What do you think?
Rate this book
Duo Act
Performing was a dream come true. My partner was a nightmare.
Sofia has waited her entire life to get to perform in a real circus show. Better yet, she’ll get to create two acts! The only catch? One performance is a duo act.
And her partner is a nightmare.
The blue-haired, tattooed, pierced Phoenix dismisses Sofia the second they meet. What did Sofia do to deserve the cold shoulder? It doesn’t help that Phoenix is ... very freaking hot.
The other catch? Phoenix is non-binary, and ever since him, Sofia has promised herself only women. Dealing with the heat between them while trying to perform a high-level aerial silks act might prove more than either Sofia or Phoenix can manage. Maybe it’s best to just kiss and get over it...
"Duo Act" is a high-heat enemies-to-lovers sports romance with a HEA. Please see inside cover for content warnings in regards to discussions of gender and relationships. This book first appeared in-full on Kindle Vella. It has not been changed significantly since then.
Sofia has waited her entire life to get to perform in a real circus show. Better yet, she’ll get to create two acts! The only catch? One performance is a duo act.
And her partner is a nightmare.
The blue-haired, tattooed, pierced Phoenix dismisses Sofia the second they meet. What did Sofia do to deserve the cold shoulder? It doesn’t help that Phoenix is ... very freaking hot.
The other catch? Phoenix is non-binary, and ever since him, Sofia has promised herself only women. Dealing with the heat between them while trying to perform a high-level aerial silks act might prove more than either Sofia or Phoenix can manage. Maybe it’s best to just kiss and get over it...
"Duo Act" is a high-heat enemies-to-lovers sports romance with a HEA. Please see inside cover for content warnings in regards to discussions of gender and relationships. This book first appeared in-full on Kindle Vella. It has not been changed significantly since then.
227 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 15, 2022
About the author
Lainee Ash
4 books5 followersLainee Ash writes sapphic romance books with a special emphasis on lesbian, bisexual and nonbinary romance leads. They especially enjoy sports romance that focuses on lesser known sports like competitive climbing and aerial acrobatics. They also publish mm sports romance as F.A. Ray.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 31, 2022
I've always been thrilled and amazed by arialist shows so the synopsis for this book was appealing.
Leads Sofia and Phoenix, both silk specialists are strong and different in looks and style but a new show has forced them to perform a duo act. Is such an act possible and can personal feelings be set aside?
Descriptions of arialist moves with the training and preparation needed easily flowed and pulled me into the possibility of a grand finale and maybe more. Years of hidden slights and emotional scars are stumbling blocks with trust a challenge for Phoenix and Sofia hiding her own insecurities.
The writing is intense, the sex hot and the plot works steadily through difficulties, misunderstandings, acceptance and love to a delightful ending.
Great job Lainee and a wonderful read for me.
I rec'd a copy through Booksprout. This review is unbiased.
Leads Sofia and Phoenix, both silk specialists are strong and different in looks and style but a new show has forced them to perform a duo act. Is such an act possible and can personal feelings be set aside?
Descriptions of arialist moves with the training and preparation needed easily flowed and pulled me into the possibility of a grand finale and maybe more. Years of hidden slights and emotional scars are stumbling blocks with trust a challenge for Phoenix and Sofia hiding her own insecurities.
The writing is intense, the sex hot and the plot works steadily through difficulties, misunderstandings, acceptance and love to a delightful ending.
Great job Lainee and a wonderful read for me.
I rec'd a copy through Booksprout. This review is unbiased.
October 17, 2024
I had to DNF this about 30% in. The content warning at the beginning of the book advises that there will be misgendering in it, but it fails to note that the person doing most of the misgendering is one of the main characters and the love interest to the non-binary person who is getting misgendered.
I read a LOT of books about trans and non-binary people, and not ONCE have I ever had to read a story in which the main character is consistently getting misgendered and disrespected by their actual love interest!! Someone they're dating at the beginning of the book and then break up with to get with someone better? Sure! But to have to read the POV of the person doing the misgendering, and then be expected to root for these two to get together? Absolutely not.
Here's some of the passages as examples of what we're dealing with here:
Chapter one, Sofia's POV:
Phoenix? Was that really her name? Either this chick had some wacky hippies for parents or she wasn't being entirely honest. Sofia groaned inwardly. This "Phoenix" sounded like one of those "too cool for you" types who changed their name every month and got offended when everyone didn't instantly adjust.
