Reviews

Breaking Character by Lee Winter

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mossdrop's review

2.0

Initially, I was excited thinking this was going to be a 5 star read, and my first WLW success read (I haven't had much success there). Unfortunately, this book quickly became a frustrating mess that I wanted to finish quickly.

The book relies on the miscommunication trope. Both female leads *somehow* don’t know that either one is gay, even though it’s GLARING OBVIOUS. People around them even drop huge hints about the other woman being gay, and yet it STILL DOESN’T register. It hits a point of being honestly so ridiculous I felt my intelligence (especially as a queer woman) was being insulted.

Then there's the fact that for the majority of the novel, one of the leads is in love with another woman. So you're essentially reading a book about unrequited queer love for more than half the book. How is that romance?

The aforementioned lead and her straight lady love also was a major problem. It's played as an abusive friendship with unrequited feelings from the lesbian character...but it didn't work. I understand abusive friendships (been there!) but the woman was so cartoonishly evil, it was hard to believe a near 40-year-old woman would allow herself to be treated in such a fashion, and the people around her (including the other romantic lead!). She was so cartoonishly evil and obvious I was waiting for her to twirl her mustache.

Since this book deals with the filming of a lesbian movie, I was stunned by the victim-blaming of the actresses of ‘Blue is the Warmest Color.’ The love scenes in that film are criticized because the actresses were straight. The author does know that the French director of the film has been accused of sexual assault and that both actresses were abused on set by him? That they came out and said they were treated especially horribly during those love scenes? YIKES.

There were some things in this book that if I didn't know the author was queer themselves, I would assume this was written by a straight person.

I should probably rate this one star, as when the romance FINALLY kicked in during the last few pages I skimmed and was over it...I did enjoy the beginning and did swoon initially! But my god, did everything fall apart fast.

gale_bruckner's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I adore shy characters in difficult positions being seen, admired, and genuinely not sure what to do with it. I also think sunshine characters with underestimated bite are fantastic. Lovely story. The only thing I would wish for is that Summer and Elizabeth leaned into something real earlier in their subterfuge. It seems like a natural thing to draw on since there was something real between them already. Breaking Character was thoughtful, and felt like realistic development of two different peoples feelings for each other.

Content Warnings

emiliaduerr's review

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emotional inspiring mysterious fast-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

3.75

queerbean's review

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

kn1231's review

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5.0

This story is one of Winter’s best, in my opinion. I’m a sucker for a Hollywood/LA based story, so this was right up my alley. I loved Summer and her quirky energy, and I also loved Elizabeth and her “guarded” personality. I bought into both of the leads and where they were coming from with the way they led their lives. I also thought the pacing and the way they ultimately came together made sense as well! Definitely one of my favorite couples from Winter’s books.