Erica has her life all sorted out. She’s upwardly mobile in the restaurant business, she’s surrounded by family (her sister) and warmth (her pet rabbit), and she’s single and loving it.
Then Maria walks back into her life.
Maria doesn’t know what she’s doing. Her job is mind-numbing, she dropped out of college, and she can’t get her life together enough to finish the physical transition she longs for. Did she mention she still lives with her parents?
Then she finds Erica again, and suddenly she knows what she needs.
Childhood best friends, their separation devastated both of them. Meeting each other again seems like a miracle. But there’s so much each hasn’t told the other. Can they meet in the middle when life has gotten in the way?
Characters felt very robotic, narration of the trans experience feels terribly off-base, couldn't keep reading. It's like these two ladies didn't mature at all in the 18 years between their separation at age 7
A friend of mine recommended this book to me, sight unseen, because it was the only sweet romance of its particular type she could find. It was perfect. As someone who relates very well to Maria herself, I didn't think I'd ever read such a delicate, kind portrayal, ever. I'm grateful this book was written.
A really great book about a relationship between two women, both bearing the scars from their earlier days together, recognizing what is really important in this lifetime: a sustaining love in each other that overcomes, fulfills & heals.
Maria spends a lot of the runtime being self loathing and self hating and it kind of feels like it's all that happens here, which is somewhat common for trans leads in any fiction. That's also the only thing that stands out in this otherwise "yeah-whatever" romance.