What do you think?
Rate this book
Getting to Know You
Maggie Fromm moved to LA to follow a dream: to become an actress and live happily ever after with her high school sweetheart. When her heart is broken after a year of eking out a living, Maggie finds herself fighting for her dream alone. Her luck may change when she meets Gwen Knowles, a talented and spirited director drawn to Maggie's energy on stage.
As they work to bring an independent play to life, Maggie and Gwen face shadows from their past—but this time, they have each other.
As they work to bring an independent play to life, Maggie and Gwen face shadows from their past—but this time, they have each other.
Published May 28, 2024
2 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer M.D. Cox
1 book5 followersJennifer (she/they) earned her minor in creative writing from Alfred University in 2016. As a pansexual genderflux individual and a trauma-informed mental health counselor, they’re passionate about representation in fiction. Each story she tells is an opportunity to explore the beauty in nonconformity, healing, and diversity. After a lifetime of putting imagination to paper, Jennifer’s debut novel, Getting to Know You, came into being as a promise kept to a friend. Jennifer lives in the Finger Lakes with her family, where they enjoy tabletop roleplaying games, sewing, and cuddling their cat.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 25, 2024
This review is based off an ARC received from the author. This is my first time doing this sort of ARC/review process. This was also first posted on another platform, so the formatting might be all over the place.
X-X-X
I. Overall Impressions (⭐⭐⭐/Five)
This is a solid, if somewhat workmanlike, book.
1. There are all the elements of a good story: motivated protag, recovering from a broken-heart, interested in someone who is obviously driven and capable in the field they both share. It's set in LA, and has a rotating cast of theatre people and even has a mysterious antagonist who pops in from time to time. All the ingredients are there. But the story, or rather its heart, doesn't quite come together.
2. I'm not actually sure if the author intended this to be a Romance (I went back to check the OP and it doesn't specify Romance but the cover sort of fits the bill?) because it delivers on the Coming-of-Age part fairly well, but drops the ball on its main relationship a little bit.
Here's what the book did right.
II. The Good 👍
1. All characters are fleshed-out people, with hopes, dreams, and quirks. (A huge, huge plus, and by itself worthy of three stars).
2. Themes explored through the theatre setting (mainly feminism) come through fairly organically.
The parts devoted to the skill of acting are actually pretty interesting, and woven into the story well.
All the stuff about Judaism was fascinating to me—as someone who is not from this continent and has very little real-life experience with the faith. I will say it might come off a bit didactic for people who are more familiar.
3. The parts about abusive relationships (and what it's like to be in them) are well-done (in the explanation bit at least).
4. The main relationship is actually quite sweet—and I really like the author built it in the way they did, focusing on developing an acquaintanceship and then friendship. You really actually get to know the people and understand why they become friends. It's such a HUGE breath of fresh air compared to the Instalove that this genre tends to do. (I will say as an aside, that most of the best F/F romances I've read tend to have the main characters already have a some sort of connection prior to the romance. It's MUCH easier to do the complications of romance when already having a baked-in foundation, and MUCH harder to do pull of the meet-cute in something that feels realistic. This book's main relationship does actually feel realistic and it deserves recognition for attempting to pull it off.)
So what were the missed opportunities?
III. The Average 😕
a. Emotional Connections 🫂
1. In one sentence: the emotional beats of the story are... lacking.
2. It's not that they are missing, because there are some parts where you feel the emotion quite well (one scene comes to mind when the protag runs into her ex—this one stayed with me).
But everything else: the initial breakup (I'd be willing to believe the protag was in shock for a bit) itself didn't seem to impact the protag much. She's NINETEEN, and I may not be NINETEEN any more, but emotions run high when huge life upheavals happen and the protag somehow glosses over all of it, and turns over a new leaf pretty quickly.
3. This is not to say this sort of moving on is impossible. It's certainly possible. It depends on the characterisation. If the the protag were written as a "fuck this, fuck everything, I'm gonna live my BEST LIFE" sort of person I'd believe it.
