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Seasons of Love #3
Heat Wave
Seasons of Love stories can be enjoyed in any order -- jump in wherever you'd like!
Sara Walker’s life is going nowhere she has a job she enjoys but doesn’t love, friends who are too busy to hang out with her, and no boyfriend in sight. Then a phone call on a lonely Friday night changes everything, and suddenly she’s spending her weekends with Laura. Newly single and openly bisexual, Laura makes Sara think decidedly not-straight thoughts.
Laura Murphy, with her red hair, freckles, and killer curves, is any guy’s wet dream. But Laura’s done with guys for now, and it’s Sara who can’t stop dreaming about her. When Sara finally gives in to the curiosity, Laura blows her mind and pushes her further than she’s ever gone before.
But Laura makes it very clear that this is only a rebound fling, and she’s still planning to move to California. She’s more than happy to tie Sara up, but she’s not ready to be tied down. If Sara wants to keep her, she’s going to have to work hard to convince Laura that New York is worth staying for . . . and so is she.
Word 66,700; page 262
Sara Walker’s life is going nowhere she has a job she enjoys but doesn’t love, friends who are too busy to hang out with her, and no boyfriend in sight. Then a phone call on a lonely Friday night changes everything, and suddenly she’s spending her weekends with Laura. Newly single and openly bisexual, Laura makes Sara think decidedly not-straight thoughts.
Laura Murphy, with her red hair, freckles, and killer curves, is any guy’s wet dream. But Laura’s done with guys for now, and it’s Sara who can’t stop dreaming about her. When Sara finally gives in to the curiosity, Laura blows her mind and pushes her further than she’s ever gone before.
But Laura makes it very clear that this is only a rebound fling, and she’s still planning to move to California. She’s more than happy to tie Sara up, but she’s not ready to be tied down. If Sara wants to keep her, she’s going to have to work hard to convince Laura that New York is worth staying for . . . and so is she.
Word 66,700; page 262
253 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 31, 2017
13 people are currently reading
244 people want to read
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August 2, 2017
Note: I encourage both bisexual and trans readers to read with caution.
I went into this book expecting to like it a lot, despite it being a "straight girl coming out as bi" romance; I have found that this particular author can write things I often avoid and make them real and complex and compelling to me in ways that other writers often don't. I ended up having mixed feelings about this book, much more so than the other books I have read by this author.
There were some aspects of Heatwave that worked well for me. The kink was generally well written, and the novice discovering they are into kink arc was rather sweet. (Though I did wish she'd had other kinky people in her life and was able to learn more about kink and talk about her kink life with her friends.) I loved that this book includes strap -on sex, which is way too rare in f/f romance. Many of the sex and kink scenes are some of my favorite parts of this book.
(Note about the BDSM rep: there is very little negotiation before play; they play with clear verbal consent, and later, with safewords. This worked for me, and felt real. This book includes some BDSM after characters have been drinking, though does not show them as drunk while doing kink. This also felt real, and worked for me. There is one particular scene that doesn't include aftercare that I found a difficult read, and I think I was supposed to. The lack of aftercare was textually challenged, though it didn't use the word aftercare to do it.)
I liked the way this couple were not alone in the world, but instead were surrounded by queer community, liked how Sara's life didn't narrow to this romance but expanded with it. She makes more friends, expands her life in other ways, grows as a person. I liked that concept of how love works quite a bit. I liked that she didn't treat it as ok when her best friend flaked on her to be with his boyfriend, that felt very validating to me as someone who often has been that friend. I liked that when she has a big plan, she leans on her entire community and network to try to get it done instead of needing to do it all by herself; this is the kind of community that I love to see depicted in queer stories.
I also found some things rather difficult in this story. The first is that even though Laura is bi herself, she does and says a bunch of things that feel very much like they are treating Sara's bicuriousity and bisexuality as if they are suspect, not real, just experimentation, including that classic thing about being afraid she is going to be left for a man. On top of this, she projects this idea of Sara really only being into men onto their strap-on sex; which is a deep misunderstanding of how strap-on sex works between women. I found all of this very troubling, as these are such classic bi hating frameworks, and Laura's own bisexuality feels very solid. It made me wonder about Laura's queerness, her own identity and how it worked for her, how she could find herself so filled with these stereotypes and fears of bisexuality, as a bi person herself.
The fact that I am left with so many questions about Laura actually illuminates a core issue in the book, I think. Laura is very thinly drawn. She doesn't have complexity, she doesn't have a history that we know about, or a very clear personality. We don't get to see her vulnerabilities, or her fears, or her internalized stuff, or the things she is bringing to this relationship. She isn't real in the same way that Sara and some of Sara's friends are.
Part of that is because this book is set up as friends with benefits to love romance, and the conflict is built on the main characters not talking to each other, and especially not being emotionally honest with each other. Those things, and the single POV, make it challenging to show Laura as a full complex person. But I think without Laura being fully drawn, Sara's love for her doesn't feel real. How can she love her when she doesn't know her? How can she be inspired to expand her own life by someone who is barely there as a character? Sara's growth arc is lovely conceptually, but it doesn't actually work if Laura is mostly a fantasy and not a person. As a reader who is a top, I am so tired of stories that do this to tops. Thin characterization and the absence of vulnerability is so commonly how top characters are drawn, while bottoms are fully drawn with great nuance and vulnerability. This unfortunately is another story that does that.
I am also just disappointed. Sara's bisexuality (especially how Laura thinks about it) becomes a major obstacle in this romance arc, and that is such a tired and overdone thing to do to a bi character. To do it in a book marketed as being about two bi women falling in love was surprising. (I would have expected it if it was a romance between a bi woman and either a lesbian or a heterosexual man, but it caught me off guard here.) I was hoping for their bisexuality to just not be a thing, at least. Or, ideally, for these characters to support each other as bi women in the story. I wanted better bi rep than this.
There was another aspect of Sara's coming out arc that I found deeply troubling. When she is trying to figure out whether she's bi, she talks to pretty much everyone she knows, including a minor character, Jer. When she discusses it with him, he comes out to her as trans and gives her some advice. The trans rep in this particular scene is both troubling and harmful, and although this is a minor character, this moment in the text nearly had me putting down the book for good. (Note: if you want to skip this moment, it's at 25% and in my opinion, it would work out just fine to skip it; it won't really feel like there are holes in the text.) I'm going to unpack this moment here and discuss why it was both troubling and harmful to me as a trans reader.
First of all, the trans man character, Jer, comes out to Sara by pulling up his shirt and showing her his top surgery scars. This is a common trope in trans rep, and it is deeply cissexist. It frames trans people's bodies as "telling the truth" about us, frames transness as inextricably tied to medical transition, sets up the reader to objectify his transness, and evokes the "surprise reveal" trope which is deeply cissexist and also creates a cultural concept of transness that contributes to trans hatred and violence. It's a very loaded choice, and there are many other much more neutral options for introducing that a trans character is trans. It's also just unrealistic; trans folks would not generally come out in this way. It was hurtful for me, as a trans reader.
Second, Jer then uses his own transness and transition to explain to Sara that identity can be fluid, that people evolve and change. This shows a deep misunderstanding of how transition works for most trans folks. Many trans folks have static gender identities (though some of course do not). Jer is framed as a trans man, and there is nothing to indicate that he has a fluid gender identity. But his transition is used to explain identity fluidity...when transition for most trans men is not an expression of fluidity but of alignment with a static gender identity. To put it more bluntly: most trans men (and that would include Jer, in my read) are not "women who become men", but men all along. If a trans man chooses to pursue medical transition options like top surgery (and not all trans men do) he is not "changing from being a woman into being a man", but is aligning his body with the man that he is. Framing transition as gender fluidity is both inaccurate and harmful. It reproduces cissexist ideas about transness, and also creates confusion about what gender fluidity actually is. I find this aspect of the text to be even more deeply harmful to trans readers than the way Jer comes out.
Lastly, Jer's transness is used in service to Sara's growth arc around her own identity. This is troubling in several ways. The first is basic: these identities and experiences are not comparable. (This is especially true here as Jer says nothing about his transness or trans experience to show that it might even be similar to Sara's. We, along with Sara, are just supposed to make the leaps ourselves.) But also, while minor characters can and should be used to serve the growth of main characters, their marginalized identities (like transness) should not. This choice objectifies transness in ways that are harmful. And finally, this is done to trans characters in particular quite a bit, so doing it here plays into larger cissexist narratives. Minor trans characters are often set up as oracles of identity and truth, as magical figures that will heal cis characters and help them accept themselves and find themselves. This trope is everywhere, and it is deeply objectifying. It hurts to read this kind of representation.
All in all, the best thing about this book is Sara and her growth and relationships, her community, and her sex and kink life with Laura. This book has sharp edges and potential harm for trans and bi readers. It also is one of those romances where the main obstacle would be resolved if people just talk to each other, so if that's not your thing, it's not for you.
Trigger warnings:
I went into this book expecting to like it a lot, despite it being a "straight girl coming out as bi" romance; I have found that this particular author can write things I often avoid and make them real and complex and compelling to me in ways that other writers often don't. I ended up having mixed feelings about this book, much more so than the other books I have read by this author.
There were some aspects of Heatwave that worked well for me. The kink was generally well written, and the novice discovering they are into kink arc was rather sweet. (Though I did wish she'd had other kinky people in her life and was able to learn more about kink and talk about her kink life with her friends.) I loved that this book includes strap -on sex, which is way too rare in f/f romance. Many of the sex and kink scenes are some of my favorite parts of this book.
