Do you ever really get over your first crush/love? Most second chances romances agree that you don’t really get over them completely. As does this one.
Lisa Barnett is an electrician. In the past she was given a hard time in school for being gay plus she is quite the butch. It also just so happened that the hottest girl in high school and an intrinsic part of the popular group, Bella McBride, was a closeted lesbian who had a flaming relationship with Lisa till they were caught by her friends. Soon after that, Bella disappeared from town and Lisa was left to handle the hate by herself.
Fate conspires to bring Bella, more gorgeous than ever, back in town. Not only back in town but as Lisa’s next door neighbour. Bella, with a wedding bank and men’s shoes lying in a prominently visible place, seems to be married. She is also mysterious inasmuch she hauls two seemingly heavy suitcases out late at night, returns back even later, immediately puts cleaning materials in her car and varooms off early next morning. Naturally, Lisa’s interest in piqued not only because it is Bella, but also, just what the heel is she up to?
Bella makes no bones about her interest in Lisa which Lisa tries to fight off. But what is meant to be is just meant to be.
We liked Lisa and total adored Bella. The first half of the book, till the two got together, flowed extremely well. After that, Jay addresses past issues (with the homophobic friends), coming out to parents and a frankly unnecessary detour with two of Lisa’s exes (one her current best friend) and their dynamic but it felt like absolutely nothing of consequence was happening in the book.
Plenty of sex in this one. BDSM. We are somehow not wired to understand the dome-sub dynamic. We are completely unable to see it as an equal relationship. However, we admit that out of the bedroom, Bella is not at all sub. So not seeing the relationship because it is coloured by the dome-sub relationship is purely our bad.
We also fail to get the turn-on factor in SM. How does spanking till a person is crying make for good sex? Again, this one is entirely on us because we’re not wired that way.
We found Alice, a wannbe full time sub carrying a torch for Lisa despite being with someone else, a rather tragic character. She is coloured bad in the narrative, but she is someone we just felt bad for particularly since she is diagnosed bipolar. In fact, right from her first appearance, we felt deep sympathy for her. Wish she wasn’t there in the book or at least she had been given better characterisation and story.
But, this above all, hot sex.
Recommended for readers not squeamish about various degrees (albeit on the milder to medium levels) of BDSM and fans of the butch-femme pairing.
