Scan barcode
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
I listened to the audiobook via Libby and really enjoyed listening to Bahni Turpin prove why she’s the baddest in the game once again. Every time her voice graces my ears, I am so delighted!
There were some questionable moments from characters, like calling the Vietnamese shop the “Chinese shop” (but I recognize they were kids when they made this reference! I’m just saying!) The mom who was losing her memory alluded to some transphobia, but it was challenged by the main character!
Besides this, I did enjoy this contemporary fictional story based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania about an almost-39-year-old woman, Skye (who defines herself as “mostly lesbian”) who suddenly finds out she has a 12-year-old daughter, Vicky! Wild premise. She begins to fall for her daughter’s adoptive aunt Faye, and while denying any feelings to her bestie V, she generally struggles with allowing anyone to get too close to her anyway, because she’s sure they’ll leave anyway and they never care as much as they claim to. In this world? Fair. I can’t blame her too much.
Anyway, I loved the relationships that inevitably grew and evolved with her biological daughter Vicky, Faye, her mom, her brother & her bestie! I thought they all provided mirrors to Skye to show different parts of her, but all of them were worthy of being loved. I also thought her friendship with the reverend was tender, and so authentic. The queer community historically does not have the best relationship with any kind of religious entity, and I appreciated how genuinely open and compassionate the reverend was. It’s hard to not project our own familial trauma onto the next generation, and I was really proud of Skye for her journey!
steam rating: 2 out of 5
I listened to the audiobook via Libby and really enjoyed listening to Bahni Turpin prove why she’s the baddest in the game once again. Every time her voice graces my ears, I am so delighted!
There were some questionable moments from characters, like calling the Vietnamese shop the “Chinese shop” (but I recognize they were kids when they made this reference! I’m just saying!) The mom who was losing her memory alluded to some transphobia, but it was challenged by the main character!
Besides this, I did enjoy this contemporary fictional story based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania about an almost-39-year-old woman, Skye (who defines herself as “mostly lesbian”) who suddenly finds out she has a 12-year-old daughter, Vicky! Wild premise. She begins to fall for her daughter’s adoptive aunt Faye, and while denying any feelings to her bestie V, she generally struggles with allowing anyone to get too close to her anyway, because she’s sure they’ll leave anyway and they never care as much as they claim to. In this world? Fair. I can’t blame her too much.
Anyway, I loved the relationships that inevitably grew and evolved with her biological daughter Vicky, Faye, her mom, her brother & her bestie! I thought they all provided mirrors to Skye to show different parts of her, but all of them were worthy of being loved. I also thought her friendship with the reverend was tender, and so authentic. The queer community historically does not have the best relationship with any kind of religious entity, and I appreciated how genuinely open and compassionate the reverend was. It’s hard to not project our own familial trauma onto the next generation, and I was really proud of Skye for her journey!
steam rating: 2 out of 5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Medical content, Dementia, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
lily1304's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I expected this to be just a cute romance novel but it's SO GOOD. And yes the romance is cute but there's like four plots interwoven here and it's beautiful
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Police brutality, and Dementia
abbie_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
4.0
I really enjoyed this!! From the perspective of a 39-year-old queer woman who has ran from commitment all her life, it was a refreshing change from the younger queer narratives we know and love. Skye is messy sure but who doesn't love a bit of messiness.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Racism, Transphobia, Police brutality, Dementia, and Death of parent
Minor: Biphobia
tinytrashqueen's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Police brutality, and Dementia
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Vomit, Death of parent, and Outing
Minor: Abortion and Sexual harassment
saojimenez's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
i absolutely adored this book. i feel like character driven stories are hard to get right, but mckenzie did it perfectly. skye starts off pretty unlikable too be honest. we get to see her grow and change as the book progresses and as she grows closer to vicky. i also thought it ended perfectly. i loved that it focused and prioritized skye’s relationship with vicky over the romance in the book. when she’s about to leave the states and realized that she shouldn’t leave, she says she’s going back for vicky not her gf. it was something i really liked overall, this book was just great, and i really recommended if you enjoy character driven stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Domestic abuse, and Dementia
Moderate: Transphobia and Police brutality
criticalgayze's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
First, I'd like to hop on the Bahni Turpin love train. The Final Revival of Opal & Nev on audio was my final read of 2021, and she is an incredibly enjoyable narrator.
As for the book itself, the first thing I will say is that it is funny, which I was not expecting. When I first began to see the title and cover on Bookstagram last year, I thought this was a science fiction title. Then, I started hearing synopses of the book, and I assumed it was gonna be a domestic-ish drama. Instead, you get something that leans more towards Hell of a Book, without the biting satire. Sometimes the humor was a little too ridiculous, but I really appreciated and enjoyed its incorporation.
Also, I love the Queer community here. You get Queers of all stripes in a way that you don't often see, two bisexual leads of varying degrees of gender preference plus transgender and lesbian friends. And the romantic tension between the two felt more than just plausible.
Now, while I enjoyed the kid inclusion in the romance more than I usually do (I think because of the connection of the MC to the child), I think the presence of the kid here is a little cheesy because of the audio format. Children's voices are often difficult in audio, and I think its the one voice Turpin doesn't quite pull off, which makes it sound a little too Saturday morning cartoon.
I also *do* have to return to a problem I touched on in my Payback's a Witch review from earlier this month: "Realizing your hometown is where you're meant to be" is just very clearly NOT in my list of favorite tropes. While I think that the connection here is more believable than in Payback, I still don't think Skye does the work of truly grappling with her issues enough for her hometown to have earned her renewed devotion. I really need authors to start sending their characters to REAL therapy and not the "one intense talk with a friend/family member and a few really great sexual encounters" therapy that seem to do the trick for these main characters.
Romance is a genre that I am still finding my way around, so I ask that you take my reviews with a grain of salt. More than any other genre, it relies heavily on tropes, so finding your groove requires finding your tropes. If the tropes I hated on here *are* your speed, then I think you will really enjoy this book because I found plenty to enjoy even with those roadblocks in my way.
One last thing: There is a police brutality storyline that I thought was a little unnecessary because it is not brought to fruition until the 90% mark. I don't think it was NECESSARY to the story, and it bothered me that it also seemed to be used as a way to bring the MC and her romantic interest back into focus for each other.
As for the book itself, the first thing I will say is that it is funny, which I was not expecting. When I first began to see the title and cover on Bookstagram last year, I thought this was a science fiction title. Then, I started hearing synopses of the book, and I assumed it was gonna be a domestic-ish drama. Instead, you get something that leans more towards Hell of a Book, without the biting satire. Sometimes the humor was a little too ridiculous, but I really appreciated and enjoyed its incorporation.
Also, I love the Queer community here. You get Queers of all stripes in a way that you don't often see, two bisexual leads of varying degrees of gender preference plus transgender and lesbian friends. And the romantic tension between the two felt more than just plausible.
Now, while I enjoyed the kid inclusion in the romance more than I usually do (I think because of the connection of the MC to the child), I think the presence of the kid here is a little cheesy because of the audio format. Children's voices are often difficult in audio, and I think its the one voice Turpin doesn't quite pull off, which makes it sound a little too Saturday morning cartoon.
I also *do* have to return to a problem I touched on in my Payback's a Witch review from earlier this month: "Realizing your hometown is where you're meant to be" is just very clearly NOT in my list of favorite tropes. While I think that the connection here is more believable than in Payback, I still don't think Skye does the work of truly grappling with her issues enough for her hometown to have earned her renewed devotion. I really need authors to start sending their characters to REAL therapy and not the "one intense talk with a friend/family member and a few really great sexual encounters" therapy that seem to do the trick for these main characters.
Romance is a genre that I am still finding my way around, so I ask that you take my reviews with a grain of salt. More than any other genre, it relies heavily on tropes, so finding your groove requires finding your tropes. If the tropes I hated on here *are* your speed, then I think you will really enjoy this book because I found plenty to enjoy even with those roadblocks in my way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Police brutality, and Dementia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Transphobia
kylieqrada's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was so unimpressed with June's BOTM picks. I was like ugh I don't want to get any of these blah woe is me. I finally decided to go with this one since it features LGBTQIA+ themes and is by a Black author. AND IM SO GLAD I DID. This book is laugh-out-loud funny, incredibly heart-warming, and has amazing character development, all while tackling some truly real family dynamics, trauma, AND police brutality. I absolutely adored it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent