Scan barcode
A review by tellingetienne
The Burnt Toast B&B by Heidi Belleau, Rachel Haimowitz
5.0
I have had Burnt Toast B&B on order for several months. When it popped up on NetGalley I clicked request as fast as my little fingers could move on the mouse. A trans romance written by two authors I enjoy? Sign me up, especially as I saw Belleau on social media working hard to research in a respectful way.
First, to the people who are worried about reading a romance with a trans character because they fear fetishization and objectification, this book does an excellent job avoiding that. Not only does it avoid going in that direction, Belleau and Haimowitz actively address that within the narrative in a way that makes sense and never comes off as too heavy-handed. Ginsburg being trans isn’t the issue at hand in this novel, although I do feel it affectively plays into the plot line (which I’ll address in a little bit).
Second, to the people who look at the authors writing together, look at their back catalog, and get nervous, this was a very sweet romance.
This novel was a lot of the things I love about romance wrapped up in a sexy little package. Lumberjacks! Amusing plotting to attempt to make problems go away! AMAZING CHARACTER GROWTH.
At its core, Burnt Toast B&B is about overcoming and coping with that nasty voice inside your head that tells you that you aren’t “x enough.” In this case, it’s Derrick’s ingrained sense of masculinity and what he should be like as a man. It’s also, to me, about making a space for yourself where you’re comfortable.
Running the B&B Derrick inherited is not working for him, and when Ginsburg shows up on his doorstep, Derrick’s life is thrown for a major loop. Not only does he end up with a successful business that he never wanted in his lap, he has to tackle his own sense of self in order to keep the man he loves in his life.
First, to the people who are worried about reading a romance with a trans character because they fear fetishization and objectification, this book does an excellent job avoiding that. Not only does it avoid going in that direction, Belleau and Haimowitz actively address that within the narrative in a way that makes sense and never comes off as too heavy-handed. Ginsburg being trans isn’t the issue at hand in this novel, although I do feel it affectively plays into the plot line (which I’ll address in a little bit).
Second, to the people who look at the authors writing together, look at their back catalog, and get nervous, this was a very sweet romance.
This novel was a lot of the things I love about romance wrapped up in a sexy little package. Lumberjacks! Amusing plotting to attempt to make problems go away! AMAZING CHARACTER GROWTH.
At its core, Burnt Toast B&B is about overcoming and coping with that nasty voice inside your head that tells you that you aren’t “x enough.” In this case, it’s Derrick’s ingrained sense of masculinity and what he should be like as a man. It’s also, to me, about making a space for yourself where you’re comfortable.
Running the B&B Derrick inherited is not working for him, and when Ginsburg shows up on his doorstep, Derrick’s life is thrown for a major loop. Not only does he end up with a successful business that he never wanted in his lap, he has to tackle his own sense of self in order to keep the man he loves in his life.