Complementary and Acute

by Jenn Fitzpatrick

It’s Anabelle Horton’s senior year at Dearington Boarding School, and everything is exactly as she wants it. She’s captain of the Number Ninjas, her schedule is perfect, and her best friend Jacqueline Flores is going to be right by her side for all of it. But on the first day back at Dearington, Jac throws a wrench in Anabelle’s tidy plans. Not only has she rearranged her classes and dropped Number Ninjas, she’s joined the Girls who Like Girls Program, leaving Anabelle’s entire schedule in upheaval.

Jac is never around anymore, and when she is, she’s got new friends (who Anabelle hates) or she’s running off to a lecture on alternative footwear. Anabelle is left to deal with the changes on her own, and suddenly, Jac’s inability to keep their dorm room tidy is the very least of Anabelle’s problems.

Genres: LGBT, Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance, Short Stories, Friends To Lovers, Novella

46 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 19, 2015

Reviews

[prag ♻ · Rating 3 out of 5]

me on december 31st 2017: i'm going to go back to reading actual books in 2018
first book i read: 46 page gay fluff with best-friends to lovers

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it last year and it's the cutest thing. Word: drama, I thrive for it.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fun, sweet read. If you have a soft spot for boarding school stories and cute lesbians you should check it out. You won't be disappointed (except when it ends and you want to read more, more, more).

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was cute, but i didn't really care about anabelle or jac???

[Júlia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I always love a good friends to lovers story, and this was really sweet.

[Valerie Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

So adorable. My only complaint is that I wish there was more! :) It's fun to watch Anabelle's journey through the story, trying to figure out who her best friend is and how she fits into her life now that everything's changing.

[Jaylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

HELP this book is adorable. I love it so much.

The book is told from Annabelle's perspective as she watches her best friend slowly slip away from her and become more and more involved in a "girls who like girls" club at their school. All of her emotions are so real, being jealous and angry and hurt and feeling abandoned, trying desperately to keep hold of someone you feel is slipping away, when everything you do ends up pushing them further from you.

Their relationship was real, and Annabelle's personality and feelings were so real that by the ending, which is going exactly where you think it's going, I was pretty much singing with joy and how happy and wonderful it was.

This is just a sweet, fun, adorable, well-written book that will take you about an hour to read. And you will like it. Go read it.

[Olivia Chanel's Stories in Space · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was all ever wanted, all I ever needed, *sings like it's the 90s and my heart will go on* and that is basically all you need to know. No, but seriously, the tension, the drama, this is like the best 46 pages ever. Can you believe Ella Lyons did that? *sigh heavily, looking at the stars* I'm in love.

Thanks for saving my Tuesgay.

[Atlas · Rating 3 out of 5]

* * *
3 / 5

~mini review~

A short and sweet little gay novella featuring two seventeen year old girls who are roommates. A little bit of teenage high school, a little bit of underage drinking, a little bit of pining and teenage angst; Complementary and Acute has just a little bit of everything and is sweet, but not particularly novel.

http://atlasrisingbooks.wordpress.com

[Shira Glassman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable little YA boarding school story where friendship turns into love with some hiccups along the way. I love the idea of friends asking for cuddles and of the girl who makes lists and spreadsheets about everything (since I'm one of those girls.)

It's rare for me to enjoy a story where the main plot conflict hinges on people not communicating but in this case it was entirely realistic and reasonable, plus the misunderstanding was between teenagers and over in 12,000 words so it's not like I had to read 200 pages of grown people basing entire life decisions on jumped-to conclusions.

Also happy to read the new female friendship developing alongside the side.

Warning for emetophobia.

[Elliot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Complementary and Acute Honestly, I think I would have enjoyed this more if it had been longer. At fifty pages, the author attempts to establish a strong relationship between these girls that changes when Jac comes out as gay to her roommate, Annabelle. With most of the story devoted to covering the jealousy that Annabelle feels when Jac begins hanging out with other people, there was little time to spare in establishing their close relationship, so it came across a little heavy handed in the beginning and I figured out where the story was going before I had read the first five pages. A longer work would have, I believe, allowed more time for the story to grow and would have allowed for more subtlety in the beginning.

[Llinos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a sweet little novella – an adorable romance, with a side of self-discovery. I really enjoyed everything about Anabelle and Jac’s relationship – how supportive they were of each other and how well they understood each other’s needs. And I really enjoyed seeing them both find sources of support and friendship outside of each other, widening their horizons and gaining confidence in different ways. A quick read and well worth the time!

[anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

sapphic best friends to lovers! in a boarding school! what could be more cute & pure than that!

[Eloise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaw. Sweet short realistic story about girls who love each other to bits.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5 stars*

A super-sweet and adorable f/f YA romance novelette! Sweet, smart, earnest and uptight Annabelle has been best friends and roommates at boarding school with Jac for the last 7 years, but when Jac suddenly announces that she's quitting the math team they were supposed to co-captain this year - because she's coming out as a lesbian and joining an LGBT network instead - super-organized Annabelle comes completely unravelled...for totally different reasons than she'd ever let herself imagine. Funny, fun, smart and totally sigh-worthy at the end!

(I wished we were more in Annabelle's head in the first scene, which is why this story is 4.5 instead of 5 stars for me, personally - but the rest of the story was just FABULOUS, and the first scene was fun, too - I just wished I felt more connection to Annabelle within it.)

I got this one as a free ebook on Smashwords after reading a recommendation from Jim at @YAYeahYeah. You can download it for free there.

[Loudmouth Lesbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adore the Best Friends to Lovers trope. Is it because I was in love with my best friend and now project all my feelings onto fictional characters? Possibly. But I also just love the fluff.

Anyway, this book delivered. I got my soft bestie feels, delicious pining angst, and my sweet, sweet, sapphic love. Annabelle and Jac had such a unique dynamic from start to finish, but what I found to be the most enticing thing about them is that you could feel the love radiating off the pages as you read. Sure, Annabelle’s in denial (been there, done that) but her pure love for Jac shines through, and vice versa.

I also thought the boarding school setting was quite quaint. It reminded me of Hogsmede from Harry Potter in the best way possible. The school felt very cozy and nice, especially considering there was an entire course dedicated to Girls who like Girls (Can I please make this a real thing?)

Anyway, when it comes down to it, this novella was just perfect. I can’t believe Ella Lyons managed to fit such a well-rounded story into less than 50 pages.

[Williesun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, this was fluffy, cute and short, which probably perfectly sums up what a novella should be.

As always with novellas, I'm left with a feeling that the story would have needed more meat to its bones but I guess that would have made it into a full book. Which I would have totally read.

Also, this is set at a boarding school and oh god do I like boarding school books. Probably because my parents never sent me to one and I have all these romanticised ideas about it. Oh well.

[f̟l̟o̟r̟a̟ · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was so cute
also kind of relatable even though when i had feelings for my best friend i was three years younger and ~ repressed ~

anyways...
i really really liked this. i loved the characters, i especially loved annabelle (y'all wanna talk some more about how her being very irrationally mad at her best friends new friend was relatable as fuck?? 14 year old me would've liked this)

just. adorable sapphic shenanigans. go read it.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet short story about two best friends and roommates falling in love in a boarding school.

I've been looking for a book like this for a long time. Seriously, best friends who share a room and like to cuddle all the time? There is no way this could be more perfect and adorable. I loved reading this and it made me smile a lot.

I can't wait to read more from this author.

[Chloe Whitcomb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this book when I was looking for a cute lesbian romance that was easy to read. I needed a quick pick-me-up to get me through exam week, and this novella by Ella Lyons did just that. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants an easy read about the confusing yet exhilarating trials of first love.

[emi · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY HEART IS NOW TEN TIMES BIGGER THAT WAS ADORABLE !!!!!!

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but felt sort of rushed because of the length.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely lovely. And so relatable. I really felt for both Anabelle and Jac.

[sofia :3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short & sweet best friends to lovers excellence 🥰

[h · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an adorable story full of angst, fluff, and a surprising amount of character depth for how short it was.

[Lulu (the library leopard) · Rating 3 out of 5]

boarding school friends-to-lovers lesbians!

[Ruby Ridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Packed to the brim with cuteness and sweetness but far far too short.
Hell, just read it - it is only 40 something pages and it will brighten up your day.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad short read...3plus stars

[artemis · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 i guess? it was alright

[Maliha · Rating 3 out of 5]

for how much it made me feel? 4 stars

I thought this was like a cutesy novella, but the drama!!!