This was very cute. The entire book held the theme of second chances. The romance, the discussions of gentrification, community, were all circling around what is really a second chance and what is a complete erasing of what was there. The main characters (Summer and Aiko) had a good amount of chemistry and I enjoyed seeing them fall in love. There writing was a little disjointed in places, but overall this was very enjoyable as I knew it would be. Kianna Alexander is always a good read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Can’t Resist Her is a cute romance with conversations around gentrification and growth at its heart. It follows two women hung up on a kiss they shared at their final school dance as girls as they reconnect and discover they are on opposing sides of a new development project happening in their hometown – Summer wants to save the school her grandmother founded from being demolished and stop the gentrification of her neighbourhood while Aiko is an architect on the project who sees the site’s possibilities.

This book is told from a dual point of view and I enjoyed reading from both perspectives. Though I would have liked for each perspective to have its own chapter, rather than switching POV mid chapter. I liked both characters and felt like we really got to understand them and their motivations, especially concerning the new development project. This meant that I wasn’t just rooting for one person and increased the tension in the book. I liked their relationship too, though I think at times it relied too much on Summer’s past crush and their kiss as girls, rather than developing their romance in the present. It was equal parts cute and sexy and fun to read!

Both characters were Black (Aiko is also part Japanese), as is much of their community and friends. This was such an intrinsic part of the book and their characters, from mentions of hairstyles, to salon trips to the language used (particularly between Aiko and her best friend) and really fun to read. I also appreciated that this book didn’t contain any racism, instead focusing on the romance, careers and familial relationships of these two women. I also enjoyed the discussions on gentrification and new developments in their neighbourhood, as well as the focus on supporting local businesses, particularly those that are Black and women owned. They each saw the changes in their community differently and it made for a fun conflict.

However, I really struggled with this book’s writing and that in turn hindered me from connecting with the characters and their relationship. The dialogue in particular was just awkwardly written. Conversations were stilted, often overly formal (their dates sounded like a job interview!) or had the characters discuss something they would all logically know. It sounded like rehashing old conversations for the reader's benefit, rather than just slotting the information more naturally into the prose. The descriptions themselves were clear and concise and easier to read. The issues with the writing did get better as the book progressed, but it made the first half of the book difficult to enjoy.

Overall, Can’t Resist Her is a fun, sexy romance novel. It’s not one to go into expecting perfection, but still worth a read!

A really gorgeous sapphic read. The chemistry between our two leading ladies was still very strong, no matter how hard they tried to resist. Very enjoyable read.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't it for me. I, like many others, DNF'd this one. I was disappointed and lost interest.

After years away from home, Summer Graves is back in Austin, Texas, to accept a new teaching position. Of all the changes to the old neighborhood, the most dispiriting one is the slated demolition of the high school her grandmother founded. There’s no way she can let developers destroy her memories and her family legacy. But the challenge stirs memories of another kind.


I got this one solely based on cover and I wasn't disappointed. I liked the storyline and felt the relationship was steady. I would rec to a friend for sure. The MC (Summer) was likable and made it for a good read.
I gave it 3.5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

DNFed at 30%
The premise of this book is really interesting involving black lesbians who are on the opposite side of things. It is a second chance romance.
The gentrification and urbanization part of the plot is well done so far and raises some important issues and discussions. The motives and intentions of both the MCs are very clear and the reader can see where each of them is coming from and why they want the opposite things.
But that's where the things I like come to an end.
This is an easy read and I went through it more quickly but the writing style itself is not very descriptive and is mostly just the MC's thoughts and dialogue, which I don't mind usually but in this one, the conversations and dialogue are a bit weird and sound very odd to me. I've only read 30% and yet I've had countless moments where I just couldn't fathom which real people talk like this.
The characters seem very one-dimensional and even though they have backstories and motives, they fail to give them any depth. The romance is just lust so far with the "perfect", "fine" and "curves in all the right places" bodies both the MCs seem to have. The romance is reading more like the erotic cishet novels and I can see some people liking this kind of writing style but it, unfortunately, isn't for me.

I can see some people liking this book and thus, I'll recommend readers to give it a try and check it for themselves.

I really wanted to like this book, I really did!! But the writing was hard to get through, unnecessarily descriptive, and the dialogue just felt so forced that I couldn't get past the third chapter.

I really, REALLY wanted to love this, and was SO excited to get the ARC, but unfortunately it just wan't my cup of tea. The dialogue felt very stilted, like nothing that would be said in real life, and the prose was just very dull and forgettable. I also didn't feel much chemistry between the leads. I'm not going to review this publicly at all, as the last thing I want to do is discourage diversity in the sapphic romance genre because we are SEVERELY lacking protagonists of color, and especially Black protagonists. I hope others find solace and love within these characters and story, but I just wasn't loving it.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an e-arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book took me a long time to read, that could be partly due to my life schedule but it is also partly due to the book never really gripping me.

I absolutely love the premise of this book, I think there should be a lot more books like this with queer poc characters it is absolutely essential. Unfortunately, this book didn't live up to what it could have been.

It wasn't awful, the story was consistent enough and there was progress in the plot but at the same time I feel like the characters had no chemistry. I loved the idea of second chances where a love that could have been has resurfaced later in life, but it fell flat for me.

I do hope that the author keeps writing as I feel like Alexander could definitely do something meaningful with her writing especially if it revolves around this type of representation in books.

A great premise but this story just didn't do it for me. The dialogue between the characters was cringey and mechanical(I felt like they were just saying stuff at one point ). I wasn't convinced that the main characters supported each other much less like each other. Summer one track mindness was supposed to come off as she really cares for her community and is motivated to make a change but it was just her ego and guilt talking. And so Summer was the most annoying character in the book for me.

I was so excited when I saw the cover of this book! Breaking all the traditional narratives and I am here for it. A lovely cover featuring women of color, lesbians, and body positivity! And it's set in my state?! Yes! Unfortunately, the overall writing fell a little flat for me. It was a cute story, though. I would still suggest this book to romance fans who want more than the typical white male/female romance.

Thank you so much for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

I tried really hard to like this book, I did. But the style of the writing just seemed a bit amateurish, and I found myself getting distracted easily. A lot of the conversation by Summer fell flat often times, if not forced, to me. It just felt very rigid, even with the imagery. Sometimes the imagery went over the top for me too. I don't think that everything needed a description. I somewhat felt like I was reading fanfiction, not an actual novel, with the way some stuff was described. It is a good attempt at a book for the theme of former friends/crushes meeting again as adults, but just didn't make the cut for me.

I don’t know about you all, but I love a good second Chance romance and this one didn’t disappoint! From high school to several years later, Can’t Resist Her was a captivating story and I really love Summer and Aiko!

I really was excited about this book, especially because of the premise of a queer WOC centric book. While there were a few bright spots in the writing, much of it felt poorly worded, and it felt like the characters weren’t connecting. The right amount of spice, and the topics around gentrification were an interesting draw- and the cover art is beautiful!

I am really sad about this book because I had high hopes for it and it didn’t meant my expectations. It meant a lot to me as a Black queer woman to read a book about two queer women of color. One of my biggest gripes with this was that I just couldn’t get a sense of the chemistry between these two. It didn’t feel organic and because of that, my experience with this book hasn’t been the best.

Sadly I had to DNF this one at about 30%. The premise is great and what drew me in! And I reallyy tried to push through and really wanted to enjoy this romance especially cuz it features two black women but it just fell flat to me?? :/

I love the rep in this book. It was a very fast read for me and I think the gentrification plot was well written and really resonated with me. The thing is I picked this up for the romance and I was more interested in the other aspects of the book rather than the relationship itself. I think this had to do with what I think is two characters not really meshing well for me. I just couldn’t love the romance like I wanted, like the banter and dialogue between them felt clunky often. The spice was well written but because I didn’t think the pairing was a good fit it wasn’t as good as it could have been. However, I do see a lot of potential from the author and think with some more edits the book could be a lot better as it’s clear they are a good writer.

This is a very sweet sapphic romance! It’s a very easy read and the characters are likable and follow a pretty standard contemporary adult romance structure of relationship conflicts and romance. The story, as well as the characters, are very likable and enjoyable. I could definitely see this book getting a lot of love from lovers of sapphic romance! The plot is cute but also talks about gentrification which was very interesting and important in today’s age! The writing is very beautiful and I can’t wait to read more from Kianna Alexander!

Love the sapphic aspect of this novel! It definitely tackles some important themes. There were a few times I feel like it missed the mark for me and would have loved some more development with the characters together as well as separately. I do really like both of them but I just feel like something is missing.

I really love the tackle of gentrification but again I feel like there needed to be more. The dialogue in different places felt like a bit much and could use tightening.

Really love the romance and it's SPICY!! A quick and easy read that would be good for a beach day.

Two very determined women—in love, at odds, and risking a lot on a second chance.
This novel, and its unforgettable characters, know no boundaries. To read this book is to laugh, to mourn, to learn, and to grow…. Brimming with joy and packed with a sparkling cast of characters. Charming and compelling… a beautiful book, wise, heartfelt and full of hope.