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Scissor Link #2
Face It
In college, Elizabeth Smile shared a magical tryst with her roommate, Michelle Harlow. She had no idea the night would leave Elizabeth pining after her for the next ten years. Now Michelle is back with a strange offer: Will she pretend to be Michelle’s lesbian lover to beat Michelle’s cheating husband?
Of course, it’s a terrible idea. And it would mean leaving the New York nightlife behind and spending Christmas with Michelle’s family in Ohio – an overly accepting father, a pill-popping brother, and a suspicious sister who seems to have her own agenda with Elizabeth. Worst of all, it’ll mean facing up to some old feelings she’d rather not revisit. But, really, she can handle all that. How hard can it be?
A twisty lesbian romance about getting more than we bargain for.
70,000 words
Themes: Christmas · college roommates · fake dating · lesbian romance
Of course, it’s a terrible idea. And it would mean leaving the New York nightlife behind and spending Christmas with Michelle’s family in Ohio – an overly accepting father, a pill-popping brother, and a suspicious sister who seems to have her own agenda with Elizabeth. Worst of all, it’ll mean facing up to some old feelings she’d rather not revisit. But, really, she can handle all that. How hard can it be?
A twisty lesbian romance about getting more than we bargain for.
70,000 words
Themes: Christmas · college roommates · fake dating · lesbian romance
198 pages, Paperback
Published February 7, 2018
25 people are currently reading
356 people want to read
About the author
Georgette Kaplan
17 books131 followersGeorgette Kaplan was born in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, to Eileen, a dancer, and Barry, a street merchant and lounge singer. She was a Diver on the British National Diving Team and finished twelfth in the World Championships in 1992. She has also been a fashion model, black market salesman and finally of course, actor. She received the audition for her debut role as Bacon in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) through French Connection, for whom she was modeling. They became a major investor in the film and introduced her to Guy Ritchie, who invited her to audition for a part in the film by challenging her to impersonate an illegal street vendor and convince him to purchase fake jewelry.
Wait a minute, that's Jason Statham. Shit! Is there any more room?
Okay, I'm a writer, I've published a few books, I'm looking for an artist to go halfsies with me on a webcomic and an agent because, let's be honest, that paragraph up there is my idea of marketing myself, so I may need some help with that. Otherwise, what do you need to know about me? It's not like I'm running for President.
Wait a minute, that's Jason Statham. Shit! Is there any more room?
Okay, I'm a writer, I've published a few books, I'm looking for an artist to go halfsies with me on a webcomic and an agent because, let's be honest, that paragraph up there is my idea of marketing myself, so I may need some help with that. Otherwise, what do you need to know about me? It's not like I'm running for President.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
February 7, 2018
'Ylva-Publishing ARC provided in exchange for an unbiased review'
1.5stars!
A provocatively trying book. The premise of this whole story was nonsensical and so cliche because it had that fanfiction vibe with lots of salacious language,smutty writing then to top it off the author goes through the trouble by having one of the leading ladies who is a lesbian-where she tries to make the other lead who is straight fall in love with her by having 'lesbian' sex. urgh! Think about this,I had to literally start listening to 'Nasty' by Janet Jackson because the lyrics and the song was way more enticing and was making more sense than all the lewd dialogue,mix-up sentences and words that were written in this book which i assume the author tried her best to be of favored to many of her fans but as for me i ended up skipping pages of each chapter just to get through to the ending,now let that sink in for a minute.
1.5stars!
A provocatively trying book. The premise of this whole story was nonsensical and so cliche because it had that fanfiction vibe with lots of salacious language,smutty writing then to top it off the author goes through the trouble by having one of the leading ladies who is a lesbian-where she tries to make the other lead who is straight fall in love with her by having 'lesbian' sex. urgh! Think about this,I had to literally start listening to 'Nasty' by Janet Jackson because the lyrics and the song was way more enticing and was making more sense than all the lewd dialogue,mix-up sentences and words that were written in this book which i assume the author tried her best to be of favored to many of her fans but as for me i ended up skipping pages of each chapter just to get through to the ending,now let that sink in for a minute.
February 17, 2018
3.5 Stars. The reviews seem to be all over for this book, so I went into reading it with cautious expectations. It is probably why I liked it more than I expected. I really enjoyed Kaplan’s first two books, especially Ex-Wives of Dracula. Was this as good as her first two books? No, but I expect most people who enjoyed those books will at least like this one.
This is the second book in the Scissor Link universe. Would you need to read book one first? I’m always a stickler for reading books in order, but you could get away with reading this book first. While there are similar characters that overlap, this story really does stand on its own. This is a comedy-romance, where the main theme is a fake relationship. I’m a fan of the fake relationship romance books. This one has a twist that we don’t see often. I’m leaving it at that as not to spoiler anything. I will say I saw the potential for the twist and was hoping for it. I’m quite happy how the main storyline turned out.
Comedy books are harder on me than any other category, which is a little weird, but true. I find I just don’t always find funny what other people seem to. With Kaplan, I seem to click with her type or humor. It’s more of that sort of sarcastic witty humor that I enjoy. I can see in some ways her writing would not appeal to everyone. The one-liners can come one after another almost giving the book a spastic feeling, but Kaplan is damn cleaver. There are plenty of her jokes that fall flat, but the ones that hit actually made me laugh out loud. And Kaplan even went a little slapstick with the whole Santa sleigh on fire, I felt like I was watching a scene from A Christmas Vacation. Just a warning, Kaplan does use a lot of Pop references. I never seem to get all of them in any of her books, but normally about 80-90%. I’m 35, and I feel like I am just on the outer edge of the age range to still get most of them.
While I did enjoy most of the book, I have two complaints. To prove their relationship is real, Elizabeth and Michelle go to her family’s house for an extended holiday. The problem for me is the word extended. A week’s visit felt like a year with this family. There were some funny scenes and some good scenes; it was just too damn long. My other complaint was the romance. With all the family around, not enough time for the two mains to be alone with each other. So when the L word started to come up, I didn’t believe it as much as I wanted to. I really liked the two characters as a couple, they just needed more alone time together.
With the reviews all over the place for this book already, I know this is not one I can recommend to everyone. If you have read one of Kaplan’s books before, you know what to expect and will probably enjoy this. If you are new to Kaplan, you can try this book out or maybe start with Ex-Wives of Dracula which I liked more than this.
An ARC was given to me by YLVA, for a honest review.
This is the second book in the Scissor Link universe. Would you need to read book one first? I’m always a stickler for reading books in order, but you could get away with reading this book first. While there are similar characters that overlap, this story really does stand on its own. This is a comedy-romance, where the main theme is a fake relationship. I’m a fan of the fake relationship romance books. This one has a twist that we don’t see often. I’m leaving it at that as not to spoiler anything. I will say I saw the potential for the twist and was hoping for it. I’m quite happy how the main storyline turned out.
Comedy books are harder on me than any other category, which is a little weird, but true. I find I just don’t always find funny what other people seem to. With Kaplan, I seem to click with her type or humor. It’s more of that sort of sarcastic witty humor that I enjoy. I can see in some ways her writing would not appeal to everyone. The one-liners can come one after another almost giving the book a spastic feeling, but Kaplan is damn cleaver. There are plenty of her jokes that fall flat, but the ones that hit actually made me laugh out loud. And Kaplan even went a little slapstick with the whole Santa sleigh on fire, I felt like I was watching a scene from A Christmas Vacation. Just a warning, Kaplan does use a lot of Pop references. I never seem to get all of them in any of her books, but normally about 80-90%. I’m 35, and I feel like I am just on the outer edge of the age range to still get most of them.
While I did enjoy most of the book, I have two complaints. To prove their relationship is real, Elizabeth and Michelle go to her family’s house for an extended holiday. The problem for me is the word extended. A week’s visit felt like a year with this family. There were some funny scenes and some good scenes; it was just too damn long. My other complaint was the romance. With all the family around, not enough time for the two mains to be alone with each other. So when the L word started to come up, I didn’t believe it as much as I wanted to. I really liked the two characters as a couple, they just needed more alone time together.
With the reviews all over the place for this book already, I know this is not one I can recommend to everyone. If you have read one of Kaplan’s books before, you know what to expect and will probably enjoy this. If you are new to Kaplan, you can try this book out or maybe start with Ex-Wives of Dracula which I liked more than this.
An ARC was given to me by YLVA, for a honest review.
August 12, 2019
*I was given a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair review
Note: I dropped my rating from five to a four after thinking about my lack of enjoyment of the middle of the book (visit to Michelle's family). Sometimes I am overly enthusiastic finishing a story which actually contains intelligent dialogue and inner thoughts.
I knew a girl once for whom I would have done anything. When I was with her I never knew I could be so happy. Then it ended like it was nothing. I could easily empathize with the main character, Elizabeth, and to her holding on to this memory of a girl, Michelle and being overwhelmed ten years later when Michelle proposes a deal for them to be in a sham relationship. It wouldn't be about the money offered to take part in this chicanery but more a second chance.
I found this book to be very well written with a lot of cleverness in dialogue and thought. For a while it seemed every sentence had been gone over and polished - quick, imaginative sentences which almost slowed me down as I wanted to copy them and save them as exmples of writing. Perhps I am the correct age to have understood all of the cultural references with Elizabeth and her friends or this is the limit of my own cleverness. The story proceeds to the meeting of the bogus couple with Michelle's family. Here the story falters as there are too many bizarre characters, tangents, and the week's visit feels like a month. To say more about this visit would invite spoilers so... enough said.
I would gladly recommend this story and look forward to other reviews and comments.
Note: I dropped my rating from five to a four after thinking about my lack of enjoyment of the middle of the book (visit to Michelle's family). Sometimes I am overly enthusiastic finishing a story which actually contains intelligent dialogue and inner thoughts.
I knew a girl once for whom I would have done anything. When I was with her I never knew I could be so happy. Then it ended like it was nothing. I could easily empathize with the main character, Elizabeth, and to her holding on to this memory of a girl, Michelle and being overwhelmed ten years later when Michelle proposes a deal for them to be in a sham relationship. It wouldn't be about the money offered to take part in this chicanery but more a second chance.
I found this book to be very well written with a lot of cleverness in dialogue and thought. For a while it seemed every sentence had been gone over and polished - quick, imaginative sentences which almost slowed me down as I wanted to copy them and save them as exmples of writing. Perhps I am the correct age to have understood all of the cultural references with Elizabeth and her friends or this is the limit of my own cleverness. The story proceeds to the meeting of the bogus couple with Michelle's family. Here the story falters as there are too many bizarre characters, tangents, and the week's visit feels like a month. To say more about this visit would invite spoilers so... enough said.
I would gladly recommend this story and look forward to other reviews and comments.
March 2, 2018
"Face It" felt rougher around the edges than Kaplan's two previous books, "Ex-Wives of Dracula" and "Scissor Link" but I still found the read entertaining.
The story is not really a heart-warming romance so much as it's a comedy that happens to bring two people together into a romantic relationship by the end. If you're looking for a sweet, emotional, warm fuzzy type book this is not the read for you. If you're in the mood for endless snark and some good laughs with a romantic twist then cozy up and keep your drinks to a minimum. It's highly probably you'll inadvertently choke or spray your e-reader (or paperback, if your old school).
Elizabeth, the admin assistant from Scissor Link, is the lead in this novel and we see events from her point of view. She's a likable but standoffish character that doesn't want to get close to anyone. As a result, I liked her but felt some distance, too.
Michelle, her counterpart in the fake relationship, isn't likable in the least and we spend most of the book wondering what Elizabeth sees in her.
Luckily, we don't have to spend too much time with Michelle as the majority of the book takes place with Michelle's rather quirky and large immediate family over a week's time before Christmas. I've seen some criticisms that the week felt too long but I actually thought it was fine.
The tone of book has a very "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" vibe.
I noticed that every single character in the book is snarky, except maybe the dad. Kaplan did manage to make each individual unique but the dialogue and references are rapid fire between all of the characters so I felt a certain heightened, on my toes, kind of feel for the entire read. Its style takes away from the realism of the book and lands it more in the realm of slapstick.
I will say that very few books actually get me to laugh out loud and this one managed to do so numerous times. For that, I give it mad props.
Kaplan also pushed the envelope, making very non-PC jokes about race, sexuality, and gender. Not in an offensive way but more with a Stephen Colbert "Ooooh, that's a bit uncomfortable" type of flavor.
In addition to Elizabeth being pansexual, which we don't often get in a lead, other members of the cast included a brother with mental illness and another with Autism. I like seeing that type of diversity.
Definitely enjoyable but not perfect. Overall, I'd put this in the high 3 stars.
******
Too many great lines in the book to highlight but I managed to snag these:
“Well, I think representation is important.” Michelle squinted. “And anything that increases representation can’t be all bad.”
“You haven’t watched many lesbian movies, have you?” Elizabeth asked.
"...What’s a pansexual anyway?”
“It means I’m attracted to all genders.”
“Oh, all right. So what’s the difference between a pansexual and a bisexual?”
“About ten hours of arguing on the Internet.”
Years of secretarial work had taught Elizabeth that sometimes it was best to play peacemaker; you could always stab someone in your imagination.
“I’ll come with,” Anne said, popping up like a kernel of popcorn that had decided to explode long seconds after the microwave timer had reached zero. “I have some stuff I need to pick up.”
Anne smiled back at her with such an impressive ‘and-the-horse-you-rode-in-on’ politeness that Elizabeth felt like she was getting roasted by the entire state of Minnesota.
“Nah, I wanna touch base with Ginger, too. She’s a cashier over there. Her sister down in Delaware just had twins, so I want to give her a hug in person, get her to pass that on to the new munchkins for me.”
Holy shit. Elizabeth hadn’t been sure anyone she wasn’t related to was capable of that level of bullshit on the fly.
“That’s nice of you,” Barry said, with the cheerful obliviousness any father developed when his daughter hit her teens. “You don’t mind, do you, Elizabeth? A long car ride like that goes down easier with a little company.”
“Or a radio,” Elizabeth muttered.
“You know any of the radio stations in Ohio?” Anne asked, buckling her seatbelt.
Elizabeth pushed the start button with her middle finger. It was a little satisfying.
Anne thudded on the radio and spun the dial until it landed on 93.7. It was playing some decent music, so Elizabeth let it slide, but Christ, did some people have a way of finding new nerves to be the last nerve they could get on.
“...You’re an only child, right?”
“Hopefully. Would you put my phone back?”
“Care to get some training in?” Shane asked her. “Hardcore workout I’m putting my baby bro through. Not everyone can keep up.”
“Nah, I get my exercise from running away from my problems,” Elizabeth said, and brought the newspaper inside.
...and finally were seated in an ungodly amalgamation of booth and table. Elizabeth pictured a Chuck E. Cheese birthday party for gay kids. But then, who would the mascot be, Richard Gere’s gerbil?
She laughed to herself and thought how ashamed she should be for thinking that.
The waiter came by, reminding Elizabeth once again that while she was attracted to men, she still didn’t get the appeal of twinks. She’d always held that the less a prospective lover reminded you of Justin Bieber, the better. But he took their orders professionally, with none of the sadism Elizabeth would take in seeing the middle-class Irish order things that made a Sex on the Beach look subtle and skimpy on innuendo. The waiter took off, and they were all left reconsidering their open-mindedness.
“I thought there’d be more leather,” Shane said.
“You’re thinking of an S&M club,” Elizabeth said. She kept her voice only slightly chiding. “Gay equals liberal equals vegan. Not a lot of leather.”
“Everything’s either still going or coming back,” Shane said. “You know they just did a CHiPS movie? What’s the audience for that, people who fuck to TV Land?”
The story is not really a heart-warming romance so much as it's a comedy that happens to bring two people together into a romantic relationship by the end. If you're looking for a sweet, emotional, warm fuzzy type book this is not the read for you. If you're in the mood for endless snark and some good laughs with a romantic twist then cozy up and keep your drinks to a minimum. It's highly probably you'll inadvertently choke or spray your e-reader (or paperback, if your old school).
Elizabeth, the admin assistant from Scissor Link, is the lead in this novel and we see events from her point of view. She's a likable but standoffish character that doesn't want to get close to anyone. As a result, I liked her but felt some distance, too.
Michelle, her counterpart in the fake relationship, isn't likable in the least and we spend most of the book wondering what Elizabeth sees in her.
Luckily, we don't have to spend too much time with Michelle as the majority of the book takes place with Michelle's rather quirky and large immediate family over a week's time before Christmas. I've seen some criticisms that the week felt too long but I actually thought it was fine.
The tone of book has a very "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" vibe.
I noticed that every single character in the book is snarky, except maybe the dad. Kaplan did manage to make each individual unique but the dialogue and references are rapid fire between all of the characters so I felt a certain heightened, on my toes, kind of feel for the entire read. Its style takes away from the realism of the book and lands it more in the realm of slapstick.
I will say that very few books actually get me to laugh out loud and this one managed to do so numerous times. For that, I give it mad props.
Kaplan also pushed the envelope, making very non-PC jokes about race, sexuality, and gender. Not in an offensive way but more with a Stephen Colbert "Ooooh, that's a bit uncomfortable" type of flavor.
In addition to Elizabeth being pansexual, which we don't often get in a lead, other members of the cast included a brother with mental illness and another with Autism. I like seeing that type of diversity.
Definitely enjoyable but not perfect. Overall, I'd put this in the high 3 stars.
******
Too many great lines in the book to highlight but I managed to snag these:
“Well, I think representation is important.” Michelle squinted. “And anything that increases representation can’t be all bad.”
“You haven’t watched many lesbian movies, have you?” Elizabeth asked.
"...What’s a pansexual anyway?”
“It means I’m attracted to all genders.”
“Oh, all right. So what’s the difference between a pansexual and a bisexual?”
“About ten hours of arguing on the Internet.”
Years of secretarial work had taught Elizabeth that sometimes it was best to play peacemaker; you could always stab someone in your imagination.
“I’ll come with,” Anne said, popping up like a kernel of popcorn that had decided to explode long seconds after the microwave timer had reached zero. “I have some stuff I need to pick up.”
Anne smiled back at her with such an impressive ‘and-the-horse-you-rode-in-on’ politeness that Elizabeth felt like she was getting roasted by the entire state of Minnesota.
“Nah, I wanna touch base with Ginger, too. She’s a cashier over there. Her sister down in Delaware just had twins, so I want to give her a hug in person, get her to pass that on to the new munchkins for me.”
Holy shit. Elizabeth hadn’t been sure anyone she wasn’t related to was capable of that level of bullshit on the fly.
“That’s nice of you,” Barry said, with the cheerful obliviousness any father developed when his daughter hit her teens. “You don’t mind, do you, Elizabeth? A long car ride like that goes down easier with a little company.”
“Or a radio,” Elizabeth muttered.
“You know any of the radio stations in Ohio?” Anne asked, buckling her seatbelt.
Elizabeth pushed the start button with her middle finger. It was a little satisfying.
Anne thudded on the radio and spun the dial until it landed on 93.7. It was playing some decent music, so Elizabeth let it slide, but Christ, did some people have a way of finding new nerves to be the last nerve they could get on.
“...You’re an only child, right?”
“Hopefully. Would you put my phone back?”
“Care to get some training in?” Shane asked her. “Hardcore workout I’m putting my baby bro through. Not everyone can keep up.”
“Nah, I get my exercise from running away from my problems,” Elizabeth said, and brought the newspaper inside.
...and finally were seated in an ungodly amalgamation of booth and table. Elizabeth pictured a Chuck E. Cheese birthday party for gay kids. But then, who would the mascot be, Richard Gere’s gerbil?
She laughed to herself and thought how ashamed she should be for thinking that.
The waiter came by, reminding Elizabeth once again that while she was attracted to men, she still didn’t get the appeal of twinks. She’d always held that the less a prospective lover reminded you of Justin Bieber, the better. But he took their orders professionally, with none of the sadism Elizabeth would take in seeing the middle-class Irish order things that made a Sex on the Beach look subtle and skimpy on innuendo. The waiter took off, and they were all left reconsidering their open-mindedness.
“I thought there’d be more leather,” Shane said.
“You’re thinking of an S&M club,” Elizabeth said. She kept her voice only slightly chiding. “Gay equals liberal equals vegan. Not a lot of leather.”
“Everything’s either still going or coming back,” Shane said. “You know they just did a CHiPS movie? What’s the audience for that, people who fuck to TV Land?”
February 9, 2018
Georgette Kaplan has such a unique way of telling a story. I love it! Her characters are dynamic, witty and absolutely zany. She writes at a fast-paced that takes a bit to settle into but once you do, time just whizzes right by.
Elizabeth Smile is our main character from this one. If you can remember back to Kaplan's second book, Scissor Link, Elizabeth was Janet Lace's administrative assistant. The book starts off with a flashback to college when she had a hook-up with her roommate Michelle Harlow. Michelle had Elizabeth's heart and didn't even know it. That short fling has been one of the catalysts for Elizabeth never settling down and staying far away from a commitment longer than an evening or two.
So of course, Michelle comes back into her life almost a decade later. Why, well she needs Elizabeth to pretend to be her girlfriend as she is going through a messy divorce. Husband had a threesome and now she wants him to get none of their millions. EEK! Nothing good can come of this idiotic plot and it doesn't help that Michelle is kind of a douche bag. I'm not kidding I was actually terrified that this was a love story between Elizabeth and Michelle because I wanted to scream, hell no, run away, Liz, run far, far away. Spoiler alert:
My final thoughts are this. Kaplan writes zany, humor-filled books. Her characters have that biting, sarcastic humor that I adore but I know many folks that do not. There is a lot going on with this book. The supporting characters and their issues can be somewhat distracting. If you overlook that one issue and can just focus on Elizabeth and Anne, the book is so much fun. A true breath of fresh air. I really, really liked it. I think you will see reviews for this one all over the place. My advice is this, if you liked Kaplan's other works you will most likely like this one too. This is not a serious book at all! It's self-deprecating, zany, full of witty a*hole comments and just a bit twisty. So I totally liked it!
Elizabeth Smile is our main character from this one. If you can remember back to Kaplan's second book, Scissor Link, Elizabeth was Janet Lace's administrative assistant. The book starts off with a flashback to college when she had a hook-up with her roommate Michelle Harlow. Michelle had Elizabeth's heart and didn't even know it. That short fling has been one of the catalysts for Elizabeth never settling down and staying far away from a commitment longer than an evening or two.
So of course, Michelle comes back into her life almost a decade later. Why, well she needs Elizabeth to pretend to be her girlfriend as she is going through a messy divorce. Husband had a threesome and now she wants him to get none of their millions. EEK! Nothing good can come of this idiotic plot and it doesn't help that Michelle is kind of a douche bag. I'm not kidding I was actually terrified that this was a love story between Elizabeth and Michelle because I wanted to scream, hell no, run away, Liz, run far, far away. Spoiler alert:
My final thoughts are this. Kaplan writes zany, humor-filled books. Her characters have that biting, sarcastic humor that I adore but I know many folks that do not. There is a lot going on with this book. The supporting characters and their issues can be somewhat distracting. If you overlook that one issue and can just focus on Elizabeth and Anne, the book is so much fun. A true breath of fresh air. I really, really liked it. I think you will see reviews for this one all over the place. My advice is this, if you liked Kaplan's other works you will most likely like this one too. This is not a serious book at all! It's self-deprecating, zany, full of witty a*hole comments and just a bit twisty. So I totally liked it!
March 1, 2018
I guess it’s no secret I love Georgette Kaplan. I love her special brand of biting humor. I love how she tells her story. I love her banter. I am in awe of her knowledge of pop-culture (I already was in her fanfic days when she tirelessly produced chapter after chapter in a dizzying array of fandoms). I was reading this one with book club buddie D. as we also enjoyed the first Scissor Link together (D. also knows Kaplan from her fanfic days and is just as me, a big fan).
Maybe I should have re-read Scissor Link #1 first because to be honest, I don’t remember Janet Lace’s administrative assistant Elizabeth Smile at all (where is that photographic memory when you need it).
Fake girlfriend is my favorite trope and this was one with a little twist. I understand why some people think the time spent with the Harlow family in Ohio was too long but I think it was the only way to make believable what Kaplan has planned for these characters. We really need that time.
As per the usual, I needed a little mind adjustment halfway down the story but Kaplan left plenty of hints along the way that it didn’t come as a complete shock.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself with Face It. Maybe not as much titillation as Scissor Link, but then that was a different kind of romance. I also would have liked some more private time for the girls to be together .
f/f explicit
Themes: Holidays with the Harlows, those asshole McQuarries, Anne’s t-shirts are a hoot, OMG that scene on the roof when Santa’s sleigh catches fire, lesbians in Ohio love Willie Nelson, Barry Harlow is a treasure.
4 stars
Maybe I should have re-read Scissor Link #1 first because to be honest, I don’t remember Janet Lace’s administrative assistant Elizabeth Smile at all (where is that photographic memory when you need it).
Fake girlfriend is my favorite trope and this was one with a little twist. I understand why some people think the time spent with the Harlow family in Ohio was too long but I think it was the only way to make believable what Kaplan has planned for these characters. We really need that time.
As per the usual, I needed a little mind adjustment halfway down the story but Kaplan left plenty of hints along the way that it didn’t come as a complete shock.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself with Face It. Maybe not as much titillation as Scissor Link, but then that was a different kind of romance. I also would have liked some more private time for the girls to be together .
f/f explicit
Themes: Holidays with the Harlows, those asshole McQuarries, Anne’s t-shirts are a hoot, OMG that scene on the roof when Santa’s sleigh catches fire, lesbians in Ohio love Willie Nelson, Barry Harlow is a treasure.
4 stars
April 7, 2018
I had high hopes for this book but as is so often the case with that kind of expectation, I was disappointed. Elizabeth had a crush on her straight college roommate Michelle and one night they actually get it together at a drunken Michelle’s prompting. Ten years later Liz gets a call from Michelle saying she’s in New York and would love to see her. After a day of reliving some old memories Michelle cuts to the chase. She’s getting a divorce and would like Liz to pretend to be her girlfriend in order to prevent her husband from getting half of their assets. In order to be convincing Liz would need to go to Michelle’s family home in Ohio for the sister’s birthday and Christmas.
So, while Liz is supposedly still holding a torch for Michelle I found I wasn’t convinced of it. Liz seems to like her hook-ups and is determined not to get into a relationship so agreeing to be Michelle’s beard for money seemed off. They didn’t seem to have any meaningful connection with each other and for the plot line to work I needed to believe that Liz liked Michelle and that Michelle was at least pretending to like Liz in turn.
Enter the rest of Michelle’s family: the father, Barry; the two brothers, Shane and Grady; and the two sisters, Patsy and Anne. I found this to be a jumble of voices never giving me a clear idea of the personalities until way passed 70% of the novel. There is loads of flippant, supercilious and shallow dialogue filling page after page and while there were some really witty and funny comments, they got lost in the inanity. In the last 30% the characters personalities started unfolding and I really could have liked some of them if they had been given clearer voices earlier.
I didn’t recognize Janet and Wendy from Scissor Link because they come across as weird caricatures of their former selves. I liked Scissor Link immensely but I didn’t really enjoy this novel and I can’t bring myself to give it any more than two and a half stars.
Book received from Ylva Publishing for an honest review.
So, while Liz is supposedly still holding a torch for Michelle I found I wasn’t convinced of it. Liz seems to like her hook-ups and is determined not to get into a relationship so agreeing to be Michelle’s beard for money seemed off. They didn’t seem to have any meaningful connection with each other and for the plot line to work I needed to believe that Liz liked Michelle and that Michelle was at least pretending to like Liz in turn.
Enter the rest of Michelle’s family: the father, Barry; the two brothers, Shane and Grady; and the two sisters, Patsy and Anne. I found this to be a jumble of voices never giving me a clear idea of the personalities until way passed 70% of the novel. There is loads of flippant, supercilious and shallow dialogue filling page after page and while there were some really witty and funny comments, they got lost in the inanity. In the last 30% the characters personalities started unfolding and I really could have liked some of them if they had been given clearer voices earlier.
I didn’t recognize Janet and Wendy from Scissor Link because they come across as weird caricatures of their former selves. I liked Scissor Link immensely but I didn’t really enjoy this novel and I can’t bring myself to give it any more than two and a half stars.
Book received from Ylva Publishing for an honest review.
February 15, 2018
Hmmmm. What I like about this book is that It made me laugh and what I like about Anne and Elizabeth well, they compliment each other.
Their banters are really hilarious.
But I felt like they lack connection maybe because they really didn’t have have more private moments together.
Epilogue is the only thing that you can really feel that they’re together.
If you’re looking for humor and not much of romance I think you will like this one.
3.5
Their banters are really hilarious.
But I felt like they lack connection maybe because they really didn’t have have more private moments together.
Epilogue is the only thing that you can really feel that they’re together.
If you’re looking for humor and not much of romance I think you will like this one.
3.5
Read
February 8, 2018When I like a certain author, but did not like one of their books, I tend to shy away and not leave a rating when marking it as complete unless I absolutely hated it and thought it was utter garbage. Not leaving a rating, to me, is a reminder-to-self that I just didn't care for that particular book, even though I generally appreciate the author. That said, I don't know if I'm going to come back at some point and leave a rating for this book. I just know that I'm not leaving a rating right now.
The the main issue I found almost immediately was not liking one of the main characters...at all. I found absolutely no redeeming qualities in her and was not sure why our other MC liked her, even just a little bit. I'm not going to get into details of 'why' further because I don't want to put any spoilers here, but when one of the driving characters is this unlikeable, it's difficult to read so many pages devoted to their relationship with an actual likable MC.
There is a lot of humor in this book, as with all GK books. She's a witty (and sometimes goofy) writer and I literally laughed out loud several times while reading Ex-Wives of Dracula and Scissor Link. The humor in each was charming and actually funny. This book tried to have an element of humor to it, but I think tried way too hard. Every paragraph seemed to (want to) have a punchline, which is completely unnecessary and really needed to be balanced out more. The attempt for a laugh on every page distracted from the humor that was actually deserving of a laugh.
I read Scissor Link again in preparation for this release. The re-read made me more excited to get my hands on 'Face It', which is why I bought it the day it was released. This book can be read as a standalone and I almost want to say that it should be considered one because I'm not sure who the Janet and Wendy in this book are, but they're not the Janet and Wendy from Scissor Link.
Lastly, I didn't believe the 'I love you's that finally did come further towards the end of this book. I didn't buy the emotional chemistry. Physical chemistry? Maybe a little, but I didn't see any build up to love. At the beginning, it was rather obvious who was going to end up together, so I kept trying to find ways to link them together so I could be happy with their eventual HEA, but I just couldn't hold on to my suspension of disbelief.
There are no sexy-times, which I'm not ashamed to say I prefer to be included in my lesfic. I was actually fine with this because I didn't believe any of the relationships anyway, so any intimacy would have felt gratuitous.
All in all, I didn't really enjoy this book, but I will definitely read any future releases from Georgette Kaplan as she caught my attention with her two other, much more enjoyable, reads. We all have bad days, so I'm gonna write this one off as a bad day.
The the main issue I found almost immediately was not liking one of the main characters...at all. I found absolutely no redeeming qualities in her and was not sure why our other MC liked her, even just a little bit. I'm not going to get into details of 'why' further because I don't want to put any spoilers here, but when one of the driving characters is this unlikeable, it's difficult to read so many pages devoted to their relationship with an actual likable MC.
There is a lot of humor in this book, as with all GK books. She's a witty (and sometimes goofy) writer and I literally laughed out loud several times while reading Ex-Wives of Dracula and Scissor Link. The humor in each was charming and actually funny. This book tried to have an element of humor to it, but I think tried way too hard. Every paragraph seemed to (want to) have a punchline, which is completely unnecessary and really needed to be balanced out more. The attempt for a laugh on every page distracted from the humor that was actually deserving of a laugh.
I read Scissor Link again in preparation for this release. The re-read made me more excited to get my hands on 'Face It', which is why I bought it the day it was released. This book can be read as a standalone and I almost want to say that it should be considered one because I'm not sure who the Janet and Wendy in this book are, but they're not the Janet and Wendy from Scissor Link.
Lastly, I didn't believe the 'I love you's that finally did come further towards the end of this book. I didn't buy the emotional chemistry. Physical chemistry? Maybe a little, but I didn't see any build up to love. At the beginning, it was rather obvious who was going to end up together, so I kept trying to find ways to link them together so I could be happy with their eventual HEA, but I just couldn't hold on to my suspension of disbelief.
There are no sexy-times, which I'm not ashamed to say I prefer to be included in my lesfic. I was actually fine with this because I didn't believe any of the relationships anyway, so any intimacy would have felt gratuitous.
All in all, I didn't really enjoy this book, but I will definitely read any future releases from Georgette Kaplan as she caught my attention with her two other, much more enjoyable, reads. We all have bad days, so I'm gonna write this one off as a bad day.
February 15, 2018
This is the second book of the 'Scissor link' series that I recommend to read chronologically as this book reveals a couple of spoilers from the first book.
Elizabeth Smile is contacted by Michelle Harlow, an old college fling, to pose as her girlfriend to beat her cheating husband. For Elizabeth, it's good money and an opportunity to help her old friend, provided she can ignore her feelings towards Michelle and an awkward week with her fake girlfriend's family. Will they succeed in their deception? Will it change their relationship?
There's been a number of fake relationships books in lesfic lately with diverse success. It's hard for me to rate this book as it has its good and not so good parts. I liked that it's got some twists and unexpected situations and it's generally well written. Most of the plot describes the time Elizabeth spends with Michelle and her family during the Christmas holidays. Each member of the family (dog included) has a distinctive personality and quirks which made them easy to recognise in a relatively short novel. However, the dialogues and their banter sounded artificial, as if the author was trying too much to be witty. There are also a lot of references to popular culture (actors, books, films, music, TV shows, etc.) which are a bit excessive even for a well informed person. So much so that in a decade's time this book will probably be outdated. There are also long parts of the book dedicated to phylosophical discussions between the characters around a number of subjects such as racism, environment, feminism and religion, among others. While some discussions were interesting, I kept wondering if this is the type of book to dwell on them as the plot loses focus on the romance. Consequently, the end seems a bit rushed and the 'I love you' moments too fast.
Overall, an ok read if you don't mind a few philosophical discussions and multiple references to popular culture. 3 stars.
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at
www.lezreviewbooks.wordpress.com
Elizabeth Smile is contacted by Michelle Harlow, an old college fling, to pose as her girlfriend to beat her cheating husband. For Elizabeth, it's good money and an opportunity to help her old friend, provided she can ignore her feelings towards Michelle and an awkward week with her fake girlfriend's family. Will they succeed in their deception? Will it change their relationship?
There's been a number of fake relationships books in lesfic lately with diverse success. It's hard for me to rate this book as it has its good and not so good parts. I liked that it's got some twists and unexpected situations and it's generally well written. Most of the plot describes the time Elizabeth spends with Michelle and her family during the Christmas holidays. Each member of the family (dog included) has a distinctive personality and quirks which made them easy to recognise in a relatively short novel. However, the dialogues and their banter sounded artificial, as if the author was trying too much to be witty. There are also a lot of references to popular culture (actors, books, films, music, TV shows, etc.) which are a bit excessive even for a well informed person. So much so that in a decade's time this book will probably be outdated. There are also long parts of the book dedicated to phylosophical discussions between the characters around a number of subjects such as racism, environment, feminism and religion, among others. While some discussions were interesting, I kept wondering if this is the type of book to dwell on them as the plot loses focus on the romance. Consequently, the end seems a bit rushed and the 'I love you' moments too fast.
Overall, an ok read if you don't mind a few philosophical discussions and multiple references to popular culture. 3 stars.
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at
www.lezreviewbooks.wordpress.com
February 11, 2018
Well that's a couple hours of my life i'll never get back.
As soon as I hit somewhere around the 20% mark I already knew this book would be a DNF or I would skim a lot of it. That's exactly what happened as I ended up skimming about 75% of this. This book is one pop culture reference after another which gets incredibly tiresome after a while.
Elizabeth's whole story line just gets swallowed up by nonsensical ramblings about TV shows and a ridiculous family feud. I mean how are you supposed to sell a story between 2 characters when they never seem to have any time alone because the entire Harlow clan including the dog is always in the mix?
The only reason this barely gets 2 stars instead of 1 is because there were some laugh out loud moments. If you're looking for romance, great dialogue or some hot and steamy scenes keep looking this is not the book for you!
As soon as I hit somewhere around the 20% mark I already knew this book would be a DNF or I would skim a lot of it. That's exactly what happened as I ended up skimming about 75% of this. This book is one pop culture reference after another which gets incredibly tiresome after a while.
Elizabeth's whole story line just gets swallowed up by nonsensical ramblings about TV shows and a ridiculous family feud. I mean how are you supposed to sell a story between 2 characters when they never seem to have any time alone because the entire Harlow clan including the dog is always in the mix?
The only reason this barely gets 2 stars instead of 1 is because there were some laugh out loud moments. If you're looking for romance, great dialogue or some hot and steamy scenes keep looking this is not the book for you!
February 28, 2018
This is the second book in the Scissor Link Series. This book made me love Scissor Link even more and I rerated the book after a reread to 4 stars.
When the love of Elizabeth’s life, Michelle walks back into it and asks for a massive favour Elizabeth decides to help her out hoping against hope she can protect her heart. But when they arrive back at Michelle hometown and hang with her family especially all bets are off…
I really enjoyed this book but what really got me was the gigantic twist in the second half of the book, which I was totally not expecting. It completely changed my mind about the whole plot of the book. Elizabeth’s character evolves more from her role in Scissor Link and I think already knowing her from the first book really made me like her even more. I enjoyed that Wendy and Janet (main protagonist from Scissor Link) still play a role in this book and I love when authors continue on characters onto new book, just gives so much more depth.
I did feel there were too many secondary characters and at some points it got a little confusing when it came to the parts with Michelle’s family. That being said I can get why Kaplan did it when the big twist happens later on in the book.
Great book and I’m hoping there will be a book 3 in the Scissor Link Series.
4 stars
When the love of Elizabeth’s life, Michelle walks back into it and asks for a massive favour Elizabeth decides to help her out hoping against hope she can protect her heart. But when they arrive back at Michelle hometown and hang with her family especially all bets are off…
I really enjoyed this book but what really got me was the gigantic twist in the second half of the book, which I was totally not expecting. It completely changed my mind about the whole plot of the book. Elizabeth’s character evolves more from her role in Scissor Link and I think already knowing her from the first book really made me like her even more. I enjoyed that Wendy and Janet (main protagonist from Scissor Link) still play a role in this book and I love when authors continue on characters onto new book, just gives so much more depth.
I did feel there were too many secondary characters and at some points it got a little confusing when it came to the parts with Michelle’s family. That being said I can get why Kaplan did it when the big twist happens later on in the book.
Great book and I’m hoping there will be a book 3 in the Scissor Link Series.
4 stars
February 10, 2018
Face It is the second book in the Scissor Link series and I’m not a big fan of this one too.
This story is about Elizabeth and her first love Michelle. After the one night they shared, Liz could never forget her. And now, after ten years with no contact, one day Michelle wants to see her. I didn’t liked the reason for Michelle’s offer. But for Liz, it was the chance to convince Michelle, that she is the right person for her. I could understand, that she needed to finally find her love rewarded or to have closure.
For the main characters, I liked Elizabeth, I felt for her but I didn’t liked Michelle, she wasn’t convincing. And from the time they visited her family, she nearly wasn’t existing in the story anymore.
During this stay in the home of Michelle’s family, with all her siblings and her father, there was so much talking about things I wasn’t interested. And this part of the book was more than half of the whole story. For me, alll this references to the pop culture and fashion labels was annoying and boring, but that’s maybe because I’m not from the US (I didn’t know all these names) and I’m not much interested in fashion.
The last 20% of the story was more my gusto. But unfortunately this part was very short and for that extremely rushed. Liz finally fells in love with a women who reciprocate her feelings. But after not much more than a kiss comes the “I love you”, for me, not convincing. There were some sparks between the two, but mostly physical. I couldn’t feel the emotions. I would have liked to know more about the new women and the build up of their romance.
My rating 3 stars.
Thanks to Ylva for receiving an ARC for a honest review.
This story is about Elizabeth and her first love Michelle. After the one night they shared, Liz could never forget her. And now, after ten years with no contact, one day Michelle wants to see her. I didn’t liked the reason for Michelle’s offer. But for Liz, it was the chance to convince Michelle, that she is the right person for her. I could understand, that she needed to finally find her love rewarded or to have closure.
For the main characters, I liked Elizabeth, I felt for her but I didn’t liked Michelle, she wasn’t convincing. And from the time they visited her family, she nearly wasn’t existing in the story anymore.
During this stay in the home of Michelle’s family, with all her siblings and her father, there was so much talking about things I wasn’t interested. And this part of the book was more than half of the whole story. For me, alll this references to the pop culture and fashion labels was annoying and boring, but that’s maybe because I’m not from the US (I didn’t know all these names) and I’m not much interested in fashion.
The last 20% of the story was more my gusto. But unfortunately this part was very short and for that extremely rushed. Liz finally fells in love with a women who reciprocate her feelings. But after not much more than a kiss comes the “I love you”, for me, not convincing. There were some sparks between the two, but mostly physical. I couldn’t feel the emotions. I would have liked to know more about the new women and the build up of their romance.
My rating 3 stars.
Thanks to Ylva for receiving an ARC for a honest review.
Read
October 8, 2019I tried.... I really did. But I just had to give up after reaching 2/3 of the book. Not feeling it and do not enjoy it at all. Only the cover and blurb looked and seemed promising. Alas.... I was wrong!
March 7, 2018
I can't seem to make up my mind about this book. By that I mean I am not sure if I enjoyed it. This is the second book in the scissor link series and I can't even say if you would benefit from book one.
I found myself skipping a few pages just to end it faster. I did laugh out loud at the supermarket scene.
Kaplan definitely does have a unique style. She writes at a fast pace that sometimes I feel I have to take a breathe for her. Comedy isn't an easy genre to write. She did a good job with the snarky comments and some .... lets say near the mark jokes. It is definitely worth a read. I gave it 3 stars. Enjoy!
*ARC provided by publisher via Ylva Publishing*
I found myself skipping a few pages just to end it faster. I did laugh out loud at the supermarket scene.
Kaplan definitely does have a unique style. She writes at a fast pace that sometimes I feel I have to take a breathe for her. Comedy isn't an easy genre to write. She did a good job with the snarky comments and some .... lets say near the mark jokes. It is definitely worth a read. I gave it 3 stars. Enjoy!
*ARC provided by publisher via Ylva Publishing*
March 24, 2022
2 stars
I didn't like it. There was probably nothing majorly wrong with it, I guess, but I didn't like it. Wanted to stop reading at 10%, powered through to 30 and then decided to stop torturing myself.
So wouldn't recommend
I didn't like it. There was probably nothing majorly wrong with it, I guess, but I didn't like it. Wanted to stop reading at 10%, powered through to 30 and then decided to stop torturing myself.
So wouldn't recommend
May 31, 2020
if you're looking for fake dating that turns into real dating, keep looking.
if you're looking for fake dating between two characters who never interact, with a large helping of queerphobia, racism, and misogyny, look no further!
content/trigger warnings; transphobia, misogyny, alcohol, sexual content, ableism, racism, bi/panphobia, lesbophobia, anti-native language, gendered slurs, slut shaming, fatphobia, lesbophobic slur, violence, mentions of death of mother, mentions of cancer, divorce,
rep; elizabeth (mc) is pansexual. anne (li) is a lesbian. wendy and janet (scs) are lesbians and dating. grady (sc) is autistic. shane (sc) has bipolar.
i hate this book. so much. it's awful. it's offensive. it's just...fucking garbage.
i'm too exhausted from reading this bullshit to form an actual review, so here's my thoughts i jotted down as i read. enjoy!
— michelle asks elizabeth if she used protection and elizabeth thinks "yes it's called fucking a woman" and uhhh just because you're a woman having sex with a woman, doesn't mean you don't need protection???? one) protection isn't just pregnancy prevention. two) even if it were, woman doesn't equal vagina, so two women could still need pregnancy prevention.
— "you're not like those girls" "neither are you" great so they're both like that
— elizabeth walks up to a girl at a club and says "just thought i'd let you know, we're having sex tonight" ew ew ew and when the girl laughs and says that's presumptuous, elizabeth compares it to someone laughing at a "black joke" but saying it's wrong. um.......