(Note about the BDSM rep: there is very little negotiation before play; they play with clear verbal consent, and later, with safewords. This worked for me, and felt real. This book includes some BDSM after characters have been drinking, though does not show them as drunk while doing kink. This also felt real, and worked for me. There is one particular scene that doesn't include aftercare that I found a difficult read, and I think I was supposed to. The lack of aftercare was textually challenged, though it didn't use the word aftercare to do it.)
I liked the way this couple were not alone in the world, but instead were surrounded by queer community, liked how Sara's life didn't narrow to this romance but expanded with it. She makes more friends, expands her life in other ways, grows as a person. I liked that concept of how love works quite a bit. I liked that she didn't treat it as ok when her best friend flaked on her to be with his boyfriend, that felt very validating to me as someone who often has been that friend. I liked that when she has a big plan, she leans on her entire community and network to try to get it done instead of needing to do it all by herself; this is the kind of community that I love to see depicted in queer stories.
I also found some things rather difficult in this story. The first is that even though Laura is bi herself, she does and says a bunch of things that feel very much like they are treating Sara's bicuriousity and bisexuality as if they are suspect, not real, just experimentation, including that classic thing about being afraid she is going to be left for a man. On top of this, she projects this idea of Sara really only being into men onto their strap-on sex; which is a deep misunderstanding of how strap-on sex works between women. I found all of this very troubling, as these are such classic bi hating frameworks, and Laura's own bisexuality feels very solid. It made me wonder about Laura's queerness, her own identity and how it worked for her, how she could find herself so filled with these stereotypes and fears of bisexuality, as a bi person herself.
The fact that I am left with so many questions about Laura actually illuminates a core issue in the book, I think. Laura is very thinly drawn. She doesn't have complexity, she doesn't have a history that we know about, or a very clear personality. We don't get to see her vulnerabilities, or her fears, or her internalized stuff, or the things she is bringing to this relationship. She isn't real in the same way that Sara and some of Sara's friends are.
Part of that is because this book is set up as friends with benefits to love romance, and the conflict is built on the main characters not talking to each other, and especially not being emotionally honest with each other. Those things, and the single POV, make it challenging to show Laura as a full complex person. But I think without Laura being fully drawn, Sara's love for her doesn't feel real. How can she love her when she doesn't know her? How can she be inspired to expand her own life by someone who is barely there as a character? Sara's growth arc is lovely conceptually, but it doesn't actually work if Laura is mostly a fantasy and not a person. As a reader who is a top, I am so tired of stories that do this to tops. Thin characterization and the absence of vulnerability is so commonly how top characters are drawn, while bottoms are fully drawn with great nuance and vulnerability. This unfortunately is another story that does that.
I am also just disappointed. Sara's bisexuality (especially how Laura thinks about it) becomes a major obstacle in this romance arc, and that is such a tired and overdone thing to do to a bi character. To do it in a book marketed as being about two bi women falling in love was surprising. (I would have expected it if it was a romance between a bi woman and either a lesbian or a heterosexual man, but it caught me off guard here.) I was hoping for their bisexuality to just not be a thing, at least. Or, ideally, for these characters to support each other as bi women in the story. I wanted better bi rep than this.
There was another aspect of Sara's coming out arc that I found deeply troubling. When she is trying to figure out whether she's bi, she talks to pretty much everyone she knows, including a minor character, Jer. When she discusses it with him, he comes out to her as trans and gives her some advice. The trans rep in this particular scene is both troubling and harmful, and although this is a minor character, this moment in the text nearly had me putting down the book for good. (Note: if you want to skip this moment, it's at 25% and in my opinion, it would work out just fine to skip it; it won't really feel like there are holes in the text.) I'm going to unpack this moment here and discuss why it was both troubling and harmful to me as a trans reader.
First of all, the trans man character, Jer, comes out to Sara by pulling up his shirt and showing her his top surgery scars. This is a common trope in trans rep, and it is deeply cissexist. It frames trans people's bodies as "telling the truth" about us, frames transness as inextricably tied to medical transition, sets up the reader to objectify his transness, and evokes the "surprise reveal" trope which is deeply cissexist and also creates a cultural concept of transness that contributes to trans hatred and violence. It's a very loaded choice, and there are many other much more neutral options for introducing that a trans character is trans. It's also just unrealistic; trans folks would not generally come out in this way. It was hurtful for me, as a trans reader.
Second, Jer then uses his own transness and transition to explain to Sara that identity can be fluid, that people evolve and change. This shows a deep misunderstanding of how transition works for most trans folks. Many trans folks have static gender identities (though some of course do not). Jer is framed as a trans man, and there is nothing to indicate that he has a fluid gender identity. But his transition is used to explain identity fluidity...when transition for most trans men is not an expression of fluidity but of alignment with a static gender identity. To put it more bluntly: most trans men (and that would include Jer, in my read) are not "women who become men", but men all along. If a trans man chooses to pursue medical transition options like top surgery (and not all trans men do) he is not "changing from being a woman into being a man", but is aligning his body with the man that he is. Framing transition as gender fluidity is both inaccurate and harmful. It reproduces cissexist ideas about transness, and also creates confusion about what gender fluidity actually is. I find this aspect of the text to be even more deeply harmful to trans readers than the way Jer comes out.
Lastly, Jer's transness is used in service to Sara's growth arc around her own identity. This is troubling in several ways. The first is basic: these identities and experiences are not comparable. (This is especially true here as Jer says nothing about his transness or trans experience to show that it might even be similar to Sara's. We, along with Sara, are just supposed to make the leaps ourselves.) But also, while minor characters can and should be used to serve the growth of main characters, their marginalized identities (like transness) should not. This choice objectifies transness in ways that are harmful. And finally, this is done to trans characters in particular quite a bit, so doing it here plays into larger cissexist narratives. Minor trans characters are often set up as oracles of identity and truth, as magical figures that will heal cis characters and help them accept themselves and find themselves. This trope is everywhere, and it is deeply objectifying. It hurts to read this kind of representation.
All in all, the best thing about this book is Sara and her growth and relationships, her community, and her sex and kink life with Laura. This book has sharp edges and potential harm for trans and bi readers. It also is one of those romances where the main obstacle would be resolved if people just talk to each other, so if that's not your thing, it's not for you.
Trigger warnings:
August 3, 2019
Another F/F author to add to my auto-buy list!
I love that this book dealt with a heroine who is figuring out her sexuality, especially when she's thought for almost 30 years that she knew exactly who she is. I also liked that this book was steamier than the usual f/f/ romance is. Usually they are super cheesy and sweet (and this book definitely had that too, in bucketloads) but it also had sex scenes and a little angst which was a nice surprise.
This is technically a part of a series but can totally be read as a standalone. I loved seeing their friend-group and the different dynamics. Definitely makes me want to go back and read the others. I also just really like Elyse's writing style so I'll be reading her books for that alone lol.
July 17, 2017
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Riptide Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
Okay, let’s do the easy things first: This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and this specific book is the third in a series.
The important: Can a reader read this series book without having read others in the series? The quick answer is: of course, since that’s what I did. Are there things that a reader will miss from not reading this book after reading the others? Not sure, but based on what I did read I think that there are certain aspects that they would miss. I felt that way at times, at least.
The book kind of started off in a way that lead me to believe that I might be missing certain things. Like just why the lead (and only POV) character, Sara, had the other woman’s, Laura, phone number in her phone. There might have been something said at the time that she dialed that number, but if so, I missed it. It’s ‘important’ because the two main characters, Sara and Laura, seem as if they don’t really know each other, and yet both have each other’s phone number and are willing to randomly hang out together.
Mind, I know why the two know each other, just not why one had the other’s phone number in their phone. Why did they know each other? Eons ago, seemingly, maybe seen in one of the prior books, maybe not, a woman named Sara dated a man named Robbie. They fell into a relationship easily, and then out of it just as easily. At some point after that, a woman named Laura dated a man named Robbie. The same Laura and the same Sara who star in this book here. Laura’s parting from Robbie wasn’t as easy as Sara’s – Laura walked in Robbie doing the nasty with some other woman.
All of this might seem to be spoiler, and it is in a way, but the kind learned right up front in the book. For, you see, the book opens with Sara boredly wondering what to do that night. Too early to sleep. Her friends Abby, Kathy, and Nathan are all doing something (separately). Maybe she’d sleep anyway? Wait, she had Laura’s number. And so, she randomly dialed, randomly went out with her – and hopefully I’m remembering things correctly, that that is how everything unfolded. Oh, and it was there, when they meet up or over the phone, that Laura mentioned the situation with Robbie and that she needed to drink.
As might be expected from what I’ve written so far, two women who shared the same man at different points in time, both women are . . . . bisexual. What, that isn’t what’s expected? Ah. Hmm. Well, to be fair, Sara is quite taken with the notion that she’s straight. I mean, she’s one of those who pushes herself, challenges herself, knows herself, and she’d think, and thought, that if she was interested in women, that would be something that’d have popped up in her life before she turned 29, which she is now. Laura, on the other hand, might be somewhat off men at the moment, due to the cheating man she was just with, but is strong in her belief that she’s bisexual.
