On the Square by Brenda Murphy | ARC Review

On the Square (University Square #1) by Brenda Murphy

• Publisher: NineStar Press, August 17th 2020
• Genre: Romance, LGBTQ+
• Format: Ebook (eARC)
• Page Count: 234 pages
• My Rating: ★★★ (3/5)

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General contractor Dale Miller’s (42, lesbian) ex-girlfriend took all her savings. Tight on money, Dale knows that she needs this business deal when celebrity chef Mai Li (~39, mixed race, lesbian) contacts her to renovate her old family house. Then Dale learns that Mai has nowhere to stay for the time being, so she offers her own basement as temporary lodging. With the both of them being burned in past relationships, Dale and Mai have to figure out if being together is something they both want.

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Content warnings: racism, homophobia, hate violence, ableist language from main characters and friends, light BDSM (consensual)

The primary reason of me picking up On the Square was its Asian main character Mai Li. Though never explicitly stated, Mai is of Chinese descent. She refers to her paternal grandfather as Yeye (爺爺) and her younger sister calls her Jiějie (姊姊). Mai’s mother was mixed race, and I inferred from context that Mai is also Black. I have never read any f/f contemporary romance featuring an East Asian lead until now, and I am very happy with the representation Murphy provided.

Too often, authors shove a POC into the story for the sake of diversifying the cast without acknowledging that their life experiences are different from white people. But Murphy did not do that. She clearly knows what she is writing about, and I love how she didn’t try to pretend Mai’s life is easy. With a more masculine presentation, Mai doesn’t just suffer from homophobia and racism growing up, but still has to deal with them at the age of almost forty. I also love how Mai is clearly not tolerant toward people who discriminate.

The range of representations in this book is beautiful. In addition to our two lesbian leads, we have queer teens and sapphic adults as side characters. Mai’s younger sister is disabled, and the remodeling of their childhood home includes considering accessibility as well.

As a romance, the ultimate downside of the story was that the idea of Dale and Mai being together did not really click with me. They have too many issues to work on before they are ready for a happy ending. But the story is cute, and I really enjoyed the family dynamics involving the Millers and Mai.

For stories with a single mother as a main character, I often wonder if the mother falls for someone because she genuinely feels something for them or they are good with her kids. There is such a fine line between these two. I kind of feel like Mai is perfect as a mom for the boys but am not sure that she is the one for Dale.

The pacing is a bit chunky with conversations unintentionally left hanging. I had to reread some of the passages to make sure I didn’t miss anything. A lot of the angst, while very low, stems from Dale and Mai not communicating, so I admit it is a little annoying at times. But both characters are very likeable and I enjoyed seeing them figure out what’s best for them. And honestly, with all the amazingly wonderful side characters, especially Dale’s youngest son Noah, On the Square is a fun and mostly light-hearted romance that does not gloss over the non-idealities in life.

Judging from the preview of book two Lockset at the end of this book, we are going to have a Korean lesbian main Eun (은) soon. It is also possible that a few other side characters from On the Square will have their own books in the University Square series as well. I am very excited to see what Murphy has in-store for us in the future.

I received an e-ARC from NineStar Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.