kursed_reads's review against another edition
4.0
She’s With Me is a short and smexy prequel/novella to the Ciccone Brothers series.
Despite the short length, there is surprising depth to the characters and their story. Likewise, there are glimpses into the personalities of several of the brothers and even Papa Ciccone.
I’ve not read much FF romance and really enjoyed it! I’m also really looking forward to the rest of the series and getting to know the Ciccone brothers better.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat:
Despite the short length, there is surprising depth to the characters and their story. Likewise, there are glimpses into the personalities of several of the brothers and even Papa Ciccone.
I’ve not read much FF romance and really enjoyed it! I’m also really looking forward to the rest of the series and getting to know the Ciccone brothers better.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat:
literary_hoe's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
scr123's review
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
2.5
The first half of the book was good, it set the scene, the characters were well written.
The second half felt rushed as though the author couldn’t wait to get to the end and finish the story.
We’ve all heard a story must have a beginning, a middle and, an end, this book had no middle. It was rushed.
That said, it is one of the better F/F romances I’ve read, I think that’s why I was disappointed with the second half because it had so much potential. Instead once again we’re left with a half hearted attempt at inclusion.
The second half felt rushed as though the author couldn’t wait to get to the end and finish the story.
We’ve all heard a story must have a beginning, a middle and, an end, this book had no middle. It was rushed.
That said, it is one of the better F/F romances I’ve read, I think that’s why I was disappointed with the second half because it had so much potential. Instead once again we’re left with a half hearted attempt at inclusion.
pages_of_sav's review against another edition
5.0
I wishhh it was longer, because I didn’t want it to end so soon
cheyennenth's review against another edition
1.0
Unrealistic in the way it felt like it was written by someone who wasn’t queer.
katie_konneker's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
browneyedbookworm's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
littlebookterror's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
2.5
What I got was not what I was expecting - which was a nice surprise for the first half and a sad letdown for the second half.
The first part has a typical setup: Courtlin and Kenley meet while Kenley is working, a phone number is exchanged and they meet-up. And while I usually struggle to suspend my disbelief when it comes to "vanilla girl has BDSM sex within 24h of meeting the love interest" (and this does suffer from open communication), it was surprisingly well done. Nothing extreme happens that night and Courtlin's comfort level are at the forefront.
We do get very little dialogue between the two leads and maybe a bit more reading into actions than I would like. This makes the second part all the worst: because for some unexplained reason, Courtlin has to come along when Kenley has to job and then meet her father. And suddenly we are in the usual instalove territory, "I am suddenly feeling so much for her", we get a lot of interactions between Kenley and her brothers (to make her appear more badass?), and there is new information that barely holds a plot thread together.
Honestly, I did not even mind the sudden change in focus of the story. But the story would have been so much better if that tension had either been built up right from the start or if we leaned more into the complicated relationship dynamic later on.
Fun fact: The word "lesbian" is not used, but one her brothers is described as "gay"
The first part has a typical setup: Courtlin and Kenley meet while Kenley is working, a phone number is exchanged and they meet-up. And while I usually struggle to suspend my disbelief when it comes to "vanilla girl has BDSM sex within 24h of meeting the love interest" (and this does suffer from open communication), it was surprisingly well done. Nothing extreme happens that night and Courtlin's comfort level are at the forefront.
We do get very little dialogue between the two leads and maybe a bit more reading into actions than I would like. This makes the second part all the worst: because for some unexplained reason, Courtlin has to come along when Kenley has to job and then meet her father. And suddenly we are in the usual instalove territory, "I am suddenly feeling so much for her", we get a lot of interactions between Kenley and her brothers (to make her appear more badass?), and there is new information that barely holds a plot thread together.
Honestly, I did not even mind the sudden change in focus of the story. But the story would have been so much better if that tension had either been built up right from the start or if we leaned more into the complicated relationship dynamic later on.
Fun fact: The word "lesbian" is not used, but one her brothers is described as "gay"
fernwehbibliophile69's review
4.0
I am a fan of B.L. Mute, so to see she has done a joint story with Sade Rena, I was very excited to see where they went with it.
Firstly, there are not enough F/F romance books out there, so when I have to chance to read one I always get excited about it. So thank you for writing this!
This was a quick read and was not as spicy as I expected, BUT it had just the right amount! It was more of a short story with a good plot and set up with some spice added in, which to me is perfect! It was a great novella that gave us a glimpse into what its like to be Ciccone. Let me tell you... I was not prepared for that plot twist!! The characters were just very relatable in the sense that it was over the top. Listen, ill be her Angel. lol!!
And that intro into Read to Me, got me excited to read it!
Firstly, there are not enough F/F romance books out there, so when I have to chance to read one I always get excited about it. So thank you for writing this!
This was a quick read and was not as spicy as I expected, BUT it had just the right amount! It was more of a short story with a good plot and set up with some spice added in, which to me is perfect! It was a great novella that gave us a glimpse into what its like to be Ciccone. Let me tell you... I was not prepared for that plot twist!! The characters were just very relatable in the sense that it was over the top. Listen, ill be her Angel. lol!!
And that intro into Read to Me, got me excited to read it!