— "i was straight, then i was gay, now i'm pan" "so you're bisexual then?" "pretty much" uh fuck you. also, she said in the prologue she was gay?? then bi?? and then lesbian??? and now years later she's saying she was straight, gay, and now pan??? did the author get confused or something??
— a side character uses they/them pronouns for someone and literally says "they-singular" oh my god what the fuck they/them is not inherently plural until specified otherwise y'all are just fucking ignorant
— a queer woman helping straight woman pretend to be a lesbian is compared to a black man helping a white guy do blackface, and then it's said "well if the black guy helped doesn't that make it okay?" oh my god white queer people need to STOP
— elizabeth says michelle could be bi, and her gay friend says it's not the same, and when elizabeth questions what about a woman liking men makes her worse at liking women, one gay friend says there's nothing wrong with it, at the same time the other says "cooties" ....gotta love bi/panphobia.
— did michelle really shave her head to prove she's a lesbian?? what the fuck is this garbage
— "someone isn't much of a lesbian character if she isn't in a lesbian relationship." are you fucking kidding me? reducing queerness to relationships? while pulling that assigning sexuality to a relationship shit?
— "you haven't watched many lesbian movies, have you?" "wouldn't you know? what do you two watch on movie night?" because lesbians are only allowed to watch things with lesbians in them *eye roll*
— michelle's sister says "the sign just seems a bit much. common decency as bragging rights. whatever happened to humility?" about a black girl magic sign....um.....
— michelle's sister says elizabeth doesn't dress like a lesbian, who dress like men...i'm so fucking annoyed
— elizabeth correctly defines pansexual as attraction to all genders, but then says the difference between pan and bi is "about ten hours of arguing on the internet" and i get it, poking fun at the constant debate about the definitions and differences, but it's also dismissive as fuck to the people who are genuinely trying to educate people and correct misinformation. every person who talks about pan/bi is not some loser arguing on tumblr, and i'd fucking appreciate if authors cut the fucking shit with that narrative.
— then bi is defined as attraction to two genders, and then fucking horses and robots are brought up when elizabeth says she's attracted to people outside the gender binary. and continuously brought up whenever elizabeth's sexuality is mentioned. i'm fucking livid at this point
— michelle's brother brings home a black friend and his dad apologizes to him for slavery....i seriously can't
— michelle's sister shits on reboots that have changed the non-marginalized characters to marginalized characters...excuse fucking you some people actually would be more interested in something if the people in it look like them. you're not fucking superior.
— "i love selective breeding" fucking what
— michelle's sister says she knows they aren't really dating because she can tell that michelle doesn't want to fuck elizabeth and i'm so tired y'all. dating doesn't equal fucking. romance doesn't equal sex. attraction doesn't equal sex. y'all need to stop with this allosexual and sex-normative bullshit.
— probably the only decent moment is when the previously mentioned black friend calls out the racism in white drag shows
— elizabeth and michelle's sister destroy a christmas decoration set up by accident and it ends up with a string of light wrapped around the neck of black santa.....this author really does think racism is funny, huh?
— michelle says "she really is bi" and when elizabeth corrects her and says she's pan, michelle says "whatever", as if how somehow actually identifies doesn't fucking matter
— "my mom was bipolar. and not the cute kind either" i fucking hate this book
other notes; a character tells another to kill themselves. one character believes genders should be equal but isn't a feminist because some feminists say things like "men suck". the whole "you can't have nails and have sex with women" shit. music snobbery. so much fucking misogyny i couldn't deal. loaded with queerphobic stereotypes, stigma, and misinformation. also completely misleading with who the romance is actually between.
if you're looking for fake dating between two characters who never interact, with a large helping of queerphobia, racism, and misogyny, look no further!
content/trigger warnings; transphobia, misogyny, alcohol, sexual content, ableism, racism, bi/panphobia, lesbophobia, anti-native language, gendered slurs, slut shaming, fatphobia, lesbophobic slur, violence, mentions of death of mother, mentions of cancer, divorce,
rep; elizabeth (mc) is pansexual. anne (li) is a lesbian. wendy and janet (scs) are lesbians and dating. grady (sc) is autistic. shane (sc) has bipolar.
i hate this book. so much. it's awful. it's offensive. it's just...fucking garbage.
i'm too exhausted from reading this bullshit to form an actual review, so here's my thoughts i jotted down as i read. enjoy!
— michelle asks elizabeth if she used protection and elizabeth thinks "yes it's called fucking a woman" and uhhh just because you're a woman having sex with a woman, doesn't mean you don't need protection???? one) protection isn't just pregnancy prevention. two) even if it were, woman doesn't equal vagina, so two women could still need pregnancy prevention.
— "you're not like those girls" "neither are you" great so they're both like that
— elizabeth walks up to a girl at a club and says "just thought i'd let you know, we're having sex tonight" ew ew ew and when the girl laughs and says that's presumptuous, elizabeth compares it to someone laughing at a "black joke" but saying it's wrong. um.......
— "i was straight, then i was gay, now i'm pan" "so you're bisexual then?" "pretty much" uh fuck you. also, she said in the prologue she was gay?? then bi?? and then lesbian??? and now years later she's saying she was straight, gay, and now pan??? did the author get confused or something??
— a side character uses they/them pronouns for someone and literally says "they-singular" oh my god what the fuck they/them is not inherently plural until specified otherwise y'all are just fucking ignorant
— a queer woman helping straight woman pretend to be a lesbian is compared to a black man helping a white guy do blackface, and then it's said "well if the black guy helped doesn't that make it okay?" oh my god white queer people need to STOP
— elizabeth says michelle could be bi, and her gay friend says it's not the same, and when elizabeth questions what about a woman liking men makes her worse at liking women, one gay friend says there's nothing wrong with it, at the same time the other says "cooties" ....gotta love bi/panphobia.
— did michelle really shave her head to prove she's a lesbian?? what the fuck is this garbage
— "someone isn't much of a lesbian character if she isn't in a lesbian relationship." are you fucking kidding me? reducing queerness to relationships? while pulling that assigning sexuality to a relationship shit?
— "you haven't watched many lesbian movies, have you?" "wouldn't you know? what do you two watch on movie night?" because lesbians are only allowed to watch things with lesbians in them *eye roll*
— michelle's sister says "the sign just seems a bit much. common decency as bragging rights. whatever happened to humility?" about a black girl magic sign....um.....
— michelle's sister says elizabeth doesn't dress like a lesbian, who dress like men...i'm so fucking annoyed
— elizabeth correctly defines pansexual as attraction to all genders, but then says the difference between pan and bi is "about ten hours of arguing on the internet" and i get it, poking fun at the constant debate about the definitions and differences, but it's also dismissive as fuck to the people who are genuinely trying to educate people and correct misinformation. every person who talks about pan/bi is not some loser arguing on tumblr, and i'd fucking appreciate if authors cut the fucking shit with that narrative.
— then bi is defined as attraction to two genders, and then fucking horses and robots are brought up when elizabeth says she's attracted to people outside the gender binary. and continuously brought up whenever elizabeth's sexuality is mentioned. i'm fucking livid at this point
— michelle's brother brings home a black friend and his dad apologizes to him for slavery....i seriously can't
— michelle's sister shits on reboots that have changed the non-marginalized characters to marginalized characters...excuse fucking you some people actually would be more interested in something if the people in it look like them. you're not fucking superior.
— "i love selective breeding" fucking what
— michelle's sister says she knows they aren't really dating because she can tell that michelle doesn't want to fuck elizabeth and i'm so tired y'all. dating doesn't equal fucking. romance doesn't equal sex. attraction doesn't equal sex. y'all need to stop with this allosexual and sex-normative bullshit.
— probably the only decent moment is when the previously mentioned black friend calls out the racism in white drag shows
— elizabeth and michelle's sister destroy a christmas decoration set up by accident and it ends up with a string of light wrapped around the neck of black santa.....this author really does think racism is funny, huh?
— michelle says "she really is bi" and when elizabeth corrects her and says she's pan, michelle says "whatever", as if how somehow actually identifies doesn't fucking matter
— "my mom was bipolar. and not the cute kind either" i fucking hate this book
other notes; a character tells another to kill themselves. one character believes genders should be equal but isn't a feminist because some feminists say things like "men suck". the whole "you can't have nails and have sex with women" shit. music snobbery. so much fucking misogyny i couldn't deal. loaded with queerphobic stereotypes, stigma, and misinformation. also completely misleading with who the romance is actually between.
February 14, 2018
Not bad, but I've read better. I think the problem is that I don't like romantic comedies. And in this case I also didn't like the final-slash-epilogue.
February 26, 2018
Between 2 and 3 stars for me. Elizabeth gets pan props from me for the rep, but that's about as far as I can throw it. I didn't really like her. At all. Another fake GF book from YLVA this month. Just a pack of lies, deceit, etc. Elizabeth doesn't want a relationship. Ever. I think the last 10% might have fixed it, couldn't tell you, skimmed it and didn't care. There's no buy in for any of the characters to be honest. It's all a few days spent at the family home of her fake GF spent doing who the hell knows what. There were a *few* funny moments. Disappointing really as I *really* liked Scissor Link. Wendy/Janet did at least get a cameo in the beginning.
February 22, 2018
For the first 1/2 of this book I struggled. Kaplan got a few chuckles out of me but I had to stop and make sure this book was labeled romance. Looked the book up and yes, it was a romance… I just wasn't sure where the romance was happening. Did I miss it? Around 60% the book began to get better. The final 25% was actually really good. I enjoyed the writing, I enjoyed the story and would have given the final 35% 4 stars without issue. It was the first bit I struggled with. I wanted to quit, but after hitting 40% I was arguing with myself I had read this far I should just finish. I am really happy I did because I enjoyed the ending. I think this author is funny… I would probably think she was hilarious if we were actually friends. Reading her humor is harder. For me reading most humor is harder than having it delivered to your face. Writing humor is difficult, because often delivery is everything. I do think the author and I have a different sense of humor which may make this book more of an acquired taste for some. I also didn't get a single reference in the book. I have never seen any of the movies mentioned (including any Indiana Jones movies), I knew very few of the singers mentioned, and I have zero fashion knowledge. I wasn't a fan of the first book in this series, and I feel this one was better. I am just conflicted on how to rate the book. I am going to rate 3 stars, which is the same as I rated the first in this series, but note I enjoyed this one a lot more. However, I do not feel for me it was a 4 star book. I could easily see this being exactly the right book for some. If you have enjoyed books by this author before I am sure this is one you will enjoy.
December 8, 2023
A stand alone sequel to Scissor Link (Dec 2016). Elizabeth Smile fell in love with her very straight college roommate Michelle Harlow. Years later Michelle shows up asking Liz to pretend to be her girlfriend. It is somehow going to keep her cheating husband from half of her money. Liz enjoys having Michelle back in her life and agrees. Then the two head to Michelle’s family home in Ohio to celebrate the holiday for a week.
This book has very funny, laugh out loud moments. The family conversations just seem to be set up after set for zingers and witticisms. Sadly, more of the story is that then actually having the character interact, share about themselves etc. Basic details of life aren’t shared. But there is mayhem, and physical comedy that could be right out of a tv comedy. I did love the mention of the “Hell is Real” sign that is famous in Ohio only because I saw it on various visits to the state. The author uses pop references which is great when using classics like Star Wars. But mentions of show Lost or McDreamy from Grey’s Anatomy instantly feel dated.
I enjoyed the funny moments but I didn’t care about the characters or their HEA. The jump to the L word felt like a big leap for how little time is actually spent together. And I should mention one of the leads doesn’t show up till 25 percent into the book. Read for the funny bits as the romance isn’t memorable.
This book has very funny, laugh out loud moments. The family conversations just seem to be set up after set for zingers and witticisms. Sadly, more of the story is that then actually having the character interact, share about themselves etc. Basic details of life aren’t shared. But there is mayhem, and physical comedy that could be right out of a tv comedy. I did love the mention of the “Hell is Real” sign that is famous in Ohio only because I saw it on various visits to the state. The author uses pop references which is great when using classics like Star Wars. But mentions of show Lost or McDreamy from Grey’s Anatomy instantly feel dated.
I enjoyed the funny moments but I didn’t care about the characters or their HEA. The jump to the L word felt like a big leap for how little time is actually spent together. And I should mention one of the leads doesn’t show up till 25 percent into the book. Read for the funny bits as the romance isn’t memorable.
February 21, 2018
Elizabeth has been head-over-heels for Michelle since college, so when Michelle begs Elizabeth to pretend like they're dating to help her with her divorce, Elizabeth can't say no. To prove they're in a relationship, Michelle and Elizabeth go to visit Michelle's family over the holidays. Will Michelle ever reciprocate the feelings or will Elizabeth get her heart broken?
I don't like giving less than three stars because I know how much work went into the making of this book and it may be others' kind of book, but unfortunately this book just did not work for me. I liked seeing Janet and Wendy again, they're good friends to Elizabeth and they're a lot of fun. But the sex scene that was randomly from their point of view was unnecessary to me. The dialogue is really fast-paced and hilarious - it was definitely the best part of the book. There is a lot of pop-culture references- you'll either love it or leave it. Sometimes the characters would just go off on tangents talking and it wouldn't add much to the story. Michelle is selfish and left a bad taste in my mouth. I really liked Anne, I really did. If the plot twist (loved it) had had happened earlier and had been the main focus of the story I think I would have been much more connected to the story.
I received an ARC from YLVA in exchange for an honest review.
I don't like giving less than three stars because I know how much work went into the making of this book and it may be others' kind of book, but unfortunately this book just did not work for me. I liked seeing Janet and Wendy again, they're good friends to Elizabeth and they're a lot of fun. But the sex scene that was randomly from their point of view was unnecessary to me. The dialogue is really fast-paced and hilarious - it was definitely the best part of the book. There is a lot of pop-culture references- you'll either love it or leave it. Sometimes the characters would just go off on tangents talking and it wouldn't add much to the story. Michelle is selfish and left a bad taste in my mouth. I really liked Anne, I really did. If the plot twist (loved it) had had happened earlier and had been the main focus of the story I think I would have been much more connected to the story.
I received an ARC from YLVA in exchange for an honest review.
January 1, 2024
would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this second book in the series
i did find this book very wordy.... and maybe there could have been a bit more action between the main characters
elizabeth is approached by her college roommate michelle...to help make her husband think that she is a lesbian and that elizabeth is her partner, elizabeth has never really gotten over her crush on michelle and agrees to the charade
so christmas is spent with michelles family and there she becomes embroiled in an age old dispute with another family, then she witnesses michelle snogging someone else but in all that time elizabeth starts to have feelings for michelles sister
can michelle pull the wool over everyones eyes even her husbands to get the divorce she wants and can elizabeth sort out her feelings and maybe find herself a life partner....
i did find this book very wordy.... and maybe there could have been a bit more action between the main characters
elizabeth is approached by her college roommate michelle...to help make her husband think that she is a lesbian and that elizabeth is her partner, elizabeth has never really gotten over her crush on michelle and agrees to the charade
so christmas is spent with michelles family and there she becomes embroiled in an age old dispute with another family, then she witnesses michelle snogging someone else but in all that time elizabeth starts to have feelings for michelles sister
can michelle pull the wool over everyones eyes even her husbands to get the divorce she wants and can elizabeth sort out her feelings and maybe find herself a life partner....
February 9, 2018
This book is set in the same universe as Kaplan’s last work Scissor Link. I wasn’t a fan of that book, finding it somewhat puerile, and I was also unmoved by the sexual dominance games the protagonists played.
I liked Face It more, but I didn’t love it. There were some aspects I really liked – Kaplan has taken the fake relationshionship trope and added a twist. I can’t say what the twist is because it would be a spoiler, but it was a satisfying twist.
I really disliked the story at first because I hated the rationale for the fake relationship. Not from Elizabeth’s perspective – I could understand her rationale in trying to finally land ‘the one that got away’, even if it wasn’t a very rational idea. Michelle’s motive on the other hand is totally ignoble.
I don’t share Kaplan’s sense of humour, so I didn’t find the book very amusing for the most part – and it tries awfully hard to be funny. Most of the pop culture references (and there are many) went over my head. If you’re from the USA and aged between 25 and 35, I’m sure they’ll be more accessible to you.
I found much of the humour to be at the expense of other people, borderline tasteless and also mocking of anything that might be seen as politically correct. The litany of things that the characters like or don’t like seemed endless, and the only thought that popped into my head was, “Is this just a list of the author’s preferences?”
So, this review is sounding like I didn’t like the book at all. And there were certainly several aspects that either annoyed me or I didn’t like. But Kaplan is a decent writer and managed to hold my interest. The dialogue (where I could understand the references) is often witty. I liked Elizabeth most of the time and the secondary characters (Michelle’s family) were well-drawn and interesting.
Kaplan’s response to the moral dilemmas raised by the fake relationship was surprisingly well handled and didn’t look for a trite solution to make it all better. I really liked the last 20% of the book. So when I finished the book, I actually felt satisfied with it. It was actually a lovely ending to the story. So I’m sure that those who like the sense of humour will really enjoy this book.
Note: I was given an advance copy by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I liked Face It more, but I didn’t love it. There were some aspects I really liked – Kaplan has taken the fake relationshionship trope and added a twist. I can’t say what the twist is because it would be a spoiler, but it was a satisfying twist.
I really disliked the story at first because I hated the rationale for the fake relationship. Not from Elizabeth’s perspective – I could understand her rationale in trying to finally land ‘the one that got away’, even if it wasn’t a very rational idea. Michelle’s motive on the other hand is totally ignoble.
I don’t share Kaplan’s sense of humour, so I didn’t find the book very amusing for the most part – and it tries awfully hard to be funny. Most of the pop culture references (and there are many) went over my head. If you’re from the USA and aged between 25 and 35, I’m sure they’ll be more accessible to you.
