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Meet Me in Madrid
Charlotte Hilaire has a love-hate relationship with her work as a museum courier. On the one hand, it takes her around the world. On the other, her plan to become a professor is veering dangerously off track.
Yet once in a while, maybe every third trip or so, the job goes delightfully sideways…
When a blizzard strands Charlotte in Spain for a few extra days and she’s left with glorious free time on her hands, the only question is: Dare she invite her grad school crush for an after-dinner drink on a snowy night?
Accomplished, take-no-prisoners art historian Adrianna Coates has built an enviable career since Charlotte saw her last. She’s brilliant. Sophisticated. Impressive as hell and strikingly beautiful.
Hospitable, too, as she absolutely insists Charlotte spend the night on her pullout sofa as the storm rages on.
One night becomes three and three nights become a hot and adventurous long-distance relationship when Charlotte returns to the States. But when Adrianna plots her next career move just as Charlotte finally opens a door in academia, distance may not be the only thing that keeps them apart.
Yet once in a while, maybe every third trip or so, the job goes delightfully sideways…
When a blizzard strands Charlotte in Spain for a few extra days and she’s left with glorious free time on her hands, the only question is: Dare she invite her grad school crush for an after-dinner drink on a snowy night?
Accomplished, take-no-prisoners art historian Adrianna Coates has built an enviable career since Charlotte saw her last. She’s brilliant. Sophisticated. Impressive as hell and strikingly beautiful.
Hospitable, too, as she absolutely insists Charlotte spend the night on her pullout sofa as the storm rages on.
One night becomes three and three nights become a hot and adventurous long-distance relationship when Charlotte returns to the States. But when Adrianna plots her next career move just as Charlotte finally opens a door in academia, distance may not be the only thing that keeps them apart.
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 26, 2021
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2693 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 235 reviews
October 22, 2021
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I eventually did. I liked the cover, I liked the premise, I liked that both MCs were BIPOC women in academia. In the end, it was nice and enjoyable but not excitingly so.
Despite being a brilliant art history student, Charlotte Hilaire failed to find a teaching job and is now a courier for a museum. While in Madrid, she looks up Adrianna Coates, on whom she had a big crush when their paths crossed at Yale and who is on a research sabbatical in Spain. The two women click immediately and what should have been a one-night stand turns into three nights and the beginning of a long-distance relationship.
I’m not sure I can explain why this book didn’t work for me. The characters are interesting but I never really cared about them. I didn’t mind the instalust, that’s never a real problem for me, even less so when the characters have actually met before, as is the case here. I was told there was chemistry between them and I was willing to believe it, but never felt it in a convincing way. It all felt a bit bland.
The author clearly knows the setting she chose – art history and academia – and that’s what I’ll remember, along with her take on queer women of colour in that environment. One scene stands out for me, that I won’t spoil, but it involves Charlotte speaking up despite the risks to her job and her future. Meet Me in Madrid could have been a very different book if this same passion had made it into more chapters.
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Despite being a brilliant art history student, Charlotte Hilaire failed to find a teaching job and is now a courier for a museum. While in Madrid, she looks up Adrianna Coates, on whom she had a big crush when their paths crossed at Yale and who is on a research sabbatical in Spain. The two women click immediately and what should have been a one-night stand turns into three nights and the beginning of a long-distance relationship.
I’m not sure I can explain why this book didn’t work for me. The characters are interesting but I never really cared about them. I didn’t mind the instalust, that’s never a real problem for me, even less so when the characters have actually met before, as is the case here. I was told there was chemistry between them and I was willing to believe it, but never felt it in a convincing way. It all felt a bit bland.
The author clearly knows the setting she chose – art history and academia – and that’s what I’ll remember, along with her take on queer women of colour in that environment. One scene stands out for me, that I won’t spoil, but it involves Charlotte speaking up despite the risks to her job and her future. Meet Me in Madrid could have been a very different book if this same passion had made it into more chapters.
I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
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April 13, 2023Sapphic romance about two women of colour, both art history academics, negotiating a long distance relationship.
The academic setting felt very real (tedious admin, racism, constantly struggling for jobs, bitchiness) as did the miseries of being in a LDR. Those are fairly wearing to live through, or even read about, and they took up a lot of the page count. The conflict in the relationship basically comes down to the LDR plus Adrianna being rather selfishly singleminded about her job at one point, so the romance plot is pretty static--they have a lot of sex, fall in love, and struggle with the LDR and job situation.
For me, an expanded romance arc with more internal ups and downs would have made this work better as a romance novel. (Or less romance, and make it women's fiction?) It's well written, and very clearly doing what it sets out to, and has a lot of really punchy stuff to say about racism (and misogyny and hom0phobia) in academia especially. I just wanted more of that punchiness carried through to the romance.
The academic setting felt very real (tedious admin, racism, constantly struggling for jobs, bitchiness) as did the miseries of being in a LDR. Those are fairly wearing to live through, or even read about, and they took up a lot of the page count. The conflict in the relationship basically comes down to the LDR plus Adrianna being rather selfishly singleminded about her job at one point, so the romance plot is pretty static--they have a lot of sex, fall in love, and struggle with the LDR and job situation.
For me, an expanded romance arc with more internal ups and downs would have made this work better as a romance novel. (Or less romance, and make it women's fiction?) It's well written, and very clearly doing what it sets out to, and has a lot of really punchy stuff to say about racism (and misogyny and hom0phobia) in academia especially. I just wanted more of that punchiness carried through to the romance.
November 7, 2021
2.5 stars rounded down. 3 stars for the storyline but docking 1 star for the... writing?
LDR + academia? Sounds super intriguing!
It is very difficult to write LDRs since most of the time, the main characters are physically apart, and Meet Me in Madrid definitely suffered from that. For the first 60% of the book, both characters were just... waiting to see each other every few weeks. There was no clear goal for either of them as Adrianna was on sabbatical in Madrid (and lives on the West Coast) and Charlotte was stuck at Woodley, on the East Coast. Everything picked up around the 60% mark and the stakes got pretty high, which I enjoyed. However, I find Charlotte and Adrianna both unreasonable sometimes in their own way, and I didn’t really see how their relationship got past a fling. Plus, I don’t feel like I know either of them much.
Racism and sexism are two main themes in the book. While I appreciate Lowell incorporating both the MCs’ experiences and history references, I think that the thematic execution was very heavy-handed. And I also had some issues with the wording, not just because some sentences read like using a thesaurus for word replacement, but that... it felt like the author was trying too hard. Even though I’m assuming the author is a queer person of color, the narrative reads oddly like it’s written by a cishet white author. And I’m also guessing that the author does not read much romance. The good side is that it is not super formulaic, but the bad side is that the pacing is a bit off and there is a lot of summaries of events throughout the book. And there is a 3rd POV for one scene that I don’t think is necessary.
Also, I’m still scratching my head about why the author used the word “blacklist”...
I enjoyed the academic aspect of the story, being in academia myself. While the demographic in engineering is largely different from that in art history, there are still a lot of things I can relate to. It was a letdown to find that the romance between two queer women of color wasn’t as satisfying as all the university and conference talks.
Random, but isn’t it fun that both Quinn Ivins’ Love Factor (my review) and this book are sapphics in academia with a sexist homophobe called Grayson?
All in all, Meet Me in Madrid had the potential to be much better, but it reads kind of awkwardly (because of the word choices) with okay-ish characters. A decent try at highlighting discrimination in academia for Lowell, but a slightly disappointing debut.
(Where is the cat on the cover???)
content warnings: racism, sexism, homophobia, depression, cheating, drug abuse, suicide, sexual harassment, past TA-student relationship?
I received a digital review copy from Carina Adores via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
LDR + academia? Sounds super intriguing!
It is very difficult to write LDRs since most of the time, the main characters are physically apart, and Meet Me in Madrid definitely suffered from that. For the first 60% of the book, both characters were just... waiting to see each other every few weeks. There was no clear goal for either of them as Adrianna was on sabbatical in Madrid (and lives on the West Coast) and Charlotte was stuck at Woodley, on the East Coast. Everything picked up around the 60% mark and the stakes got pretty high, which I enjoyed. However, I find Charlotte and Adrianna both unreasonable sometimes in their own way, and I didn’t really see how their relationship got past a fling. Plus, I don’t feel like I know either of them much.
Racism and sexism are two main themes in the book. While I appreciate Lowell incorporating both the MCs’ experiences and history references, I think that the thematic execution was very heavy-handed. And I also had some issues with the wording, not just because some sentences read like using a thesaurus for word replacement, but that... it felt like the author was trying too hard. Even though I’m assuming the author is a queer person of color, the narrative reads oddly like it’s written by a cishet white author. And I’m also guessing that the author does not read much romance. The good side is that it is not super formulaic, but the bad side is that the pacing is a bit off and there is a lot of summaries of events throughout the book. And there is a 3rd POV for one scene that I don’t think is necessary.
