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A review by prettycloud
Honey and Pepper by A.J. Demas
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This is a very readable book. I loved the way the Greek-inspired world was developed and presented to the reader, and the relationship between the two leads was very sweet.
I just get so frustrated when yet again the darker-skinned character in a couple ends up being big, less educated/lower class, and a top, while the lighter-skinned character is slender, classier, kind of manipulative, and beautiful. I don't think the relationship here is supposed to be interracial (the book doesn't really go into a concept of race) but it wasn't created in a vacuum and won't be read in one, and it reproduces biases in Western culture that I've seen crop up in fictional interracial relationships sooooo often. It's somewhat subverted here in thatthey're both former slaves , but I don't think that makes up for the rest of it. Like, can't the darker-skinned character be the beautiful (and not just hot) one for once? Do we always have to default assume that the smaller person is the bottom?
Apart from the rushed ending this is otherwise a pretty delightful book, and I'm sure I'd be fine with it if there were more diversity in how different types of characters are portrayed in romance generally. But if, like me, you've noticed A Certain Pattern in the portrayal of Black/white interracial relationships, this may be frustrating to read.
I just get so frustrated when yet again the darker-skinned character in a couple ends up being big, less educated/lower class, and a top, while the lighter-skinned character is slender, classier, kind of manipulative, and beautiful. I don't think the relationship here is supposed to be interracial (the book doesn't really go into a concept of race) but it wasn't created in a vacuum and won't be read in one, and it reproduces biases in Western culture that I've seen crop up in fictional interracial relationships sooooo often. It's somewhat subverted here in that
Apart from the rushed ending this is otherwise a pretty delightful book, and I'm sure I'd be fine with it if there were more diversity in how different types of characters are portrayed in romance generally. But if, like me, you've noticed A Certain Pattern in the portrayal of Black/white interracial relationships, this may be frustrating to read.