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A review by lezreadalot
House of Agnes by Fiona Zedde
3.0
2.5 stars. I really liked the first book I read by this author earlier this year, but sadly, this one just didn't land as well as that one did for me. I thought I'd have a pretty good chance of loving this; black women, age gap, intrigue and suspense within a world of high-end escorts and investigative journalism. And I did like a few things about it; the setup, some of the issues discussed, the steaminess. But the concept ended up being way better than the execution.
I guess the most disappointing thing was that I was never completely sold on the characters. I LIKED them a lot for sure, and I liked what they were supposed to be, but I was never convinced of Agnes as a hyper-competent, savvy ice-queen of a business woman, or of Lola as a plucky investigative reporter. They both constantly made decisions that I just couldn't reconcile with their motivations and the personalities that the author tried to sell us on. The insta-lust was a little disappointing; even in a book like this, I'd have liked to have seen that get drawn out a bit more. They did had really good chemistry; it's something that Zedde excels at writing. And I did find their romance sweet, if not amazingly-rendered. The writing isn't bad, but it never wowed me, and there were a few repetitive things that were annoying. The overarching plot was serviceable, but shaky. I just kept waiting to fall in love, and while there's nothing about this book that I dislike, it simply didn't click for me.
I will say, I had thought that I had figured out everything about the plot/trajectory pretty early on, and while I did see a few things coming, there were some things that I did NOT, and that made the later act a bit more exciting and enjoyable. But otherwise... I don't know. Mileages will definitely vary, and I'd recommend you check this out if you're in the mood for sapphic romance with a taste of intrigue and suspense. It just wasn't really for me. I'll still happily look out for other works by this author.
Content warnings:
☆ Review copy provided via NetGalley.
I guess the most disappointing thing was that I was never completely sold on the characters. I LIKED them a lot for sure, and I liked what they were supposed to be, but I was never convinced of Agnes as a hyper-competent, savvy ice-queen of a business woman, or of Lola as a plucky investigative reporter. They both constantly made decisions that I just couldn't reconcile with their motivations and the personalities that the author tried to sell us on. The insta-lust was a little disappointing; even in a book like this, I'd have liked to have seen that get drawn out a bit more. They did had really good chemistry; it's something that Zedde excels at writing. And I did find their romance sweet, if not amazingly-rendered. The writing isn't bad, but it never wowed me, and there were a few repetitive things that were annoying. The overarching plot was serviceable, but shaky. I just kept waiting to fall in love, and while there's nothing about this book that I dislike, it simply didn't click for me.
I will say, I had thought that I had figured out everything about the plot/trajectory pretty early on, and while I did see a few things coming, there were some things that I did NOT, and that made the later act a bit more exciting and enjoyable. But otherwise... I don't know. Mileages will definitely vary, and I'd recommend you check this out if you're in the mood for sapphic romance with a taste of intrigue and suspense. It just wasn't really for me. I'll still happily look out for other works by this author.
Content warnings:
Spoiler
discussion/mentions of rape, forced prostitution, domestic abuse, child abuse, drug use.☆ Review copy provided via NetGalley.