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Transpire Together
Her intimately familiar voice whispered softly in his ear, "Pretend you know me."
Lynn Hall has a formula for success. As a child in the rural island town of Selaruk, Alaska, she ate ramen; now, she's an aspiring accountant. The last step of her plan: Liquidate her family's Selaruk assets for her mother, then leave those memories behind for good.
Keith Kendall's parents threw him away years ago. Now they are gone, and Keith is back to forge a new life...surrounded by painful memories. But his favorite memory—his high school sweetheart, Lynn—just walked back into his life....Too bad she doesn't recognize her high school girlfriend.
Transpire Together is a sweet, clean contemporary second chance romance novel of 50,000-55,000 words with hidden identity elements, set in small town Southeastern Alaska in 2018 during the Anchorage bathroom bill fight. It offers low heat, no cheating or cliffhangers, ownvoice representation, and a happy ending with a trans male and cis female couple.
Lynn Hall has a formula for success. As a child in the rural island town of Selaruk, Alaska, she ate ramen; now, she's an aspiring accountant. The last step of her plan: Liquidate her family's Selaruk assets for her mother, then leave those memories behind for good.
Keith Kendall's parents threw him away years ago. Now they are gone, and Keith is back to forge a new life...surrounded by painful memories. But his favorite memory—his high school sweetheart, Lynn—just walked back into his life....Too bad she doesn't recognize her high school girlfriend.
Transpire Together is a sweet, clean contemporary second chance romance novel of 50,000-55,000 words with hidden identity elements, set in small town Southeastern Alaska in 2018 during the Anchorage bathroom bill fight. It offers low heat, no cheating or cliffhangers, ownvoice representation, and a happy ending with a trans male and cis female couple.
173 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 14, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 17, 2022
I was recommended this author over on Twitter and while this was not as successful as I had hoped I think I am still glad I read it?
"...a sweet, [closed-door] contemporary second chance romance" Let's unpack that.
First up, I was sadly not invested in this romance. I would even say that there is barely any romance in this book. Keith and Lynn are two characters that interact with one another but whatever emotions the author was trying to convey, none of it reached me. There is a coldness between them that makes them act more like strangers than two people who grew up together. It reads like a hard-hitting contemporary.
The second chance aspect is also - complicated. While they maybe was something between them when they were younger (we see some parts in flashbacks from Julia about that and I will get to that can of worms in a minute), Lynn identifies as straight (which I personally don't mind but it's not like the book goes into great detail, it's mentioned once) and does not really consider there to have been anything important with her childhood friend, an outlier. Their relationship was not between two girls, so it wasn't actually of a sapphic nature. Keith was aware that he wanted to be treated as a boy at that time but not out to anyone and it feels similarly wrong to label that as an actual relationship anyway when they were so many other things going on.
Sweet... is not how I would describe this book. The story is heavy. Aside from the more obvious content warning such as deadnaming, misgendering, gender dysphoria and abusive, transphobic parents, there is also the depiction of poverty and sexual coercion of a minor.
The story actually has 3 POVs: Lynn and Keith in the present, and the chapters titled "Julia" that show moments of Keith's life growing up. Neither timeline holds back on how hard life is for a transgender person when they have no support system and that this part of Southeastern Alaskan is not very accepting either. Yes, Lynn is accepting and supportive (after she knows) but it's barely enough to offset everyone else's accidental or malicious misteps.
The book is, in fact, closed-door if you don't mind the brief descriptions of sexual contact between a 16 year-old and a man at least twice his age. The main couple only kiss.
Now, the writing in general was not really for me and the basic descriptions of daily life, as well as the meandering storyline, really challenged my attention span. It doesn't help that the first 30% of the novel involve Lynn regularly mentioning Keith's deadname because she is unaware who Keith actually is. That entire situation is maybe realistic but I felt it was dragged out unnecessarily and sets a weird foundation for the rest of the romance.
The rest is pretty dreary. Between the flashback chapters, the looming bathroom bill and the threats Keith starts receiving soon after, there is not much hopeful, sweet content that balances those dark parts.
The ending is also very bittersweet.
"...a sweet, [closed-door] contemporary second chance romance" Let's unpack that.
First up, I was sadly not invested in this romance. I would even say that there is barely any romance in this book. Keith and Lynn are two characters that interact with one another but whatever emotions the author was trying to convey, none of it reached me. There is a coldness between them that makes them act more like strangers than two people who grew up together. It reads like a hard-hitting contemporary.