Also, I’m still scratching my head about why the author used the word “blacklist”...
I enjoyed the academic aspect of the story, being in academia myself. While the demographic in engineering is largely different from that in art history, there are still a lot of things I can relate to. It was a letdown to find that the romance between two queer women of color wasn’t as satisfying as all the university and conference talks.
Random, but isn’t it fun that both Quinn Ivins’ Love Factor (my review) and this book are sapphics in academia with a sexist homophobe called Grayson?
All in all, Meet Me in Madrid had the potential to be much better, but it reads kind of awkwardly (because of the word choices) with okay-ish characters. A decent try at highlighting discrimination in academia for Lowell, but a slightly disappointing debut.
(Where is the cat on the cover???)
content warnings: racism, sexism, homophobia, depression, cheating, drug abuse, suicide, sexual harassment, past TA-student relationship?
I received a digital review copy from Carina Adores via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
September 20, 2021
On my blog.
Rep: Black lesbian mc, Afro Latina lesbian mc, bi side character, Jewish bi side character, gay side character
Galley provided by publisher
It sounds harsh but Meet Me in Madrid has to be one of the most boring books I’ve read recently. I don’t know what it was about it, but I started skimming within a few chapters of the start, and I simply couldn’t bring myself to care one bit about the characters.
This isn’t a bad book! For another person, perhaps none of it would have mattered and they’d have enjoyed it a lot more. For me? Well. It was a death knell.
Probably the biggest sticking point for me was the writing. To me—and I stress to me because I think attitude to writing style is one of the most personal things when reviewing a book—it felt stilted and forced. And that was clearest in the conversations characters had. Not only that, the book didn’t seem able to find a tense it wanted to stay in. I get that the parts in present tense were supposed to be like… true whatever, whenever, kind of lines, but they’d have read just as well in past tense. All that tense switch did was throw me out of the story.
As I said, writing style preferences are personal, but I think here what happened is that dislike of writing proliferated down to every other aspect of the book. I didn’t care for the writing, so I didn’t care for the characters, so I didn’t care for the relationship. Everything I didn’t like about this book comes back to the writing style.
So really, this entire review comes back to that. Like I said, it’s personal, and there really wasn’t much else to the book that made me think it was bad. Style aside, it was well-paced and, if I’d liked the characters, I could see myself liking the relationship (despite not being a massive fan of the age gap).
But the writing…
Rep: Black lesbian mc, Afro Latina lesbian mc, bi side character, Jewish bi side character, gay side character
Galley provided by publisher
It sounds harsh but Meet Me in Madrid has to be one of the most boring books I’ve read recently. I don’t know what it was about it, but I started skimming within a few chapters of the start, and I simply couldn’t bring myself to care one bit about the characters.
This isn’t a bad book! For another person, perhaps none of it would have mattered and they’d have enjoyed it a lot more. For me? Well. It was a death knell.
Probably the biggest sticking point for me was the writing. To me—and I stress to me because I think attitude to writing style is one of the most personal things when reviewing a book—it felt stilted and forced. And that was clearest in the conversations characters had. Not only that, the book didn’t seem able to find a tense it wanted to stay in. I get that the parts in present tense were supposed to be like… true whatever, whenever, kind of lines, but they’d have read just as well in past tense. All that tense switch did was throw me out of the story.
As I said, writing style preferences are personal, but I think here what happened is that dislike of writing proliferated down to every other aspect of the book. I didn’t care for the writing, so I didn’t care for the characters, so I didn’t care for the relationship. Everything I didn’t like about this book comes back to the writing style.
So really, this entire review comes back to that. Like I said, it’s personal, and there really wasn’t much else to the book that made me think it was bad. Style aside, it was well-paced and, if I’d liked the characters, I could see myself liking the relationship (despite not being a massive fan of the age gap).
But the writing…
October 6, 2021
I'm contemplating running the Madrid half marathon so I figured it was time to read a book set in Madrid. This just didn't live up to my expectations.
This book just wasn't for me. It holds so much promise, but the writing is off-putting and it ends up being boring and it could not hold my attention.
The representation is great, leading ladies of colour and highly educated with good jobs. That is sadly also where it stops.
I'm sure this works for other people, please find other reviews to find out if this book is for you.
2.5 stars
*ARC received in exchange for a voluntary and honest review*
This book just wasn't for me. It holds so much promise, but the writing is off-putting and it ends up being boring and it could not hold my attention.
The representation is great, leading ladies of colour and highly educated with good jobs. That is sadly also where it stops.
I'm sure this works for other people, please find other reviews to find out if this book is for you.
2.5 stars
*ARC received in exchange for a voluntary and honest review*
November 26, 2021
As a Spaniard, I try to read every lesbian romance related to Spain. So I was in for this story about two academic women meeting in Madrid. Unfortunately for me there was very little shown of Madrid, as our main characters didn't go out in the city, and all their following rendezvous were in the States.
All in all this was an OK read.
All in all this was an OK read.
August 23, 2021
3.5
Thank you to NetGalley for the preview of the four chapters!
It is a very promising adult, sapphic romance. I can't say much, since I've only read four chapters. Based on them though, the writing is beautiful and the plot easy to follow, while simultaneously keeping you interested.
Both Adrianna and Charlotte seem to be mature, impressive women and I'm intrigued to read about how their relationship evolves! However, it was a bit fast paced, so the connection between the two women didn't feel very natural.
I'm looking forward to reading the whole book!
Thank you to NetGalley for the preview of the four chapters!
It is a very promising adult, sapphic romance. I can't say much, since I've only read four chapters. Based on them though, the writing is beautiful and the plot easy to follow, while simultaneously keeping you interested.
Both Adrianna and Charlotte seem to be mature, impressive women and I'm intrigued to read about how their relationship evolves! However, it was a bit fast paced, so the connection between the two women didn't feel very natural.
I'm looking forward to reading the whole book!
December 9, 2023
I started reading this, and then I came on Goodreads and saw the average rating, and that did make me a liiiiiiittle worried. But now that I'm finished, I see that I needn't have worried, because this wasn't bad. Admittedly, it wasn't great either? Perfectly serviceable as a romance, between two queer women of colour in academia, trying to navigate a long distance relationship. I don't exactly think the book stepped wrong in a lot of places, but there were several instances where I kept thinking that I wanted a lot MORE.
Adrianna and Charlotte knew each other at Yale years ago, and end up having a connection in Spain years later, when a storm traps Charlotte in Madrid, and she decides to take a chance on the woman she had a crush on so many years ago. The attraction and spark is immediately there, and they end up spending three days together. And this is what could have made everything different. I really wish we'd lingered more on those three days. They had a whole lot of chemistry, and there was a lot of great steam. They both came away from the encounter emotionally galvanised (to different degrees), and I was just like... show me your work! I'm definitely willing to be convinced of lightning in a bottle connections like that, where people have a whirlwind affair and end it being more emotionally attached than they expected, but that first meeting just got way less page time than I would have wanted. Especially since it's such a weighty encounter for both characters. I'd have liked to see more scenes of them discussing work or their mutual past or chatting about nonsense... something. Those three days formed the emotional foundation for the long distance relationship that they embarked on for the rest of the book, and since that foundation was a little shaky... I ended up being underwhelmed, I guess.
The romance otherwise was good. There was a shade of that kind of infatuation/hero worship that turns to deeper feelings, which I always love seeing in romance. I enjoyed the conversations about women in academia, about the racism and homophobia extant in the fields. It doesn't really have much of a solid plot, other than their issues navigating the LDR, and sometimes being at cross-purposes with their jobs and ambitions, as they try to find the best way to be together. So the plot did kind of flounder in that way, but I prefer this to a manufactured and contrived conflict. The writing was simple, but there were a few nuggets of gold here and there, mostly in descriptions of emotions and situations. The books has a couple of those dreaded third POV chapters from a side-character, but it didn't annoy me as much as it usually does, especially since Esther has her own little arc. Honestly, I liked a good deal about this; I just didn't like anything enough to really tip it over into the 4 star range.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Bianca Drew, and it was... fine? It was looking like an early DNF at first, because the narrator's breaths between pauses and sentences were CLEARLY audible, and that's one of my biggest pet peeves in audiobooks. It's so annoying. But I stuck with it, and it became a little less noticeable as time went on. The narration style wasn't my favourite either, I must admit; lots of awkward pauses and mispronunciations. But well, it didn't ruin the book for me either. I hope the author writes more in the future; I'm always looking for more qwoc who write sapphic romance, and there was promise in this.