4. Instead she's actually quite nice, certainly someone who believes the good in people, and it turns out, very community-oriented. But her first-ever breakup didn't seem to even register with her enough to register with me.
5. Perhaps the author felt they couldn't linger on this—that it would be boring for the reader maybe—but its absence is very telling and detracts from an otherwise believable story.
b. Romance/Not(?) ❤️
1. The second major issue I have—and this might be my fault for assuming this is primarily a Romance—the feeling of romance is missing. I'm told the romance itself is there: in a very well-built friends-to-lovers way, but the writing really doesn't give it room to breathe. I will never insist an author rely on silly tropes to get those heart-fluttering, goosebump moments, but without even a suggestion of the wellspring of flirtatious energy that is a new romance, the characters—who are otherwise quite believable—come off flat, and the story—which is interesting when broken down into parts—doesn't ever seem to get out of first gear.
2. In fact, if this book was written instead as a coming-of-age friendship, I'd have believed it. When the characters do get together it doesn't feel any different from the first 20% of the book when they're acquaintances.
3. They also seem to be seriously well-adjusted to the point where there is no conflict... ever? No normal misunderstandings even? I have more arguments with my tennis partner in one match than these guys had in the entire book. Which is not to say that good romance needs conflict (and clearly the author really wanted this to be healthy relationship book) but it's weird when people say the right thing all the time or don't ever ask stupid questions.
4. This is especially apparent when the protag kinda-sorta gets threatened and told to stay away from her eventual love interest. And then (and this part blows my mind) doesn't demand to know what the hell is going on? Has no questions for her? Has no "what-the-fu**-is-this" moment. Just... accepts everything with zero explanation?! I'm not sure of this is my immigrant self telling on... myself but it's weird as hell.
5. And this is why I said earlier that the characterisation of the protag points to someone who is overall clearly very forgiving. And so THEN it's weird that she:
a. Doesn't even attempt (however misguidedly) to forgive her ex, nor does she end up pining for her.
b. Or at the very least pining for the companionship, no matter how terrible the relationship was? Look, I'm just saying, as someone who has been in at least one not-the-best-relationship, you bet I spent enough time pining. It's basically a rite of passage of falling in love?! Especially at NINETEEN.
c. Pacing 🚶
1. Anyway, the third issue, is the pacing. There's actually quite a bit going on in this book, but it all feels like its happening at 0.5x speed. Usually good storytelling has ebbs and flows. Things pick up the pace and slow down, and linger. The reader is then allowed to constantly wonder—and in this genre, and this audience—yearn for what happens next. And then comes the hand-to-heart relief of the emotional payoffs. But because the initial back-and-forth is missing that when the emotional payoff comes, it doesn't leave much room except for a "oh cool... anyway."
d. Action 🤼♂️
1. Fourthly, the action parts. Look, action is really hard to write. It also requires a lot of pace-yanking. There's only maybe three scenes in the story where someone is in danger, but it never actually feels like they're in danger.
e. Setting 🏙️
1. Finally, I didn't really get a sense of LA, the city. The protag's thoughts about the city are limited. Their perception of their larger surroundings isn't given a lot of notice. This story could have taken place in any other vaguely North American city and it would've passed muster.
IV. Final Thoughts 💭
1. I may have not given this book (by a debut author no less) a fair shot because I just came off reading a bunch of Tess Sharpe—who does this sort of YA genre fantastically well. Comparisons were inevitable, and perhaps, not needed.
2. I do think the author did a decent job, I just see the potential of what could have been with this book a lot more than the book I ended up reading. All the elements could have stayed the same: but with better pacing, more focused emotional beats, and more specific writing, this could have been five stars, easily.
3. As a disclaimer, I also did not like A Memory Called Empire (which was nominated for a Hugo) for many similar reasons, so take this review with all the grains of salt.
