Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Yerba Buena

Firstly, I'm obsessed with this cover, and now that I know what the cover means, I love it even more.

Secondly, I don't want to go through a spiel about what this is about, because I don't think I can do that adequately without giving it all away. The only thing you need to know going in is that it's a story of two women and the story intersects. The rest is beautiful. Of course, I advise you to check the triggers online, but as for looking into the actual journey of the characters, I'd advise against it. I think going into it blind made me love it even more.

The writing was beautiful, but it wasn't flowery or too much. I thought the main characters were both hot messes with a ton of red flags between the two of them, but I love reading about women with red flags. I would say, actually, it's one of my favorite things. Another thing I really loved about it was how much Lacour put her own Creole heritage into the pages. It made the book just that much more personal. I thought the stories of the two women were layered seamlessly and although the chapters are long, I *flew* through this in a way I haven't flown through a book in awhile.

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amandalorianxo's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is a bittersweet novel about two queer women who are trying to find, remake and be ok with themselves as they continue to heal and grow in this gritty world we live in. I love how Emilie and Sara didn’t hold back in their personalities and what made them who they are. I do think this was mis marketed a little bit. The romance is there but it’s not as poignant as the revivals each woman goes through in their twenties stage of life. This is my first novel of Lacour’s and I’m ready to dive into the rest of her backlist.

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.75

Thanks to Flatiron Books for the free advance copy of this book.

- YERBA BUENA is a small book that packs a big punch. It cuts right to the heart, looking both the best and worst life has to offer straight in the eye.
- This book does a great job of showing how trauma stays with you, but that doesn't mean your life will be devoid of joy and growth.

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saestrah's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful relaxing 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

3.5

A free advanced reading copy of this title was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review:

Nina LaCour perfectly captures the essence of being in your mid- to late-twenties, especially when it comes to Emilie. There's something incredibly heartening about reading about a character's reluctance to decide what direction her future should take her. There's one scene in particular where Emilie invites her friends over for a dinner party, and realises that she doesn't quite own enough glasses or plates. It expresses her sense of impermience in her life, not wanting to truly decorate her studio flat because it's not quite 'perfect.' She thinks there will be a moment in the distant future where she realises that it's 'time' to grow roots and become a real grown-up, and yet as the plot develops she comes to realise that she's already been living in that moment, and now simply lives in an undecorated flat. I think it's true for a lot of millenials who are currently living paycheck-by-paycheck, in rented apartments we're not allowed to keep pets in or replace badly stained carpets, that we're simply waiting for life to reach a point where we're allowed to be the people we've aspired to be since we were children. As a child, we dream of having a house and a career, but adulthood is never quite the same in reality.

I loved the slow development of Emilie and Sara's relationship. After reading a few more typical 'romance' novels, where the main characters meet within the first couple pages and rarely spend scenes apart, it's nice to see a much slower progression, where Emilie and Sara are developed as individuals before they are as a couple. There's chemistry between them, but more than that there's understanding. And it's not the 'love at first sight' kind; there are mistakes and there is miscommunication, but thankfully it's the kind of miscommunication we, as the reader, can understand and see the logic in because of the depth of characterisation. They feel real to me, pushing past the limitations of tropes and stereotypes and into the complications of what our pasts and the secrets we keep can alter the self.

LaCour's writing is descriptive, setting scenes in swathes of bold colours, intricate floral arrangements, and distinctive tastes. Considering their professions, it suits the characters' narrations and the pacing of the story.

All in all, this is a book I would recommend to anyone looking for adult sapphic/wlw fiction. The story isn't particularly groundbreaking, but there's a familiarity to it that feels like coming home and finally being seen.

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talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

3.25

A free ARC of this title was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve enjoyed Nina LaCour’s writing for some time now, but admittedly I haven’t kept up much with her recent works, so hearing about Yerba Buena was an exciting surprise. Following her shift from young adult to adult writing feels oddly fitting and personal—I first read one of her novels as a young teenager, maybe even a pre-teen, and now I too am, at least legally, an adult. Unfortunately, though Yerba Buena is poignant and beautiful, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

Writing-wise is where the novel primarily shines—it’s been some time now since I last read LaCour’s earlier pieces, so I can’t really recall enough to compare (not that I would be too inclined to if I could), but her style here reads very cleanly and smoothly. Each sentence flowed well, and there was a definite neat balance of showing and telling. The writing is somewhat subdued and laidback, if looked at as a whole, but that adds to the general quiet warmth Yerba Buena exudes.

In substance, Yerba Buena does have a great deal to offer. It’s a very human work, driven by character and emotion. The handling of trauma and healing in particular is very thoughtful and compelling. A great deal of heavy subject matter is present—some of which I wish I had known about in advance, though it fortunately doesn’t affect me too severely—but it’s treated with care, and the note on which things end is a soothing yet realistic one. There is closure, but it is acknowledged and shown that recovery isn’t a simple, linear process. I do wish that some things and their aftermath had been touched upon more, but I’m overall satisfied with how these themes are depicted.

While romance ends up being an important element in Yerba Buena’s narrative, I’d actually hesitate to classify it as a romance outright, which I consider a positive. Its focus ends up primarily just being people’s lives and bonds, including but not elevating romantic relationships. The portrayal of complicated family relationships, from loving to distant to both at once, was interesting and engaging as well.

To speak on the romance in specific, though: Sara and Emilie’s dynamic is very understated and well-written. It doesn’t actually feel like the “star-crossed” type of connection the blurb cites, just two troubled people who have managed to find each other and choose to work toward a relationship, which is super refreshing and nice to see. It’s a fairly minor thing to take note of, but I also liked that it was far from either’s first relationship (even if I have mixed opinions on Emilie’s prior romances). The development itself is a little rushed, but it slows effectively enough to appreciate and enjoy. With a tad more buildup, it would definitely rank as one of the best relationships I’ve seen in fiction as of late.

Getting involved in the characters’ lives and stories was easy enough, but ultimately, I feel that I lack understanding of who they truly are. Their hardships and struggles well outweigh the softer, quieter moments, which makes their exact characterization hard to get a grasp on. This is perhaps the point, as finding identity is a major theme, but it kept me from investing in full. There are some side characters I wish had been delved deeper into as well; though the cast is broad enough in theory, no particular characters are really explored in great detail. With how character-driven the novel is, this is likely its most glaring flaw.

The pacing also felt a bit strained in places; I had some trouble keeping up with the timeline, although this admittedly could have been on my part more so than the book’s, as I got through it far faster than I expected or planned. I did like that certain backstory scenes established early on were embellished upon later, but I’m not certain that their actual inclusion to open the novel was the most effective choice. Some loose ends remain by the conclusion as well, but I wasn’t actually especially bothered by most.

Yerba Buena is a well-written piece with a number of intriguing themes and things to say, but I found it to fall flat in some areas. I enjoyed my time with it—perhaps a bit too much, if my reading speed is anything to go by—but ultimately was not able to take as much from it as I anticipated.

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