Adrianna and Charlotte knew each other at Yale years ago, and end up having a connection in Spain years later, when a storm traps Charlotte in Madrid, and she decides to take a chance on the woman she had a crush on so many years ago. The attraction and spark is immediately there, and they end up spending three days together. And this is what could have made everything different. I really wish we'd lingered more on those three days. They had a whole lot of chemistry, and there was a lot of great steam. They both came away from the encounter emotionally galvanised (to different degrees), and I was just like... show me your work! I'm definitely willing to be convinced of lightning in a bottle connections like that, where people have a whirlwind affair and end it being more emotionally attached than they expected, but that first meeting just got way less page time than I would have wanted. Especially since it's such a weighty encounter for both characters. I'd have liked to see more scenes of them discussing work or their mutual past or chatting about nonsense... something. Those three days formed the emotional foundation for the long distance relationship that they embarked on for the rest of the book, and since that foundation was a little shaky... I ended up being underwhelmed, I guess.
The romance otherwise was good. There was a shade of that kind of infatuation/hero worship that turns to deeper feelings, which I always love seeing in romance. I enjoyed the conversations about women in academia, about the racism and homophobia extant in the fields. It doesn't really have much of a solid plot, other than their issues navigating the LDR, and sometimes being at cross-purposes with their jobs and ambitions, as they try to find the best way to be together. So the plot did kind of flounder in that way, but I prefer this to a manufactured and contrived conflict. The writing was simple, but there were a few nuggets of gold here and there, mostly in descriptions of emotions and situations. The books has a couple of those dreaded third POV chapters from a side-character, but it didn't annoy me as much as it usually does, especially since Esther has her own little arc. Honestly, I liked a good deal about this; I just didn't like anything enough to really tip it over into the 4 star range.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Bianca Drew, and it was... fine? It was looking like an early DNF at first, because the narrator's breaths between pauses and sentences were CLEARLY audible, and that's one of my biggest pet peeves in audiobooks. It's so annoying. But I stuck with it, and it became a little less noticeable as time went on. The narration style wasn't my favourite either, I must admit; lots of awkward pauses and mispronunciations. But well, it didn't ruin the book for me either. I hope the author writes more in the future; I'm always looking for more qwoc who write sapphic romance, and there was promise in this.
dnf
October 10, 2021I tried reading this a few times but I'm afraid that I find the author's writing style to be rather weak (the kind of writing that is more suited to fanfic). I'm sure many will love this so I encourage prospective readers to check out more positive reviews.
January 26, 2022
Really sweet adult lesbian romance featuring two Black love interests!! Loved all of the commentary on working in academia, especially art history. The two MCs had really good chemistry as well.
February 8, 2022
Trigger Warnings: Alcohol, sex, racism, mention of cancer in side character, coming out, past death of a parent, cheating, homophobia, drugs, suicide, cursing
Representation: Queer, Lesbian, POC, Bisexual, Jewish, Gay
Meet Me in Madrid is the story of Charlotte and Adrianna who must balance their romance and careers across continents. Charlotte, a museum courier, travels for work while she tries to become a professor, her dream job. Adrianna, an art historian, lives in Madrid while she does research. The two start a long distance relationship until their careers threaten their love.
This eARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I absolutely loved this book! The story is great and I couldn’t put it down! I loved reading about adult women in a relationship and thriving in their fields! I loved reading about adults and their continued struggles with their professions. I also really enjoyed learning about life and professionalism through a POC lense.
Overall I felt the story had great pacing and fully developed characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the instalust but also the chemistry that the main characters had. My only wish is that the scene with James and the boss was expanded more, it felt very rushed. I would’ve love to seen more of that because I felt it was more important than the book makes it seem.
Representation: Queer, Lesbian, POC, Bisexual, Jewish, Gay
Meet Me in Madrid is the story of Charlotte and Adrianna who must balance their romance and careers across continents. Charlotte, a museum courier, travels for work while she tries to become a professor, her dream job. Adrianna, an art historian, lives in Madrid while she does research. The two start a long distance relationship until their careers threaten their love.
This eARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I absolutely loved this book! The story is great and I couldn’t put it down! I loved reading about adult women in a relationship and thriving in their fields! I loved reading about adults and their continued struggles with their professions. I also really enjoyed learning about life and professionalism through a POC lense.
Overall I felt the story had great pacing and fully developed characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the instalust but also the chemistry that the main characters had. My only wish is that the scene with James and the boss was expanded more, it felt very rushed. I would’ve love to seen more of that because I felt it was more important than the book makes it seem.
November 9, 2021
Meet Me in Madrid follows the story of two black, queer, academics who reunite in Madrid, only to deal with the complexities of a long distance relationship, as well as balancing their work and personal lives. Objectively, I think this is a 4 star book, but personally I didn't really connect with the story, and on a subjective level, this was a 3 star read for me. This is no fault of the writing and simply has to do with my personal preferences. Still, this is a strong story, with cute romance and some really topical themes. I found the stand out feature of this book to be the way it discussed the lack of diversity in academia and the prejudice queer people and POC face in that domain. My main complaint for this book is just that I felt like the main characters fell in love (or at least were infatuated with one another) super quickly, which made it a bit difficult to connect to the romance. Still, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to people, just perhaps to a demographic of readers who have a different preferred writing style than I do, as this wasn't my personal favourite.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 19, 2021
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene...
Except it isn't two households, ccit's two women, and it isn't fair Verona, it's Madrid. And no one dies at the end, which is refreshing (looking at you, Boys on the Side and Fried Green Tomatoes).
There's bound to be spoilery stuff here.
Charlotte, once a Yale undergrad and now (some kind of lowly curator title) and courier shepherding pieces of art to the places they've been loaned, is stranded in Madrid during a sudden storm. Adrianna, once a Yale lecturer, and now a lecturer on the entirely opposite coast, is in Madrid on a sabbatical, running down and transcribing the diaries of a nun. They knew one another briefly,back at Yale, but now they've both been focused on their life in academia, pursuing their careers. They meet up at a cafe Adrianna knows, and the writing at that point tells you what going to happen: instalove.
There's nothing wrong with that, of course, ass it's a trope of the genre. I did like the wrinkle that there is at least the fact they knew one another in some way prior to Madrid. This means they're also a bit older than the characters who usually inhabit the gene, and they're also both black, another departure from the genre. No young white women with blond hair, blue eyes, zero body fat and perfect abs here: the author paints both women as "buxom", which I took to mean that both have at least something approximating a bit of middle age spread in addition to both having big chests.
After a three day marathon of sex, Charlotte heads back to New Haven, and both women have the newly-met-but-too-far-away stars in their eyes, looking forward to their next meeting, in NYC, for the new year.
There's a brief appearance by Hadley, a slim, white, young woman with perfect everything (oops, I guess not all tropes are dead) at the beginning of the new year version of Madrid, someone Charlotte can't stand for reasons not well explained, who invites them to a NYE party at her parents' house, and they go, for some reason. After finishing the book, I understand why, but it was a little heavy handed.
More sex, over the next couple of days. Adrianna flies back to Madrid, and we get an encore of Emotions.
Charlotte is tasked with taking some art out to California, and Adrianna insists that she meet Esther, a dear friend of hers. Esther's having a time with her husband, who has been having an affair with one of his students. To put the betrayal on blast, he sends the student to tell Esther about it. After getting stuck in LA by yet another freak storm, Charlotte winds up at Esther's teaching her son Fisher to make beignets. There's a weird, uncomfortably written conversation between Esther and Charlotte, and the "is this older woman, having been married to a shitty dude with whom she had a son, really a lesbian, or at least bi?" thing was off-putting. There's also a connection made, thanks to networking, when Esther takes Charlotte to Piedmont, who may or may not be in the market for a half courier/half lecturer type of person.
Next up: Chicago (Adrianna's hometown) at Valentines Day! Also, interviews, where she once again faces the dean from Piedmont, but they have to pretend they don't know one another. Charlotte also gives a talk on race and art, and her asshole boss from the museum - "I don't see you as a person of color, Charlotte" - is there, once again saying stupid things, this time about how Brer Rabbit and Songs of the South are not racist, I guess, and how art shouldn't be politicized. It's the sort of blather some overly educated jerk says when they're trying to put down one of their own employees with a nonsensical what if. What I thought immediately, and what Adrianna actually says in the book against his crap, is that his statement itself is political.
More sexytimes. They depart from one another, again.
In between all this - and sometimes when they're recovering from a round of sex, there's discussion of how difficult it is in general to have a career in the arts, and in particular, how hard it is for black, gay women to have a career in the arts. This is true (not just of the arts, of course, BIPOC LGBTQAI+ folk have a hard time of it anywhere) but the way it's written feels like it's been copied out of a policy paper.
Later in the book, we get the Sophie's Choice: both women get job offers, but it would mean they would swap coasts, and still have the same problem: long distance relationships, even with these two who can get horny on command via facetime, are problematic in a lot of ways. They finally have their first blowup, after Adrianna tells Charlotte abut her offer from Yale. They get snippy from one another, and then give each other the silent treatment: no texts, no calls, no facetime.
Esther tells Adrianna she's being a jerk and to knock it off. We get the usual makeup bit, but of course, they are still apart.
Charlotte,her pal James, and three other people get the axe fro the museum thanks to Jerkface McRacistBoss. James, crafty queen that he is, has receipts: Jerkface gets fired, the five are rehired, and Charlotte is given a vague promise or promotion to Deputy Curator when the woman in charge retires.
But where we land is in Cali. Esther has hooked up with Hadley, so we have a May-September romance with the two mains, and a May-December with the secondaries. It also occurred to me that out of the four white adult guys we meet for any real time, one is gay, one is a dean of the arts college, one is a two-timing douchebag, and the last is a racist homophobe.
If you're reading for the sex, you'll be delighted: there's a lot of it, and it's very graphic, sometimes to the point of being clinical. If you're reading for the story: it's ok. The writing style seems to be most comfortable when the topic is academia, and the descriptions of interviews and campus visits was the best writing and the best look at getting hired in academia that I've read outside of nonfiction.
Three out of five stars (possibly a fiver if erotica is your thing).
Thanks to Harlequin/Carina Press/Carina Adores and NetGalley for the reading copy.
At the end of the day, it's a HEA - how could it not be?
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene...
Except it isn't two households, ccit's two women, and it isn't fair Verona, it's Madrid. And no one dies at the end, which is refreshing (looking at you, Boys on the Side and Fried Green Tomatoes).
There's bound to be spoilery stuff here.
Charlotte, once a Yale undergrad and now (some kind of lowly curator title) and courier shepherding pieces of art to the places they've been loaned, is stranded in Madrid during a sudden storm. Adrianna, once a Yale lecturer, and now a lecturer on the entirely opposite coast, is in Madrid on a sabbatical, running down and transcribing the diaries of a nun. They knew one another briefly,back at Yale, but now they've both been focused on their life in academia, pursuing their careers. They meet up at a cafe Adrianna knows, and the writing at that point tells you what going to happen: instalove.
There's nothing wrong with that, of course, ass it's a trope of the genre. I did like the wrinkle that there is at least the fact they knew one another in some way prior to Madrid. This means they're also a bit older than the characters who usually inhabit the gene, and they're also both black, another departure from the genre. No young white women with blond hair, blue eyes, zero body fat and perfect abs here: the author paints both women as "buxom", which I took to mean that both have at least something approximating a bit of middle age spread in addition to both having big chests.
After a three day marathon of sex, Charlotte heads back to New Haven, and both women have the newly-met-but-too-far-away stars in their eyes, looking forward to their next meeting, in NYC, for the new year.
There's a brief appearance by Hadley, a slim, white, young woman with perfect everything (oops, I guess not all tropes are dead) at the beginning of the new year version of Madrid, someone Charlotte can't stand for reasons not well explained, who invites them to a NYE party at her parents' house, and they go, for some reason. After finishing the book, I understand why, but it was a little heavy handed.
More sex, over the next couple of days. Adrianna flies back to Madrid, and we get an encore of Emotions.
Charlotte is tasked with taking some art out to California, and Adrianna insists that she meet Esther, a dear friend of hers. Esther's having a time with her husband, who has been having an affair with one of his students. To put the betrayal on blast, he sends the student to tell Esther about it. After getting stuck in LA by yet another freak storm, Charlotte winds up at Esther's teaching her son Fisher to make beignets. There's a weird, uncomfortably written conversation between Esther and Charlotte, and the "is this older woman, having been married to a shitty dude with whom she had a son, really a lesbian, or at least bi?" thing was off-putting. There's also a connection made, thanks to networking, when Esther takes Charlotte to Piedmont, who may or may not be in the market for a half courier/half lecturer type of person.
Next up: Chicago (Adrianna's hometown) at Valentines Day! Also, interviews, where she once again faces the dean from Piedmont, but they have to pretend they don't know one another. Charlotte also gives a talk on race and art, and her asshole boss from the museum - "I don't see you as a person of color, Charlotte" - is there, once again saying stupid things, this time about how Brer Rabbit and Songs of the South are not racist, I guess, and how art shouldn't be politicized. It's the sort of blather some overly educated jerk says when they're trying to put down one of their own employees with a nonsensical what if. What I thought immediately, and what Adrianna actually says in the book against his crap, is that his statement itself is political.
More sexytimes. They depart from one another, again.
In between all this - and sometimes when they're recovering from a round of sex, there's discussion of how difficult it is in general to have a career in the arts, and in particular, how hard it is for black, gay women to have a career in the arts. This is true (not just of the arts, of course, BIPOC LGBTQAI+ folk have a hard time of it anywhere) but the way it's written feels like it's been copied out of a policy paper.
Later in the book, we get the Sophie's Choice: both women get job offers, but it would mean they would swap coasts, and still have the same problem: long distance relationships, even with these two who can get horny on command via facetime, are problematic in a lot of ways. They finally have their first blowup, after Adrianna tells Charlotte abut her offer from Yale. They get snippy from one another, and then give each other the silent treatment: no texts, no calls, no facetime.
Esther tells Adrianna she's being a jerk and to knock it off. We get the usual makeup bit, but of course, they are still apart.
Charlotte,her pal James, and three other people get the axe fro the museum thanks to Jerkface McRacistBoss. James, crafty queen that he is, has receipts: Jerkface gets fired, the five are rehired, and Charlotte is given a vague promise or promotion to Deputy Curator when the woman in charge retires.
But where we land is in Cali. Esther has hooked up with Hadley, so we have a May-September romance with the two mains, and a May-December with the secondaries. It also occurred to me that out of the four white adult guys we meet for any real time, one is gay, one is a dean of the arts college, one is a two-timing douchebag, and the last is a racist homophobe.
If you're reading for the sex, you'll be delighted: there's a lot of it, and it's very graphic, sometimes to the point of being clinical. If you're reading for the story: it's ok. The writing style seems to be most comfortable when the topic is academia, and the descriptions of interviews and campus visits was the best writing and the best look at getting hired in academia that I've read outside of nonfiction.
Three out of five stars (possibly a fiver if erotica is your thing).
Thanks to Harlequin/Carina Press/Carina Adores and NetGalley for the reading copy.
At the end of the day, it's a HEA - how could it not be?
November 25, 2021
In Verity Lowell's
Meet Me in Madrid
, two career-minded women embark on a long-distance relationship and encounter obstacles along the way.
Charlotte’s job as a museum courier gives her the opportunity to travel the world, but honestly not see much of it in the process. So when complications strand her in Madrid, she’s excited to extend her stay. If only she knew someone to spend her time with.
And then she remembers: Adrianna, who was a few years ahead of her in school when they were both PhD candidates, lives and works in Madrid. Adrianna, the thought of whom makes Charlotte a little weak in the knees. When the two reconnect, sparks fly, and Adrianna offers Charlotte the opportunity to stay with her during her time in Madrid.
It’s not long before they’re head over heels for each other and figuring out how to make a long-distance relationship work. But if that’s not enough of a challenge, when Charlotte finally finds a way back into academia, Adrianna’s latest career move may be the biggest obstacle of all for the two of them.
While the romantic component of Meet Me in Madrid is sweet and interesting, what I thought was best about the book was its discussion of the prejudices and racism that people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, and women face in academia.
I haven’t read a lot of F/F romance but Carina Adores definitely has a number of titles I’d like to check out!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
Charlotte’s job as a museum courier gives her the opportunity to travel the world, but honestly not see much of it in the process. So when complications strand her in Madrid, she’s excited to extend her stay. If only she knew someone to spend her time with.
And then she remembers: Adrianna, who was a few years ahead of her in school when they were both PhD candidates, lives and works in Madrid. Adrianna, the thought of whom makes Charlotte a little weak in the knees. When the two reconnect, sparks fly, and Adrianna offers Charlotte the opportunity to stay with her during her time in Madrid.
It’s not long before they’re head over heels for each other and figuring out how to make a long-distance relationship work. But if that’s not enough of a challenge, when Charlotte finally finds a way back into academia, Adrianna’s latest career move may be the biggest obstacle of all for the two of them.
While the romantic component of Meet Me in Madrid is sweet and interesting, what I thought was best about the book was its discussion of the prejudices and racism that people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, and women face in academia.
I haven’t read a lot of F/F romance but Carina Adores definitely has a number of titles I’d like to check out!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
September 23, 2021
Oh honey mine!