I found much of the humour to be at the expense of other people, borderline tasteless and also mocking of anything that might be seen as politically correct. The litany of things that the characters like or don’t like seemed endless, and the only thought that popped into my head was, “Is this just a list of the author’s preferences?”
So, this review is sounding like I didn’t like the book at all. And there were certainly several aspects that either annoyed me or I didn’t like. But Kaplan is a decent writer and managed to hold my interest. The dialogue (where I could understand the references) is often witty. I liked Elizabeth most of the time and the secondary characters (Michelle’s family) were well-drawn and interesting.
Kaplan’s response to the moral dilemmas raised by the fake relationship was surprisingly well handled and didn’t look for a trite solution to make it all better. I really liked the last 20% of the book. So when I finished the book, I actually felt satisfied with it. It was actually a lovely ending to the story. So I’m sure that those who like the sense of humour will really enjoy this book.
Note: I was given an advance copy by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
March 30, 2019
I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I enjoyed this one much more than her first novel, The Scissor Link, and could see improvement in her writing. Technically, you don't have to read the first novel, but I recommend you to read it to become familiar with Wendy/Janet (Elizabeth's friends) plus you get to know Elizabeth as a side character in that novel. Not required but still will add more depth to this novel.
Georgette cut down sex scenes by A LOT in this novel which is a good thing. I remember reading The Scissor Link and become tempted to skip sex scenes because those were getting redundant. Her writing in general improved with the dialogue, better developed side characters, and flow of the story. Kudos to her.
I'm big fan of some pop culture references in the novel and I feel like I related to Elizabeth and other characters better due to the references they used in their dialogues. This novel is heavily dialogue driven, so if you want more action then this might not be for you.
Yay for bi/pan representation and autism representation as well! (I have to say I'm not autistic so I don't know if this representation is accurate so don't take my word)
Recommended for anyone who is a fan of quirky dialogue heavy romance.
I enjoyed this one much more than her first novel, The Scissor Link, and could see improvement in her writing. Technically, you don't have to read the first novel, but I recommend you to read it to become familiar with Wendy/Janet (Elizabeth's friends) plus you get to know Elizabeth as a side character in that novel. Not required but still will add more depth to this novel.
Georgette cut down sex scenes by A LOT in this novel which is a good thing. I remember reading The Scissor Link and become tempted to skip sex scenes because those were getting redundant. Her writing in general improved with the dialogue, better developed side characters, and flow of the story. Kudos to her.
I'm big fan of some pop culture references in the novel and I feel like I related to Elizabeth and other characters better due to the references they used in their dialogues. This novel is heavily dialogue driven, so if you want more action then this might not be for you.
Yay for bi/pan representation and autism representation as well! (I have to say I'm not autistic so I don't know if this representation is accurate so don't take my word)
Recommended for anyone who is a fan of quirky dialogue heavy romance.
February 11, 2018
Frustrating read (2.5 stars)
This is the second book in the series and takes place chronologically after Scissor Link; Janet and Wendy, the main characters from Scissor Link, appear in this story but are secondary characters so the focus is instead on their friend Elizabeth. I enjoyed this book less than Scissor Link and wonder if I’m simply not the target audience for these stories.
The fake relationship setup here is one where the ‘show don’t tell’ rule of writing was not well applied; Michelle particularly puts so little effort into making her lesbian relationship with Elizabeth believable to others (including the reader) that there was no incentive to be emotionally invested or interested in their characters or relationship to one another. Michelle warns Elizabeth about her sister Anne possibly having an agenda while they’re all staying at the family home over the holidays, yet she does nothing to keep Anne away from Elizabeth, nor do Elizabeth and Michelle spend any time together beyond the bare minimum. Michelle’s behavior was baffling and contradictory as was the change in Elizabeth and other characters thru the course of the story. I found myself frequently wanting to put the book down or hoping the story would get better eventually; not liking any of the characters in the book made caring about them impossible for me.
There are some funny scenes and dialogue between Elizabeth and Anne (Michelle’s sister) and between family members at Michelle’s father’s house but they were not predominant in the story and they weren’t enough to make up for the rest of the book’s shortcomings for me.
I received an advance reading copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This is the second book in the series and takes place chronologically after Scissor Link; Janet and Wendy, the main characters from Scissor Link, appear in this story but are secondary characters so the focus is instead on their friend Elizabeth. I enjoyed this book less than Scissor Link and wonder if I’m simply not the target audience for these stories.
The fake relationship setup here is one where the ‘show don’t tell’ rule of writing was not well applied; Michelle particularly puts so little effort into making her lesbian relationship with Elizabeth believable to others (including the reader) that there was no incentive to be emotionally invested or interested in their characters or relationship to one another. Michelle warns Elizabeth about her sister Anne possibly having an agenda while they’re all staying at the family home over the holidays, yet she does nothing to keep Anne away from Elizabeth, nor do Elizabeth and Michelle spend any time together beyond the bare minimum. Michelle’s behavior was baffling and contradictory as was the change in Elizabeth and other characters thru the course of the story. I found myself frequently wanting to put the book down or hoping the story would get better eventually; not liking any of the characters in the book made caring about them impossible for me.
There are some funny scenes and dialogue between Elizabeth and Anne (Michelle’s sister) and between family members at Michelle’s father’s house but they were not predominant in the story and they weren’t enough to make up for the rest of the book’s shortcomings for me.
I received an advance reading copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
February 17, 2018
I was really looking forward to this book as I loved Scissor Link and Face It is billed as the second book in the Scissor Link Series; this time focusing on Janet Lace's executive assistant Elizabeth Smile. However, other than a few excellent sections much of this book was dull, needlessly dense and unnecessary. Whereas Scissor Link was fun, well plotted and sexy, this seems like Kaplan is trying too hard to be all things to all readers and it backfires. Over the course of some shabby 'family argument' style dialogue we cover the issues of race, religion, pansexual vs bisexual, gender stereotypes and various types of mental illness. This attempt at rapid-fire dialogue, along with some slapstick physical comedy moments makes it almost feel like Kaplan set out to write a film treatment but somehow ended up with a novel.
The only redeeming features are the brief appearances of Janet & Wendy from Scissor Link and Michelle's younger sister Anne, who takes no bullshit. If you enjoyed Scissor Link, re-read it, don't bother with this.
The only redeeming features are the brief appearances of Janet & Wendy from Scissor Link and Michelle's younger sister Anne, who takes no bullshit. If you enjoyed Scissor Link, re-read it, don't bother with this.
April 16, 2022
Initially I struggled to keep the protagonists clear in my head. It was good to catch up with charactors from the first book in the serise but to me most of their scenes didn't feel like they fitted in this book. Another people pretending to be together for money. Honestly these plots are like busses none for ages then four at once!
You don't need to read scissorlink first and in a way I recommend you dont as it would set you up for a different book to this one. If however you are only going to read one book of the two - read scissor link. Face It is not a bad book. There are some lines I really enjoyed, however as I said I found the charactor voices not particularly clear. I also did not really enjoy the scenes when the whole family got together. I know this book is fiction but I didn't really find it believable. A soft 3 stars, only because some lines made me laugh, however at 1 hour and 45 minutes to go (Kindle, some times a blessing, sometimes a curse!) I thought, Really! Do I want to?
An honest opinion in exchange for an ARC
You don't need to read scissorlink first and in a way I recommend you dont as it would set you up for a different book to this one. If however you are only going to read one book of the two - read scissor link. Face It is not a bad book. There are some lines I really enjoyed, however as I said I found the charactor voices not particularly clear. I also did not really enjoy the scenes when the whole family got together. I know this book is fiction but I didn't really find it believable. A soft 3 stars, only because some lines made me laugh, however at 1 hour and 45 minutes to go (Kindle, some times a blessing, sometimes a curse!) I thought, Really! Do I want to?
An honest opinion in exchange for an ARC
February 14, 2018
Face It reminds me of the Screwball Comedy film style which was very popular during the 1930’s to 1940’s. The hectic pace of events and the witty repartee exchanged between Elizabeth and Anne keeps the reader entertained and on their toes throughout the novel.
Face It is the second book in Georgette Kaplan’s Scissor Link Series. Unfortunately I did not read the first novel and was a little lost at the beginning sorting out the characters and how they interconnected. My bad and not the authors. After the first 20 pages or so I felt comfortable with the characters to enjoy the story of Elizabeth and her opportunity to reconnect with her straight college roommate with whom she has been in love since their one passionate night. The story revolves around faking a relationship with her old roommate to secure a better divorce outcome.
There is a parade of quirky characters that entertains and makes this an enjoyable read.
3.5 stars
Face It is the second book in Georgette Kaplan’s Scissor Link Series. Unfortunately I did not read the first novel and was a little lost at the beginning sorting out the characters and how they interconnected. My bad and not the authors. After the first 20 pages or so I felt comfortable with the characters to enjoy the story of Elizabeth and her opportunity to reconnect with her straight college roommate with whom she has been in love since their one passionate night. The story revolves around faking a relationship with her old roommate to secure a better divorce outcome.
There is a parade of quirky characters that entertains and makes this an enjoyable read.
3.5 stars
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