I’ve read a bunch of ‘lesbians who fall for straight women’ stories. This is the first time I’ve landed on a ‘bisexual who fell for a straight woman’ story. I think the closest I’d gotten to that in the past was a story involving a lesbian who fell for a bisexual woman. One who made some cruel and ill-advised remarks concerning bisexuals (that they are on the fence and should get off it already).
Nice to read a book that includes the idea that bisexuals are a real thing. And those who happen to be women and who find themselves drawn to other women, do not naturally and immediately leap from ‘I’m straight’ to ‘I’m a lesbian’. And that is one of the strong topics that crop up in this book – just what, exactly, Sara might be – she had been quite confident in her heterosexuality.
Enough of that.
Sara Walker is a 29 year old woman who works as one of the day-time managers at a diner in New York City. Lives in New York, specifically the Park Slope region of Brooklyn. The book opens with her being currently single, bored, and not really sure she’s happy with how her life is currently shaped. We, the reader, follow her, and only her, through her journey. Her journey that includes bumping into a woman named Laura who flirts with her. Who ‘forces her’ to dance at a bar. Who lures her into ‘kink’ (there is a section wherein the author says something, an afterward or something, about how those on Twitter encouraged her on her quest to write a book involving two kinky bisexuals).
Is it the same sex thing that’s the kink? That seems offensive, in a way. What, no? Oh. It’s the ‘surprise’ BDSM that broke out. Very early in the book. Along with the massive waves of kinky sex. I should probably make that a warning, or something. Some like knowing if a book contains that kind of thing.
Warning: This book contains several scenes of a kinky BDSM nature, and also includes, partially with, partially without that BDSM, public sex.
I distracted myself there, sorry. That’s what the book is about, though. No, not specifically BDSM. I mean, Sara coming to terms with the fact that she’s interested in another woman. And fucking her seemingly nonstop from . . . um, well, fairly early in the book. Thought I’d had a status update after the first encounter but don’t see one. That’s the relationship Sara and Laura fall into, Sara’s ‘experimenting’ and Laura’s ‘rebounding’.
Quite well written book. Had some flaws. Mostly ones that I might have created myself in that I had created a personality in my mind based on the information I’d been given about Sara, and that personality wasn’t matching up with Sara’s actions (like her inability to communicate). After being annoyed about that throughout the book I’ve come to a specific conclusion: I shouldn’t force personalities on characters based on assumptions and . . . well, words on the paper (like the part where she seriously challenges herself constantly, knows her own body, knows herself, etc. etc. The kind who confronts issues, not dives out of the way; except, you know, for communication issues with Laura). Plus the surprise BDSM kind of . . . surprised me – especially how it was handled, and for the part where I didn’t realize the book would include that type of thing. That and the part where I kept pushing past the sexual encounters to get to the rest of the story . . . in the later part of the book. Because I wanted to see what happened next, and the sex was getting in the way.
Sex: Graphic and frequent. With elements pulled from the realm of BDSM. Including such things as blindfolds, control, spankings, orgasm control, and the like. The earlier scenes were much more interesting and exciting than the later, though that comment is softened by the acknowledgement of a lessening interest in reading deeply into the sex acts as the story unfolded.
Series: As noted, this is the third book in a series. I’ve not read the other books in the series, but can make certain observations: It is possible that the Jason from the first book in the series is the same Jason who makes an appearance in this book – lessoned by the fact that his boyfriend is Nathan in this book and Noah in that other book, so maybe different Jason. Abby and Gabrielle are both in the second book in the series and make appearances in this book as well, with Abby being one of Sara’s somewhat infrequently seen friends. Part of Tony and Gee’s story is touched upon in this book, but their story is told in the fourth book in the series – with Tony being a friend of Sara’s in this book here.
Would I recommend this book? Yes.
Rating: 3.98 – my rating was somewhat lower than I expected to find myself due to certain aspects that came up near the end of the book. And how I ‘took’ them.
July 13 2017
Okay, let’s do the easy things first: This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and this specific book is the third in a series.
The important: Can a reader read this series book without having read others in the series? The quick answer is: of course, since that’s what I did. Are there things that a reader will miss from not reading this book after reading the others? Not sure, but based on what I did read I think that there are certain aspects that they would miss. I felt that way at times, at least.
The book kind of started off in a way that lead me to believe that I might be missing certain things. Like just why the lead (and only POV) character, Sara, had the other woman’s, Laura, phone number in her phone. There might have been something said at the time that she dialed that number, but if so, I missed it. It’s ‘important’ because the two main characters, Sara and Laura, seem as if they don’t really know each other, and yet both have each other’s phone number and are willing to randomly hang out together.
Mind, I know why the two know each other, just not why one had the other’s phone number in their phone. Why did they know each other? Eons ago, seemingly, maybe seen in one of the prior books, maybe not, a woman named Sara dated a man named Robbie. They fell into a relationship easily, and then out of it just as easily. At some point after that, a woman named Laura dated a man named Robbie. The same Laura and the same Sara who star in this book here. Laura’s parting from Robbie wasn’t as easy as Sara’s – Laura walked in Robbie doing the nasty with some other woman.
All of this might seem to be spoiler, and it is in a way, but the kind learned right up front in the book. For, you see, the book opens with Sara boredly wondering what to do that night. Too early to sleep. Her friends Abby, Kathy, and Nathan are all doing something (separately). Maybe she’d sleep anyway? Wait, she had Laura’s number. And so, she randomly dialed, randomly went out with her – and hopefully I’m remembering things correctly, that that is how everything unfolded. Oh, and it was there, when they meet up or over the phone, that Laura mentioned the situation with Robbie and that she needed to drink.
As might be expected from what I’ve written so far, two women who shared the same man at different points in time, both women are . . . . bisexual. What, that isn’t what’s expected? Ah. Hmm. Well, to be fair, Sara is quite taken with the notion that she’s straight. I mean, she’s one of those who pushes herself, challenges herself, knows herself, and she’d think, and thought, that if she was interested in women, that would be something that’d have popped up in her life before she turned 29, which she is now. Laura, on the other hand, might be somewhat off men at the moment, due to the cheating man she was just with, but is strong in her belief that she’s bisexual.
I’ve read a bunch of ‘lesbians who fall for straight women’ stories. This is the first time I’ve landed on a ‘bisexual who fell for a straight woman’ story. I think the closest I’d gotten to that in the past was a story involving a lesbian who fell for a bisexual woman. One who made some cruel and ill-advised remarks concerning bisexuals (that they are on the fence and should get off it already).
Nice to read a book that includes the idea that bisexuals are a real thing. And those who happen to be women and who find themselves drawn to other women, do not naturally and immediately leap from ‘I’m straight’ to ‘I’m a lesbian’. And that is one of the strong topics that crop up in this book – just what, exactly, Sara might be – she had been quite confident in her heterosexuality.
Enough of that.
Sara Walker is a 29 year old woman who works as one of the day-time managers at a diner in New York City. Lives in New York, specifically the Park Slope region of Brooklyn. The book opens with her being currently single, bored, and not really sure she’s happy with how her life is currently shaped. We, the reader, follow her, and only her, through her journey. Her journey that includes bumping into a woman named Laura who flirts with her. Who ‘forces her’ to dance at a bar. Who lures her into ‘kink’ (there is a section wherein the author says something, an afterward or something, about how those on Twitter encouraged her on her quest to write a book involving two kinky bisexuals).
Is it the same sex thing that’s the kink? That seems offensive, in a way. What, no? Oh. It’s the ‘surprise’ BDSM that broke out. Very early in the book. Along with the massive waves of kinky sex. I should probably make that a warning, or something. Some like knowing if a book contains that kind of thing.
Warning: This book contains several scenes of a kinky BDSM nature, and also includes, partially with, partially without that BDSM, public sex.
I distracted myself there, sorry. That’s what the book is about, though. No, not specifically BDSM. I mean, Sara coming to terms with the fact that she’s interested in another woman. And fucking her seemingly nonstop from . . . um, well, fairly early in the book. Thought I’d had a status update after the first encounter but don’t see one. That’s the relationship Sara and Laura fall into, Sara’s ‘experimenting’ and Laura’s ‘rebounding’.
Quite well written book. Had some flaws. Mostly ones that I might have created myself in that I had created a personality in my mind based on the information I’d been given about Sara, and that personality wasn’t matching up with Sara’s actions (like her inability to communicate). After being annoyed about that throughout the book I’ve come to a specific conclusion: I shouldn’t force personalities on characters based on assumptions and . . . well, words on the paper (like the part where she seriously challenges herself constantly, knows her own body, knows herself, etc. etc. The kind who confronts issues, not dives out of the way; except, you know, for communication issues with Laura). Plus the surprise BDSM kind of . . . surprised me – especially how it was handled, and for the part where I didn’t realize the book would include that type of thing. That and the part where I kept pushing past the sexual encounters to get to the rest of the story . . . in the later part of the book. Because I wanted to see what happened next, and the sex was getting in the way.
Sex: Graphic and frequent. With elements pulled from the realm of BDSM. Including such things as blindfolds, control, spankings, orgasm control, and the like. The earlier scenes were much more interesting and exciting than the later, though that comment is softened by the acknowledgement of a lessening interest in reading deeply into the sex acts as the story unfolded.
Series: As noted, this is the third book in a series. I’ve not read the other books in the series, but can make certain observations: It is possible that the Jason from the first book in the series is the same Jason who makes an appearance in this book – lessoned by the fact that his boyfriend is Nathan in this book and Noah in that other book, so maybe different Jason. Abby and Gabrielle are both in the second book in the series and make appearances in this book as well, with Abby being one of Sara’s somewhat infrequently seen friends. Part of Tony and Gee’s story is touched upon in this book, but their story is told in the fourth book in the series – with Tony being a friend of Sara’s in this book here.
