Member Reviews
Absolutely adored this debut, as George realises she is bisexual and explores what it might be like to fall for a woman. It confronts all the stereotypes of being bisexual, and the concerns of being 'gay enough' in true chaotic bisexual panic. It also touches on open relationships. and figuring out your own path in life, with some laughs along the way.
i really liked this one. It was so lovely seeing Gina and George.
There were great characters, laugh out loud moments, super easy to read writing style, loved the music scenes. and the character development is brilliant.
I loved reading about Gina understanding herself and realising that she doesn’t have to be two different people to please everyone else. It made me feel sad at times when it was clear what made her happy and she felt she couldn’t be that person (especially around certain people), but it was also really lovely how everyone else around her became accepting of her.
I struggled with how I felt on this one in the end. I was a little disappointed with the route it took and a lot of the stereotypes of bi women, particularly those in 'straight' relationships. I'm sure a lot of people will appreciate it and enjoy the representation of open relationships but it didn't quite hit the mark for me
“Do you ever wonder if you’re happier in a parallel universe? Being someone who actually does the things you’ve always wanted to do?”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book felt like a queer Hannah Montana and my younger 13 year old Disney Channel heart was absolutely obsessed!
In Double Booked we follow Gina, a piano teacher / songwriter who lives life through her calendar and fears change. Living with her boyfriend, Doug, Gina feels completely secure in her relationship, that is until one night, Gina’s best friend takes her to a gay bar to see a lesbian rock band, and Gina falls head first for the drummer and introduces herself as “George”… but this doesn’t mean she is queer… does it?
Double Booked felt so organically british in all of the best ways; the humour and sassiness that the characters brought was unmatched and I loved them all, even when I disagreed with their actions at times.
It was so lovely and refreshing reading about an adult woman finding her sexuality as they are usually teenagers written in the YA genre. There were also serious topics discussed such as homophobia and erasure within the LGBTQ+ community. I would recommend this book to absolutely to everyone.
(Thank you to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for the eARC!)
I just couldn’t get in to this book at all unfortunately and in the end, gave up. The main character, while I understand there was a reason, was just so dull that I found her irritating.
Gina is a piano teacher living a planned, organised and happy life with her live in boyfriend. Then she gets a sense that maybe he's about to pop the question of marriage and she's not sure why this freaks her out as life is so perfect with her boyfriend... but is it?
One night in a spontaneous turn of events sees her accompanying her gay best friend to a gay club to watch lesbian cult band Phase and Gina's hooked.
A light bulb moment in Gina's organised life suggests not only does she want more to being a music teacher, she want to be a musician but that she might actually be bi.
Gina embarks on what all sensible people do, she opens up her relationship with her 'perfect' boyfriend and then alternates her look for each part of her life.
Gina was looking for something, as often we all are but her experimentation felt forced rather than a natural progression. I would imagine that coming out as queer is a liberating experience to be true to yourself and be the person you truly are even if you are still trying to conceal it from some others. However, Gina's journey didn't feel a natural progression rather than her looking for stereo types and then engaging with it.
It comes across as alight hearted rom com with some funny moments as well as some cringeworthy moments.
It does raise an interesting point about bi phobia, not just from the straight side but also from the lesbian side.
The book genre is described as LGBTQIA/ Romance. Would LGBTQIA readers enjoy with such outdated stereotypes? I suppose it depends on the individual. I do think that there is an appeal to straight readers as just a general book that has a main queer theme. There aren't any sex scenes as it is more rom com.
A refreshing read that I think just represents how society is today. A little bit of everything and acceptance and tolerance goes a long way.
Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus and Aria for this preview read in return for an honest review.
#DoubleBooked #NetGalley
Double Booked is a great, queer fiction novel. Our character Georgina, realises that she is bi and ends up joining a lesbian band. She soon begins to feel split between her new group of friends and her boyfriend back home. For a while, she ends up living a double life until things come to a boil.
I enjoyed this book and found it easy to read. I think the author is trying to dispel negative stereotypes by including many of them in the book, and showing that they are false, though this is subtle and I think has been lost on some others based on the reviews I read.
It's a fun read and I would recommend it.
Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I was so excited about this I love books with Bi representation but this book just fell a bit short for me. It's very lighthearted and mostly fun, but something about the writing style just didn't do it for me. The sense of humor was a bit off where the jokes just didn't land, the actions the characters took and the way they spoke made it very confusing what age they were meant to be. They're meant to be mid 20s but sometimes they sounded like teens and sometimes like late 40s, it just didn't flow correctly for me. I also felt like a lot of (outdated) stereotypes were played into and it just didn't sit right with me as a Bi woman. I wouldn't say it's the worst book but I'm not going to run around recommending it.
A super easy read that got me out of my slump and fell in love with the world and characters from the first chapter. Loved the plot, which was easy to follow but not so easy that I was bored.
Would recommend it to anyone with eyes.
Despite having lots of potential to be a fun, enjoyable story, this was a disappointing read with an over reliance on outdated stereotypes and poorly executes tropes. The characters had almost no depth (and what little there was never got developed), the plot was basic at best and the core idea of a bi-woman struggling to figure out her identity was very clumsily handled. Unfortunately I really didn't enjoy this one, which is a pity as I had high hopes for it!
Thank you to Netgalley.co.uk and Head of Zeus for the free eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
This is a new genre for me so I wasn’t sure what to expect. This is the story of Georgina Green, a young girl who realises after living with her boyfriend Doug for several years that she might in fact like girls too. This is a light hearted story which introduced me to a scene I was unfamiliar with but really, in the end it just shows how love is love, and gay, bi or straight we all go through the same emotions. Having said that I did feel that the main character was quite selfish and expected everyone else to fall into her way of thinking. Overall though it’s an enjoyable tale. I would give this story 3.5 ⭐️ Any thanks to #NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book.
This is a fun story about a woman who starts living a double life, one with her boyfriend of 7 years and have everything planned out in their joint calendar and the other joining a queer band and transforming her look. This book perfectly encapsulates the pros and cons of a double life and all the consequences it provides with the secrets and lying to family and friends. I liked how Gina seemed to effortlessly transform into 2 different people and loved all the fun she had as George.
There is a lot of drama that could have easily been resolved with a conversation but overall it was a fun and easy read.
Fun, Fresh LGBT Rom-Com that had my heart from page one. I love the different representation of sexuality and the different stages of acceptance. I read this book in one afternoon I loved it that much, I think the emotional roller-coaster I went through reading this is a genuine demonstration of the feelings you can go through in the coming out stage. I also feel the characters are so relatable with their different views of the situations they find themselves in while working out what they actually want.
So if you love a Rom-Com that handles the conflicting emotions of coming out and the family dynamics that can be mixed in with that then this is for you.
A MUST READ HEART FELT HILARIOUS COMEDY
Refreshing, raw and relatable - a pleasure to read.
A wonderfully written debut novel exploring a lesser-seen aspect of self-discovery in literature: questioning your sexuality beyond the age of 20.
At the grand age of 26, protagonist Georgina realises that she might be bisexual - and throughout the novel we see her face up to this both in her personal life and a wider social context. The book doesn’t shy away from issues such as bi-erasure, and feels more honest for it.
At times hilarious, at others genuinely tear-inducing, this is a fantastic addition to the LGBTQIA+ canon and I look forward to seeing what Lindon writes next.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
In parts I loved this book, I laughed and cried throughout the book. However, the stereotypes made me a bit uncomfortable and a bit guilty for enjoying the book. It dipped a bit in the middle for me, but I did like the end, so ended on a high. If you can see past the stereotypes, it is enjoyable easy read.
I loved this book!! I genuinely enjoyed the idea of Georgina living a double life; one as a straight woman and one as a gay woman. It's similar to that feeling in life although not quite as extreme as in the book. Underneath it all, the story is about the pressure of keeping secrets and having to work out who you are and how you fit into "society". I loved the writing, I loved the message, I loved the book!! Thanks to Lily Lindon, Aria and Netgalley for the ARC.
Georgina has never really got over losing her father, he taught her to play the piano and inspired her to start writing and performing. She stopped and is now a music reacher. Her boyfriend, Doug, is still in the band they put together at uni along with other original members. Gina and Doug have a shared diary where all their regular activities are listed with reminders. Nothing has changed for 7 years. