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bladelikesbooks's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
‘Can’t Resist Her’ is a sapphic romance. The book is written in third person and alternates between Aiko and Summer’s POVs giving clear breaks when it switches POVs. Summer (MC) is an educator who runs a preservation society and Aiko (MC) is an architect at Abernathy Creative Development. The main conflict of the book is, in short, gentrification. Aiko’s company is in charge of the demolition of a public school and the building of a new complex, while Summer, is leading protests against it.
I don’t usually read romance, this is my first adult romance actually and I did enjoy it but romance definitely isn’t a preferred genre. The two MCs are both queer (obviously) but Summer never specified if she’s into just women or men too and Aiko describes herself as a lesbian but doesn’t actually use the word which really did annoy me. The only time the word lesbian was used was to describe a bar and I wish authors would use the word more for their lesbian characters because it’s not a bad word.
Regardless of that, the story was pretty fast paced, it’s a second chance romance and there’s some smut too. There is also a third act breakup but it’s not just thrown in, it does make complete sense and it was needed to progress the story so I didn’t mind it. I listened to the audio to read this and I really liked the narrator! If you do listen to the narration, I’d definitely be careful who you’re around when you do bc it does get quite saucy.
Quotes I liked:
“That night at the dance has been burned into my memory for all these years. I still remember every moment: the way you looked in that dress, the way your lips felt.” (Pg. 37)
“There are so many roots to the tree of anger that sometimes the branches shatter before they bear.” (Pg. 224)
“It became clear that no matter how long she lingered here, pain would remain her constant companion.” (Pg. 96)
Rep - Black (BGC & MC & SC); Butch/Stem (MC & SC); F/F Relationship (MC & BGC); Hip replacement/cane user (BGC); Japanese (MC); Lesbian (MC); Peripheral Arterial Disease (SC); Sapphic (MC & SC); They/Them (BGC)
BGC (Background Character); SC (Side Character); MC (Main Character)
Tropes - Second chance romance; Third act break up; Time skip
TWs/CWs - Alcohol; Death of a loved one (past); Displacement; Drug use (weed); Gentrification; Grief; Homophobia; Hurricane; Illness; Jim Crow; Medication; Sexual content; WW2
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Drug use, Medical content, and Grief
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