Chapter 3, Sofia's POV:
"Oh." Sofia stopped. They. So it wasn't just that Phoenix had an edgy haircut and some piercings, she - they, they - were non-binary or non-conforming or whatever the latest term was. Well, whatever. Sofia didn't need to date them; she just had to work with them.
Part of Sofia wanted to ask why Phoenix insisted on making this even more difficult, why they wanted to make things extra complicated, extra annoying.
Chapter 6, Phoenix's POV:
"You know," Sofia said, "you claim you aren't a woman, but you sure fuck like one."
Then, this is Sofia's "apology" after the above statement was made, in chapter 7:
"I made a mistake,: Sofia said. "OK? It was a dumb joke. It was stupid. I get it. And if you hate me forever for it, so be it, but can we at least be professionals here? Can we at least not ruin this for everyone else just because we don't like each other?"
(this whole chapter before Sofia's "apology" - notice she never actually says the word sorry - is just Sofia complaining in her inner monologue about how it was just a JOKE, and Phoenix is the one to blame for taking it so seriously.
So like, if all of this had happened in the story from a character that the reader was suppose to dislike and they were someone Phoenix broke up with, then fine! I'd read that and be like "what an asshole, hope Phoenix dates someone better", but no Sofia is the main character here. Sofia has had the most POV chapters, and has the most personality - I could not actually describe Phoenix's personality in this book other than annoyed and anxious.
Another thing is that the two characters dislike each other from the get-go without much reason as to why. In chapter 2 Phoenix's best friend Jason (who the author feels the need to interject with "His real name was Kang-Dae, but he always introduced himself as Jason" which just felt incredible unnecessary??? And look at this non-binary person asking people to please respect their chosen name while looking down on their friend for also having a chosen name?? WHY) comes up to Phoenix and basically says "you're gonna hate Sofia because she's a gold-star lesbian, she's pretty old-fashioned and stuck in her ways" basically poisoning Phoenix's opinions of Sofia from the get go, but then in chapter 8 he tells Phoenix that they HAVE to forgive Sofia for the "fucks like a woman" comment. This is honestly the point in the book I decided to DNF it because NONE OF THE CHARACTERS' DECISIONS MAKE ANY SENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (not to mention their boss calling Sofia and Phoenix into his office and telling them to just fuck already and get on with their jobs - inappropriate much?)
So, yeah. In conclusion I found the writing style fine and easy to read, and I liked the concept of aerial silk sports romance, but the characters have no personality and are very judgemental and make really illogical decisions that only serve to forward the plot but make no sense realistically. If you're a non-binary or trans person don't read this, it's just going to upset you. Also please never date someone who says this kind of shit to you, it's not worth it.
I read a LOT of books about trans and non-binary people, and not ONCE have I ever had to read a story in which the main character is consistently getting misgendered and disrespected by their actual love interest!! Someone they're dating at the beginning of the book and then break up with to get with someone better? Sure! But to have to read the POV of the person doing the misgendering, and then be expected to root for these two to get together? Absolutely not.
Here's some of the passages as examples of what we're dealing with here:
Chapter one, Sofia's POV:
Phoenix? Was that really her name? Either this chick had some wacky hippies for parents or she wasn't being entirely honest. Sofia groaned inwardly. This "Phoenix" sounded like one of those "too cool for you" types who changed their name every month and got offended when everyone didn't instantly adjust.
Chapter 3, Sofia's POV:
"Oh." Sofia stopped. They. So it wasn't just that Phoenix had an edgy haircut and some piercings, she - they, they - were non-binary or non-conforming or whatever the latest term was. Well, whatever. Sofia didn't need to date them; she just had to work with them.
Part of Sofia wanted to ask why Phoenix insisted on making this even more difficult, why they wanted to make things extra complicated, extra annoying.
Chapter 6, Phoenix's POV:
"You know," Sofia said, "you claim you aren't a woman, but you sure fuck like one."
Then, this is Sofia's "apology" after the above statement was made, in chapter 7:
"I made a mistake,: Sofia said. "OK? It was a dumb joke. It was stupid. I get it. And if you hate me forever for it, so be it, but can we at least be professionals here? Can we at least not ruin this for everyone else just because we don't like each other?"
(this whole chapter before Sofia's "apology" - notice she never actually says the word sorry - is just Sofia complaining in her inner monologue about how it was just a JOKE, and Phoenix is the one to blame for taking it so seriously.
So like, if all of this had happened in the story from a character that the reader was suppose to dislike and they were someone Phoenix broke up with, then fine! I'd read that and be like "what an asshole, hope Phoenix dates someone better", but no Sofia is the main character here. Sofia has had the most POV chapters, and has the most personality - I could not actually describe Phoenix's personality in this book other than annoyed and anxious.
Another thing is that the two characters dislike each other from the get-go without much reason as to why. In chapter 2 Phoenix's best friend Jason (who the author feels the need to interject with "His real name was Kang-Dae, but he always introduced himself as Jason" which just felt incredible unnecessary??? And look at this non-binary person asking people to please respect their chosen name while looking down on their friend for also having a chosen name?? WHY) comes up to Phoenix and basically says "you're gonna hate Sofia because she's a gold-star lesbian, she's pretty old-fashioned and stuck in her ways" basically poisoning Phoenix's opinions of Sofia from the get go, but then in chapter 8 he tells Phoenix that they HAVE to forgive Sofia for the "fucks like a woman" comment. This is honestly the point in the book I decided to DNF it because NONE OF THE CHARACTERS' DECISIONS MAKE ANY SENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (not to mention their boss calling Sofia and Phoenix into his office and telling them to just fuck already and get on with their jobs - inappropriate much?)
So, yeah. In conclusion I found the writing style fine and easy to read, and I liked the concept of aerial silk sports romance, but the characters have no personality and are very judgemental and make really illogical decisions that only serve to forward the plot but make no sense realistically. If you're a non-binary or trans person don't read this, it's just going to upset you. Also please never date someone who says this kind of shit to you, it's not worth it.
May 31, 2023
This book was...difficult. I nearly DNFd several times in the first half, I guess I kept going for closure.
I love LOVE the setting of aerial artists, although I found it a shame that we didn't really see much of that world, all things considered. It might've been interesting to get to know the other performers and explore the inner machinations of the circus community a bit more.
Things I didn't like...whew. I hated the emphasis on "professionalism". I hated Gary. Sofia (one of the main characters) is judgemental right from Chapter 1 and makes a transphobic comment to the non-binary love interest in Chapter 6 that physically hurt to read (I am genderqueer and what she said is probably one of the most hurtful things you could say to me). Sofia has some tragic backstory hinted at and I worried the entire book that it was going to involve a binary trans person (it did not, fortunately) - honestly I was so scared, I did not want that to be a mystery. Anyway, Sofia has so much work to do it was impossible to root for the romance. Plus, for the first half of the book I felt like Phoenix was being gaslit by everyone around them. Even Jason; I did not like Jason. I just wanted them to get the heck out of that awful environment and find other genderqueer people to hang out with instead.
I did feel like the book got better in the second half. Sofia did...some work? I guess? I like the message that you have to acknowledge your mistakes and do better in the future. But you can't expect others to judge you based on only your present actions, if you hurt them in the past. You can only hope they have grace to give you, but know sometimes they can't afford it.
I don't really have anything else to say as it may not be fair. I liked the sex, I liked the silks, I liked the characters by the end. I do feel like this subject matter could've been handled with more care, but I suppose nothing bad that happened in this book is new to me, as a genderqueer person, and it gave me some things to think about and process.
For anyone looking for an excellent, less traumatic romance with a non-binary protagonist, I recently loved JUST MIGHT WORK by Katia Rose.
I love LOVE the setting of aerial artists, although I found it a shame that we didn't really see much of that world, all things considered. It might've been interesting to get to know the other performers and explore the inner machinations of the circus community a bit more.
Things I didn't like...whew. I hated the emphasis on "professionalism". I hated Gary. Sofia (one of the main characters) is judgemental right from Chapter 1 and makes a transphobic comment to the non-binary love interest in Chapter 6 that physically hurt to read (I am genderqueer and what she said is probably one of the most hurtful things you could say to me). Sofia has some tragic backstory hinted at and I worried the entire book that it was going to involve a binary trans person (it did not, fortunately) - honestly I was so scared, I did not want that to be a mystery. Anyway, Sofia has so much work to do it was impossible to root for the romance. Plus, for the first half of the book I felt like Phoenix was being gaslit by everyone around them. Even Jason; I did not like Jason. I just wanted them to get the heck out of that awful environment and find other genderqueer people to hang out with instead.
I did feel like the book got better in the second half. Sofia did...some work? I guess? I like the message that you have to acknowledge your mistakes and do better in the future. But you can't expect others to judge you based on only your present actions, if you hurt them in the past. You can only hope they have grace to give you, but know sometimes they can't afford it.
I don't really have anything else to say as it may not be fair. I liked the sex, I liked the silks, I liked the characters by the end. I do feel like this subject matter could've been handled with more care, but I suppose nothing bad that happened in this book is new to me, as a genderqueer person, and it gave me some things to think about and process.
For anyone looking for an excellent, less traumatic romance with a non-binary protagonist, I recently loved JUST MIGHT WORK by Katia Rose.
April 16, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5!
enemies to lovers, sapphic, non-binary lead, sports romance
——
THAT is how you do enemies to lovers in a romance!
i came across laniee ash’s Duo Act during stuff your kindle day & wow did it not disappoint. i went out of my comfort zone a lot for this one with it being enemies to lovers (a trope i typically don’t love) AND written in third person POV, but none of that seemed to matter once i began reading.
meet Sofia, an aerial silks instructor and professional aerialist who strives for success. at the very beginning of Duo Act, what sofia said to cause our main conflict defiantly threw me for a loop at first. having a partner who is nonbinary, i could only imagine how hurtful her words would have been. that being said though, her character development & growth was wonderful.
then we have phoenix, our nonbinary professional aerialist who’s been hurt a few times too many to be able to trust sofia (and really anyone else for that matter). phoenix will forever and always now hold a special place in my heart. their drive to be the best was something i found myself falling in love with. this is also the first book i’ve personally read with a nonbinary lead and i’m officially begging for more.
in less than 300 pages these two not only had a beautiful love, but also tons of tension, a completely valid conflict, and some of the best spice i’ve read in a while. the club scene!? immediately yes.
fun fact about me, i used to train on aerial silks! this made connecting with sofia and phoenix that much more special. I’ll have to agree with them and say, being up in those silks is the most freeing and blissful feeling.
while i feel as though sometimes it’s hard to truly connect with characters in 3rd person, Ash does an amazing job of still putting you inside the characters heads and for that i am in love.
i can’t wait to get my hands on more!
enemies to lovers, sapphic, non-binary lead, sports romance
——
THAT is how you do enemies to lovers in a romance!
i came across laniee ash’s Duo Act during stuff your kindle day & wow did it not disappoint. i went out of my comfort zone a lot for this one with it being enemies to lovers (a trope i typically don’t love) AND written in third person POV, but none of that seemed to matter once i began reading.
meet Sofia, an aerial silks instructor and professional aerialist who strives for success. at the very beginning of Duo Act, what sofia said to cause our main conflict defiantly threw me for a loop at first. having a partner who is nonbinary, i could only imagine how hurtful her words would have been. that being said though, her character development & growth was wonderful.
then we have phoenix, our nonbinary professional aerialist who’s been hurt a few times too many to be able to trust sofia (and really anyone else for that matter). phoenix will forever and always now hold a special place in my heart. their drive to be the best was something i found myself falling in love with. this is also the first book i’ve personally read with a nonbinary lead and i’m officially begging for more.
in less than 300 pages these two not only had a beautiful love, but also tons of tension, a completely valid conflict, and some of the best spice i’ve read in a while. the club scene!? immediately yes.
fun fact about me, i used to train on aerial silks! this made connecting with sofia and phoenix that much more special. I’ll have to agree with them and say, being up in those silks is the most freeing and blissful feeling.
while i feel as though sometimes it’s hard to truly connect with characters in 3rd person, Ash does an amazing job of still putting you inside the characters heads and for that i am in love.
i can’t wait to get my hands on more!
April 22, 2023
not my style
I really struggled with the writing style. I feel like the ‘this happened then this happened’ style of writing combined with the third person POV just really kept me from losing myself.