Would I recommend this book? Yes.
Rating: 3.98 – my rating was somewhat lower than I expected to find myself due to certain aspects that came up near the end of the book. And how I ‘took’ them.
July 13 2017
February 26, 2018
Honestly, I never felt the connection/romance between these two -- partly, I think, because this is told in limited 3rd POV (only from Sara).
I was also a bit tired of the constant "Oh, you're not bi, you're really straight. Oh, you're going to cheat on me with every guy you see" which is fucked up in ANY book, but this is a story about two bi women -- one already out, the other just finding out about her sexuality.
A few other minor things (the way a trans character's "coming out" was treated; the couple's first hookup being a drunk one that Sara doesn't remember; etc.) kept me from loving the book, too.
I didn't hate this one. But I wasn't a big fan of it, either. It just . . . was. Some hot scenes, sure, and a good line here or there, but overall I was just disappointed by this one.
I was also a bit tired of the constant "Oh, you're not bi, you're really straight. Oh, you're going to cheat on me with every guy you see" which is fucked up in ANY book, but this is a story about two bi women -- one already out, the other just finding out about her sexuality.
A few other minor things (the way a trans character's "coming out" was treated; the couple's first hookup being a drunk one that Sara doesn't remember; etc.) kept me from loving the book, too.
I didn't hate this one. But I wasn't a big fan of it, either. It just . . . was. Some hot scenes, sure, and a good line here or there, but overall I was just disappointed by this one.
May 17, 2019
3.5 Stars
I think this is probably my least favorite of the series. A lot of the relationship between Sara and Laura felt like it was rushed and came out of nowhere. Also how little either of them talked to the other left me frustrated for most of the book. I liked Sara's plan to help her show Laura what she could have, but a lot of the issues between these two were of their own making. I actually liked the side characters (those we'd met before and those we hadn't) more than the couple here.
Individually, I liked Sara, she had a lot going for her and really just needed a push to realize how much more she could offer. But I really didn't understand her draw to Laura, especially as someone who had always seen herself as straight. Having Laura being her first and really only attraction to another woman, didn't feel strong enough for Sara. I didn't follow her path to falling in love with Laura, it was more I was told she was. Still I liked her as an individual a lot.
Altogether I'm looking forward to the final book in the series the most. There's some great hints in this story for the next and it has me very interested in moving on. :)
I think this is probably my least favorite of the series. A lot of the relationship between Sara and Laura felt like it was rushed and came out of nowhere. Also how little either of them talked to the other left me frustrated for most of the book. I liked Sara's plan to help her show Laura what she could have, but a lot of the issues between these two were of their own making. I actually liked the side characters (those we'd met before and those we hadn't) more than the couple here.
Individually, I liked Sara, she had a lot going for her and really just needed a push to realize how much more she could offer. But I really didn't understand her draw to Laura, especially as someone who had always seen herself as straight. Having Laura being her first and really only attraction to another woman, didn't feel strong enough for Sara. I didn't follow her path to falling in love with Laura, it was more I was told she was. Still I liked her as an individual a lot.
Altogether I'm looking forward to the final book in the series the most. There's some great hints in this story for the next and it has me very interested in moving on. :)
September 3, 2017
The copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
The book is filled with very graphic sex scenes and yet managed not to be vulgar. I personally loved it very much. I loved the chemistry between Laura and Sara and the whole self-defining moment and discovery of new, deep feelings towards the same gender.
The book is filled with very graphic sex scenes and yet managed not to be vulgar. I personally loved it very much. I loved the chemistry between Laura and Sara and the whole self-defining moment and discovery of new, deep feelings towards the same gender.
June 22, 2019
4.25/5
- SO CUTE
- SARA AND LAURA 💖💖💖
- Two girls with the same ex become friends 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
- Laura is bi and sara had thought she was straight before meeting her (😏)
- Laura is the confident flirt while sara is constantly flustered and trying her best
- They start “casually” seeing each other (fwb) and i have all the feelings
- I don’t think I’ve ever wanted two people to be together so much so quickly
- LAURA is The Dom
- I can usually read anything without blushing ... this defeated me
- SO CUTE
- SARA AND LAURA 💖💖💖
- Two girls with the same ex become friends 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
- Laura is bi and sara had thought she was straight before meeting her (😏)
- Laura is the confident flirt while sara is constantly flustered and trying her best
- They start “casually” seeing each other (fwb) and i have all the feelings
- I don’t think I’ve ever wanted two people to be together so much so quickly
- LAURA is The Dom
- I can usually read anything without blushing ... this defeated me
July 31, 2017
Elyse Springer never fails to provide an enthralling story, and she hit the ball out of the park once again with Heat Wave.
Check out the full review on my blog!
Check out the full review on my blog!
July 13, 2017
I rec'd an ARC from NetGalley/Riptide Publishing in exchange for an honest review. No synopsis needed. This was my first book by this author and was an easy read. Main characters are Sara and Laura in this erotic romance with the smooth storyline including bi-sexuality and BDSM which may not appeal to everyone. Ms. Springer is now on my reading radar. 4 stars.
August 29, 2017
This book didn’t really work for me. I kept looking for evidence of their compatibility (either platonically or romantically) and never found it so it was hard to get invested in the story. It took me about halfway through before I warmed up to Sara but Laura pretty much remained a mystery to me. I wished I’d seen a lot more of their interactions beyond hooking up. I even ended up skimming through the sex scenes because I just wasn’t feeling the chemistry between them.
Sara was big on challenging herself physically and mentally, and this was one of the things that got me to warm up to her character. One thing I found odd was how Sara kept saying Laura was always pushing her to her limits. I didn’t see any evidence of this beyond discovering her bisexuality and some mild BDSM… so in other words, the sex. I couldn’t help but feel that Sara was giving Laura way too much credit for everything she was accomplishing on her own. For instance, at the end of the book, she credited Laura for pushing her to go to college, when it was actually her boss George and her best friend Nate who encouraged her to get her business degree. She even suggested that Laura had something to do with her passion for kickboxing, even though Sara had been taking advance classes for several years before she even met Laura.
I was not a fan of the lack of communication between the women especially when this became the entire reason for their lovers’ conflict. There was a lot of unspoken jealousy and sulking and passive-aggressive behavior and running away and it all got very tedious and predictable all throughout the final third. I nearly DNFed when [SPOILER] Sara caught Laura about to hook up with their ex but at that point I was 90% in, so I decided to finish the book.
Because I was not convinced of them as a couple, I thought it was nice that the grand gesture at the end was also a practical one that offered Laura a valid reason to stay (beyond staying for Sara’s sake alone). In general I’m not big on the big Hollywood “grand gesture” endings (the first book in the series had this and I think so did the second, so now I’m wondering if we’ll see the same in the fourth and final book as well).
Sara was big on challenging herself physically and mentally, and this was one of the things that got me to warm up to her character. One thing I found odd was how Sara kept saying Laura was always pushing her to her limits. I didn’t see any evidence of this beyond discovering her bisexuality and some mild BDSM… so in other words, the sex. I couldn’t help but feel that Sara was giving Laura way too much credit for everything she was accomplishing on her own. For instance, at the end of the book, she credited Laura for pushing her to go to college, when it was actually her boss George and her best friend Nate who encouraged her to get her business degree. She even suggested that Laura had something to do with her passion for kickboxing, even though Sara had been taking advance classes for several years before she even met Laura.
I was not a fan of the lack of communication between the women especially when this became the entire reason for their lovers’ conflict. There was a lot of unspoken jealousy and sulking and passive-aggressive behavior and running away and it all got very tedious and predictable all throughout the final third. I nearly DNFed when [SPOILER] Sara caught Laura about to hook up with their ex but at that point I was 90% in, so I decided to finish the book.
Because I was not convinced of them as a couple, I thought it was nice that the grand gesture at the end was also a practical one that offered Laura a valid reason to stay (beyond staying for Sara’s sake alone). In general I’m not big on the big Hollywood “grand gesture” endings (the first book in the series had this and I think so did the second, so now I’m wondering if we’ll see the same in the fourth and final book as well).
July 20, 2017
Erotic without being overly erotic (not sure how to really explain that one, sorry). Dialog was nice. I often find books like this portray one of the women as being overly butch or tough and the dialog (especially during sex scenes) is nearly unreadable. This book was not like that. In fact, I read through this in two days.
July 15, 2017
A significant improvement on no.2 in this series, I only read this as I got an Advanced Reader Copy in return for posting this review, otherwise my disappointment with its predecessor would have disqualified it from my bookshelf.
In the pro column, the sex is hot, kinky and plentiful. On the con side, however, both our leading ladies are incredibly whingy and childish for women who are supposed to be in their mid-twenties. The constant agonising over everything and the inability to deal with anything or even talk to each other in any sort of a constructive fashion gets old very quickly.
A brief erotic style holiday skim read at best.
In the pro column, the sex is hot, kinky and plentiful. On the con side, however, both our leading ladies are incredibly whingy and childish for women who are supposed to be in their mid-twenties. The constant agonising over everything and the inability to deal with anything or even talk to each other in any sort of a constructive fashion gets old very quickly.
A brief erotic style holiday skim read at best.
