Member Review
Review by
Jamie H, Reviewer
I can think of no better book to return from my break from reviewing than If I Don't Ask by EJ Noyes. EJ Noyes has well and above marked herself as one of the best in lesbian fiction beginning with her novel Ask Tell, which is the sister story to this one. I actually have a funny relationship to this series- It was the introduction to EJ Noyes for me as it was for most people. But I actually started out of order. I saw the series and thought "I'm not particularly interested in military stories" but I stumbled upon If The Shoe Fits before other of Noyes' works, read it, loved it, and needed to know more. And that's where my love of Noyes' writing and particularly this series began- so I'm so happy to see it added here.
If I Don't Ask is essentially Rebecca's narrative through the events of Ask, Tell, but really it's so much more than that. Often when the concept of "this story told from the other character" is floated I kinda like the idea but I often wonder would a fully fleshed out book would be like and if it would be samey. But this wasn't for me at all. It's incredible how Noyes told this story despite all of us knowing exactly how it would end, but instead of it being boring, it breathed fresh life into the book and expanded it.
I also really liked the introduction of the new character to the series in Rebecca's best friend Linda. Her inclusion definitely helped this book have a whole new level of emotion, and also helped explain some of Rebecca's narrative that we didn't see before. I didn't remember any mention of her in the original books and I wish she was there! I liked her a whole lot.
The emotions in this book are wonderful. All of the angst you could want is still just as present as it was in the first book. All of the love too.
This book is an absolute read if you loved the Ask Tell series, or if you love lesbian fiction. I had a blast with it. 5/5
If I Don't Ask is essentially Rebecca's narrative through the events of Ask, Tell, but really it's so much more than that. Often when the concept of "this story told from the other character" is floated I kinda like the idea but I often wonder would a fully fleshed out book would be like and if it would be samey. But this wasn't for me at all. It's incredible how Noyes told this story despite all of us knowing exactly how it would end, but instead of it being boring, it breathed fresh life into the book and expanded it.
I also really liked the introduction of the new character to the series in Rebecca's best friend Linda. Her inclusion definitely helped this book have a whole new level of emotion, and also helped explain some of Rebecca's narrative that we didn't see before. I didn't remember any mention of her in the original books and I wish she was there! I liked her a whole lot.
The emotions in this book are wonderful. All of the angst you could want is still just as present as it was in the first book. All of the love too.
This book is an absolute read if you loved the Ask Tell series, or if you love lesbian fiction. I had a blast with it. 5/5
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