X-X-X
I. Overall Impressions (⭐⭐⭐/Five)
This is a solid, if somewhat workmanlike, book.
1. There are all the elements of a good story: motivated protag, recovering from a broken-heart, interested in someone who is obviously driven and capable in the field they both share. It's set in LA, and has a rotating cast of theatre people and even has a mysterious antagonist who pops in from time to time. All the ingredients are there. But the story, or rather its heart, doesn't quite come together.
2. I'm not actually sure if the author intended this to be a Romance (I went back to check the OP and it doesn't specify Romance but the cover sort of fits the bill?) because it delivers on the Coming-of-Age part fairly well, but drops the ball on its main relationship a little bit.
Here's what the book did right.
II. The Good 👍
1. All characters are fleshed-out people, with hopes, dreams, and quirks. (A huge, huge plus, and by itself worthy of three stars).
2. Themes explored through the theatre setting (mainly feminism) come through fairly organically.
The parts devoted to the skill of acting are actually pretty interesting, and woven into the story well.
All the stuff about Judaism was fascinating to me—as someone who is not from this continent and has very little real-life experience with the faith. I will say it might come off a bit didactic for people who are more familiar.
3. The parts about abusive relationships (and what it's like to be in them) are well-done (in the explanation bit at least).
4. The main relationship is actually quite sweet—and I really like the author built it in the way they did, focusing on developing an acquaintanceship and then friendship. You really actually get to know the people and understand why they become friends. It's such a HUGE breath of fresh air compared to the Instalove that this genre tends to do. (I will say as an aside, that most of the best F/F romances I've read tend to have the main characters already have a some sort of connection prior to the romance. It's MUCH easier to do the complications of romance when already having a baked-in foundation, and MUCH harder to do pull of the meet-cute in something that feels realistic. This book's main relationship does actually feel realistic and it deserves recognition for attempting to pull it off.)
So what were the missed opportunities?
III. The Average 😕
a. Emotional Connections 🫂
1. In one sentence: the emotional beats of the story are... lacking.
2. It's not that they are missing, because there are some parts where you feel the emotion quite well (one scene comes to mind when the protag runs into her ex—this one stayed with me).
But everything else: the initial breakup (I'd be willing to believe the protag was in shock for a bit) itself didn't seem to impact the protag much. She's NINETEEN, and I may not be NINETEEN any more, but emotions run high when huge life upheavals happen and the protag somehow glosses over all of it, and turns over a new leaf pretty quickly.
3. This is not to say this sort of moving on is impossible. It's certainly possible. It depends on the characterisation. If the the protag were written as a "fuck this, fuck everything, I'm gonna live my BEST LIFE" sort of person I'd believe it.
4. Instead she's actually quite nice, certainly someone who believes the good in people, and it turns out, very community-oriented. But her first-ever breakup didn't seem to even register with her enough to register with me.
5. Perhaps the author felt they couldn't linger on this—that it would be boring for the reader maybe—but its absence is very telling and detracts from an otherwise believable story.
b. Romance/Not(?) ❤️
1. The second major issue I have—and this might be my fault for assuming this is primarily a Romance—the feeling of romance is missing. I'm told the romance itself is there: in a very well-built friends-to-lovers way, but the writing really doesn't give it room to breathe. I will never insist an author rely on silly tropes to get those heart-fluttering, goosebump moments, but without even a suggestion of the wellspring of flirtatious energy that is a new romance, the characters—who are otherwise quite believable—come off flat, and the story—which is interesting when broken down into parts—doesn't ever seem to get out of first gear.
2. In fact, if this book was written instead as a coming-of-age friendship, I'd have believed it. When the characters do get together it doesn't feel any different from the first 20% of the book when they're acquaintances.
3. They also seem to be seriously well-adjusted to the point where there is no conflict... ever? No normal misunderstandings even? I have more arguments with my tennis partner in one match than these guys had in the entire book. Which is not to say that good romance needs conflict (and clearly the author really wanted this to be healthy relationship book) but it's weird when people say the right thing all the time or don't ever ask stupid questions.
