One of my goals this year is to not only read more queer romances, but specifically read more sapphic romances. Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner has been on my TBR since it hit shelves because how could I resist an age gap romance between a Stern Brunch Dame lesbian Hollywood icon and her bisexual disaster assistant.

Jo is a Chinese American showrunner who built a career after being a child star and learned early to hide both her vulnerable side and her queerness from the media. When she invites Emma (her young Jewish assistant) to accompany her to an awards show, rumors start to fly as the public speculates on their relationship. The book explores how the rumors impact both of their careers, their views on each other, and what happens when rumors turn into reality.

This is a slow burn, but that also allows lots of time for getting to know both of these characters. I really liked Wilsner's exploration of the stages both of these women are at in their careers: Emma has big dreams for herself but is terrified to take those steps forward especially when she's so comfortable in her current job, while Jo has fought to protect her career and learns to take new chances and how to use the power she has to protect the women in her sphere.

Overall I found this to be a solid debut. I really enjoyed Wilsner's writing and was always looking forward to diving back into the world. I hear their next is going to be really steamy (described a raunch-com where a college senior has a one night stand with a woman who turns out to be her friend's mom -- what!) and they said it was "the opposite" of a slow burn, so 2022 can get here faster thanks!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

Something to Talk About was a S L O W B U R N romance that I mostly enjoyed. I thought their conflicts (they never really argued with each other) were petty and didn't warrant the level of avoidance and annoying childlike behavior that occurred, so that alone was super frustrating. One of my biggest bookish pet peeves is when something can be resolved with a simple conversation, so I hated that these two managed to make a misunderstanding - or maybe just a lack of shared information - last for weeks. It felt unnecessary and didn't really add anything to the overall story.

Emma gets her feelings hurt and doesn't tell Jo why she's upset. I'm still not convinced what she was upset about was really that big of a deal. It's not Jo's fault Emma never went to a baseball game, and her relationships outside of work really weren't any of Emma's business. Emma feeling slighted by not being told Jo was sitting at games with her sister... ugh, it was obnoxious. She ignored Jo and acted like a recalcitrant child. If the author didn't want us to think the age difference between the two was a big deal, Emma shouldn't have had the maturity of a teenager going through puberty. Jo eventually apologizes for not telling Emma, but it's still not something I think she should have had to do to appease her assistant. Additionally, Emma kept mentioning that she "deserved better," which is why she waited for Jo to apologize a second time (apparently the first time wasn't good enough), and it made Emma seem pretentious.

I also didn't like how long it took for the two of them to acknowledge their feelings for each other and actually act on them. Everyone can see that they're attracted to each other. We know what they're both thinking and feeling because of the dual POVs, but they don't discuss those feelings with each other because of their work relationship and power dynamic. Jo doesn't want to seem like she's taking advantage of her employee, and Emma doesn't know what her feelings really are until the very end. Despite her making awkward comments and being clumsy around her boss, she remained oblivious until the last few chapters. The thoughts were there, but it took her sooo long to admit anything to herself.

This book would have ended much sooner if Jo and Emma had been able to have honest conversations with one another. I really liked their relationship and the setting for the story (though I wish we'd seen more from the secondary characters), and thought their romance was sweet and subtle. However, I wanted more romance between the two of them, not restraint and unvoiced thoughts and feelings.

I really liked the concept Jo had for helping women who have been sexually harassed in the workplace (Hollywood specifically), and wish that had also been expanded on. I wanted to really dive into how that would work, and what it would take for women to feel safe coming forward with their experiences. I felt like it was mentioned for a few pages, but then never really addressed again.

Also, other than Evelyn and Avery, the secondary characters were flat and mostly off-the-page. Emma and Jo mention people occasionally, but it's mostly about Emma and Jo. If we were going to be stuck in their awkward, not-going-to-address-the-elephant-in-the-room brains, it would have been nice to see things outside of their immediate circle. A few times it felt like the author was going to branch out in a different direction, but then we'd come right back to all of the things Emma and Jo weren't saying to each other.

I thought the narrators (Jorjeana Marie and Xe Sands) were amazing! They really brought Jo am Emma to life and made me want to keep listening despite being annoyed with what was happening in the story. It's a short audiobook (a little over nine hours), which is probably why I listened to the whole thing. Wilsner created wonderful characters, but Emma's childlike behavior, their reluctance to talk about their feelings, and how long it took for the two of them to get together really diminished my overall enjoyment. (★★★☆☆)

I really enjoyed this book! I loved that the power dynamic was done in a way that wasn't overbearing or distasteful which I feel many many books do in similar situations. Another very important topic that was done perfectly, CONSENT. This is such a necessary component that I feel is so often overlooked in many romance novels, so hats off to Meryl for this. The LGBTQ+ representation within this book makes my heart sing and has me recommending this book to anyone who is looking for a well crafted, slow burn romance.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

I was so excited to read this book, and unfortunately, it fell a little short of my expectations. The actual writing was easy to read, but the characters were kind of flat and the plot felt a little rudderless at times. It was hard to make myself keep reading it at times, and I found I could easily put the book down and not pick it back up for weeks at a time. I felt like the characters were just shy of having believable chemistry, and part of that is due to their lack of distinct personality traits. There's a lot of telling of feelings versus showing, and ultimately I think that's what made this fall flat. I think the author is talented and would read another book from them, but this one just wasn't my favorite.

The concept for this book is stellar, though I don't think the plot totally lived up to it. I'm all for a slow burn, but at times the progress felt glacially slow. We're never really given a solid foundation for Jo and Emma's mutual interest in each other, and without that, the tension never quite builds up in a satisfying way. Still, this is a fun and easy read, and certainly a good pick for anyone looking for a nice light romance.

Something to talk about had been in my TBR pile for a long time - I actually got an ARC from @netgalley and @berkleyromance last year! To be a 100% honest, I think I kept pushing this to the back of the list because it was a romance between two women. I just wasn’t sure how I’d like it; I am heterosexual. I’m not attracted to women, so I wasn’t sure I could relate to it. I loved Red, White, and Royal Blue and Boyfriend Material, so I’m not sure exactly why I was hesitant. I’m trying to read more diverse books because I believe expose leads to empathy. All that to say - I liked this a lot. I liked that it is a slow burn, so it doesn’t get steamy until the end. I liked Jo and Emma and their relationship. I liked the Hollywood setting. I liked the secondary characters - Emma’s sister and Jo’s BFF. Overall, this was a delightful read!

A solid romance, but not a standout. A romance featuring two queer women, that's got all the standard pieces of the romance novel formula. I found some of the characterization a bit flat, wanted a different pacing for the romance to unfold, and found the romantic tension to be too drawn out, with little payoff. Even so, it's definitely a novel that I would hand out to anyone open to reading something that features non-heterosexual romantic leads.

I really wanted to love this. As it turned out, not my favorite. Not bad. Just not a favorite. It is super slow burn, which is fine, but I had a bit of trouble seeing the chemistry between the characters. There is also a lot of miscommunication and I found myself thinking, "Just talk to each other already!" I'll still end up recommending this book to people but it just isn't a personal favorite for me.

This book is a really fun Hollywood romcom-style romp. I really enjoyed the two different POVs and their slow, but inevitable get together. Would recommend to anyone looking for a fun friends-to-lovers or boss/employee relationship and am so excited to have a WLW romance that fits that slot and that I actually really like for reasons beyond that it's WLW. ;)

This book was really fun, but the slow burn was a little too slow for me. However, I loved reading such an inclusive and thoughtful romance novel, and I LOVED the characters.

Really enjoyed the entertainment setting for this one. I was prepped by my fellow readers for a slow burn romance and I think knowing that going in is very helpful! This is an enjoyable & lovely read!

Sadly Something To Talk About just wasn't the book for me.

For one thing, it's not a romance, not really. There's not even any chemistry or feelings or hell even them being around each other until 95% into the book. And I'm not just talking about the sex, I mean anything intimate or relationship developing. For me, that makes this not a romance novel. It's at best a love story, but not even a great one at that.

For the writing, I'll give this 2 stars. For the "romance", it would be a 1 star.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for this eARC (a long time ago, still trying to get right with my NetGalley shelf).

This was a veeeeeeeeeerrrrrryyyyy slow burn, maybe a little too slow for me. It makes sense considering the characters' professional relationship, butttttttttt. I did, however really like Jo and Emma and the TV set setting, so overall a good way to spend a rainy morning.

You may or may not know this, but I love a good slow-burn romance. 😉 Emma and Jo's was fantastic. The "famous person/regular person" thing has been done a billion times — and sometimes it works better than others for me. This one worked so well. In a year when my reading has been sporadic and it's been tough for me to get wrapped up in a book, it says a lot when I binge a book in a couple of days. It's one of the highest compliments I can give.

I loved the Queer/ different racial romance, we need more mainstream ones and I like that this one wasn't filled with overhyped drama. That being said the pace of the plot was slow and there wasn't a lot of action besides the day to day of the main characters lives. I liked that the power structure of a boss/employee was addressed and that the author stressed that the relationship was consensual and did it in such a way that it didn't feel forced. I don't regret reading it since it was a breezy read but I do wish it had done a bit more to capture my attention.

I really wanted to love this. Unfortunately, this just wasn't for me.

The pacing was really off. I read more than half the book before I decided to DNF it, and that's because I kept waiting for something to happen. I feel like we didn't get any conflict (that made sense anyway) or plot beside Jo and Emma's day-to-day, and I wanted more.

I also didn't feel connected to the characters. Not only do I feel like we never really get to know them, but there was no tension what-so-ever between them. I like them as friends, but I honestly don't see them ever becoming anything more. I know this is supposed to be a slow burn romance, but where is the *LONGING* and the *PINING*?

I wish I had loved this more than I did.

I feel like this book tried so hard to ensure that the boss/employee relationship was portrayed as completely consensual and not at all predatory that it lost some of the chemistry between the MCs. While it was an easy read that I was able to breeze through, I was more invested in the Me Too/workplace harassment plotline than Emma and Jo's relationship.

However, I don't want to take away from the fact that this is a F/F interracial romance from a big 5 publisher and I'd love to see more diverse romances from them.

Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for my eARC to review.

I don't tend to pick up romances, so this one was out of my usual range. I ended up really enjoying it, though. I thought both main characters were fleshed out well. I also felt the conflict (supervisor-subordinate, celebrity-citizen) of their relationship was earned rather than forced.

This was a 3.5 for me but rounding up. I loved the writing but the pacing and the developement of Jo and Emma's relationship wasn't all there for me.