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The Book of Phoebe
Phoebe Appleton is the perfect daughter, with exemplary friends and a boyfriend that’d make her pastor father proud. So, when a mysterious new guest joins the church, she feels it’s her duty to help her find her Godly path.Blake Chapel is far from perfect. Her rocky past is proof of that. Blindsided by her brother’s death, Blake is left to carry out their mission to save their small town of Mystic Harbor alone. Focusing on her history would only slow her down.
When Blake’s mission is derailed by naïve Phoebe’s curious glances and intrusive inquisitions into Blake’s past, both are left questioning what they’ve always believed is true and the real definition of love.
Will accepting who they are, cost them everything they have? This small town, opposites attract, lesbian romance
Who is really saving who?
When Blake’s mission is derailed by naïve Phoebe’s curious glances and intrusive inquisitions into Blake’s past, both are left questioning what they’ve always believed is true and the real definition of love.
Will accepting who they are, cost them everything they have? This small town, opposites attract, lesbian romance
Who is really saving who?
- GenresLesbian
635 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 28, 2025
22 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 11, 2026
This is a long review, but it was a long book!
Wow, authors note has me expecting a weighty tome. However, the start at least has me more comfortable that I will keep up!
It initially seems very black and white. Good people and bad people. Some of the bad people think they are good people.
Our main doesn’t like swearing, including ass…
Almost every interaction she has, she is telling someone not to swear….. I presume this is laying ground to be built on later.
This is a big book, therefor nothing is being rushed, possibly to the detriment of pacing.
17% in, which is over 100 pages read, (it’s a big book!) I’m feeling a wee bit like I’m wading. I cannot believe someone late 20’s could be so sheltered. Also everything seems very black and white, in a way. Phoebe, from a religious background certainly seems to have the correct viewpoint of looking out for people but she is surrounded by the worst judgemental examples of, not religion, but power crazed people, with a total superiority complex. I am not from the US and although brought up in religion it was nothing like this…… and I think that is my issue with this book. It is so far removed from my lived experience it feels fantastical. On the other hand it also seems blindingly obvious that religion and goodness have nothing to do with these people. There are a couple of background crumbs that I want to find more about but the book initially seems hard work!
I didn’t particularly enjoy the scene where Blake is invited to dinner the first time. To me she came over as rude and Phoebe drifting into those daydreams seemed unlikely.
It reads younger rather than late 20s, possibly just because I don’t really know how accurate the religious indoctrination affects maturity or life experience.
The plot twist at 35% did surprise me, tho at the initial meeting I assumed, as I thought at the time, wrongly that it was the past person. Further reading indicated it wasn’t. However I cannot accept so much change in only 12 years that they are unrecognisable. It does not sit right. Despite the main berating themself for not seeing it.
40% in and finally one main is considering at least looking at their real self.
I am still struggling with this book. It cannot just be that my life experience is different, I have read lots of books set outwith my personal experience and one of the things I love about a good book is walking in someone else’s shoes. I don’t feel I’m in the narrators shoes, either narrator. I guess I am having an out of body experience…… I think it is maybe like being at the wrong group….. you turn up at an event for a reading group and it turns out they are in the next room and you are actually at a knitting group…. You watch, you listen, you maybe learn some stuff but it’s not relatable….. that! That is my relationship with this book. I was brought up in religion, I spent quite a bit of my late teens very involved, but it was nothing like this….. Thank goodness!!
However, once open conversations start with the mains, I do get more in to the book. Blake, the other main narrator and character is perhaps easier to read as some of her views of the other main echo mine. However we have not had her pov much so far.
I get that one main is totally struggling with admitting to her self she is gay, however I cannot forget that she is cheating on her boyfriend…… admittedly not someone she actually likes but someone she did agree to marry in the pressure of the moment that she hasn’t found a moment since to dis engage from, literally and figuratively. Also someone she doesn’t actually spend any real time with.
The cheating point….. he was worse, sort of dealt with it.