This book was really interesting in terms of the characters and their representations in the book, and I truly commend the author for that. The two main characters are women of colour that have dedicated their lives to academia and the arts while putting love off. Together, they discover with each other, how important love is if you have the right person to share it with. It's my first book I've read with this storyline, even though it was a bit different, I still enjoyed reading about it and experiencing it.
If you love spicy romances with characters that catch all the feels, you'll enjoy this!
Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Press for the earc in return for an honest review.
This book was really interesting in terms of the characters and their representations in the book, and I truly commend the author for that. The two main characters are women of colour that have dedicated their lives to academia and the arts while putting love off. Together, they discover with each other, how important love is if you have the right person to share it with. It's my first book I've read with this storyline, even though it was a bit different, I still enjoyed reading about it and experiencing it.
If you love spicy romances with characters that catch all the feels, you'll enjoy this!
Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Press for the earc in return for an honest review.
October 18, 2021
gonna write a full review soon but I adored this book, definitely one of my favorite reads this year❤️reading this felt languid, sexy and indulgent, but also really emotional and raw and just fantastic. highly reccomend
CW for racism & homophobia in the workplace and for brief reference to fatphobia
CW for racism & homophobia in the workplace and for brief reference to fatphobia
October 28, 2021
3.5 stars rounded to 4 for Goodreads
[I received a digital arc for an honest review]
Meet Me in Madrid is a lesbian adult romance by Verity Lowell. The story of two women trying to balance their personal relationship with their career goals, all while being thousands of miles away from each other.
Looking at the cover, I thought I was in for a light contemporary romance with a good amount of emotion because of the struggles that come with a long distance relationship. I was not expecting the amount of steam I would encounter, and I am not mad about it lol It starts with a one-night stand that's so much more than a one-night stand as soon as it starts. Then every time our leading ladies are together they definitely make the most of it and in between those meet up they aren't shy and enjoy phone sex. Their distance does not put out the intimate fire between them.
Besides the physical intimacy , one thing I love about long distance romances is the emotional connection that is formed between the women. While both strong characters on their own, neither of them outshone the other. They were supportive of each other's goals and career. I also really appreciated that the age gap between them wasn't some big deal, and neither of them obsessed over the fact. The reason this isn't getting a higher rating for me is because outside the romance, I found all the history jargon rather dull and found myself skimming whenever job situations were happening. Overall, this was a passionate romance between two strong BIPOC who have to learn to make room in their independent lives for love.
[I received a digital arc for an honest review]
Meet Me in Madrid is a lesbian adult romance by Verity Lowell. The story of two women trying to balance their personal relationship with their career goals, all while being thousands of miles away from each other.
Looking at the cover, I thought I was in for a light contemporary romance with a good amount of emotion because of the struggles that come with a long distance relationship. I was not expecting the amount of steam I would encounter, and I am not mad about it lol It starts with a one-night stand that's so much more than a one-night stand as soon as it starts. Then every time our leading ladies are together they definitely make the most of it and in between those meet up they aren't shy and enjoy phone sex. Their distance does not put out the intimate fire between them.
Besides the physical intimacy , one thing I love about long distance romances is the emotional connection that is formed between the women. While both strong characters on their own, neither of them outshone the other. They were supportive of each other's goals and career. I also really appreciated that the age gap between them wasn't some big deal, and neither of them obsessed over the fact. The reason this isn't getting a higher rating for me is because outside the romance, I found all the history jargon rather dull and found myself skimming whenever job situations were happening. Overall, this was a passionate romance between two strong BIPOC who have to learn to make room in their independent lives for love.
Read
November 21, 2021*e-ARC provided by NetGalley *
I've decided not to give this book a rating because I haven't finished it and frankly I don't know what my final opinion would have been. I really wanted to enjoy it, especially because of the inclusion of art history in it. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it past 25%. I haven't DNFed a book before, so this review might be a bit all over the place.
Most of the criticisms I've seen for this book were for the writing style, which I agree was not the best, but it wasn't that that put me off of this book. My biggest issue was really just the chemistry between the characters. To be fair, I completely forgot that there wasn't going to be a slow burn element to the relationship and that definitely wasn't something I wanted, but also, in the 25% I read, I barely felt a connection between the characters even though they'd already gotten together.
Also, I had an issue differentiating the characters. I don't know if this was just a me problem, but so much felt like it was happening while trying to explain the characters backgrounds that nothing being explained made sense to me. I couldn't even tell you which character was in the US and which one was in Madrid.
I can't say much else because I didn't read much of it, but this wasn't for me but I encourage people who may be more interested and can tough it out to try it.
I've decided not to give this book a rating because I haven't finished it and frankly I don't know what my final opinion would have been. I really wanted to enjoy it, especially because of the inclusion of art history in it. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it past 25%. I haven't DNFed a book before, so this review might be a bit all over the place.
Most of the criticisms I've seen for this book were for the writing style, which I agree was not the best, but it wasn't that that put me off of this book. My biggest issue was really just the chemistry between the characters. To be fair, I completely forgot that there wasn't going to be a slow burn element to the relationship and that definitely wasn't something I wanted, but also, in the 25% I read, I barely felt a connection between the characters even though they'd already gotten together.
Also, I had an issue differentiating the characters. I don't know if this was just a me problem, but so much felt like it was happening while trying to explain the characters backgrounds that nothing being explained made sense to me. I couldn't even tell you which character was in the US and which one was in Madrid.
I can't say much else because I didn't read much of it, but this wasn't for me but I encourage people who may be more interested and can tough it out to try it.
May 19, 2022
A book about accomplished and charming queer women in academia?? Seemed like a recipe for perfection, but it left me underwhelmed and bored. I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. But for me, it just ended up being underwhelming and mid. I ended up skimming most of it because I was bored out of my mind. I don't know how this book managed to be both fast-paced and boring? like so much stuff happens in such short amounts of time but none of it grabs your attention?
I felt like there was very little chemistry between Adrianna and Charlotte, and I didn't feel attached to them at all and I certainly did not care about the outcome of their relationship.
Maybe one day in the future I'll give this book another go but it probably won't be any time soon.
Also, this line at the start of Chapter Two gave me massive ick vibes: "In her mind, Charlotte had always been at the centre of a gaggle of preening, tight polo-wearing, meticulously shaven gay boys when Adrianna saw her around Yale. She was just the kind of pretty girl their kind loved to gossip and drink with; a fashionable enhancement of their brand."
I felt like there was very little chemistry between Adrianna and Charlotte, and I didn't feel attached to them at all and I certainly did not care about the outcome of their relationship.
Maybe one day in the future I'll give this book another go but it probably won't be any time soon.
Also, this line at the start of Chapter Two gave me massive ick vibes: "In her mind, Charlotte had always been at the centre of a gaggle of preening, tight polo-wearing, meticulously shaven gay boys when Adrianna saw her around Yale. She was just the kind of pretty girl their kind loved to gossip and drink with; a fashionable enhancement of their brand."
October 14, 2022
1.5 stars. It's been a long time since I considered DNFing a book, but I came close to doing just that with Meet Me In Madrid.
Positives first: I liked that the protagonists in this story were both middle-aged (thirties and forties) and that both were WOC. It's also obvious that the author has knowledge of academia and the art world. The cover is also very pretty (although it's worth noting that while there's a cat on the cover, neither character has a cat. Small gripe, I know, but still).
Unfortunately, there wasn't much else that worked for me. Plot wise, I didn't care for the instalust/instalove, and the long-distance relationship angle meant that much of the book was Charlotte and Adrianna waiting to see each other again. Until the very end of the book, their in-person encounters followed the same beats: hanging out in a hotel room or borrowed apartment, drinking a lot, having sex, having dinner, rinse and repeat. When they're separate, Lowell spends a lot of time telling us in great detail the minutia of their days, but skips over or ends significant events prematurely. As an example, towards the end of the book, Charlotte has a conversation with Abigail (her boss),which should be a pivotal moment, but the section essentially ends in mid-conversation. A plot point with Charlotte's previous boss firing her is resolved in a single chapter with barely any impact on the rest of the narrative.
The characterization was lacking as well. Outside of their academic lives and their relationship with each other, I had a hard time building up any sense of who Charlotte and Adrianna are. We've given some personal details about them, but they don't build into a cohesive picture. Frustratingly, the way both characters handle their emotions also makes them seem way younger than they are supposed to be. The secondary characters are more sketches than anything. I also didn't feel the chemistry that supposedly exists between Charlotte and Adrianna. On a related note, the sex scenes in this felt strangely perfunctory/mechanic - they're all very quick and repetitive, and I honestly would have preferred the book without them or if they had been fade to black instead.