4. This is especially apparent when the protag kinda-sorta gets threatened and told to stay away from her eventual love interest. And then (and this part blows my mind) doesn't demand to know what the hell is going on? Has no questions for her? Has no "what-the-fu**-is-this" moment. Just... accepts everything with zero explanation?! I'm not sure of this is my immigrant self telling on... myself but it's weird as hell.
5. And this is why I said earlier that the characterisation of the protag points to someone who is overall clearly very forgiving. And so THEN it's weird that she:
a. Doesn't even attempt (however misguidedly) to forgive her ex, nor does she end up pining for her.
b. Or at the very least pining for the companionship, no matter how terrible the relationship was? Look, I'm just saying, as someone who has been in at least one not-the-best-relationship, you bet I spent enough time pining. It's basically a rite of passage of falling in love?! Especially at NINETEEN.
c. Pacing 🚶
1. Anyway, the third issue, is the pacing. There's actually quite a bit going on in this book, but it all feels like its happening at 0.5x speed. Usually good storytelling has ebbs and flows. Things pick up the pace and slow down, and linger. The reader is then allowed to constantly wonder—and in this genre, and this audience—yearn for what happens next. And then comes the hand-to-heart relief of the emotional payoffs. But because the initial back-and-forth is missing that when the emotional payoff comes, it doesn't leave much room except for a "oh cool... anyway."
d. Action 🤼♂️
1. Fourthly, the action parts. Look, action is really hard to write. It also requires a lot of pace-yanking. There's only maybe three scenes in the story where someone is in danger, but it never actually feels like they're in danger.
e. Setting 🏙️
1. Finally, I didn't really get a sense of LA, the city. The protag's thoughts about the city are limited. Their perception of their larger surroundings isn't given a lot of notice. This story could have taken place in any other vaguely North American city and it would've passed muster.
IV. Final Thoughts 💭
1. I may have not given this book (by a debut author no less) a fair shot because I just came off reading a bunch of Tess Sharpe—who does this sort of YA genre fantastically well. Comparisons were inevitable, and perhaps, not needed.
2. I do think the author did a decent job, I just see the potential of what could have been with this book a lot more than the book I ended up reading. All the elements could have stayed the same: but with better pacing, more focused emotional beats, and more specific writing, this could have been five stars, easily.
3. As a disclaimer, I also did not like A Memory Called Empire (which was nominated for a Hugo) for many similar reasons, so take this review with all the grains of salt.
May 31, 2024
I was lucky enough to be given an advanced reader copy of this and what a story!!! I read it in the span of one day, just absolutely devoured it, and for it to be a debut novel as well? Wild!!
The story centers around Maggie, who is coming into her own as a lesbian and also as a young adult; living on her own, becoming involved in the community of a theater, navigating roommates and a breakup and coming out. The story celebrates small victories as well as large ones, with no shame in coming to things in her own time. This book was explained to me as a romance but I would call it a romance-thriller, as the love interest has an initially cloudy past and, without giving any spoilers, there’s some stuff that gets a bit heavier than what I’ve just described. But the romance is treated very well, not always the main focus, and the author avoids many of the tropes of other romance novels I’ve read, which I found refreshing. All in all, I absolutely will recommend this book to any and all friends looking for something to read this summer!
The story centers around Maggie, who is coming into her own as a lesbian and also as a young adult; living on her own, becoming involved in the community of a theater, navigating roommates and a breakup and coming out. The story celebrates small victories as well as large ones, with no shame in coming to things in her own time. This book was explained to me as a romance but I would call it a romance-thriller, as the love interest has an initially cloudy past and, without giving any spoilers, there’s some stuff that gets a bit heavier than what I’ve just described. But the romance is treated very well, not always the main focus, and the author avoids many of the tropes of other romance novels I’ve read, which I found refreshing. All in all, I absolutely will recommend this book to any and all friends looking for something to read this summer!