I know I’ve moaned a lot about this book, it’s tiring that if it’s not one having a melt down it is the other…… However from about 60% I have got more in to it and I do find it quite tense. I think for someone brought up more in a bible quoting religion would find all the answering quotes with ah but other quotes, more interesting. As I said religion was a big part of my life growing up but I was fortunate, it was more in lessons being illustrated than this is the absolute rule book and we must follow it absolutely. Or to use a quote from the book….. (it’s wrong but….) “people utilize it as a map, not a warning.”
Well, for a book I really slogged through in the beginning, I really liked it in the end. I think if religion hasn’t been part of your life, you might find it slow. I think if religion stole the life from you, you might find it hard going. I really struggled to get in to this for 60% of the book. Then I really got in to it! I think, those brought up in that environment may really get it, those not, like me, may struggle to identify till the point about 60% in when it is just human beings trying to connect, as every romance is.
After 60%, I had to persuade myself to do any adulting that needed to be done but would take me away from this book!
Wow, authors note has me expecting a weighty tome. However, the start at least has me more comfortable that I will keep up!
It initially seems very black and white. Good people and bad people. Some of the bad people think they are good people.
Our main doesn’t like swearing, including ass…
Almost every interaction she has, she is telling someone not to swear….. I presume this is laying ground to be built on later.
This is a big book, therefor nothing is being rushed, possibly to the detriment of pacing.
17% in, which is over 100 pages read, (it’s a big book!) I’m feeling a wee bit like I’m wading. I cannot believe someone late 20’s could be so sheltered. Also everything seems very black and white, in a way. Phoebe, from a religious background certainly seems to have the correct viewpoint of looking out for people but she is surrounded by the worst judgemental examples of, not religion, but power crazed people, with a total superiority complex. I am not from the US and although brought up in religion it was nothing like this…… and I think that is my issue with this book. It is so far removed from my lived experience it feels fantastical. On the other hand it also seems blindingly obvious that religion and goodness have nothing to do with these people. There are a couple of background crumbs that I want to find more about but the book initially seems hard work!
I didn’t particularly enjoy the scene where Blake is invited to dinner the first time. To me she came over as rude and Phoebe drifting into those daydreams seemed unlikely.
It reads younger rather than late 20s, possibly just because I don’t really know how accurate the religious indoctrination affects maturity or life experience.
The plot twist at 35% did surprise me, tho at the initial meeting I assumed, as I thought at the time, wrongly that it was the past person. Further reading indicated it wasn’t. However I cannot accept so much change in only 12 years that they are unrecognisable. It does not sit right. Despite the main berating themself for not seeing it.
40% in and finally one main is considering at least looking at their real self.
I am still struggling with this book. It cannot just be that my life experience is different, I have read lots of books set outwith my personal experience and one of the things I love about a good book is walking in someone else’s shoes. I don’t feel I’m in the narrators shoes, either narrator. I guess I am having an out of body experience…… I think it is maybe like being at the wrong group….. you turn up at an event for a reading group and it turns out they are in the next room and you are actually at a knitting group…. You watch, you listen, you maybe learn some stuff but it’s not relatable….. that! That is my relationship with this book. I was brought up in religion, I spent quite a bit of my late teens very involved, but it was nothing like this….. Thank goodness!!
However, once open conversations start with the mains, I do get more in to the book. Blake, the other main narrator and character is perhaps easier to read as some of her views of the other main echo mine. However we have not had her pov much so far.
I get that one main is totally struggling with admitting to her self she is gay, however I cannot forget that she is cheating on her boyfriend…… admittedly not someone she actually likes but someone she did agree to marry in the pressure of the moment that she hasn’t found a moment since to dis engage from, literally and figuratively. Also someone she doesn’t actually spend any real time with.
The cheating point….. he was worse, sort of dealt with it.
I know I’ve moaned a lot about this book, it’s tiring that if it’s not one having a melt down it is the other…… However from about 60% I have got more in to it and I do find it quite tense. I think for someone brought up more in a bible quoting religion would find all the answering quotes with ah but other quotes, more interesting. As I said religion was a big part of my life growing up but I was fortunate, it was more in lessons being illustrated than this is the absolute rule book and we must follow it absolutely. Or to use a quote from the book….. (it’s wrong but….) “people utilize it as a map, not a warning.”
Well, for a book I really slogged through in the beginning, I really liked it in the end. I think if religion hasn’t been part of your life, you might find it slow. I think if religion stole the life from you, you might find it hard going. I really struggled to get in to this for 60% of the book. Then I really got in to it! I think, those brought up in that environment may really get it, those not, like me, may struggle to identify till the point about 60% in when it is just human beings trying to connect, as every romance is.
After 60%, I had to persuade myself to do any adulting that needed to be done but would take me away from this book!
October 19, 2025
Coming from a toxic, religious background myself, and also being a part of the lgbtq+ community, this story really moved me. I honestly feel like this is a breakthrough type of story, almost a whole new sub-genre for those who have not only experienced what it's like to grow up in an ultra religious household, but more specifically to grow up in an ultra religious household while also finding out that you're gay/bi/queer/what have you! I was truly stunned by how relatable it was and it was very well written. Kudos to the author for their first novel! Five stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
November 21, 2025
This is a very long book, but I never felt it while reading since so captivating. Beautifully written and the story never dragged once. You feel so much when you read it, Phoebe and Blake are so realistically described, their growth amazing, and it gave me so much to read about their story. It is indeed difficult to read this book, so much angst and pain, but so worth it in the end. I will think about this book for a very long time.
I am Swedish and I am always appalled how some Christian communities in the US handle the whole not being straight situation. You are told from an early age that it isn’t an option, you just need to repress that, being closeted, or you are no longer part of that community. What was so special with this book is that after so much pan and many hardships for Phoebe and Blake, is that it presents a solution that means not needed to stay closeted or leave your faith, there is hope, you can find a way to get both, and a happy and fulfilling life.
I am Swedish and I am always appalled how some Christian communities in the US handle the whole not being straight situation. You are told from an early age that it isn’t an option, you just need to repress that, being closeted, or you are no longer part of that community. What was so special with this book is that after so much pan and many hardships for Phoebe and Blake, is that it presents a solution that means not needed to stay closeted or leave your faith, there is hope, you can find a way to get both, and a happy and fulfilling life.
October 19, 2025
I think this is a great story for those who struggle with their sexuality in a religious environment. But also shows that those who are LGBTQ can be religious and love God. It's a great slice of life story that really hits those points that a lot of people likely struggle with and shows they aren't alone with their true selves
October 15, 2025
loved the storyline, loved the way it was written. love this new author! 😍😍😍
October 19, 2025
Beta Reader Review
I can hardly begin to describe the impact this book had on me. From the very first page, the reader is pulled into the story—not just observing, but living it. The emotional depth is palpable, and the chemistry? Off the charts. Trust me, this book brings the heat. But more than that, this lesbian romance offers a fresh, powerful perspective that lingers long after the final chapter.
I can hardly begin to describe the impact this book had on me. From the very first page, the reader is pulled into the story—not just observing, but living it. The emotional depth is palpable, and the chemistry? Off the charts. Trust me, this book brings the heat. But more than that, this lesbian romance offers a fresh, powerful perspective that lingers long after the final chapter.
February 8, 2026
this book, omg! i absolutely loved it. i felt all the emotions while reading this and i can’t wait for the next book in the series!
November 2, 2025
This book, with all 635 pages in it, is a gem that I have missed until now. And it seems that J. Fez wrote it with the blood and tears of all people like Blake and Phoebe, people like each of us (Homo sapiens), in memory of some and in the name of those who will follow in their footsteps. It was painful to read, not because the book itself has difficult language or some incomprehensible science written in it, but because, despite being fictitious, it brings quite real memories of rejection and fear, all the atrocities and the taste of years spent fighting to be accepted as we are - simply people - imperfect, diverse and lovable.
The book of Phoebe is a story about real life and real values, without mask and makeup, about what happens behind locked doors of hearts deprived of a voice. This is simultaneously a drama, a love story, an ode, a chronicle of a society... Beautifully written, deeply moving because it presents the cause-and-effect relationship in the decline of morality and our daily affairs, but not in the way that a bigoted mind would assume. Quite the opposite. Unfortunately, this story remains relevant to this day, some believe that they are more chosen than the chosen and preach that (on someone else's back) a hundred lashes are not enough.
J. Fez's writing style is emotional, sincere, beautiful. The in-depth analysis of our beliefs has undoubtedly been a huge ordeal and Fez has done a wonderful job of showing where we go wrong when reading the holy books, namely that all religions at their core are based on one - peace, love and unity - anything different from these three foundations is an interpretation and it leads to division, hatred, injustice.
The characters of J. Fez are beautifully developed, so well that I recognized myself at different stages of my life in the different faces on the pages. The book made me cry, made my stomach turn, made me angry, and finally... made me remember why love is stronger than anything (because God is love and is for everyone without exception). This is a read for anyone who has closed their eyes to faith, it is also for those who want to understand the struggles of different types of people and become better. Be good! Be love!
The book of Phoebe is a story about real life and real values, without mask and makeup, about what happens behind locked doors of hearts deprived of a voice. This is simultaneously a drama, a love story, an ode, a chronicle of a society... Beautifully written, deeply moving because it presents the cause-and-effect relationship in the decline of morality and our daily affairs, but not in the way that a bigoted mind would assume. Quite the opposite. Unfortunately, this story remains relevant to this day, some believe that they are more chosen than the chosen and preach that (on someone else's back) a hundred lashes are not enough.
J. Fez's writing style is emotional, sincere, beautiful. The in-depth analysis of our beliefs has undoubtedly been a huge ordeal and Fez has done a wonderful job of showing where we go wrong when reading the holy books, namely that all religions at their core are based on one - peace, love and unity - anything different from these three foundations is an interpretation and it leads to division, hatred, injustice.
The characters of J. Fez are beautifully developed, so well that I recognized myself at different stages of my life in the different faces on the pages. The book made me cry, made my stomach turn, made me angry, and finally... made me remember why love is stronger than anything (because God is love and is for everyone without exception). This is a read for anyone who has closed their eyes to faith, it is also for those who want to understand the struggles of different types of people and become better. Be good! Be love!
October 31, 2025
This book was such an emotional journey, anybody who's ever experienced hate from the place that's supposed to be about love needs to pick it up. It was intense, emotional, and at times heartbreaking, but it doesn't stay that way. Phoebe's growth and learning to love herself was so perfect. And learning about Blake and her past felt like an ode to my past self as well. Neither of them knew what to really expect from the other, and the plot twists actually took me by surprise. This book gets heavy though, truly it's about the journey of healing, loving yourself for who you are, past and present. And learning to love those around you for who they are also. I think it's something everyone could benefit from. I really can't recommend this one enough.
October 15, 2025
I was asked to beta read this book by a friend, and boy am I glad I said yes. The Book of Phoebe is an amazing story about a girl finding herself and finding a romance she never thought possible. Phoebes story is captivating, I was unable to put it down. The characters are all so amazing, and I loved being a part of this journey. Blake was my favorite. Reading through her hardships and struggles gave us an insight on to who she really is, and that was so helpful to really get an insight onto the relationship she has not only with Phoebe but with herself as well. I HIGHLY suggest picking up a copy, whether physical or digital, and immersing yourself into the world of Mystic Harbor.
January 23, 2026
The book of phoebe is a thought provoking coming out story, but if you’re not one to judge a book by its cover it’s definitely worth the read! It’s got all the spice 🥵, romance, angst, and such a meaningful connection. The twists and turns to this book were too good and jaw dropping! Definitely worth the read 📖 ❤️
January 16, 2026
So if you like you're struggling with your sexuality and religion then this for you. Talks about heavy themes same as Bloom Town and gay the pray away but with more spice. You'll definitely enjoy this as it touches aspect of yourself you didn't know you had.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews