for hero/ines to face injustice. It just spreads the myth that people who report sexual violence are doing so for attention or revenge (in this case, it's the latter), and makes reporting less safe for people who do need help/services. Like...it's nice that the people in this book treat sexual harassment by a woman as a reportable thing (which in real life is certainly not always the case, even though it should be), but that's about the only positive thing I can say about the use of false reporting as a plot device.
I read Bad Lesbian Romance Novels for entertainment value, and sometimes to swoon over firefighters (no chance of the latter here, alas). I don't read them to get pissed off about sexual harassment and false reporting.
Oh, right: If you wanted a real book review, please go away and read somebody else's; the book was fine, if not my favourite by Brayden, and I'll carry on with reading the series later, but that's about all of use that I have to say about it.
But the sexual harassment: I don't know what to do with this. Brayden's not responsible for either of the other books, of course, so I don't so much mean to critique Eyes Like Those specifically when I say this...but it's quite sad to me that the options are basically 1) somebody is falsely accused of sexual harassment, and it threatens their career, but those accusations are conveniently swept away sooner or later, or 2) somebody is the target of sexual harassment, and they can't say anything because it might damage their career. And nothing happens.
This is not to say, mind you, that either of these scenarios is impossible, but...oof. False reporting (i.e., false accusations) is not common, about on par with false reporting for other crimes, and I'm wildly uncomfortable with books using it as a way for hero/ines to face injustice. It just spreads the myth that people who report sexual violence are doing so for attention or revenge (in this case, it's the latter), and makes reporting less safe for people who do need help/services. Like...it's nice that the people in this book treat sexual harassment by a woman as a reportable thing (which in real life is certainly not always the case, even though it should be), but that's about the only positive thing I can say about the use of false reporting as a plot device.
I read Bad Lesbian Romance Novels for entertainment value, and sometimes to swoon over firefighters (no chance of the latter here, alas). I don't read them to get pissed off about sexual harassment and false reporting.