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A review by ipomoea
Friend (with Benefits) Zone by Laura Brown
3.0
I received an advance copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I think this might be the first romance I've read where both of the leads were disabled-- he is hard of hearing, and she's deaf. The author worked this into the story seamlessly, but it caught my attention during more intimate scenes, where they'd pause or pull away to talk to each other.
The story is one of my favorite tropes- childhood best friends turned lovers. Jasmine works as a waitress (who's turned her deafness into a bonus for waitressing, using a white board to take orders that's attached to her hip), and Devon is dragging his feet while being encouraged to join his dad's firm, where another deaf/HoH lawyer is a bonus. His heart is in social work, however, and he's not sure how to come clean to his family.
When Jasmine is summarily evicted from her apartment, Devon pitches his place as a crash pad. His brother's moving out (and in with a boyfriend, the tiny subplot), so he's got room for Jasmine. But her youth has left her with scars and walls she can't seem to break down, even when the man of her dreams is in the room next to her.
This was a pretty decent new adult romance, but one that wouldn't have stood out for me if it wasn't for how well the author wrote (from personal experience, I'm guessing) deaf and hard of hearing characters living their lives without their hearing loss being the beginning, middle, and end of their characterization.
I think this might be the first romance I've read where both of the leads were disabled-- he is hard of hearing, and she's deaf. The author worked this into the story seamlessly, but it caught my attention during more intimate scenes, where they'd pause or pull away to talk to each other.
The story is one of my favorite tropes- childhood best friends turned lovers. Jasmine works as a waitress (who's turned her deafness into a bonus for waitressing, using a white board to take orders that's attached to her hip), and Devon is dragging his feet while being encouraged to join his dad's firm, where another deaf/HoH lawyer is a bonus. His heart is in social work, however, and he's not sure how to come clean to his family.
When Jasmine is summarily evicted from her apartment, Devon pitches his place as a crash pad. His brother's moving out (and in with a boyfriend, the tiny subplot), so he's got room for Jasmine. But her youth has left her with scars and walls she can't seem to break down, even when the man of her dreams is in the room next to her.
This was a pretty decent new adult romance, but one that wouldn't have stood out for me if it wasn't for how well the author wrote (from personal experience, I'm guessing) deaf and hard of hearing characters living their lives without their hearing loss being the beginning, middle, and end of their characterization.