I love a good enemies to lovers trope and I was excited about this aerialist/circus setting. But the instant hate really didn’t make sense. For Phoenix to get hired for a performance and then want to say “no” to the director’s instruction seemed…immature. If they really didn’t want a duo performance then shouldn’t they have left? I’m not familiar with either expectations and hierarchy of circus performances but this didn’t feel realistic. Phoenix had zero reason to hate Sofia because my impression was they didn’t know anything about Sofia before she joined the group. If they are angry about the change in direction they should be mad at Gary, not Sofia.
Also this kinda feels small but really stuck with me was Sofia’s thoughts when she heard Phoenix’s name for the first time. “Oh her parents are hippies or she’s lying” — you work in dance and circuses and you’re surprised that some people change their names? Or that it’s somehow lying?
I didn’t care for these characters because their insta-hate didn’t make sense. It felt forced to me.
DNF
I really struggled with the writing style. I feel like the ‘this happened then this happened’ style of writing combined with the third person POV just really kept me from losing myself.
I love a good enemies to lovers trope and I was excited about this aerialist/circus setting. But the instant hate really didn’t make sense. For Phoenix to get hired for a performance and then want to say “no” to the director’s instruction seemed…immature. If they really didn’t want a duo performance then shouldn’t they have left? I’m not familiar with either expectations and hierarchy of circus performances but this didn’t feel realistic. Phoenix had zero reason to hate Sofia because my impression was they didn’t know anything about Sofia before she joined the group. If they are angry about the change in direction they should be mad at Gary, not Sofia.
Also this kinda feels small but really stuck with me was Sofia’s thoughts when she heard Phoenix’s name for the first time. “Oh her parents are hippies or she’s lying” — you work in dance and circuses and you’re surprised that some people change their names? Or that it’s somehow lying?
I didn’t care for these characters because their insta-hate didn’t make sense. It felt forced to me.
DNF
December 6, 2022
Duo Act
A Sapphic Enemies-to-Lovers Sports Romance
By Lainee Ash
227 pages
Currently on KU in the USA.
Publication date November 15, 2022
This is an ARC review and may have spoilers. Please be careful.
Possible TW, Tropes, and Genres
Enemies to Lovers, Non-Binary, Bisexual, Lesbian, Sapphic, Romance, Sports, Aerial Silk Acrobatics, Transphobia, Bathroom Sex, Drag Show, Incorrect Pronouns used, HEA, Sex Toys used, Discussion of SA,
The plot and story were good. It was hard to witness the transphobia though. Gold Star Lesbians, suck, and are absofuckinglutely trash.
Watching Phoenix being told that their aerial partner was transphobic, and a gold star lesbian was fucking hard. It did suck, that Phoenix didn't just call Sophia out, right then and there about this though.
Why did it suck? Because at that point, it was a rumor, told to Phoenix by their best friend. I would of loved to see them take control right away.
Would Sofia of changed her ways if she would of been called out day one? Probably not. It was in trying to deal with the fall out of Phoenix not trusting them, yet them both having an attraction to each other, and Sofia kind of being put in her place by a child, that helped open Sofia's mind.
Should someone need any of that to NOT be transphobic? No, absolutely not.
I would of liked to see more from Sofia in making amends with Phoenix about their transphobia. I would of also liked to see Gary not only apologize but also makes amends for his transphobia.
But, like I said it was a good plot and story. One that many deal with every day. And sadly, many people who do, do not have a safety net to fall back on.
I was glad to see Phoenix, and Sofia open up to each other, and work to heal and love themselves and each other.
5/5 stars
-Destynnee
A Sapphic Enemies-to-Lovers Sports Romance
By Lainee Ash
227 pages
Currently on KU in the USA.
Publication date November 15, 2022
This is an ARC review and may have spoilers. Please be careful.
Possible TW, Tropes, and Genres
Enemies to Lovers, Non-Binary, Bisexual, Lesbian, Sapphic, Romance, Sports, Aerial Silk Acrobatics, Transphobia, Bathroom Sex, Drag Show, Incorrect Pronouns used, HEA, Sex Toys used, Discussion of SA,
The plot and story were good. It was hard to witness the transphobia though. Gold Star Lesbians, suck, and are absofuckinglutely trash.
