Becoming A Bi-con

by Sarah Zane

In a first from Sarah Zane, this sapphic rivals-to-lovers fake dating popstar romcom brings the heat with its spice.

Savannah Hollywood's life is crumbling. Her marriage is over and her soon-to-be ex-husband has been spreading nasty rumors questioning her fidelity. It’s only a matter of time before the gossip starts to affect her career. She’s been in the business long enough to know the only way to stop a rumor is with a bigger story.

The only thing bigger than the lies her ex has been peddling is coming out of the closet and living her truth as a bisexual woman, but with her false reputation as a man eater, she's not sure the public will believe the truth. Hiring a fake girlfriend seemed like the best option at the time.

The plan? Orchestrate a whirlwind romance, go viral, and solidify Savannah's status as a bisexual icon, or a bi-con as their PR team insists on calling her. It sounds simple enough.

Unfortunately for Savannah, the fake girlfriend isn't some stranger, as planned, but her ex-best friend and former costar. Things may have ended badly between them, but seeing Maya for the first time in years fuels a desire in Savannah, a desire that she's determined to ignore.

Hard as she tries, she can't avoid the truth; the relationship might be fake, but her desire isn't.

Genres: Romance, LGBT, Contemporary

293 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2024

About the author

Sarah is an author of happy endings for traumatized queers. As a bisexual, it should be shocking to no one that she has more than one genre she loves and writes. She writes across genres but guarantees that a Sarah Zane book will always be queer and always have a happy ending eventually. She has a particular fondness for writing sapphic pairings since they tend to be underrepresented in books. She lives in New England with her 2 black cats named Gatsby and Mr. Darcy. When she isn't writing, she can be usually be found taking forest walks, visiting castles, planning exotic trips she can't afford, or cuddled up with one of her cats crying over fictional characters or yelling at them about how badly they need therapy.

Reviews

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars. Didn’t like the writing nor the characters. Maya was allergic to taking accountability and Savannah was the most boring pop star ever. The plot was a mess and felt both thin and like it had too much going on at the same time. The romance was okay. I love a fake dating romance but this one didn't really hit for me. They needed more chemistry and the ending where we see what had happened between them all those years ago was lackluster. Overall, this was a huge miss for me but I could see why others enjoyed it.

[Ellisnoblebooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

è stata una bella lettura, ma mi è spiaciuto vedere questa storia con tanto potenziale penalizzata da alcuni punti di trama non ben sviluppati e solo raccontati invece che mostrati (vedi il personaggio di Connor e la relazione con l'ex marito, esplorati all'inizio, per poi scomparire nello svolgimento e tornare solo sul finale) e un'evoluzione fin troppo veloce da enemies to lovers tra Savannah e Maya che a una certa affrontano la crisi del terzo atto per mancanza di comunicazione riguardo cosa le aveva separate in passato (secondo me quei flashback avrebbero dovuto comparire all'inizio per maggior chiarezza).

Passando alle cose positive, questo romanzo nasce come una revenge fantasy da parte dell'autrice nei confronti dell'ex marito, ma leggendola ho avuto più la sensazione di star leggendo una fanfiction gaylor... il che per chi sostiene la teoria penso sia una lettura molto interessante e divertente. Cioè, Savannah è bionda, una mega star e a una certa se ne esce con questa frase:

"...Everyone loves you."
She looked more worried. "Exactly. They love the me I've been pretending to be. They love the girl who has a new guy every month. They love the heartbreaker, the girl who jumps from guy to guy, the girl whose love life they can always speculate on."

Last but not least, a una certa si trova in disaccordo con la sua etichetta perché a loro non va giù il suo coming out e decide di registrare nuovamente l'ultimo album chiamandolo 'the queer version'...

In caso non seguite Taylor Swift, se volete leggervi un romance ambientato in un mondo dove l'amore e la queerness trionfano sulle brutture dello show business, potreste essere la lettura giusta per voi.

[Julie Kristine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read as part of the Elite Connections anthology.

Savannah Hollywood is fighting a losing battle against her soon-to-be ex-husband, Darren, who accused her of cheating, right before the release of her next big album, when her manager comes up with a plan: hire Savannah a fake girlfriend for a month and have her become a bi-con the whole world will adore! Only there's just one problem: the girl hired for the job via Elite Connections is none other than Maya Ryder, who was a child star alongside Savannah a decade ago, and things did not end well between them.
This story was okay. I was getting a little bit tired of stories where one of the MCs is famous by now though, and at the start of this story I was a little bit confused about what was going on. There were also a couple of technical issues I had with this story, namely some repetition that seemed unnecessary, and I'm not sure whether that was something that was missed in editing or if this story was rushed. The plot seemed a little rushed too at times and it didn't seem entirely believable that they'd go from enemies to lovers quite so quickly. The story is told in dual POV with first person narration.

[Christina Close · Rating 5 out of 5]

♡ Fake Relationship
♡ Crappy Ex-Husband
♡ Singer / Actor Characters
♡ HEA
♡ No One Saw That Coming
♡ LGBTQIA+ friendly

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.



I loved this book because it's an eye-opener for anyone who is scared to come out of the closet. It's a good coming to terms with your sexuality book. Hollywood and Maya have such great chemistry, inside and outside of the bedroom, once they gets over their pasts with each other. Which BTW why must they have misunderstood each other back then, Hollywood wouldn't have had to deal with her douche of an ex-husband. I honestly would love for their to be more about his downfall after the divorce because he deserves everything he had coming to him.

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the easiest 5 star ratings ever. I usually struggle to rate books because I need to be fair but also honest.

This book had me giggling, had me in my feels, had me laughing, crying, and had spice. It is less than 300 pages and is such a feel-good read.

What I loved:
-The LGBTQ+ representation, obviously
-The cover is gorgeous
-The writing style is just wonderful, yet there's no fluff
-Spicy scenes
-The chemistry between the characters was chef kiss

What I didn't love:
-I want to personally punch Darren but that's not a book criticism.

My main concern is this would read really cheesy and pull me out of the story. This author is TALENTED. I was hit unexpectedly with such a wonderful feel-good book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Becoming a Bi-con was a cute rockstar coming out story. I appreciated that, although it incudes a fake relationship trope as a vehicle for Savannah dealing with publicity surrounding her impending divorce and her decision to come out, Savannah is very much bi and owns it right from the start. I had some mixed feelings about Maya’s turnabout from hating Savannah to realizing her feelings. It was a bit abrupt and I would have liked to have seen more time given to that part of the story and allowing her to really get there.

I enjoyed the plot for the rest of the story, including the ex and his comeuppance and Savannah’s issues with her record label. I also liked the use of the gossip rag articles and reports from the company managing the scheme interspersed throughout, it was a fun way to relay information quickly without dumping or bogging down the character interactions. I did feel like it leaned a bit more toward a YA or NA writing style, so keep that in mind if that’s not your thing.
 
I received a free ARC from BookSirens, but my review is unbiased and left voluntarily.

[Halle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5 Stars

Devoured this book in less than 12 hours & that’s saying something because I’m a busy mom of three.

I happened to find this book on Stuff Your Kindle Day last week & I’m so happy I did! This was such a feel good love story. It was spicy but with a plot!! One of my biggest issues with spicy books is I struggle if there isn’t a plot & this one I genuinely fell in love with the story & characters.

This book had banter, enemies to lovers whilst also being a second chance romance, acceptance of who you are, standing up for yourself & those you care about, fake dating, & pop culture elements! I loved the Hollywood/pop-star storyline & am always so interested when a book is about “famous rich people”.

Loved!! I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

[Cara Ramsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wild, fun, funny second chance Sapphic romance. Savannah and Maya were teenage TV stars together years before. When the TV show shut down, one of the producers lied to Maya and blamed Savannah for the show being canceled. Maya was angry at Savannah for years.

Then years later, Savannah is facing a messy divorce from a two timing second rate actor named Darren and she needs a “fake” girlfriend to help her move past that guy. But who does her PR team come up with but Maya!

Initially angry at each other, they slowly open up until it explodes between them and they’re in bed together every night. But each thinks the other is in this just for the sex. After loving each other years ago, can they finally find a way to be honest with each other?

I enjoyed this book!

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I enjoyed this light romance between two former best friends. I do wish the backstory had been included before the last 90% or so of the book, and the way that the TV segments were described was confusing. It would've been preferable if it was just a transcript or a scene narrating the ways the characters reacted to the TV show, not a weird combination of the two. Otherwise, though, I did like the interspersion of tabloid articles and various press coverage the main characters were experiencing. Maya wasn't very sympathetic at first, bu she grew on me.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Looby Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a funny, sexy read about two former friends having to work together, one to help her gain an advantage in her divorce and the other for money.

So many tropes: friends to enemies to lovers, fake dating, only one bed and celebrity.

Savannah was my favourite character, whereas I didn’t like Maya at all during the first half of the book. This made it hard to want them to grow closer. The second part of the book put Maya in a much better light and I found myself rooting for them after all.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[PN_booklover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this story and the characters! I'm a very curious person and the author held out on enlightening us on about what exactly happened in the past to damage the relationship. I thought that would bug me but there were hints throughout and the story was engaging and kept you reading to find out. Seeing them rebuild their relationship was really satisfying. Loved it!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Dianna Westbrook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give Becoming A Bi-Con a solid 3.5 stars. I think it's a fun grumpy x sunshine, rivals to lovers story, but some of the emotional scenes fell a little flat for me. I needed to understand Maya a little more- I felt like some of her pivotal moments weren't expressed enough, and I had to go back and make sure I hadn't missed something. Otherwise the story flowed nicely, the banter between all of the players was witty and charming.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like the cover was a little too cutesy and juvenile.

The story itself was ok. Definitely not juvenile like the cover feels lol. I think the pacing moved a little too fast and would've liked some more tension/buildup. I liked the characters and finding out more about them as the story progressed. Good spice level.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute and cozy story! This is my second Sarah Zane book and I’m left wanting to read more. There’s tension. There’s conflict. There’s second chance romance. The MCs have fun dynamics both when they are simmering (or flaring!) and when they are connecting, in and out of the bedroom (and Rizzo’s ;) Some angst throughout which was all nicely wrapped up. Pacing and spice flowed well. Recommend!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and light read of two former childhood friends that are forced together in a fake relationship. I enjoyed the ride with a shitty ex husband and the bantering between the Savannah and Maya until they realize the actually may have true feelings for each other all along.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Shannon Luchies · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not BAD but just didn't fly with me. Weirdly I usually really like fake dating but... one pet peeve: I really didn't much like the 'Elite' bits in the book, which just felt like they padded the book out and didn't really contribute to the plot.

[Samantha Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute Read

If you're looking for a cute, fun, LGBTQ+ read, this is definitely it. There were definitely pieces I was thinking "this was inspired by (so and so)" a few different times.

[Veda]

No

[Grace Willows · Rating 5 out of 5]

so cute!

This is a fun romance book! I read this in one sitting and loved the characters! I absolutely adore everything from Sarah Zane.

[Emily G · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice enemies-to-lovers fake dating celebrity romance. I enjoyed the writing style and the setting of the story. The characters are likeable and I could feel the chemistry between them.

[Carmen Glenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this so much!

[readwithMMe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable

4.5 ⭐️ 2🌶

Very well written. Low angst, fake dating, forced proximity, friends to rivals to lovers. Very enjoyable read over all.

[Juniper L.H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel was fun! It was well written and had a lot of substance. I was a little disappointed that the author was light on utilizing some of the included tropes which I love (the fake dating and the enemies to lovers), but they made up for it with all of the other detail and plot that was packed into this novel. Overall, this was enjoyable, although there was something missing that doesn’t quite have me giving it 5-stars. There was some strange pacing for some of the plot elements and the novel was a little inconsistent. This was also a wonderful coming-out-queer-power-and-representation experience, with a storyline that had me invested. I would recommend this novel, and it is particularly impressive considering it is a first novel.

My Rating: "B"
GoodReads: 4-stars

Loved:
-The narrative device of including media articles and files from the company was a very fun detail that also worked extremely well to relay a lot of information quickly without it feeling like an infodump. I appreciated this element a lot! Not only was it fun and informative, but it was SO efficient.
-There were some very fine spicy scenes. Not too much (not enough IMO) but what was there was quality and well written.
-I quite liked all of the non-romance plotline in this novel. There was a solid storyline here following Savannah’s life and career and it was engaging to read.
-Savannah had a solid character arc that was satisfying to experience. Getting to see the details of her life and past history and then where she takes herself with the support of Maya and the other few people in her life was great!
-I really appreciated that Savannah was actually bisexual and no one was faking queer identities for the sake of publicity. This is a surprisingly common plotline and it always feels somewhat icky to me, so thank you to this author for taking this approach.

Didn’t love:
-The transition from hate-to-love (well lust) was incredibly abrupt. I couldn’t really see any rational for why it happened, and it was jarring. It was also one of the hottest scenes, so there is a lot of forgiveness to be found. Not every story is a slow-burn, but there is usually more of a build up or foreshadowing.
-Oh no, the miscommunication! Least favorite trope, featured heavily. It makes for a weak story. Some of it wasn’t too bad and the crossed wires were reasonable, but some of it was like nails on a chalk board with how annoying it was. Thankfully they never left the reader suffering too long before things were resolved.
-The dynamic between the characters was hard to pin down, particularly with regards to spicy scenes. The first such interaction set up expectations that were not delivered on, and their bedroom-dynamic seemed to be different every time they were together without any explanation.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.