But honestly, the part that had me come super close to DNFing was the writing style. There is no consistency with the tenses, and the POV seems to slip between each of the protagonists, even if we're in a section that is supposed to be from Charlotte's POV. There's also a single random chapter in the middle of the book from Esther's (Adrianna's best friend) POV, which was very jarring. The sheer amount of telling instead of showing was very frustrating - we're told that Charlotte feels a certain way, or that Adrianna has a specific personality trait, but because we're not shown that, it falls very flat.
Anyways, I was disappointed in this book. If you're really into books that touch on academia, LDRs, or diverse protagonists, maybe give it a try? But otherwise, there's plenty of sapphic work out there that I would recommend before this.
Positives first: I liked that the protagonists in this story were both middle-aged (thirties and forties) and that both were WOC. It's also obvious that the author has knowledge of academia and the art world. The cover is also very pretty (although it's worth noting that while there's a cat on the cover, neither character has a cat. Small gripe, I know, but still).
Unfortunately, there wasn't much else that worked for me. Plot wise, I didn't care for the instalust/instalove, and the long-distance relationship angle meant that much of the book was Charlotte and Adrianna waiting to see each other again. Until the very end of the book, their in-person encounters followed the same beats: hanging out in a hotel room or borrowed apartment, drinking a lot, having sex, having dinner, rinse and repeat. When they're separate, Lowell spends a lot of time telling us in great detail the minutia of their days, but skips over or ends significant events prematurely. As an example, towards the end of the book, Charlotte has a conversation with Abigail (her boss),which should be a pivotal moment, but the section essentially ends in mid-conversation. A plot point with Charlotte's previous boss firing her is resolved in a single chapter with barely any impact on the rest of the narrative.
The characterization was lacking as well. Outside of their academic lives and their relationship with each other, I had a hard time building up any sense of who Charlotte and Adrianna are. We've given some personal details about them, but they don't build into a cohesive picture. Frustratingly, the way both characters handle their emotions also makes them seem way younger than they are supposed to be. The secondary characters are more sketches than anything. I also didn't feel the chemistry that supposedly exists between Charlotte and Adrianna. On a related note, the sex scenes in this felt strangely perfunctory/mechanic - they're all very quick and repetitive, and I honestly would have preferred the book without them or if they had been fade to black instead.
But honestly, the part that had me come super close to DNFing was the writing style. There is no consistency with the tenses, and the POV seems to slip between each of the protagonists, even if we're in a section that is supposed to be from Charlotte's POV. There's also a single random chapter in the middle of the book from Esther's (Adrianna's best friend) POV, which was very jarring. The sheer amount of telling instead of showing was very frustrating - we're told that Charlotte feels a certain way, or that Adrianna has a specific personality trait, but because we're not shown that, it falls very flat.
Anyways, I was disappointed in this book. If you're really into books that touch on academia, LDRs, or diverse protagonists, maybe give it a try? But otherwise, there's plenty of sapphic work out there that I would recommend before this.
May 3, 2022
You know how people will sometimes feed a bunch of writing—like, Tr*mp's tweets or NYT headlines or something—into an AI bot and let it spit out its own approximation of same?
I'm 99% certain that's how the sex scenes were written in this book.
Lord almighty. This was…not good. I'm so bummed about that because we have so few Sapphic romances to begin with, and I wanted to love this, or at least enjoy it, despite its low average rating. Instead, I ended up thinking that rating is generous as fuck. For one thing, this was incredibly boring. Just boring. I didn't feel any sense of tension or excitement or anything, and since a good portion of the story finds the characters in a long-distance relationship, it made the actual romance arc dull because they were apart so much. The way their relationship started too was insta-lovey and uncomfortable, and honestly felt almost New Adult even though the women are much older than that age range. I just didn't like the dynamic between them and it felt so forced.
And yeah. Look. I'm not the best person to judge the quality of smut scenes, but come on. Early on in the book, when they're part after their tryst in Spain and are now having flirty text exchanges and such, they engage in phone sex, and the way it starts is just. Just no.
I'm asexual and I could write better steam than that. (The "There" in the last line honestly made me laugh out loud. You really gotta narrate every moment of taking your underwear off?) It didn't improve, either. "Shit, girl, what are we doing?" "You're not doing anything. And I'm doing you." Good God.
But mainly, I just didn't care about these characters at all because they were so flat and also way too similar. Plus, it's told in third person and we get both characters' POVs, but it changed so often and so quickly that it felt very jarring. And there was just no real substance to the story at all. Very disappointing, and I'm just glad it was short.
I'm 99% certain that's how the sex scenes were written in this book.
Lord almighty. This was…not good. I'm so bummed about that because we have so few Sapphic romances to begin with, and I wanted to love this, or at least enjoy it, despite its low average rating. Instead, I ended up thinking that rating is generous as fuck. For one thing, this was incredibly boring. Just boring. I didn't feel any sense of tension or excitement or anything, and since a good portion of the story finds the characters in a long-distance relationship, it made the actual romance arc dull because they were apart so much. The way their relationship started too was insta-lovey and uncomfortable, and honestly felt almost New Adult even though the women are much older than that age range. I just didn't like the dynamic between them and it felt so forced.
And yeah. Look. I'm not the best person to judge the quality of smut scenes, but come on. Early on in the book, when they're part after their tryst in Spain and are now having flirty text exchanges and such, they engage in phone sex, and the way it starts is just. Just no.
"Are you in bed?" asked the voice on the other end.
Charlotte set down the water and got back under the covers.
"I am now," she said."
"I wish you were fucking me."
"I wish I were fucking you, too," Charlotte said. "Hold on, I have to take my panties off. There. I'm so wet just hearing your voice."
I'm asexual and I could write better steam than that. (The "There" in the last line honestly made me laugh out loud. You really gotta narrate every moment of taking your underwear off?) It didn't improve, either. "Shit, girl, what are we doing?" "You're not doing anything. And I'm doing you." Good God.
But mainly, I just didn't care about these characters at all because they were so flat and also way too similar. Plus, it's told in third person and we get both characters' POVs, but it changed so often and so quickly that it felt very jarring. And there was just no real substance to the story at all. Very disappointing, and I'm just glad it was short.
September 25, 2021
From the get go, I was hooked by the story. It was so refreshing to see two POC in a #lesfic romance, and even better but two women in Academia. Charlotte and Adrianna reunite in Spain serendipitously, and after a grad-school crush their romance develops very quickly over 4 days together. They are then left with a strong connection, but a very long distance romance.
I really enjoyed following the long distance romance, and anyone who has experienced this type of relationship would definitely relate to this part of the story. It took me back to when I first started dating my wife and we had a few months of separation and it was so difficult and tested our relationship. It can definitely make or break a romance!
All in all, a great romance that I highly recommend if you like your characters to be smart, outspoken and sexy.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Carina Press / Carina Adores for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed following the long distance romance, and anyone who has experienced this type of relationship would definitely relate to this part of the story. It took me back to when I first started dating my wife and we had a few months of separation and it was so difficult and tested our relationship. It can definitely make or break a romance!
All in all, a great romance that I highly recommend if you like your characters to be smart, outspoken and sexy.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Carina Press / Carina Adores for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
January 6, 2022
A Joyfully Jay review.
When Dr. Charlotte Hilaire finished her graduate program with honors, she never thought that three years on she’d be stuck as an assistant curator who spends most of her time couriering artwork instead of teaching at a liberal arts institution. However, when she finds herself stranded in Madrid where the illustrious Dr. Adrianna Coates is currently residing, Charlotte can’t help but be grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with her brilliant former crush. Adrianna was an intimidating inspiration as Charlotte’s dissertation advisor at Yale; now that Adrianna is teaching at UCLA and with a prestigious sabbatical fellowship to finish her book, Charlotte feels even less like her peer.
Yet, as accomplished, elegant, and daunting as Adrianna is, the instant connection and passion she and Charlotte share quickly crosses any perceived divide between them and, after three intense days, both women are determined to build upon their brief time together. Unfortunately, working in different countries isn’t the only obstacle to transitioning from white-hot fling to enduring romance. When their separate career ambitions place their fledgling relationship in jeopardy, Adrianna and Charlotte must reexamine what they value most.
Meet Me in Madrid is billed as a “sexy, sophisticated romantic comedy,” but I’m hard-pressed to figure out how (unless lots of sex automatically equals sexy) because there is no comedy—romantic, comedy of errors, or otherwise. I suppose sophisticated fits as both women are urbane, educated, and slightly snobbish in their dress, mannerisms, and entertainment pursuits. It’s just difficult to align the instalove with sophistication as presented here. Charlotte supposedly goes from contentedly single to barely able to get up in the mornings once home, and after only a week of being together, when Adrianna mentions extending her sabbatical, Charlotte spirals into despair and assumptions that Adrianna doesn’t care about her. Charlotte’s emotions become so intense that she gets sick to her stomach and panics at the thought of not seeing Adrianna or a missed text (among other things). Her angsting only ratchets higher and twists her up more throughout the story, as apparently discussing feelings with one another isn’t the done thing for these two sophisticates.
It also doesn’t help that most of the page time allotted to the MCs as a couple is them having sex/sexting/Sex Timing. They rarely have conversations about their relationship status, their feelings (besides being horny), etc. Instead, Adrianna occasionally muses reflectively and compares her feelings for Charlotte to her previous experiences, while Charlotte obsesses about it in her inner monologues—A LOT. Her street cred as an Independent Woman™ is also a bit hard to swallow as Charlotte admits that both of the achievements she’s made in her career are inspired by her desire for Adrianna. She credits wanting to impress Adrianna as the reason her dissertation earned honors and being near Adrianna as why she puts everything into her interview. Mind you, most of Charlotte’s insecurity in herself stems from not obtaining a professorship and a) the job is basically everything she wants, b) openings are few and far between, and c) no one is beating down her door with offers. There is no reason she shouldn’t give her best in the interview regardless of Adrianna being in the picture; thus, Charlotte doesn’t come across as a determined, sophisticated thirty-something, but as kind of whiny and driven more by her libido than self-motivation, especially compared to Adrianna.
Frankly, I just didn’t believe in the viability of or care about their HEA. The entire relationship takes place over the course of a few months and a few in person meetings comprised of a handful of days after a month or so of separation. I know that the running joke is that lesbians meet one day and move in the next, but I just didn’t buy the depth of feelings beyond intense sexual chemistry and basic compatibility. There is no real connection building with one another to support their coupledom; Charlotte and Adrianna spend more time talking to Adrianna’s friend Esther about their relationship than with one another. To me, this imbalance is partially due to the uneven prose that is a bit awkward in its construction—from unnecessary and/or redundant descriptors to sentence fragments that end mid-thought. The transitions can be abrupt, the dialogue is clunky (especially conversations the MCs have about being BIPOC women in a world dominated by cis-het white men), and the pacing is hampered by concocted drama. There’s also an introduction of an “awkward quasi-flirtation” and relationship that feels shoved in. It seemed like a poorly done intro for a book for another character, but no, it’s just there. Maybe it’s supposed to illustrate that even rich, white women presented as entitled, conniving, and mean can be targets of harassment (as if that needs to be stated) and promote female solidarity against the patriarchy that forces them to see one another as competitors, but as written, its inclusion seems unnecessary and forced.
Additionally, as important as being racialized women of color is to Adrianna and Charlotte, their experiences, and the obstacles to their career achievements, the story mostly addresses it as anecdotal asides and commiserations the MCs make to one another. There is one plot relevant episode that is handled well and written in such a way that even the character involved knows its impact will be profound. Yet, the aftermath is handled with such a lazy deus ex machina that it trivializes the issues the MCs discuss. While I like that the characters are academics and the snippets of Adrianna’s research, there is little else for me to enjoy in Meet Me in Madrid. However, for those interested in insta-love, the woes of long-distance relationships, and lots of sexy times (with a few instances of dreadful dirty talk), there may be more here for you.
When Dr. Charlotte Hilaire finished her graduate program with honors, she never thought that three years on she’d be stuck as an assistant curator who spends most of her time couriering artwork instead of teaching at a liberal arts institution. However, when she finds herself stranded in Madrid where the illustrious Dr. Adrianna Coates is currently residing, Charlotte can’t help but be grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with her brilliant former crush. Adrianna was an intimidating inspiration as Charlotte’s dissertation advisor at Yale; now that Adrianna is teaching at UCLA and with a prestigious sabbatical fellowship to finish her book, Charlotte feels even less like her peer.
Yet, as accomplished, elegant, and daunting as Adrianna is, the instant connection and passion she and Charlotte share quickly crosses any perceived divide between them and, after three intense days, both women are determined to build upon their brief time together. Unfortunately, working in different countries isn’t the only obstacle to transitioning from white-hot fling to enduring romance. When their separate career ambitions place their fledgling relationship in jeopardy, Adrianna and Charlotte must reexamine what they value most.
Meet Me in Madrid is billed as a “sexy, sophisticated romantic comedy,” but I’m hard-pressed to figure out how (unless lots of sex automatically equals sexy) because there is no comedy—romantic, comedy of errors, or otherwise. I suppose sophisticated fits as both women are urbane, educated, and slightly snobbish in their dress, mannerisms, and entertainment pursuits. It’s just difficult to align the instalove with sophistication as presented here. Charlotte supposedly goes from contentedly single to barely able to get up in the mornings once home, and after only a week of being together, when Adrianna mentions extending her sabbatical, Charlotte spirals into despair and assumptions that Adrianna doesn’t care about her. Charlotte’s emotions become so intense that she gets sick to her stomach and panics at the thought of not seeing Adrianna or a missed text (among other things). Her angsting only ratchets higher and twists her up more throughout the story, as apparently discussing feelings with one another isn’t the done thing for these two sophisticates.
It also doesn’t help that most of the page time allotted to the MCs as a couple is them having sex/sexting/Sex Timing. They rarely have conversations about their relationship status, their feelings (besides being horny), etc. Instead, Adrianna occasionally muses reflectively and compares her feelings for Charlotte to her previous experiences, while Charlotte obsesses about it in her inner monologues—A LOT. Her street cred as an Independent Woman™ is also a bit hard to swallow as Charlotte admits that both of the achievements she’s made in her career are inspired by her desire for Adrianna. She credits wanting to impress Adrianna as the reason her dissertation earned honors and being near Adrianna as why she puts everything into her interview. Mind you, most of Charlotte’s insecurity in herself stems from not obtaining a professorship and a) the job is basically everything she wants, b) openings are few and far between, and c) no one is beating down her door with offers. There is no reason she shouldn’t give her best in the interview regardless of Adrianna being in the picture; thus, Charlotte doesn’t come across as a determined, sophisticated thirty-something, but as kind of whiny and driven more by her libido than self-motivation, especially compared to Adrianna.
Frankly, I just didn’t believe in the viability of or care about their HEA. The entire relationship takes place over the course of a few months and a few in person meetings comprised of a handful of days after a month or so of separation. I know that the running joke is that lesbians meet one day and move in the next, but I just didn’t buy the depth of feelings beyond intense sexual chemistry and basic compatibility. There is no real connection building with one another to support their coupledom; Charlotte and Adrianna spend more time talking to Adrianna’s friend Esther about their relationship than with one another. To me, this imbalance is partially due to the uneven prose that is a bit awkward in its construction—from unnecessary and/or redundant descriptors to sentence fragments that end mid-thought. The transitions can be abrupt, the dialogue is clunky (especially conversations the MCs have about being BIPOC women in a world dominated by cis-het white men), and the pacing is hampered by concocted drama. There’s also an introduction of an “awkward quasi-flirtation” and relationship that feels shoved in. It seemed like a poorly done intro for a book for another character, but no, it’s just there. Maybe it’s supposed to illustrate that even rich, white women presented as entitled, conniving, and mean can be targets of harassment (as if that needs to be stated) and promote female solidarity against the patriarchy that forces them to see one another as competitors, but as written, its inclusion seems unnecessary and forced.
Additionally, as important as being racialized women of color is to Adrianna and Charlotte, their experiences, and the obstacles to their career achievements, the story mostly addresses it as anecdotal asides and commiserations the MCs make to one another. There is one plot relevant episode that is handled well and written in such a way that even the character involved knows its impact will be profound. Yet, the aftermath is handled with such a lazy deus ex machina that it trivializes the issues the MCs discuss. While I like that the characters are academics and the snippets of Adrianna’s research, there is little else for me to enjoy in Meet Me in Madrid. However, for those interested in insta-love, the woes of long-distance relationships, and lots of sexy times (with a few instances of dreadful dirty talk), there may be more here for you.
February 22, 2022
You would think that the two main characters are on opposites sides of the globe, the way that distance is described, but they don't.... I enjoyed that these are two QWOC in academia and the love scenes were hot, but the story felt flat, overly focused on the "she's so far away... I wish she were here" line and sometimes the characters mushed together.
More of a 3.2 for me.
More of a 3.2 for me.
November 22, 2021
***I would have rated this a 2.5 if I could.
While I did enjoy this easy read, and long for stories that are about queer adults rather than coming of age/coming out stories, something was missing to make me feel close or empathetic towards the characters.
The majority of the story is focused on when they are together, or are a few days before or after seeing on another. I wish we would’ve seen the longing that an LDR can cause and actually gotten to see deeper conversations between the two when they are apart rather than just them having phone sex. It overall led to me not feeling tied to this relationship other than the fact than I knew I should be rooting for it.