Watching Phoenix being told that their aerial partner was transphobic, and a gold star lesbian was fucking hard. It did suck, that Phoenix didn't just call Sophia out, right then and there about this though.
Why did it suck? Because at that point, it was a rumor, told to Phoenix by their best friend. I would of loved to see them take control right away.
Would Sofia of changed her ways if she would of been called out day one? Probably not. It was in trying to deal with the fall out of Phoenix not trusting them, yet them both having an attraction to each other, and Sofia kind of being put in her place by a child, that helped open Sofia's mind.
Should someone need any of that to NOT be transphobic? No, absolutely not.
I would of liked to see more from Sofia in making amends with Phoenix about their transphobia. I would of also liked to see Gary not only apologize but also makes amends for his transphobia.
But, like I said it was a good plot and story. One that many deal with every day. And sadly, many people who do, do not have a safety net to fall back on.
I was glad to see Phoenix, and Sofia open up to each other, and work to heal and love themselves and each other.
5/5 stars
-Destynnee
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2023
I’m not typically one to dislike books written in the 3rd person. In fact, sometimes I don’t even notice. But this book was difficult to get into and I think a huge part of that was the 3rd person perspective. The story wasn’t bad, the writing wasn’t bad.. I just could not get lost in the story. The third person style was glaring ��� it just kept taking me out of the moment. I think that it was reading everyone’s view points at once that really threw me out of it. It was too much all at once. One paragraph could contain 3 different view points: what each character was saying and feeling and thinking. It was just way too much. It would have been a really good read otherwise.
November 28, 2022
I love finding a well-written book with a non-binary character, there are so few.
This is an enemies to lovers romance with two main characters who perform in a circus show.
It is a great read with excellent and fleshed out characters. The description of their circus acts is so well done it was almost as if I could picture it.
I am really looking forward to more from this author!
This is an enemies to lovers romance with two main characters who perform in a circus show.
It is a great read with excellent and fleshed out characters. The description of their circus acts is so well done it was almost as if I could picture it.
I am really looking forward to more from this author!
américas-não-lidos
September 13, 2024In progress but I have to say the writing is so repetitive. Like, in ONE paragraph of 8 lines, the word “they” appeared 6 times.
Yes, I know the MC is NB, can we skip to the part where this isn’t a big deal or you have to reinforce their pronouns every other line?
Exemple: “that was what they’d all signed up for, that’s what they’d agreed to when they’d initialed their contracts”
Yes, I know the MC is NB, can we skip to the part where this isn’t a big deal or you have to reinforce their pronouns every other line?
Exemple: “that was what they’d all signed up for, that’s what they’d agreed to when they’d initialed their contracts”
May 14, 2023
DNF 46%. Wasn't really vibing with this as a book. I think I'd need to watch as a short movie/tv show to enjoy. Not that it was badly written, I just think it doesn't work in this media format for me.
September 6, 2023
DNF at 24%
Reasons for DNF: Misgendering and disregarding of NB identity by FMC, a key POV character for a substantial portion of the book. Poor set up of motivations and main plot points. Flat characters. Telling us repeatedly there's a backstory but not showing us the backstory.
This is an enemies to lovers book with a limited basis for the enemies to lovers.
Sofia hates Phoenix because she thinks Phoenix hates her. She's also very judgemental about their name for no real reason at the outset.
Phoenix hates Sofia because their friend Jason said Sofia 'would be the sort of person to misgender Phoenix' because she's a lesbian who has only slept with women.
These are silly reasons to hate people bearing in mind that at this set up point there is zero evidence for any of these views.
However, it turns out Sofia is just as bad as Phoenix thought. Very early in Sofia makes some comments that are in my view beyond the line and uncomfortable at best. But I kept reading because I guess I was hoping for a really quick epiphany as the issues were in Sofia's mind but not her behaviour.
And, I think broadly speaking I support learning and growth and becoming less bigoted.
But, not in a romance book where there's no improvement by 24%.
Not in a romance book where I'm reading the NBMC being actively harmed by the FMCs views and the FMC "not knowing" they are wrong or offensive and thinking it's a 'joke'.
I wasn't sure whether I was being overly sensitive to these issues until the really offensive incident during a sex scene. I then skimmed on to see the FMC positioned it as a "joke" and was just annoyed by the NBMC being angry with her. At this point I was done because I don't see how the FMC can come back from this point with this person. Phoenix does not deserve to be treated like this. Sofia doesn't need any chances. She needs to grow up and examine her own prejudice.
It was so uncomfortable to read. I will not ever root for this couple. Phoenix deserves better.
Reasons for DNF: Misgendering and disregarding of NB identity by FMC, a key POV character for a substantial portion of the book. Poor set up of motivations and main plot points. Flat characters. Telling us repeatedly there's a backstory but not showing us the backstory.
This is an enemies to lovers book with a limited basis for the enemies to lovers.
Sofia hates Phoenix because she thinks Phoenix hates her. She's also very judgemental about their name for no real reason at the outset.
Phoenix hates Sofia because their friend Jason said Sofia 'would be the sort of person to misgender Phoenix' because she's a lesbian who has only slept with women.
These are silly reasons to hate people bearing in mind that at this set up point there is zero evidence for any of these views.
However, it turns out Sofia is just as bad as Phoenix thought. Very early in Sofia makes some comments that are in my view beyond the line and uncomfortable at best. But I kept reading because I guess I was hoping for a really quick epiphany as the issues were in Sofia's mind but not her behaviour.
And, I think broadly speaking I support learning and growth and becoming less bigoted.
But, not in a romance book where there's no improvement by 24%.
Not in a romance book where I'm reading the NBMC being actively harmed by the FMCs views and the FMC "not knowing" they are wrong or offensive and thinking it's a 'joke'.
I wasn't sure whether I was being overly sensitive to these issues until the really offensive incident during a sex scene. I then skimmed on to see the FMC positioned it as a "joke" and was just annoyed by the NBMC being angry with her. At this point I was done because I don't see how the FMC can come back from this point with this person. Phoenix does not deserve to be treated like this. Sofia doesn't need any chances. She needs to grow up and examine her own prejudice.
It was so uncomfortable to read. I will not ever root for this couple. Phoenix deserves better.
February 12, 2024
While I think the initial premise and setting are great (aerialist working on a circus show? Immediate tension as neither wants to work in a duo act?), the pacing does not always fit the story.
I also think the "enemies" part is not really that accurate - Sofia and Phoenix are rivals and start off on the wrong foot but they've barely heard of each other before the novel starts, so enemies seem far-fetched. I also can't lie that I find their initial misconceptions about each other and their following assumptions a bit grating. The miscommunication feels very unnecessary and created the type of tension I had no interest in.
It doesn't help that the particulars are never fully unpacked in my opinion and I found Sofia's (non-)apology to be utterly lacking. (Phoenix's was a bit better and Sofia's reaction was more understandable from her POV.)
I don't mind that this romance actually tackles some of the more complicated nuances of sexuality and gender identities but the conclusion was less satisfactory than I'd hoped. Yet that also felt realistic at the same time.
I loved the descriptions of their sport, their aerial moves, and how Sofia's and Phoenix's characters informed their respective styles. The sexual tension was delicious to read and it balances out what would be a monotonous few training months. The ending is maybe a tad rushed and not as spectacular as I had hoped but solid enough that I am interested to read more from Lainee Ash.
I also think the "enemies" part is not really that accurate - Sofia and Phoenix are rivals and start off on the wrong foot but they've barely heard of each other before the novel starts, so enemies seem far-fetched. I also can't lie that I find their initial misconceptions about each other and their following assumptions a bit grating. The miscommunication feels very unnecessary and created the type of tension I had no interest in.
It doesn't help that the particulars are never fully unpacked in my opinion and I found Sofia's (non-)apology to be utterly lacking. (Phoenix's was a bit better and Sofia's reaction was more understandable from her POV.)
I don't mind that this romance actually tackles some of the more complicated nuances of sexuality and gender identities but the conclusion was less satisfactory than I'd hoped. Yet that also felt realistic at the same time.
I loved the descriptions of their sport, their aerial moves, and how Sofia's and Phoenix's characters informed their respective styles. The sexual tension was delicious to read and it balances out what would be a monotonous few training months. The ending is maybe a tad rushed and not as spectacular as I had hoped but solid enough that I am interested to read more from Lainee Ash.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews