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Reality Lesbian 2
Crystal Maitland became a fan favorite during season two of gay reality dating show "Will You Marry Me?" Her popularity soared even more after she was dumped in the season’s final episode. While she was not ultimately chosen as the love of Dr. Zara Winters’s life, Crystal landed a gig as the season four lead. Thousands of giddy lesbians applied for the twenty spots to win Crystal’s heart. However, as filming for Crystal’s season begins, she is already developing feelings for the show’s executive producer, Virginia “Gene” Robertson. When Crystal confesses those feelings, Gene urges her to forget them and move on. They cannot have a relationship. Never mind that Gene feels just as strongly for Crystal after spending countless hours poring through footage that reveals a complicated, layered woman. A mysterious, vulnerable woman. Crystal tries to give a fair shot to each contestant, including the hugely pregnant Rowena Williams, the sexy butch Van Elliott and the gregarious Dolly Gaskins. However, when higher-ups at cable channel Rainbow World get wind of murmurings that something is going on with Crystal and Gene, life can only get worse. What’s a lesbian in love to do when the woman she wants urges her to marry someone else? Find out on the shocking season four finale of "Will You Marry Me"? ** This novel is about 68,000 words.
231 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 27, 2015
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41 people want to read
About the author
Q. Kelly
47 books74 followersI live in Virginia, where I am a writer and an editor. I also have a master's degree in deaf education. In my free time, I hike and savor frappuccinos.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 18, 2018
This is the second book in the series but it could also be read as a standalone.
Both of the leads, Crystal and Gene, are carryovers from the first book and this story picks right up minutes after that first book ends. I found I liked the characters in this read more than the first book but the story itself I liked a little less due to the super charged angsty push and pull. The frustrating bit about the book is you’ll spend most of it seeing the leads push each other away because of logistical concerns. And, even though we can guess how the book will end, it doesn’t mean we aren’t biting our nails until we get there. Just think actual reality tv shows and how they jerk you around and Q. Kelly does a good job replicating that.
The author did switch up the tv series enough from book one to make this second book familiar but not a carbon copy so don’t think this is just a rehash of book one.
Like "Reality Lesbian", "Reality Lesbian 2" is an odd romance in that Crystal is physically intimate with and romances twenty other women in addition to Gene. And, once again, the author managed to make the minor characters stand out enough.
What I especially liked is that the character, Gene, is a completely unconventional lead. She's forty-nine, plump, disheveled with frizzy hair, and dresses for comfort. She's a no nonsense on-site producer in the television industry who has empathy enough not to be cold-hearted while also being ratings driven enough to manipulate situations for the biggest drama. She also has two grown kids from her first marriage and is not a very good mother…not that I celebrate not being a great mom but she has a history of making decisions which put her self-interests and work first over loved ones. Let’s just say that Gene is very imperfect and a good foil for the traditional love formula.
Crystal is a twenty-nine year old, girl next door type, sweet romantic that’s highly introverted. She’s the lead on this season’s Will You Marry Me? and easy to like.
Both leads have a lot to overcome but I was really rooting for Crystal and Gene to make things work. Though, truth be told, I didn’t agree with either of their decisions many times in the book.
There is an amusing arc when Crystal gets super cynical about love, though.
So, overall, I enjoyed the read but it also pushed me to the edge and had me thinking “Oh, PLEASE don’t do that! Argh, she did.”
The gender diversity is less mixed than in book one but we do get an asexual black character, a transgendered character, and even a pregnant character. Ethnic diversity is still nearly nil.
I’d put this in the high 3 stars so I’m rounding up to 4.
Both of the leads, Crystal and Gene, are carryovers from the first book and this story picks right up minutes after that first book ends. I found I liked the characters in this read more than the first book but the story itself I liked a little less due to the super charged angsty push and pull. The frustrating bit about the book is you’ll spend most of it seeing the leads push each other away because of logistical concerns. And, even though we can guess how the book will end, it doesn’t mean we aren’t biting our nails until we get there. Just think actual reality tv shows and how they jerk you around and Q. Kelly does a good job replicating that.
The author did switch up the tv series enough from book one to make this second book familiar but not a carbon copy so don’t think this is just a rehash of book one.
Like "Reality Lesbian", "Reality Lesbian 2" is an odd romance in that Crystal is physically intimate with and romances twenty other women in addition to Gene. And, once again, the author managed to make the minor characters stand out enough.
What I especially liked is that the character, Gene, is a completely unconventional lead. She's forty-nine, plump, disheveled with frizzy hair, and dresses for comfort. She's a no nonsense on-site producer in the television industry who has empathy enough not to be cold-hearted while also being ratings driven enough to manipulate situations for the biggest drama. She also has two grown kids from her first marriage and is not a very good mother…not that I celebrate not being a great mom but she has a history of making decisions which put her self-interests and work first over loved ones. Let’s just say that Gene is very imperfect and a good foil for the traditional love formula.
Crystal is a twenty-nine year old, girl next door type, sweet romantic that’s highly introverted. She’s the lead on this season’s Will You Marry Me? and easy to like.
Both leads have a lot to overcome but I was really rooting for Crystal and Gene to make things work. Though, truth be told, I didn’t agree with either of their decisions many times in the book.
There is an amusing arc when Crystal gets super cynical about love, though.
So, overall, I enjoyed the read but it also pushed me to the edge and had me thinking “Oh, PLEASE don’t do that! Argh, she did.”
The gender diversity is less mixed than in book one but we do get an asexual black character, a transgendered character, and even a pregnant character. Ethnic diversity is still nearly nil.
I’d put this in the high 3 stars so I’m rounding up to 4.
January 4, 2016
This is a 3.5 stars read for me. If you liked the first one, you'll probably like this one well enough (although not necessarily as much). Whereas the first book was very much an "I shouldn't even be here. Oh wait, maybe I AM a lesbian" story, this one is about two people falling in love who are not supposed to.
Why didn't it work as well for me as the first one? There was enough time alone between Crystal and Gene. There was a lot of emphasis on how Gene wasn't as pretty as the other contestants, and how Crystal liked how she looked anyway, but Crystal didn't really show her.
My other issues are with the trans and asexual representation in the book. I was happy to see any kind of representation at all, but I didn't like that the asexual person was only represented as angry or defensive--especially since this is the first romance where I've seen an asexual at all. I can't quite pinpoint if the trans representation is transphobic, but Crystal's responses to that contestant made me uncomfortable.
I can wholehearted recommend the first book, and I'm glad I read this one. Not sure I'll revisit it, but I'll certainly read a third if Q. Kelly writes another in this series.
Why didn't it work as well for me as the first one? There was enough time alone between Crystal and Gene. There was a lot of emphasis on how Gene wasn't as pretty as the other contestants, and how Crystal liked how she looked anyway, but Crystal didn't really show her.
My other issues are with the trans and asexual representation in the book. I was happy to see any kind of representation at all, but I didn't like that the asexual person was only represented as angry or defensive--especially since this is the first romance where I've seen an asexual at all. I can't quite pinpoint if the trans representation is transphobic, but Crystal's responses to that contestant made me uncomfortable.
I can wholehearted recommend the first book, and I'm glad I read this one. Not sure I'll revisit it, but I'll certainly read a third if Q. Kelly writes another in this series.
November 28, 2019
Shrug - OK, but as a follow-up missed the novelty of book 1 which I enjoyed more. I think Q mined the good stuff in Book 1 and was left with bits that, in hindsight, could have beeen left out of book 2.
May 10, 2015
Enjoyed reading the first book called Reality Lesbian. The sequel follows on the same theme.... Crystal Maitland was supposed to get engaged in the reality TV show, Who Wants to Get Married? However, she suffered the humiliation on TV when the lead Zara Winters didn't go through with the proposal in the last book. So, Crystal is still hopeful of achieving true love and maybe live happily after. Executive Producer of the the show, tough and businesslike Gene Robertson, manages to convince Crystal to come back on the show, but not as a contestant again but as the lead. Crystal must overcome some hurdles but will she find her happy after??
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews