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A review by lezreadalot
Flipcup by Kim Hartfield
3.0
I was going to burn forever; burning only for her.
3.5 stars. This was pretty good; a solid, simple toaster-oven romance. It had a few too many of my pet peeves and just a couple irksome things besides, but I ended up liking the characters a lot, even though I had my ups and downs. The book starts with Chelsea swearing off men for a year; she decides that she's had enough of random hook-ups, and it's time to concentrate on herself. Then of course, she meets Tara, the hot new lesbian at the bar/bookshop she delivers beer to, and all bets are off. The book handled Chelsea's journey to realising her bisexuality mostly well? Though there's some essentialist language throughout the book. I struggled with Tara's OTT flirting early on in the book, though that was thankfully handled quickly. I also struggled with Chelsea's obnoxiousness and immaturity, until it became clear that that was something that the book would have her work on about herself, and eventually resolve. Sometimes she was so self-centred it seemed exaggerated, but honestly, I ended up liking having character like that, who would realise her flaws and take steps to change.
The writing was fine; I've enjoyed some of Hartfield's books before, and this was better than some of them. It was really easy to get pulled into the story and the world (this is part of a series, but easily read as a standalone). I did feel like this could have been longer though! There were some revelations and conversations that happened off-screen that I really think should have had dedicated page time. There are certain details about Tara's life and past trauma that are only sorta brought up, and only sorta discussed, and it just felt weird to have it brought up so briefly. I don't think we needed to dwell, but certainly, something more than we got.
A large part of my enjoyment can be attributed to the fact that I listened to the audiobook as read by Abby Craden and Angela Dawe, and well. They're the best for a reason! I love their voices so much, they totally suited the characters, I never felt jarred and I just got totally carried away. Sometimes good narration can really elevate writing, and imo, that was the case here. Really loved their performances.
A really sweet romance, even when it got serious and tense. Kudos.
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