September 14, 2017
There were definitely things I liked about this book, and I guess some things I didn't? It took me quite a while before I managed to just pick up the book again after I put it down, and actually finish the book. What I did love is that we finally got Sara's story! We first met Sara as Nate's best friend in book one, Whiteout, and now she finally gets her own HEA! And this is a f/f romance with two bisexual characters, which I really liked.
Sara is working at a diner and her life is fine, but even when she wants to go out and do something, it's like all her friends have found their true loves, and she's the one stuck at home with nothing to do. That's when her and Laura meet up. Just for drinks at first. Their only real connection before this is the fact that they now share the same ex-boyfriend. Laura is confident with her sexuality and Sara is less so. Sara's discovering that maybe she's got a thing for Laura, or maybe all women, but Laura's just looking for a rebound. Maybe to even help Sara out as she starts realizing that she's bisexual.
This book is kinky. There's some light BDSM in here, and it's definitely flames of chemistry between Sara and Laura whenever they're together. I liked seeing Sara grow more and more confident with her sexuality and I like that she's trying to grow in her own career by working and diligently taking classes at school as a returning student. We do get to see some characters from the previous books make a few cameos and there are definitely feels for Sara when it seems like Laura might not be falling for her like she is for Laura.
What I struggled a bit with is that we do only get the story from one POV, so it was, truly, a one-sided story. I would have loved to have read the story through Laura's eyes as well, if only to feel what Laura was going through whenever she seemed to second-guess Sara's intentions.
This is ultimately a story where it all comes down to miscommunication between the two characters. I'm not a huge fan of this type of storyline, but occasionally it does unravel in a realistic way. In this case, it seems like the everything could definitely have been resolved a lot earlier though, like maybe even halfway through the story if Sara and Laura just talked to each other. Even at the end of the book it seems like Sara was giving too much credit to Laura for things she did herself - like doing well in her class or wanting to do something more with her life.
One other thing that bothers me slightly is the setup for the next, and last book of the series. The last book will be focused on Tony, and his subplot in this book is that he's searching for a guy he met and broke up with months ago. The number's been disconnected and there's no social media to speak of for the guy, so Tony's coming across as borderline stalkerish trying to hunt this guy down six months later, and enlisting Sara's help too. I guess we'll see how this plays out in the next book. But if the story is only told from one POV and it's Tony's, I might have some reservations going into the story and how that'll all turn out.
Overall, I think Sara and Laura have nice chemistry together, but the miscommunication and resolution at the end was a tad rushed. I do think that it's nice to have two bisexual characters getting together and having their own HEA. Seeing previous characters from the past two books was nice as well.
***Thanks to Riptide Publishing for providing me an ARC on NetGalley***
Sara is working at a diner and her life is fine, but even when she wants to go out and do something, it's like all her friends have found their true loves, and she's the one stuck at home with nothing to do. That's when her and Laura meet up. Just for drinks at first. Their only real connection before this is the fact that they now share the same ex-boyfriend. Laura is confident with her sexuality and Sara is less so. Sara's discovering that maybe she's got a thing for Laura, or maybe all women, but Laura's just looking for a rebound. Maybe to even help Sara out as she starts realizing that she's bisexual.
This book is kinky. There's some light BDSM in here, and it's definitely flames of chemistry between Sara and Laura whenever they're together. I liked seeing Sara grow more and more confident with her sexuality and I like that she's trying to grow in her own career by working and diligently taking classes at school as a returning student. We do get to see some characters from the previous books make a few cameos and there are definitely feels for Sara when it seems like Laura might not be falling for her like she is for Laura.
What I struggled a bit with is that we do only get the story from one POV, so it was, truly, a one-sided story. I would have loved to have read the story through Laura's eyes as well, if only to feel what Laura was going through whenever she seemed to second-guess Sara's intentions.
This is ultimately a story where it all comes down to miscommunication between the two characters. I'm not a huge fan of this type of storyline, but occasionally it does unravel in a realistic way. In this case, it seems like the everything could definitely have been resolved a lot earlier though, like maybe even halfway through the story if Sara and Laura just talked to each other. Even at the end of the book it seems like Sara was giving too much credit to Laura for things she did herself - like doing well in her class or wanting to do something more with her life.
One other thing that bothers me slightly is the setup for the next, and last book of the series. The last book will be focused on Tony, and his subplot in this book is that he's searching for a guy he met and broke up with months ago. The number's been disconnected and there's no social media to speak of for the guy, so Tony's coming across as borderline stalkerish trying to hunt this guy down six months later, and enlisting Sara's help too. I guess we'll see how this plays out in the next book. But if the story is only told from one POV and it's Tony's, I might have some reservations going into the story and how that'll all turn out.
Overall, I think Sara and Laura have nice chemistry together, but the miscommunication and resolution at the end was a tad rushed. I do think that it's nice to have two bisexual characters getting together and having their own HEA. Seeing previous characters from the past two books was nice as well.
***Thanks to Riptide Publishing for providing me an ARC on NetGalley***
June 28, 2020
I loved Whiteout and really enjoyed Thaw and I’m finally coming back to finish up the series. Your ability to enjoy this third installment is going to depend on your ability to refrain from yelling at Sara and Laura to freaking communicate already. For the most part, I was able to do this, most likely because I've enjoyed Springer's other books, but I sure did get frustrated with Sara along the way. Prior to Laura, she thought she was straight and so this story is about how her understanding of her sexuality as a bisexual woman evolves. However, she doesn’t tell Laura about this so Laura has no reason to think there’s a chance for something more. What’s more, Sara doesn’t realize she never communicated this to Laura until 30 pages from the end. It was extremely frustrating and led to a rather dramatic misunderstanding before they’re able to reunite and move forward.
There are some super hot scenes as they also explore BDSM, something that is also new to Sara. I really enjoyed Sara learning all these things about herself and the way this opens her mind to other possibilities, like going back to school and figuring out what she’d like to do after being a manager at the diner for so many years. Laura is a professional makeup artist at the theater and it was really cool learning more about her job, although we only get those glimpses from Sara’s POV.
There is a trans character Jer and I have questions about his representation, particularly with the way he comes out to Sara as trans. His role as her kickboxing instructor felt a bit on the Magical trope side. I’m reviewing this as a cishet woman so I’ll be curious to see what trans reviewers have to say about it.
CW: infidelity, drunk first time together, bierasure, biphobia, shoulder injury
There are some super hot scenes as they also explore BDSM, something that is also new to Sara. I really enjoyed Sara learning all these things about herself and the way this opens her mind to other possibilities, like going back to school and figuring out what she’d like to do after being a manager at the diner for so many years. Laura is a professional makeup artist at the theater and it was really cool learning more about her job, although we only get those glimpses from Sara’s POV.
There is a trans character Jer and I have questions about his representation, particularly with the way he comes out to Sara as trans. His role as her kickboxing instructor felt a bit on the Magical trope side. I’m reviewing this as a cishet woman so I’ll be curious to see what trans reviewers have to say about it.
CW: infidelity, drunk first time together, bierasure, biphobia, shoulder injury
August 14, 2017
Not since Whiteout have I so enjoyed a book that played on a trope even as it completely made it its own. I hear a lot that, in lesbian fiction, the characters are kind of washed out or not that compelling. That was not the case in this book. For chemistry between female characters, this is probably my favourite book I've ever read.
Of course, there were problems. There was the throwaway trans character who, instead of saying he was trans, literally showed the chest scars to our main character Sara, as well as the three weeks of complete communication fail that happened at the end. I mean, look, I know that it happens in real life, but I always want to see characters behave better than that.
So, the trope: Gay for you. Of course. Sara is a straight woman who ends up falling for a bisexual one. What I found interesting first off about this novel was how it was written from the formerly straight person's point of view.
That didn't mean, though, we didn't see Laura (who was also bisexual) for not seeming able to accept that Sara might be able to be interested in women as well as men, but that was fairly convincingly hand waved by, again, lack of communication: Sara realising that she hadn't been forward about the fact that she was incredibly attracted to Laura.
Apart from the communication fails, there wasn't a great deal of angst. What I mean to say is, there wasn't a great deal of angst to do specifically with Sara coming to realise she wasn't straight like she'd always thought. I liked that. I liked that a lot.
August 26, 2017
Yeah, this book really wasn't my thing. It's an entry in an ongoing series by this author, but the content doesn't seem to rely on being familiar with the other books in the series and works well on its own. However, once again I'm faced with the dilemma of reading about characters that I don't find interesting, dynamic, or feel any chemistry between--though I'm not sure this is intended to be that deep of a book, as it's mostly about sex and pretty BDSM sex at that. Some of the "dirty talk" just left me a bit fearful of this relationship--in particular a line that just sort of gets thrown out and ignored where one character is hoping ropes leave marks on the other's wrists so she could see her all bruised up the next day. And, wow, is there bruising--most of the sex scenes end in bruises or pain or some other form of discomfort, and I guess if that's your thing cool.
Otherwise, the "story" component was pretty basic and yet barely there, with a ton of repetition of gym workouts with bruising, sex with bruising, and internal monologue after monologue about loving someone because they make you push the limits of your body. Or some other such garbage.
So big ol pass for me on this author and the rest of her Seasons of Love series.
ARC provided by NetGalley
Otherwise, the "story" component was pretty basic and yet barely there, with a ton of repetition of gym workouts with bruising, sex with bruising, and internal monologue after monologue about loving someone because they make you push the limits of your body. Or some other such garbage.