May 21, 2024
I LOVED THIS BOOK! What a truly magnificent debut.
This is the story of Maggie, a Jewish American who faces much stress and adversity. Despite this, she never loses her humanity. Maggie doesn’t have a family to help her—they aren’t supportive of her sexuality; still, she retains her connection with her religion. I adored her journey and development and am so glad she keeps her faith in what can be a conflicted theological world. The years following her split from her family aren’t easy—after such brutal rejection, she feels different and separate from others and finds it difficult to open up about who she is. This book is insightful and sensitive if you have faced similar struggles with kin or have been an outsider looking in.
Thankfully, Maggie soon meets characters who help her find a role within the wonderful world of theatre. You'll enjoy these chapters if you’re a fan of theatres, like me. It was great to be back with Stanislavsky, whom I had entirely forgotten about.
Maggie meets Gwenn, a young woman who deals with different challenges and has her reasons for ‘secrets.’ They become firm friends. I hoped they’d end up girlfriends, and… You’ll have to read the book to find out… The author expertly develops their relationship. During my reading, I felt I knew these characters so well that I cried with relief when a date was finally mentioned. Although this is a debut, the author demolishes the typical distance between the reader and the page. I shall miss Maggie and Gwenn. I hope we will be with them again soon, perhaps in book two…?
The dialogue between Gwenn and Maggie had me in tears of laughter and sorrow. Their friendship and then romance is tender and achingly realistic. Have I already said I LOVE THESE TWO? I wish I could meet up with them, have a drink and eat mozzarella sticks, though maybe not as many as Maggie.
This story deals with the topic of domestic violence from a previous partner. Again, the author handles this theme with expertise. I was shocked when ‘the thing’ happened (you’ll know it when you see it). Even though I guessed something was coming, I was unprepared in the same way that victims of domestic violence are unprepared. I had to step away from the page for a while. If you have been involved in any way with DV and/or violence, please read the thoughtful author notes at the beginning of the book.
This is a unique, bold book with a pure light of intention and purpose. I love the author for choosing to write about characters with disabilities and difficulties—LGBTQIA literature needs Jennifer M.D. Cox in the same way that my budding flowers need sunshine. I cannot wait to see what this author comes up with next.
I'd like to thank NineStar Press and Jennifer M.D. Cox for this ARC copy of Getting to Know You. As with all NSP books, it has been masterfully edited and formatted.
5 bright stars!
This is the story of Maggie, a Jewish American who faces much stress and adversity. Despite this, she never loses her humanity. Maggie doesn’t have a family to help her—they aren’t supportive of her sexuality; still, she retains her connection with her religion. I adored her journey and development and am so glad she keeps her faith in what can be a conflicted theological world. The years following her split from her family aren’t easy—after such brutal rejection, she feels different and separate from others and finds it difficult to open up about who she is. This book is insightful and sensitive if you have faced similar struggles with kin or have been an outsider looking in.
Thankfully, Maggie soon meets characters who help her find a role within the wonderful world of theatre. You'll enjoy these chapters if you’re a fan of theatres, like me. It was great to be back with Stanislavsky, whom I had entirely forgotten about.
Maggie meets Gwenn, a young woman who deals with different challenges and has her reasons for ‘secrets.’ They become firm friends. I hoped they’d end up girlfriends, and… You’ll have to read the book to find out… The author expertly develops their relationship. During my reading, I felt I knew these characters so well that I cried with relief when a date was finally mentioned. Although this is a debut, the author demolishes the typical distance between the reader and the page. I shall miss Maggie and Gwenn. I hope we will be with them again soon, perhaps in book two…?
The dialogue between Gwenn and Maggie had me in tears of laughter and sorrow. Their friendship and then romance is tender and achingly realistic. Have I already said I LOVE THESE TWO? I wish I could meet up with them, have a drink and eat mozzarella sticks, though maybe not as many as Maggie.
This story deals with the topic of domestic violence from a previous partner. Again, the author handles this theme with expertise. I was shocked when ‘the thing’ happened (you’ll know it when you see it). Even though I guessed something was coming, I was unprepared in the same way that victims of domestic violence are unprepared. I had to step away from the page for a while. If you have been involved in any way with DV and/or violence, please read the thoughtful author notes at the beginning of the book.
This is a unique, bold book with a pure light of intention and purpose. I love the author for choosing to write about characters with disabilities and difficulties—LGBTQIA literature needs Jennifer M.D. Cox in the same way that my budding flowers need sunshine. I cannot wait to see what this author comes up with next.
I'd like to thank NineStar Press and Jennifer M.D. Cox for this ARC copy of Getting to Know You. As with all NSP books, it has been masterfully edited and formatted.
5 bright stars!
April 28, 2025
I am always looking to check out new authors. I think it is essential to get the word out as much as possible so they get the opportunity to make more books. So I was happy to get a copy of the debut work by Jennifer MD Cox, Getting to Know You. The book is about Maggie Fromm, an aspiring actress who travels with her girlfriend from her small town to try and make it big in Los Angeles. All her plans for the future are destroyed when her musician girlfriend dumps her, leaving her without a partner, a place to live, or any idea where to go from here. She gets a shot at a new start when she meets Gwen Knowles and starts working on a new play Gwen is directing.
The book was a pleasant read. However, there were spots in the novel that felt very much like a first-time author’s work. The story was good, but there were many times when I knew what was happening to the characters but did not quite feel what they were going through. The main character also seemed to be amazingly talented (and universally praised) for coming from the sticks at nineteen to the big city.
This did get better as the book progressed and it was interesting to see Maggie trying to reconcile her strict Jewish upbringing with coming out as a lesbian. The book also had a subplot about Gwen and Maggie dealing with Gwen’s ex-girlfriend who has returned as a dangerous stalker. The fact that the author is a mental health counselor was readily apparent as the scenes dealing with the abusive ex felt honest and raw, but the book also showcased how therapy had helped the victims cope.
While there are depictions of abuse, the majority of the book is about the growing love between the two main characters, making it a great pick-up for fans of lesbian romance. I think this is a great start to Jennifer’s writing career, and I am anxious to see what else she has coming down the pipeline.
The book was a pleasant read. However, there were spots in the novel that felt very much like a first-time author’s work. The story was good, but there were many times when I knew what was happening to the characters but did not quite feel what they were going through. The main character also seemed to be amazingly talented (and universally praised) for coming from the sticks at nineteen to the big city.
This did get better as the book progressed and it was interesting to see Maggie trying to reconcile her strict Jewish upbringing with coming out as a lesbian. The book also had a subplot about Gwen and Maggie dealing with Gwen’s ex-girlfriend who has returned as a dangerous stalker. The fact that the author is a mental health counselor was readily apparent as the scenes dealing with the abusive ex felt honest and raw, but the book also showcased how therapy had helped the victims cope.
While there are depictions of abuse, the majority of the book is about the growing love between the two main characters, making it a great pick-up for fans of lesbian romance. I think this is a great start to Jennifer’s writing career, and I am anxious to see what else she has coming down the pipeline.
June 13, 2024
----❤----
𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓘𝓷𝓯𝓸
Getting to Know You by Jennifer M.D. Cox
𝓕𝓸𝓻𝓶𝓪𝓽: eBook
𝓖𝓮𝓷𝓻𝓮: sapphic romance
𝓡𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰: ⭐⭐⭐
----❤----
𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓯𝓮𝓬𝓽 𝓲𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮...
🌹 sapphic
🌹 age gap
🌹 theatre
🌹 Jewish rep
🌹 LGBTQ rep
🌹 slow burn
⚠ TRIGGER WARNINGS: abusive ex, family abandonment due to sexual orientation
----❤----
𝓜𝔂 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼...
