They Say She Tastes Like Honey: A Novel

by Michelle Sawyer

Ohio was hardly ready for its prized Piqua Peach Queen to come bopping out of the closet, so in her early 20s Macy Delongchamp moved to Greenwich Village and started her own successful travel agency. But Macy is now in her early 40s (or late 30s, depending on whom she's talking to) and finds herself adrift in her own seemingly charmed life. First, there are the nightmares, then the nagging cough, and finally, after yet another night of tequila swigging, she trips down a flight of stairs and finds herself hobbling the streets of Manhattan with the aid of a cane fashioned from a petrified bull penis. That actually comes in handy, though, because there is nothing like a petrified bull penis to beat off a mugger, which is how she ends up using it when she comes to the aid of young, badly dressed belle on roller skates named Sarah--and falls in love with her. But is Macy ready to embrace the kind of life she has spent years avoiding and making fun of? Before she has time to find out, the death of her father, "Wild" Bill Delongchamp, pulls her back to Ohio, where the events and people of her past run headlong into the new Macy of good times, uncommitted relationships, and globe-trotting adventures. In bawdy, hilarious style we follow Macy through one self-induced misadventure after another on her path to realizing that she has been running from herself and home has always been waiting. Michelle Sawyer was born and continues to live in Jackson, Mich. This is her first novel.

Genres: LGBT, Lesbian, Fiction, Queer

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Jillian Blanchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an funny and well written book. It may not be great literature, but I really enjoyed it. It was a fun, fast read.

[Larissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book- another fav

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its so much fun to find a good book at a used bookstore. I picked this book up with no real clue what it was going to entail, and I’m definitely glad I did. At the start, I was a little frightened that it was going to be a dud, especially because the humor seemed pretty dry and the romance seemed quick to start. That definitely wasn’t the case as I got farther into the book, and the way it layered the storyline with the stress Macy was experiencing with her family? It’s definitely one to throw across the room by the end of chapter 24, but then pick back up seconds later.

[Tiberius McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what possessed me to pick this one up. I despise romance... but I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed the way it was written, witty and clever at some points, cynical and desperate at others. Macy, the main character, was pretty dynamic and I liked her despite everything else.

The actual 'romance' was pretty boring and really cliche, but the relationship between Macy and her best friend's family, as well as her own family, was interesting enough to overshadow the dullness.

[Queen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked the characters (damaged and comforting) and the fast pace of the story line. However, I found that the back and forth to the family background was irrelevant and the falling in love phase was WAY too short. I mean, come on!

[Yeva · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters are great. I want to explore the friendship with Macy and Trish more.

[Carolyn Virginia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Genre: lesbian trash novel.  The story was pretty stupid but I found the main character interesting; I felt the stories about her step mother, Vi, were the best part of the novel.

[CK529 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know romance in books is normally beyond believing, but the romance in this book was beyond believing and I almost quit reading it. I did like the story of Macy's life and if that had been the only storyline my rating would have been higher.

[Leslie Lange · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed reading this the second time around!

[Jodi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was OK, but nothing special. It was about finding and finding one's self....

[MEC · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book runs on adrenaline. I mean that in a good way. It’s fast moving, funny, irreverent and unrepentant. Macy is a 40-something lesbian living in New York City where she drinks too much, sleeps around, refuses to take care of health as she bounces from crisis to crisis and makes no apologies for any of it. Despite all that, she’s endearing and funny and you just hope that she manages to pull her shit together. There is a bit of romance, where she meets a young woman who gives her the impetus to change, but the story is really more about Macy. One of the best parts of the book is the way that Sawyer has interspersed the story of her childhood as a nice counterpoint (and breathing space) as Marcy wreaks havoc in her present life.