So big ol pass for me on this author and the rest of her Seasons of Love series.
ARC provided by NetGalley
July 24, 2017
3.5/5
It's a good Rom-Com. Nothing new or very diverse but deserve a good mention for a minor trans character. The plot follow the guide line of the genre. That being said the story is about a late bloomer awekening and is very well executed.
I would recommend this to anyone liking a good light rom-com.
I received an arc in exchange for an honest review.
It's a good Rom-Com. Nothing new or very diverse but deserve a good mention for a minor trans character. The plot follow the guide line of the genre. That being said the story is about a late bloomer awekening and is very well executed.
I would recommend this to anyone liking a good light rom-com.
I received an arc in exchange for an honest review.
July 19, 2019
rep: bisexual mc, bisexual li, f/f romance, m/m side couple, f/f side couple, side bisexual character, minor trans character (questionable rep, i recommend reading this review from a trans reviewer first)
September 21, 2021
I felt badly for Sara most of the book, but as Tony pointed out, she really was pretty oblivious about why Laura was running hot and cold. Still, great story, and I can't wait to read how Tony finally finds his Gee!
January 15, 2019
Galley provided by publisher
Rep: female bi mc, bi li, mlm side characters, male trans side character
It's hard to find good mlm NA lit. It's harder still to find good wlw NA lit. This book is definitely in the category of good wlw NA lit, while never actually managing to be amazing.
Despite that, I did have some issues with the book. For one, there's very little actual relationship development. They start off as friends with benefits (or rather, exes of the same guy and then they become friends with benefits) and then they're having sex. And then supposedly they're in love. One problem I often have with NA lit, is that there seems to be an insistence on including a scene where the main characters say they love each other. A lot of the time, that appears forced, like in this case, and honestly I'd prefer if they maybe just decided to date or something. That feels more realistic almost. There are some cases where an "I love you" works, but this is not one of them.
I get that this is a friends with benefits to lovers scenario, too, but the speed with which they start to hook up (they get together for the first time a tenth of the way through, after what's supposed to be 2-3 weeks - timeskip included) felt a bit rushed. There could definitely have been more of a slowburn going on there.
Another problem I found was actually with Sara (the narrator) herself. Some of the things she complains about seem a little childish, and she's supposedly touching 30. There's a part early on where Nate, her ex-roommate who's since moved in with his boyfriend, was supposed to help her move out of her place but forgot and his boyfriend booked them a holiday. And Sara just has a more extreme reaction than that really warrants, in my opinion. He genuinely just forgets a prior engagement, it's not that big a deal, but she refers to it as "screwing her over" especially when "he was one of the main reasons she had to move" like. Just take a deep breath and move on. These things happen. And as for being one of the main reasons, so he met someone and moved in with them. Get over yourself. This happened pretty early on in the book, so you can imagine I was not Sara's biggest fan for most of the rest of it.
Not that I was Laura's biggest fan either, to be perfectly honest. She actually treats Sara pretty badly. There's this one scene, when they're still friends with benefits, where she spends the whole time with Sara pointing out hot girls. But when Sara points out some hot guys (they're both bisexual), she grows cold and blanks her. When they have sex after that, she essentially kicks her out of her flat, and subsequently doesn't contact her for a bit. And she doesn't apologise for that move. I wouldn't have minded so much if she'd admitted she overreacted, and messed up. But no. Not only that, she later blanks Sara completely again after not telling her that she's going to move away. Sara hears it from Laura's boss (after a messy moment which and ventures way too close to the cheating bisexual stereotype for my liking). Again, it's not something Laura apologises for.
I liked the attempt this book made to be at least sexually diverse, but at times it did feel a little like the characters were being shown off as diverse rather than just existing. There was a scene where Sara was talking to Jer, her kickboxing trainer, about how she's finding out new things about her body having had sex with Laura for the first time, and Jer, to reveal that he's trans, lifts his shirt to show her his top surgery scars to say he knows "exactly what it's like to redefine yourself". It just felt a bit of a crude way for him to come out, honestly.
Overall, actually, the book was kind of boring (I say, even as I rate it 3 stars). There wasn't really any plot besides the romance and it drifted a bit at times. Not to mention the part where it's made clear that Sara is ""not like other girls"". Thanks.
Rep: female bi mc, bi li, mlm side characters, male trans side character
It's hard to find good mlm NA lit. It's harder still to find good wlw NA lit. This book is definitely in the category of good wlw NA lit, while never actually managing to be amazing.
Despite that, I did have some issues with the book. For one, there's very little actual relationship development. They start off as friends with benefits (or rather, exes of the same guy and then they become friends with benefits) and then they're having sex. And then supposedly they're in love. One problem I often have with NA lit, is that there seems to be an insistence on including a scene where the main characters say they love each other. A lot of the time, that appears forced, like in this case, and honestly I'd prefer if they maybe just decided to date or something. That feels more realistic almost. There are some cases where an "I love you" works, but this is not one of them.
I get that this is a friends with benefits to lovers scenario, too, but the speed with which they start to hook up (they get together for the first time a tenth of the way through, after what's supposed to be 2-3 weeks - timeskip included) felt a bit rushed. There could definitely have been more of a slowburn going on there.
Another problem I found was actually with Sara (the narrator) herself. Some of the things she complains about seem a little childish, and she's supposedly touching 30. There's a part early on where Nate, her ex-roommate who's since moved in with his boyfriend, was supposed to help her move out of her place but forgot and his boyfriend booked them a holiday. And Sara just has a more extreme reaction than that really warrants, in my opinion. He genuinely just forgets a prior engagement, it's not that big a deal, but she refers to it as "screwing her over" especially when "he was one of the main reasons she had to move" like. Just take a deep breath and move on. These things happen. And as for being one of the main reasons, so he met someone and moved in with them. Get over yourself. This happened pretty early on in the book, so you can imagine I was not Sara's biggest fan for most of the rest of it.
Not that I was Laura's biggest fan either, to be perfectly honest. She actually treats Sara pretty badly. There's this one scene, when they're still friends with benefits, where she spends the whole time with Sara pointing out hot girls. But when Sara points out some hot guys (they're both bisexual), she grows cold and blanks her. When they have sex after that, she essentially kicks her out of her flat, and subsequently doesn't contact her for a bit. And she doesn't apologise for that move. I wouldn't have minded so much if she'd admitted she overreacted, and messed up. But no. Not only that, she later blanks Sara completely again after not telling her that she's going to move away. Sara hears it from Laura's boss (after a messy moment which and ventures way too close to the cheating bisexual stereotype for my liking). Again, it's not something Laura apologises for.
I liked the attempt this book made to be at least sexually diverse, but at times it did feel a little like the characters were being shown off as diverse rather than just existing. There was a scene where Sara was talking to Jer, her kickboxing trainer, about how she's finding out new things about her body having had sex with Laura for the first time, and Jer, to reveal that he's trans, lifts his shirt to show her his top surgery scars to say he knows "exactly what it's like to redefine yourself". It just felt a bit of a crude way for him to come out, honestly.
Overall, actually, the book was kind of boring (I say, even as I rate it 3 stars). There wasn't really any plot besides the romance and it drifted a bit at times. Not to mention the part where it's made clear that Sara is ""not like other girls"". Thanks.
September 3, 2017
So... most of you know that F/F romances aren't my go-to genre. But, if you've been following closely, you also know that I'm committed to the Seasons of Love series and didn't want to take a chance on missing anything that happens between Whiteout and Changing Colors. ;) I also have a confession. I've kinda had a love/hate relationship with Sara since the beginning of the Seasons of Love series. Honestly, it wasn't her fault. She was just looking out for her best friend and eventually she did come around. It still took her a little bit of time to win me over.
From the beginning Sara and Laura were on the same page... until they weren't. Sara wasn't a lesbian or even bi, she was just curious. Laura wasn't looking for anything but a rebound, especially since she wasn't planning on sticking around. Sara began to see more though. More to Laura and more to the non-relationship that was developing between them.
There were a couple of fun little twists in Heat Wave and a couple of cameos from previous characters. I'm really loving this series and the more layers that are added, the more fun it becomes. This was a nice little segues to Changing Colors, the next and final book in the Seasons of Love series. I've gotta admit, I've been looking forward to Tony's book since the series started. Some of the events in Heat Wave only reinforced my need to see him find his HEA.
I received Heat Wave in exchange for a fair and honest review.
From the beginning Sara and Laura were on the same page... until they weren't. Sara wasn't a lesbian or even bi, she was just curious. Laura wasn't looking for anything but a rebound, especially since she wasn't planning on sticking around. Sara began to see more though. More to Laura and more to the non-relationship that was developing between them.
There were a couple of fun little twists in Heat Wave and a couple of cameos from previous characters. I'm really loving this series and the more layers that are added, the more fun it becomes. This was a nice little segues to Changing Colors, the next and final book in the Seasons of Love series. I've gotta admit, I've been looking forward to Tony's book since the series started. Some of the events in Heat Wave only reinforced my need to see him find his HEA.
I received Heat Wave in exchange for a fair and honest review.
July 31, 2017
Reviewed for From Top to Bottom Reviews.
Elyse Springer, despite being a rather new (published) author, has quickly become one of my faves. So far I've liked each of her books (some more than others of course, but they were all great). I think she'll be one of those authors I will always be able to trust to write a great story. She's definitely a one-click author for me.