Starting with the positives: The main characters are all very lovable. They have great strong personalities, good communication, and the main characters have a healthy relationship.
I liked the coming-of-age story for the main character, Maggie. We learn about her journey of leaving her home and coming to LA to pursue acting. I liked how she is so hard working as I felt that was relatable to what it is like starting out at that age.
I liked the community the MC becomes a part of and how that helps to support her.
There is a lot of insight into theatre life throughout this work, which shows a great deal of knowledge on the subject.
The biggest thing that bothered me as a reader was the pacing. I feel like it could be edited down to speed up the pacing a bit and that would make it more enjoyable. I also wanted to see a lot more in terms of the romance between the main characters, because I feel like there is a lot of room for growth in that area of the book.
As a debut, the author did a wonderful job, and I look forward to see what they write next!
*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓘𝓷𝓯𝓸
Getting to Know You by Jennifer M.D. Cox
𝓕𝓸𝓻𝓶𝓪𝓽: eBook
𝓖𝓮𝓷𝓻𝓮: sapphic romance
𝓡𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰: ⭐⭐⭐
----❤----
𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓯𝓮𝓬𝓽 𝓲𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮...
🌹 sapphic
🌹 age gap
🌹 theatre
🌹 Jewish rep
🌹 LGBTQ rep
🌹 slow burn
⚠ TRIGGER WARNINGS: abusive ex, family abandonment due to sexual orientation
----❤----
𝓜𝔂 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼...
Starting with the positives: The main characters are all very lovable. They have great strong personalities, good communication, and the main characters have a healthy relationship.
I liked the coming-of-age story for the main character, Maggie. We learn about her journey of leaving her home and coming to LA to pursue acting. I liked how she is so hard working as I felt that was relatable to what it is like starting out at that age.
I liked the community the MC becomes a part of and how that helps to support her.
There is a lot of insight into theatre life throughout this work, which shows a great deal of knowledge on the subject.
The biggest thing that bothered me as a reader was the pacing. I feel like it could be edited down to speed up the pacing a bit and that would make it more enjoyable. I also wanted to see a lot more in terms of the romance between the main characters, because I feel like there is a lot of room for growth in that area of the book.
As a debut, the author did a wonderful job, and I look forward to see what they write next!
*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
May 20, 2024
I found Getting To Know You to be more of a coming-of-age story than a romance. At one point, the protagonist mentions that she prefers books about everyday life (slice-of-life) over stories of special powers and murders, and I think that's what this book is about as well - everyday life. Leisurely paced, this book is soft-hearted and gentle. In fact, the author calls men 'gentlemen' and women 'ladies' throughout the book, which should give you an idea of what the writing is like.
Although I read a lot of sapphic books across different genres, I don't usually read books like Getting To Know You. Therefore, I'm not sure about the rating as I don't have a benchmark in mind. This book wasn't my cup of tea, but I can tell that a lot of young queer women and girls will like it as they'll be able to relate to the story's setting and the sense of community prevalent throughout the book.
Although I read a lot of sapphic books across different genres, I don't usually read books like Getting To Know You. Therefore, I'm not sure about the rating as I don't have a benchmark in mind. This book wasn't my cup of tea, but I can tell that a lot of young queer women and girls will like it as they'll be able to relate to the story's setting and the sense of community prevalent throughout the book.
August 16, 2024
Thank you to Jennifer MD Cox for the ARC.
Plot 3/5
Characters 4/5
Ending 3.75/5
Interest 3.5/5
Overall 3/5
-Overall, this book had an interesting premise of a struggling actress, being both lesbian and jew, trying to get through life with all her differences and issues. But I have to be honest that I got kind of bored kind of early on. There was a lot of potential with the idea but it felt like the author just threw in all the ideas she had and also some of the most typical storylines to follow through with. And side note: I don’t know if it’s me and my experience with improv acting but the scenes in the improv group felt kind of cringey in my eyes.
