Still Not Over You by Jenny Frame & Carsen Taite & Ali Vali
- Publisher: Bold Strokes Books, 2020
- Genre: Romance, LGBTQ+, Novella
- Format: Paperback (eARC)
- Page Count: 264 pages
- My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
I absolutely love the first novella My Forever Girl by Jenny Frame. Its tone is sad from the beginning yet we feel the immense love and caring between Braydon and Faith. Because of unfortunate circumstances, they are divorced and have been avoiding seeing each other for four years. But their friends invite them on a cruise and force them to share adjacent rooms for two weeks. Melancholy flowed relentlessly through the story as Bray and Faith work to forgive each other and, most importantly, themselves. Frame did not disappoint with this emotional butch-femme story and oh what I would give to have a full length novel of them!
The second story is relatively weak just because the first one had me spoiled. Carsen Taite’s Double Jeopardy is still a good short. Told in Katie’s first-person narrative, we learn that Katie stood Emma up at the altar eight years ago. And now, they run into each other again right before Katie’s loveless new wedding. Honestly, I do not find Katie very likeable but it is definitely easy to connect with her as the story gradually reveals her concerns, both past and present. I would say true friends play a big role in this novella and since it ends quite abruptly, it leaves us space for imagination and hope.
Ali Vali’s On the Rocks, another butch-femme story, is very cute. I especially like how each scene starts with the same idea the last scene leaves off. Though consecutive scenes focus on different characters, the connection of thoughts and dialogues make conversations stretch beyond space, even if they are talking about different things. Though I cannot truly grasp why Haley thought ditching Max after graduation was a great idea, I love the whiskey theme and seeing them get closer to each other after receiving closure. Also, the Cinclairs are absolutely adorable. If the first and second stories show us what friends are for, this one emphasizes on wonderful and supportive family members.
Still Not Over You is a wonderful second-chance romance anthology that makes you believe in love again. And you would certainly be missing out if you have not read My Forever Girl because it truly is everything. [9 Jun 2020]
I received an e-ARC from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
