Scan barcode
A review by indiekay
Duo Act by Lainee Ash
1.0
I had to DNF this about 30% in. The content warning at the beginning of the book advises that there will be misgendering in it, but it fails to note that the person doing most of the misgendering is one of the main characters and the love interest to the non-binary person who is getting misgendered.
I read a LOT of books about trans and non-binary people, and not ONCE have I ever had to read a story in which the main character is consistently getting misgendered and disrespected by their actual love interest!! Someone they're dating at the beginning of the book and then break up with to get with someone better? Sure! But to have to read the POV of the person doing the misgendering, and then be expected to root for these two to get together? Absolutely not.
Here's some of the passages as examples of what we're dealing with here:
Chapter one, Sofia's POV:
Phoenix? Was that really her name? Either this chick had some wacky hippies for parents or she wasn't being entirely honest. Sofia groaned inwardly. This "Phoenix" sounded like one of those "too cool for you" types who changed their name every month and got offended when everyone didn't instantly adjust.
Chapter 3, Sofia's POV:
"Oh." Sofia stopped. They. So it wasn't just that Phoenix had an edgy haircut and some piercings, she - they, they - were non-binary or non-conforming or whatever the latest term was. Well, whatever. Sofia didn't need to date them; she just had to work with them.
Part of Sofia wanted to ask why Phoenix insisted on making this even more difficult, why they wanted to make things extra complicated, extra annoying.
Chapter 6, Phoenix's POV:
"You know," Sofia said, "you claim you aren't a woman, but you sure fuck like one."
Then, this is Sofia's "apology" after the above statement was made, in chapter 7:
"I made a mistake,: Sofia said. "OK? It was a dumb joke. It was stupid. I get it. And if you hate me forever for it, so be it, but can we at least be professionals here? Can we at least not ruin this for everyone else just because we don't like each other?"
(this whole chapter before Sofia's "apology" - notice she never actually says the word sorry - is just Sofia complaining in her inner monologue about how it was just a JOKE, and Phoenix is the one to blame for taking it so seriously.
So like, if all of this had happened in the story from a character that the reader was suppose to dislike and they were someone Phoenix broke up with, then fine! I'd read that and be like "what an asshole, hope Phoenix dates someone better", but no Sofia is the main character here. Sofia has had the most POV chapters, and has the most personality - I could not actually describe Phoenix's personality in this book other than annoyed and anxious.
Another thing is that the two characters dislike each other from the get-go without much reason as to why. In chapter 2 Phoenix's best friend Jason (who the author feels the need to interject with "His real name was Kang-Dae, but he always introduced himself as Jason" which just felt incredible unnecessary??? And look at this non-binary person asking people to please respect their chosen name while looking down on their friend for also having a chosen name?? WHY) comes up to Phoenix and basically says "you're gonna hate Sofia because she's a gold-star lesbian, she's pretty old-fashioned and stuck in her ways" basically poisoning Phoenix's opinions of Sofia from the get go, but then in chapter 8 he tells Phoenix that they HAVE to forgive Sofia for the "fucks like a woman" comment. This is honestly the point in the book I decided to DNF it because NONE OF THE CHARACTERS' DECISIONS MAKE ANY SENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (not to mention their boss calling Sofia and Phoenix into his office and telling them to just fuck already and get on with their jobs - inappropriate much?)
So, yeah. In conclusion I found the writing style fine and easy to read, and I liked the concept of aerial silk sports romance, but the characters have no personality and are very judgemental and make really illogical decisions that only serve to forward the plot but make no sense realistically. If you're a non-binary or trans person don't read this, it's just going to upset you. Also please never date someone who says this kind of shit to you, it's not worth it.
I read a LOT of books about trans and non-binary people, and not ONCE have I ever had to read a story in which the main character is consistently getting misgendered and disrespected by their actual love interest!! Someone they're dating at the beginning of the book and then break up with to get with someone better? Sure! But to have to read the POV of the person doing the misgendering, and then be expected to root for these two to get together? Absolutely not.
Here's some of the passages as examples of what we're dealing with here:
Chapter one, Sofia's POV:
Phoenix? Was that really her name? Either this chick had some wacky hippies for parents or she wasn't being entirely honest. Sofia groaned inwardly. This "Phoenix" sounded like one of those "too cool for you" types who changed their name every month and got offended when everyone didn't instantly adjust.
Chapter 3, Sofia's POV:
"Oh." Sofia stopped. They. So it wasn't just that Phoenix had an edgy haircut and some piercings, she - they, they - were non-binary or non-conforming or whatever the latest term was. Well, whatever. Sofia didn't need to date them; she just had to work with them.
Part of Sofia wanted to ask why Phoenix insisted on making this even more difficult, why they wanted to make things extra complicated, extra annoying.
Chapter 6, Phoenix's POV:
"You know," Sofia said, "you claim you aren't a woman, but you sure fuck like one."
Then, this is Sofia's "apology" after the above statement was made, in chapter 7:
"I made a mistake,: Sofia said. "OK? It was a dumb joke. It was stupid. I get it. And if you hate me forever for it, so be it, but can we at least be professionals here? Can we at least not ruin this for everyone else just because we don't like each other?"
(this whole chapter before Sofia's "apology" - notice she never actually says the word sorry - is just Sofia complaining in her inner monologue about how it was just a JOKE, and Phoenix is the one to blame for taking it so seriously.
So like, if all of this had happened in the story from a character that the reader was suppose to dislike and they were someone Phoenix broke up with, then fine! I'd read that and be like "what an asshole, hope Phoenix dates someone better", but no Sofia is the main character here. Sofia has had the most POV chapters, and has the most personality - I could not actually describe Phoenix's personality in this book other than annoyed and anxious.
Another thing is that the two characters dislike each other from the get-go without much reason as to why. In chapter 2 Phoenix's best friend Jason (who the author feels the need to interject with "His real name was Kang-Dae, but he always introduced himself as Jason" which just felt incredible unnecessary??? And look at this non-binary person asking people to please respect their chosen name while looking down on their friend for also having a chosen name?? WHY) comes up to Phoenix and basically says "you're gonna hate Sofia because she's a gold-star lesbian, she's pretty old-fashioned and stuck in her ways" basically poisoning Phoenix's opinions of Sofia from the get go, but then in chapter 8 he tells Phoenix that they HAVE to forgive Sofia for the "fucks like a woman" comment. This is honestly the point in the book I decided to DNF it because NONE OF THE CHARACTERS' DECISIONS MAKE ANY SENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (not to mention their boss calling Sofia and Phoenix into his office and telling them to just fuck already and get on with their jobs - inappropriate much?)
So, yeah. In conclusion I found the writing style fine and easy to read, and I liked the concept of aerial silk sports romance, but the characters have no personality and are very judgemental and make really illogical decisions that only serve to forward the plot but make no sense realistically. If you're a non-binary or trans person don't read this, it's just going to upset you. Also please never date someone who says this kind of shit to you, it's not worth it.