The second chance aspect is also - complicated. While they maybe was something between them when they were younger (we see some parts in flashbacks from Julia about that and I will get to that can of worms in a minute), Lynn identifies as straight (which I personally don't mind but it's not like the book goes into great detail, it's mentioned once) and does not really consider there to have been anything important with her childhood friend, an outlier. Their relationship was not between two girls, so it wasn't actually of a sapphic nature. Keith was aware that he wanted to be treated as a boy at that time but not out to anyone and it feels similarly wrong to label that as an actual relationship anyway when they were so many other things going on.
Sweet... is not how I would describe this book. The story is heavy. Aside from the more obvious content warning such as deadnaming, misgendering, gender dysphoria and abusive, transphobic parents, there is also the depiction of poverty and sexual coercion of a minor.
The story actually has 3 POVs: Lynn and Keith in the present, and the chapters titled "Julia" that show moments of Keith's life growing up. Neither timeline holds back on how hard life is for a transgender person when they have no support system and that this part of Southeastern Alaskan is not very accepting either. Yes, Lynn is accepting and supportive (after she knows) but it's barely enough to offset everyone else's accidental or malicious misteps.
The book is, in fact, closed-door if you don't mind the brief descriptions of sexual contact between a 16 year-old and a man at least twice his age. The main couple only kiss.
Now, the writing in general was not really for me and the basic descriptions of daily life, as well as the meandering storyline, really challenged my attention span. It doesn't help that the first 30% of the novel involve Lynn regularly mentioning Keith's deadname because she is unaware who Keith actually is. That entire situation is maybe realistic but I felt it was dragged out unnecessarily and sets a weird foundation for the rest of the romance.
The rest is pretty dreary. Between the flashback chapters, the looming bathroom bill and the threats Keith starts receiving soon after, there is not much hopeful, sweet content that balances those dark parts.
The ending is also very bittersweet.
February 1, 2020
4 Stars - view full review at Dee's Corner For Book Lovers
In the words of Kevin Hart, "I wasn't ready." I can not begin to explain the variety of emotions this book brought me through while celebrating Keith's journey. The characters we super believable, making it easy for me to laugh, get pissed, and cry right along with them. Lynn and Keith were perfect for each other, and I'm elated that I was able to watch them both find love.
The only reason this wasn't full five for me is that I felt the pacing of the story was off at some point. There were specific experiences that I wish were fleshed out more because while I could connect with the characters in the novel, it took a while for me to get there.
Overall, I think this novel is an entertaining and enlightening read that sheds light on some of the struggles often faced in the LGBTQIA+ community that are often overlooked. Definitely, an author I will be watching.
In the words of Kevin Hart, "I wasn't ready." I can not begin to explain the variety of emotions this book brought me through while celebrating Keith's journey. The characters we super believable, making it easy for me to laugh, get pissed, and cry right along with them. Lynn and Keith were perfect for each other, and I'm elated that I was able to watch them both find love.
The only reason this wasn't full five for me is that I felt the pacing of the story was off at some point. There were specific experiences that I wish were fleshed out more because while I could connect with the characters in the novel, it took a while for me to get there.
Overall, I think this novel is an entertaining and enlightening read that sheds light on some of the struggles often faced in the LGBTQIA+ community that are often overlooked. Definitely, an author I will be watching.
May 31, 2022
I appreciate Mercy Zephyr for writing trans romance that's set in an authentically fucked up world; and I suppose that it's not really her fault that the epilogue (depicting, among other things, the defeat of the Anchorage bathroom bill in 2018) comes across like a hollow victory in 2022. However, that makes the book a little unbalanced and keeps the emotional arc from landing the way that she wants it too.
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November 20, 2019Sweet contemporary romance with transgender guy and cis girl--great Alaskan small town story, too!
December 28, 2019
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I really love this book. Poor Keith it broke my heart everything he went through. I'm glad he finally found Lynn. I would love to hear more about Ozzie and Officer Faatmane.
I really love this book. Poor Keith it broke my heart everything he went through. I'm glad he finally found Lynn. I would love to hear more about Ozzie and Officer Faatmane.
May 31, 2023
This book brought me tears and joy. I love Mercy's unique voice. She pulls me into the story and I adore her characters.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews