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A review by golden_lily
From Scratch by Katrina Jackson
3.0
Mary is a former academic who, after a failed attempt at tenure, has turned her entire world upside down and moved to Sea Port, a town so small you can't find it on a map. (If you forget that it's so small, it's not on maps, don't worry the book will remind you. Six times.) She opens up a bakery called Confections by Mary and sets about rediscovering the person she was before academia destroyed her soul.
I adore Mary. She's to the point and takes what she wants at every turn. Parents and friends object to this job change? Too bad! Two hot men are into you? We're a throuple now! She never hesitates or simpers, she just makes what she wants happen.
Santos and Knox I was a bit more ambivalent towards. Knox is outwardly gregarious while being very sensitive due to childhood abuse. Santos is outwardly stern but secretly very nurturing and kind. It's not that I dislike any of that, they just felt a little more one note than Mary. I also found their acknowledgement and acceptance of their long-time, buried love for each other was very fast.
Pacing is the real problem with the book. It feels too much like a collection of scenes without enough connecting them. It also cuts away in very weird places. Santos arrives at the bakery and he and Mary enter the bathroom for a kiss and grope. Then it's the next day and Mary's thinking about the kiss without really making it clear that time has passed? I thought the kiss was a dream sequence the way it transitioned. We also later find out that they went significantly farther in the bathroom than just kissing, but it's told instead of shown. All the other sex scenes are not fade to black.
The third act conflict comes out of nowhere. A morality clause to Mary's loan had never been discussed at ALL so when the town finds out about their polyam relationship, she's suddenly at risk of losing her job? She runs home in tears and cries herself to sleep, but by the time both men arrive she's got a game plan and they just have more sex? Also, what was her game plan? She thought of something while they were all getting down, but she didn't know who her accuser was. When she got to court, she discovered it was an heretofore unmentioned old, male busybody. Her defense of "you're gay and people objected to your marriage, how dare you object to my relationship?" literally couldn't have been thought up before then.
The book could maybe use another round of editing, but it's not too egregious. A few misused words, some layout issues. One kind of glaring sentence where the wrong man's name is used. It's certainly nothing make or break on an otherwise good book.
And there are some really great things in this book. Sea Port is a former Reconstruction town, home to freed slaves, many of whom's descendants still live there. That means the town elders and people in high positions of power are mostly related to the Firsts. Which makes them primarily Black. That's something you see soooooo rarely in small-town romance, I adore it. All three of the leads are POC: Mary is a fat (and dark) Black woman who loves her body and her body is loved by both men. Santos is Hispanic, Knox is also Black. Both men are ex-military and Santos is now a cop. Everyone warns him not to join the force because of the corruption and police brutality; it's why he moves to Sea Port. Their precinct is by the book, no lawsuits, no complaints. It's great to see that covered and discussed. Knox is fire chief which comes with less baggage, but it's also mentioned how they both worked hard to be good soldiers who were helping people.
The sex is hot. I'd probably classify this as erotica over romance because I don't think you can remove the sex from the character development. The way all three characters open up to each other, sexually, really drove the relationship. The sex seems fun with a lot of laughter and smiling and chatting. Though, there were a lot of positions I had trouble picturing and sometimes it felt like physics weren't fully in effect in their beds.
There's chemistry between Mary and both men. Santos and Knox, though, I felt off and on. In Santos' chapters it was obvious he was all in and there was a definite connection, but Knox remained reserved. In a longer novel it would obviously focus more on his trauma and coming to open up to Mary and Santos more, but it didn't quite get there for me. So in the end, this is a very sweet, very hot novella that would probably have benefited from being a full length novel.
I adore Mary. She's to the point and takes what she wants at every turn. Parents and friends object to this job change? Too bad! Two hot men are into you? We're a throuple now! She never hesitates or simpers, she just makes what she wants happen.
Santos and Knox I was a bit more ambivalent towards. Knox is outwardly gregarious while being very sensitive due to childhood abuse. Santos is outwardly stern but secretly very nurturing and kind. It's not that I dislike any of that, they just felt a little more one note than Mary. I also found their acknowledgement and acceptance of their long-time, buried love for each other was very fast.
Pacing is the real problem with the book. It feels too much like a collection of scenes without enough connecting them. It also cuts away in very weird places. Santos arrives at the bakery and he and Mary enter the bathroom for a kiss and grope. Then it's the next day and Mary's thinking about the kiss without really making it clear that time has passed? I thought the kiss was a dream sequence the way it transitioned. We also later find out that they went significantly farther in the bathroom than just kissing, but it's told instead of shown. All the other sex scenes are not fade to black.
The third act conflict comes out of nowhere. A morality clause to Mary's loan had never been discussed at ALL so when the town finds out about their polyam relationship, she's suddenly at risk of losing her job? She runs home in tears and cries herself to sleep, but by the time both men arrive she's got a game plan and they just have more sex? Also, what was her game plan? She thought of something while they were all getting down, but she didn't know who her accuser was. When she got to court, she discovered it was an heretofore unmentioned old, male busybody. Her defense of "you're gay and people objected to your marriage, how dare you object to my relationship?" literally couldn't have been thought up before then.
The book could maybe use another round of editing, but it's not too egregious. A few misused words, some layout issues. One kind of glaring sentence where the wrong man's name is used. It's certainly nothing make or break on an otherwise good book.
And there are some really great things in this book. Sea Port is a former Reconstruction town, home to freed slaves, many of whom's descendants still live there. That means the town elders and people in high positions of power are mostly related to the Firsts. Which makes them primarily Black. That's something you see soooooo rarely in small-town romance, I adore it. All three of the leads are POC: Mary is a fat (and dark) Black woman who loves her body and her body is loved by both men. Santos is Hispanic, Knox is also Black. Both men are ex-military and Santos is now a cop. Everyone warns him not to join the force because of the corruption and police brutality; it's why he moves to Sea Port. Their precinct is by the book, no lawsuits, no complaints. It's great to see that covered and discussed. Knox is fire chief which comes with less baggage, but it's also mentioned how they both worked hard to be good soldiers who were helping people.
The sex is hot. I'd probably classify this as erotica over romance because I don't think you can remove the sex from the character development. The way all three characters open up to each other, sexually, really drove the relationship. The sex seems fun with a lot of laughter and smiling and chatting. Though, there were a lot of positions I had trouble picturing and sometimes it felt like physics weren't fully in effect in their beds.
There's chemistry between Mary and both men. Santos and Knox, though, I felt off and on. In Santos' chapters it was obvious he was all in and there was a definite connection, but Knox remained reserved. In a longer novel it would obviously focus more on his trauma and coming to open up to Mary and Santos more, but it didn't quite get there for me. So in the end, this is a very sweet, very hot novella that would probably have benefited from being a full length novel.