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A review by readerpants
From Scratch by Katrina Jackson
5.0
From Scratch was the kind of fun, sexy, playful romance that finally got me to enjoy contemporaries. It took me until this summer to realize this kind of cheerful, plot-driven fun was a flavor I could really enjoy when it was done right. If you're in the mood for subtle and layered heartache, this isn't your read today - it's frothy, uncomplicated wish-fulfillment in the best way.
Just listen to all of this:
A fat -- not just "curvy" -- Black academic heroine!
(With a gorgeous actual-fat lady on the cover!!)
Two -- TWO!! -- sweet, sensitive beta heroes! (It's an M/M/F!)
They are all into each other separately and together!
Awesome, active lady friendships!!
Super HEA!
In a small-town setting that (from the glimpse we get) seems to be more like Henry Adams in Beverly Jenkins's Blessings series than the usual milquetoast small-town-filled-with-random-white-dudes-with-muscles!!
Basically no homophobia!
HER CAT IS NAMED CAT-LEEN CLEAVER.
And the next one is about a LIBRARIAN. Yes, I swore off librarian romances! But I'm coming back for Katrina Jackson's next book. And all the others she decides to write.
Heads-up: there were some distracting typos and a little bit of the roughness that can come with a self-pub. And I would have liked more of everything -- more character development, more exploration of the relationships and the characters' own interiority, even more about the townspeople -- but for a novella-length series debut, this was an absolute delight. I can't wait to read all the others. (Will the Mayor get her own book?!?)
Just listen to all of this:
A fat -- not just "curvy" -- Black academic heroine!
(With a gorgeous actual-fat lady on the cover!!)
Two -- TWO!! -- sweet, sensitive beta heroes! (It's an M/M/F!)
They are all into each other separately and together!
Awesome, active lady friendships!!
Super HEA!
In a small-town setting that (from the glimpse we get) seems to be more like Henry Adams in Beverly Jenkins's Blessings series than the usual milquetoast small-town-filled-with-random-white-dudes-with-muscles!!
Basically no homophobia!
HER CAT IS NAMED CAT-LEEN CLEAVER.
And the next one is about a LIBRARIAN. Yes, I swore off librarian romances! But I'm coming back for Katrina Jackson's next book. And all the others she decides to write.
Heads-up: there were some distracting typos and a little bit of the roughness that can come with a self-pub. And I would have liked more of everything -- more character development, more exploration of the relationships and the characters' own interiority, even more about the townspeople -- but for a novella-length series debut, this was an absolute delight. I can't wait to read all the others. (Will the Mayor get her own book?!?)