I really enjoyed Heat Wave. It's really well written, vivid and visual and I had no problems picturing it all despite never having been in New York. Maybe the heat wave we had over here in Germany at the time I read this, did its part in making it more real; if anything I could relate more to Sara. ;)
That being said... I just didn't like Laura. The way she's hot and cold with Sara really annoyed me at times. Admittedly they *both* should have communicated more with each other, but I can understand how Sara would be hesitant to tell Laura about her feelings the way Laura kept pushing her away to ravish her the next minute.
I liked the premise of them getting together and really enjoyed that at first - these two ladies do burn the sheets up - but the longer the story went on the less I thought that Laura was a good fit for Sara. The sex between them is great and I could feel that physical attraction - the emotional one on the other end came rather abruptly toward the end of the story. I missed the build up and slowly falling in love.
Maybe part of that is that I really would have liked to have Laura's perspective on things. For most of the story she eluded me and I didn't get the feeling that she was attached to Sara for anything more than sex.
I have no idea how to rate this because I *loved* Sara, I loved how she evolved, how she grew throughout the story. The way she determinedly followed her plans and did not give up. I really liked how she just went and tackled things and just signed up for college courses while working her job, and somehow still finding time for friends. In a way she reminded me a lot of my sister and how I would just love to be a bit more like her - and Sara too.
In Heat Wave we also see Noah and Jason again, as well as Brie and Abby - but we also get to meet new people from this big cluster of friends. I can't wait to read Tony's book. He grew on me so much and I'm curious to see how he'll find his happy ending! A small big part of me hopes that maybe one day we'll get Jer's story as well?
Heat Wave is the third book in the Seasons of Love series, but can be read as standalone.
*a copy was provided via NetGalley
Elyse Springer, despite being a rather new (published) author, has quickly become one of my faves. So far I've liked each of her books (some more than others of course, but they were all great). I think she'll be one of those authors I will always be able to trust to write a great story. She's definitely a one-click author for me.
I really enjoyed Heat Wave. It's really well written, vivid and visual and I had no problems picturing it all despite never having been in New York. Maybe the heat wave we had over here in Germany at the time I read this, did its part in making it more real; if anything I could relate more to Sara. ;)
That being said... I just didn't like Laura. The way she's hot and cold with Sara really annoyed me at times. Admittedly they *both* should have communicated more with each other, but I can understand how Sara would be hesitant to tell Laura about her feelings the way Laura kept pushing her away to ravish her the next minute.
I liked the premise of them getting together and really enjoyed that at first - these two ladies do burn the sheets up - but the longer the story went on the less I thought that Laura was a good fit for Sara. The sex between them is great and I could feel that physical attraction - the emotional one on the other end came rather abruptly toward the end of the story. I missed the build up and slowly falling in love.
Maybe part of that is that I really would have liked to have Laura's perspective on things. For most of the story she eluded me and I didn't get the feeling that she was attached to Sara for anything more than sex.
I have no idea how to rate this because I *loved* Sara, I loved how she evolved, how she grew throughout the story. The way she determinedly followed her plans and did not give up. I really liked how she just went and tackled things and just signed up for college courses while working her job, and somehow still finding time for friends. In a way she reminded me a lot of my sister and how I would just love to be a bit more like her - and Sara too.
In Heat Wave we also see Noah and Jason again, as well as Brie and Abby - but we also get to meet new people from this big cluster of friends. I can't wait to read Tony's book. He grew on me so much and I'm curious to see how he'll find his happy ending! A small big part of me hopes that maybe one day we'll get Jer's story as well?
Heat Wave is the third book in the Seasons of Love series, but can be read as standalone.
*a copy was provided via NetGalley
July 25, 2018
Honestly this was a 5 stars read all the way to the final chapter. But I didn't like the ending.
And a couple things bugged me. Like how many times Sara said she didn't have many friends. Once, sure. Twice, ok. But it was often enough that I started to roll my eyes. Especially because it wasn't true and so it fet like whining.
I didn't really connect with Laura either. She felt a bit...thin. I felt like secondary characters were more fleshed out than she was on some occasion. And I'm not talking about Abby or Nate.
And as a bi woman, I didn't really like the whole trope of Laura leaving because she was sure Sara would leave her for a man.
And one of the sex scene was a bit jarring. What was said in it and how Laura acted, even if I understand it came out of anger and fear from Laura, was troubling. I wished they had talked about it. I kept wanting them t talk about it but it never happened. I feel like Sara went from that very strong character to kind of a doormat for Laura. No talking about what hurt her, not asking for more at the end.
Those were the part I didn't like, but boy did I love the rest. It was great to see Nathan and Abby, and to prepare Tony's story. I loved the heat wave feel and the sex was hot! I loved that Sara struggled with label but not with her attraction. No over the top freak out, which was a nice change. Really, I liked the story a lot as a whole. It was fun, angst free, super hot and all the SC were interesting enough that I would read a story on all of them.
I still have Tony's story to read, but so far, I think Sara and Laura were the weakest couple for me. Because I didn't connect with Laura and we didn't know anything about her except that she was kinky, bi and into makeup, it was really hard to get why Sara loves her.
Still, I love Elyse Springer, so this is my least favorite, but I still liked it and she's still an auto-buy
And a couple things bugged me. Like how many times Sara said she didn't have many friends. Once, sure. Twice, ok. But it was often enough that I started to roll my eyes. Especially because it wasn't true and so it fet like whining.
I didn't really connect with Laura either. She felt a bit...thin. I felt like secondary characters were more fleshed out than she was on some occasion. And I'm not talking about Abby or Nate.
And as a bi woman, I didn't really like the whole trope of Laura leaving because she was sure Sara would leave her for a man.
And one of the sex scene was a bit jarring. What was said in it and how Laura acted, even if I understand it came out of anger and fear from Laura, was troubling. I wished they had talked about it. I kept wanting them t talk about it but it never happened. I feel like Sara went from that very strong character to kind of a doormat for Laura. No talking about what hurt her, not asking for more at the end.
Those were the part I didn't like, but boy did I love the rest. It was great to see Nathan and Abby, and to prepare Tony's story. I loved the heat wave feel and the sex was hot! I loved that Sara struggled with label but not with her attraction. No over the top freak out, which was a nice change. Really, I liked the story a lot as a whole. It was fun, angst free, super hot and all the SC were interesting enough that I would read a story on all of them.
I still have Tony's story to read, but so far, I think Sara and Laura were the weakest couple for me. Because I didn't connect with Laura and we didn't know anything about her except that she was kinky, bi and into makeup, it was really hard to get why Sara loves her.
Still, I love Elyse Springer, so this is my least favorite, but I still liked it and she's still an auto-buy
May 16, 2018
Bi the way, it's Sara's turn for true love.
Not that Sara thought of herself as anything other than straight. But when Laura bounces into her life in an unexpected way, the wisecracking waitress finds herself having second thoughts. Openly bisexual Laura seems to be into Sara, too, and since she's just looking for a fling and not a relationship, she's fine with Sara being at the questioning stage of her sexual explorations.
However, Sara soon becomes VERY fond of Laura, and not just because of the sizzling sex (once again, Springer delivers on the well-written spice, with just a smidge of BDSM, nothing too shocking). In fact, it's pretty obvious to the reader -- though not the lovers -- that both women are getting a little more attached than either of them is comfortable for. So when Laura decides to move back to California, Sara's hopes for something more go up in smoke, and even her plan to help Laura launch a business might not make a difference.
As usual, Springer has her protagonists discover not only true love, but something about themselves. Sara, who's been content to wait tables and make wisecracks throughout this whole Seasons series, suddenly finds herself dreaming of something more, and taking a few business courses. She's got an acumen for it, and as she grows in skills and confidence, she learns to love Laura not just for her killer curves, but for the effect she has on Sara's outlook and approach to life. Laura, for her part, is worried that Sara's bisexuality might just be an experiment or a phase, a legit concern that Springer resolves beautifully through great dialog on the topic that sounds perfectly natural and not at all forced.
There is, of course, the obligatory HEA for both women, not only as partners, but as fully actualized individuals, which is something you don't see nearly enough of in romances: a romantic partner shouldn't just ring your bells; they should make you want to be the best you can be, not just for their sake, but for your own. If you're not collecting this series, you really should be, and if you've already got it, you need to keep up with it. Recommended for all romance collections.
Not that Sara thought of herself as anything other than straight. But when Laura bounces into her life in an unexpected way, the wisecracking waitress finds herself having second thoughts. Openly bisexual Laura seems to be into Sara, too, and since she's just looking for a fling and not a relationship, she's fine with Sara being at the questioning stage of her sexual explorations.
However, Sara soon becomes VERY fond of Laura, and not just because of the sizzling sex (once again, Springer delivers on the well-written spice, with just a smidge of BDSM, nothing too shocking). In fact, it's pretty obvious to the reader -- though not the lovers -- that both women are getting a little more attached than either of them is comfortable for. So when Laura decides to move back to California, Sara's hopes for something more go up in smoke, and even her plan to help Laura launch a business might not make a difference.
As usual, Springer has her protagonists discover not only true love, but something about themselves. Sara, who's been content to wait tables and make wisecracks throughout this whole Seasons series, suddenly finds herself dreaming of something more, and taking a few business courses. She's got an acumen for it, and as she grows in skills and confidence, she learns to love Laura not just for her killer curves, but for the effect she has on Sara's outlook and approach to life. Laura, for her part, is worried that Sara's bisexuality might just be an experiment or a phase, a legit concern that Springer resolves beautifully through great dialog on the topic that sounds perfectly natural and not at all forced.
There is, of course, the obligatory HEA for both women, not only as partners, but as fully actualized individuals, which is something you don't see nearly enough of in romances: a romantic partner shouldn't just ring your bells; they should make you want to be the best you can be, not just for their sake, but for your own. If you're not collecting this series, you really should be, and if you've already got it, you need to keep up with it. Recommended for all romance collections.
April 25, 2018
Just not my jam - I think from the blurb I was expecting a “friends to lovers” story with a bit more devoted to Sara’s understanding of her sexuality and not so lust-based.
What I got was SUPER lust-based, more so than other stories in this series. This kind of set-up just doesn’t do it for me, especially when the sex scenes we get don’t really seem to work with the plot - several that I thought would have been important (eg THE FIRST TIME THEY HAVE SEX FFS) are completely off-screen.
I was also frustrated by a plot which relies on characters not talking to advance the plot - I hate it when plot issues could have been resolved by characters behaving like adults and Using Their Words. Like - why send texts that say “we need to talk” instead of “hey, here is my explanation”?
I was a bit confused by Sara’s characterisation. I guess it’s hard to get a bead on on how old she’s meant to feel - and actually this is something true in other books in this series. I know we’re told late twenties but I feel like there’s a disconnect between her professional life (feels about right) and emotional intelligence (feels early twenties). Apart from liking the gym and pride in her work, I really didn’t get much of a sense of who Sara was - she’s trying things she’s never done in bed but in other books she’s seemed really sex-focussed. She’s been portrayed as a bit pushy and bolshy, but I didn’t get the sense of that here etc.
I also found Laura crude. I know that we’re meant to be picking up on the major Lust connection, but if the things she was saying were said by a male character, I’d be put off.
Finally, I wasn’t really invested in Sara and Laura as a couple - we were told rather than shown than Laura “gets” Sara like no one else and pushes her out of her comfort zone, but honestly I think other factors/people in her life did the same.
Overall probably a decent f/f romance but it just didn’t tick the boxes for me and the tropes I like.
What I got was SUPER lust-based, more so than other stories in this series. This kind of set-up just doesn’t do it for me, especially when the sex scenes we get don’t really seem to work with the plot - several that I thought would have been important (eg THE FIRST TIME THEY HAVE SEX FFS) are completely off-screen.
I was also frustrated by a plot which relies on characters not talking to advance the plot - I hate it when plot issues could have been resolved by characters behaving like adults and Using Their Words. Like - why send texts that say “we need to talk” instead of “hey, here is my explanation”?
I was a bit confused by Sara’s characterisation. I guess it’s hard to get a bead on on how old she’s meant to feel - and actually this is something true in other books in this series. I know we’re told late twenties but I feel like there’s a disconnect between her professional life (feels about right) and emotional intelligence (feels early twenties). Apart from liking the gym and pride in her work, I really didn’t get much of a sense of who Sara was - she’s trying things she’s never done in bed but in other books she’s seemed really sex-focussed. She’s been portrayed as a bit pushy and bolshy, but I didn’t get the sense of that here etc.
I also found Laura crude. I know that we’re meant to be picking up on the major Lust connection, but if the things she was saying were said by a male character, I’d be put off.
Finally, I wasn’t really invested in Sara and Laura as a couple - we were told rather than shown than Laura “gets” Sara like no one else and pushes her out of her comfort zone, but honestly I think other factors/people in her life did the same.
Overall probably a decent f/f romance but it just didn’t tick the boxes for me and the tropes I like.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2017
This is the third in a series, but I had no trouble jumping in on this book without having read the other two.
Sara, recently broken up with her boyfriend, finds herself drunkenly sleeping with openly bi Laura Murphy. While Sara finds herself falling for the sexy red head, Laura is planning a move to LA. Is this just a fling for both of them, or will Sarah convince Laura that this is the real thing.
It was really nice for Sara to be totally cool about suddenly sleeping with a girl, thats fantastic. But I expected maybe a little more time thinking about other changes in her life that this big change might mean. i.e. Having kids and discrimination. Even though New York and LA are very open, still you're bound to experience it at some point. I found that a little unrealistic.
The relationship was consummated so early, I loved the sexual chemistry between them but I would have liked a little more development in the relationship. Don't get me wrong, the sex scenes were fantastic, erotic and sensual and adventurous, and incredibly well written. I loved how erotic they were without going so far over the top. They were seriously amazing. I just missed a little of the emotional connection between them.
I loved the characters, I loved how real they were and how down to earth they were, with their jobs, their looks, living at their age in New York, everything. I found them really relatable and it was really nice to be able to make a connection with the characters.
This book was well written and a fun sexy romp to read. I will definitely check out the other books in this series and from this author.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Sara, recently broken up with her boyfriend, finds herself drunkenly sleeping with openly bi Laura Murphy. While Sara finds herself falling for the sexy red head, Laura is planning a move to LA. Is this just a fling for both of them, or will Sarah convince Laura that this is the real thing.
It was really nice for Sara to be totally cool about suddenly sleeping with a girl, thats fantastic. But I expected maybe a little more time thinking about other changes in her life that this big change might mean. i.e. Having kids and discrimination. Even though New York and LA are very open, still you're bound to experience it at some point. I found that a little unrealistic.
The relationship was consummated so early, I loved the sexual chemistry between them but I would have liked a little more development in the relationship. Don't get me wrong, the sex scenes were fantastic, erotic and sensual and adventurous, and incredibly well written. I loved how erotic they were without going so far over the top. They were seriously amazing. I just missed a little of the emotional connection between them.
I loved the characters, I loved how real they were and how down to earth they were, with their jobs, their looks, living at their age in New York, everything. I found them really relatable and it was really nice to be able to make a connection with the characters.
This book was well written and a fun sexy romp to read. I will definitely check out the other books in this series and from this author.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 23, 2017
Task: #29 - A book published outside the 4 major publishing houses - 3/5 stars
Riptide Publishing provided me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Heat Wave is the third book in Elyse Springer's Seasons of Love series, and there's a lot to like about it. It follows openly bisexual Laura and always-thought-she-was-straight, now-realizing-she's-bi Sara as they become friends with benefits after Laura goes through a bad breakup. (This being a romance novel, it's not long before Sara realizes that she wants more.) The writing is strong, the main characters have a great, believable connection but also friends and lives beyond each other; the sex is pretty steamy - all strong points in its favor.
Ultimately, how much you like this book will probably depend on your patience with plot "conflicts" that could be resolved by a single conversation. If you find that trope frustrating (as I do), this one probably isn't for you. But if you don't mind that, give Heat Wave a try.
Riptide Publishing provided me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Heat Wave is the third book in Elyse Springer's Seasons of Love series, and there's a lot to like about it. It follows openly bisexual Laura and always-thought-she-was-straight, now-realizing-she's-bi Sara as they become friends with benefits after Laura goes through a bad breakup. (This being a romance novel, it's not long before Sara realizes that she wants more.) The writing is strong, the main characters have a great, believable connection but also friends and lives beyond each other; the sex is pretty steamy - all strong points in its favor.
Ultimately, how much you like this book will probably depend on your patience with plot "conflicts" that could be resolved by a single conversation. If you find that trope frustrating (as I do), this one probably isn't for you. But if you don't mind that, give Heat Wave a try.
August 11, 2017
I really enjoyed the way this story works largely as a self-contained piece but also calls back and forward to other books in the quartet - you could certainly read out of order but there's a lot to appreciate as some threads start coming together. Sara and Laura are both interesting characters and watching their relationship build was fun. I think this also has some of the hottest bits of the series so far - Springer doesn't soft-pedal the f/f at all, which is great. Also appreciated Sara explicitly coming to identify as bi in the story, and there's plenty of kinky sex if that's your taste too. As with the others, the sense of New York City as a fully rounded and realized place is well sketched, and I like that characters have work and friendship and family that impact on their lives as well as the romantic relationship.
Disclosure: I am friends with the author.
Disclosure: I am friends with the author.
December 19, 2017
There was some angst in the last few chapters that I didn't think was really necessary, but other than that, I completely loved this! Elyse Springer is quickly becoming one of my new favorite authors. I've read three of her books so far, and all have been 5 star reads for me. I loved the main characters, but all of the side characters were well written as well, and I found myself wanting more from all of them. I'm sad that there are only 4 books in this series. I'd love to have a books about Noelle, Ethan, and especially Jer. I wasn't originally planning to read the first book in this companion series (I started with book 2), but Heat Wave has piqued my curiosity about Nathan and Jason's story, so I may end up going back to pick it up now.
September 16, 2017
I had to force myself to finish reading this book. I'm not sure if it was the writing, the characters, or the storyline itself. I read the first book in this series, which was m/m, and liked it enough that I wanted to check this one out. It was my first f/f romance.
I didn't care for either Sara or Laura. Neither character was someone I would want as a friend. And the total lack of communication between the two characters was practically laughable. And how could two grown women be so incompetent and unable to manage their own lives?
After this one, I think I'll be giving the rest of the series a pass.
I didn't care for either Sara or Laura. Neither character was someone I would want as a friend. And the total lack of communication between the two characters was practically laughable. And how could two grown women be so incompetent and unable to manage their own lives?
After this one, I think I'll be giving the rest of the series a pass.
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