There are also a lot of inconsistencies in this book that should have been caught by the editor. Lots of typos, or even then calling an area of Chicago “Logan Park” to then start referring to it as “Logan Square” 2 paragraphs later. At first I thought I was confused, but then I realized it was the same location and the name of the neighborhood has gotten mixed up the first time it was introduced (also, I am from Chicago and can attest there is no “Logan Park” lol)
The age difference is also an interestingly handled topic. By context, Adrianna is 42 and Charlotte we assume about 32 or at youngest, 30. However, she is portrayed through her naivety and insecurity as a women on her early 20’s. This makes the age difference seem so apparent as Adrianna was portrayed as the more mature, level headed one. If they had wanted to make the way Charlotte was acting or the differences in their ages more believable, Charlotte should have been 25.
Another unbelievable thing was the logistics of their sex. This emphasis on grinding against one another until completion seemed as if it were written by a straight male, rather than the queer women it was. At times, the way they spoke about their sex even seemed very heterosexual, such as referring to being “inside her.” Sure, I understood what they meant, but it seemed very heterosexually framed. I also disliked the weird, sudden pet names they used for one another, just after barely starting their relationship. Maybe that is just my personal taste, but it seemed awkward and off putting since we lacked seeing deep conversations/intimacy as I mentioned in the beginning.
In the end, I read this book with my partner as a fun activity and it was still an enjoyable and easy read. I do not regret reading but would also not recommend.
While I did enjoy this easy read, and long for stories that are about queer adults rather than coming of age/coming out stories, something was missing to make me feel close or empathetic towards the characters.
The majority of the story is focused on when they are together, or are a few days before or after seeing on another. I wish we would’ve seen the longing that an LDR can cause and actually gotten to see deeper conversations between the two when they are apart rather than just them having phone sex. It overall led to me not feeling tied to this relationship other than the fact than I knew I should be rooting for it.
There are also a lot of inconsistencies in this book that should have been caught by the editor. Lots of typos, or even then calling an area of Chicago “Logan Park” to then start referring to it as “Logan Square” 2 paragraphs later. At first I thought I was confused, but then I realized it was the same location and the name of the neighborhood has gotten mixed up the first time it was introduced (also, I am from Chicago and can attest there is no “Logan Park” lol)
The age difference is also an interestingly handled topic. By context, Adrianna is 42 and Charlotte we assume about 32 or at youngest, 30. However, she is portrayed through her naivety and insecurity as a women on her early 20’s. This makes the age difference seem so apparent as Adrianna was portrayed as the more mature, level headed one. If they had wanted to make the way Charlotte was acting or the differences in their ages more believable, Charlotte should have been 25.
Another unbelievable thing was the logistics of their sex. This emphasis on grinding against one another until completion seemed as if it were written by a straight male, rather than the queer women it was. At times, the way they spoke about their sex even seemed very heterosexual, such as referring to being “inside her.” Sure, I understood what they meant, but it seemed very heterosexually framed. I also disliked the weird, sudden pet names they used for one another, just after barely starting their relationship. Maybe that is just my personal taste, but it seemed awkward and off putting since we lacked seeing deep conversations/intimacy as I mentioned in the beginning.
In the end, I read this book with my partner as a fun activity and it was still an enjoyable and easy read. I do not regret reading but would also not recommend.
January 6, 2022
A Joyfully Jay review.
2.75 stars
Meet Me in Madrid is billed as a “sexy, sophisticated romantic comedy,” but I’m hard-pressed to figure out how (unless lots of sex automatically equals sexy) because there is no comedy—romantic, comedy of errors, or otherwise. I suppose sophisticated fits as both women are urbane, educated, and slightly snobbish in their dress, mannerisms, and entertainment pursuits. It’s just difficult to align the instalove with sophistication as presented here. Charlotte supposedly goes from contentedly single to barely able to get up in the mornings once home, and after only a week of being together, when Adrianna mentions extending her sabbatical, Charlotte spirals into despair and assumptions that Adrianna doesn’t care about her. Charlotte’s emotions become so intense that she gets sick to her stomach and panics at the thought of not seeing Adrianna or a missed text (among other things). Her angsting only ratchets higher and twists her up more throughout the story, as apparently discussing feelings with one another isn’t the done thing for these two sophisticates.
Read Jovan’s review in its entirety here.
2.75 stars
Meet Me in Madrid is billed as a “sexy, sophisticated romantic comedy,” but I’m hard-pressed to figure out how (unless lots of sex automatically equals sexy) because there is no comedy—romantic, comedy of errors, or otherwise. I suppose sophisticated fits as both women are urbane, educated, and slightly snobbish in their dress, mannerisms, and entertainment pursuits. It’s just difficult to align the instalove with sophistication as presented here. Charlotte supposedly goes from contentedly single to barely able to get up in the mornings once home, and after only a week of being together, when Adrianna mentions extending her sabbatical, Charlotte spirals into despair and assumptions that Adrianna doesn’t care about her. Charlotte’s emotions become so intense that she gets sick to her stomach and panics at the thought of not seeing Adrianna or a missed text (among other things). Her angsting only ratchets higher and twists her up more throughout the story, as apparently discussing feelings with one another isn’t the done thing for these two sophisticates.
Read Jovan’s review in its entirety here.
August 29, 2021
Disclaimer: This review and rating is based on a four-chapter preview provided by NetGalley. Meet Me in Madrid will be available to read on October 26, 2021. Thank you, NetGalley and HARLEQUIN - Carina Press, for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced preview in exchange for an honest review.
This was my first time reading Verity Lowell, and I'm so glad I could get a sneak peek into her next book, Meet Me in Madrid!
I love a good second chance romance story, and this book does not disappoint! It's fast-paced, which I love. We see Adrianna and Charlotte reconnect right off the bat. Wine and a snowstorm ensue, leaving them with the only obvious option-- get snowed in together.
While the romance aspect of this book is perfectly steamy, Lowell also fits in topics around race and sexism without it seeming weirdly out of place. It was actually a breath of fresh air!
I'm so happy I was able to get a preview of this novel, and I can't wait to read where Adrianna and Charlotte left off!
This was my first time reading Verity Lowell, and I'm so glad I could get a sneak peek into her next book, Meet Me in Madrid!
I love a good second chance romance story, and this book does not disappoint! It's fast-paced, which I love. We see Adrianna and Charlotte reconnect right off the bat. Wine and a snowstorm ensue, leaving them with the only obvious option-- get snowed in together.
While the romance aspect of this book is perfectly steamy, Lowell also fits in topics around race and sexism without it seeming weirdly out of place. It was actually a breath of fresh air!
I'm so happy I was able to get a preview of this novel, and I can't wait to read where Adrianna and Charlotte left off!
February 27, 2023
2.5 stars (2 stars = It was okay; 3 = I liked it).
Nice to read a WLW book where the MCs aren't white women. Also nice to read a WLW academic book where the relationship isn't student/teacher. Don't see many LDR stories so that was nice to see. LDR takes place across two coasts and two countries as well as amid the backdrop of the academic job market- which added an interesting twist to things. 2 bi female side characters and the obligatory gay male best friend was also nice to see.
All that said, I didn't find the MCs very compelling- I had a hard time caring about either of them. I wish the author gave us more about their past grad/crush years, and something more substantial about their personalities beyond "driven academic" and "New Orleans/Creole."
Also I'm sorry but no... cheese grits will never be the best thing next to sex- I don't care where you are from or how good a cook you are. Just no.
Nice to read a WLW book where the MCs aren't white women. Also nice to read a WLW academic book where the relationship isn't student/teacher. Don't see many LDR stories so that was nice to see. LDR takes place across two coasts and two countries as well as amid the backdrop of the academic job market- which added an interesting twist to things. 2 bi female side characters and the obligatory gay male best friend was also nice to see.
All that said, I didn't find the MCs very compelling- I had a hard time caring about either of them. I wish the author gave us more about their past grad/crush years, and something more substantial about their personalities beyond "driven academic" and "New Orleans/Creole."
Also I'm sorry but no... cheese grits will never be the best thing next to sex- I don't care where you are from or how good a cook you are. Just no.
October 26, 2021
2.5 stars
this was a bit of a dissapointment for me.
I wanted to loved this book so much because POC sapphic love stories there are very few but unfortunately the plot and romance weren't developed enough.
i also couldn't connect with either of the mcs which was a bummer.
And still, this wasn't a bad book. There were some parts that I truly enjoyed and I wish we had more of that.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the change to read this book in exchnge for an honest review.
this was a bit of a dissapointment for me.
I wanted to loved this book so much because POC sapphic love stories there are very few but unfortunately the plot and romance weren't developed enough.
i also couldn't connect with either of the mcs which was a bummer.
And still, this wasn't a bad book. There were some parts that I truly enjoyed and I wish we had more of that.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the change to read this book in exchnge for an honest review.
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