-I did really like the lesbian/jewish aspect to Maggie. I got to find out things about Jewish people which I don’t think I would have known outside of this book and I always like to learn more a bit about everything just to be aware. Although, the romance didn’t make me kick my feet. It felt like it was ‘crush at first sight’ and after they met, we suddenly needed to ship them when I didn’t feel like a lot had happened between them except for the Idaho drive.
-I had expected that something with Valerie was going to happen, didn’t think it was going to be that extreme. It was overall interesting to read but still felt really extreme for an ex but then again, I don’t know anyone who has been through that so I’m probably ignorant to kidnapping exes.
Plot 3/5
Characters 4/5
Ending 3.75/5
Interest 3.5/5
Overall 3/5
-Overall, this book had an interesting premise of a struggling actress, being both lesbian and jew, trying to get through life with all her differences and issues. But I have to be honest that I got kind of bored kind of early on. There was a lot of potential with the idea but it felt like the author just threw in all the ideas she had and also some of the most typical storylines to follow through with. And side note: I don’t know if it’s me and my experience with improv acting but the scenes in the improv group felt kind of cringey in my eyes.
-I did really like the lesbian/jewish aspect to Maggie. I got to find out things about Jewish people which I don’t think I would have known outside of this book and I always like to learn more a bit about everything just to be aware. Although, the romance didn’t make me kick my feet. It felt like it was ‘crush at first sight’ and after they met, we suddenly needed to ship them when I didn’t feel like a lot had happened between them except for the Idaho drive.
-I had expected that something with Valerie was going to happen, didn’t think it was going to be that extreme. It was overall interesting to read but still felt really extreme for an ex but then again, I don’t know anyone who has been through that so I’m probably ignorant to kidnapping exes.
August 15, 2025
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)
Getting to Know You is a romance set in the Los Angeles theatre scene, with aspiring actress Maggie falling for director Gwen after being cast in her play about the women's rights movement in the 1960s or '70s (the ARC I had was inconsistent about this).
Maggie is recently out of the closet, estranged from her conservative parents, and trying to negotiate finding a queer community for the first time and reconciling her Jewish faith with her lesbian identity. She's also running up against the barriers created by not having a college degree. Gwen is being stalked by her emotionally abusive ex. She also has a learning disability and is in her sixth year of college, and is from a working-class background in an environment where that's rare.
This is a perfectly plausible set of issues to have, but the book seems to want to educate the reader about all of them (mostly via Maggie and Gwen educating each other), and it feels like a lot, especially once you add in the issues brought up within the play and those touched on by the large secondary cast. And then there's whatever's going on with the subplot about Maggie's roommate working for a controversial YouTuber, which took up a decent amount of page time but didn't go much of anywhere.
Nevertheless, Maggie and Gwen are likeable characters and their relationship is sweet, and this was a pretty quick and mostly enjoyable read.
Getting to Know You is a romance set in the Los Angeles theatre scene, with aspiring actress Maggie falling for director Gwen after being cast in her play about the women's rights movement in the 1960s or '70s (the ARC I had was inconsistent about this).
Maggie is recently out of the closet, estranged from her conservative parents, and trying to negotiate finding a queer community for the first time and reconciling her Jewish faith with her lesbian identity. She's also running up against the barriers created by not having a college degree. Gwen is being stalked by her emotionally abusive ex. She also has a learning disability and is in her sixth year of college, and is from a working-class background in an environment where that's rare.
This is a perfectly plausible set of issues to have, but the book seems to want to educate the reader about all of them (mostly via Maggie and Gwen educating each other), and it feels like a lot, especially once you add in the issues brought up within the play and those touched on by the large secondary cast. And then there's whatever's going on with the subplot about Maggie's roommate working for a controversial YouTuber, which took up a decent amount of page time but didn't go much of anywhere.
Nevertheless, Maggie and Gwen are likeable characters and their relationship is sweet, and this was a pretty quick and mostly enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews