A review by whatzoreads
Soft Core by Brittany Newell

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

This is Soft Core, feminine, suggestive, a slice of sex worker life for the vibes girlies who want to explore the emotional side of the transactional pay-the-bills job. Soft Core reminded me of a SodaStream, a flat baseline with occasional bursts of fizz from a high pressure cylinder , the work is pedestrian, repetitive, and I loved Baby’s blunt chat and matter of factness. It reminded me of the movie 'Anora' without all the shouty scenes.

Ruth dances in the club as Baby and is lost in life, she lives with her ex-boyfriend Dino, a drug dealer, who has gone missing. Soft Core is not a plot driven book about finding Dino it instead focuses on loneliness and what Baby learns about vulnerability as a basis for intimacy in relationships with interesting conversations about gender and gaze. Soft Core has a super lush languid feel and is one for the lit-fic girls, especially with that ending.

Thank you to the 4theEstate publishers, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this in exchange for my honest thoughts. I know I will be thinking about this one for a long time after reading.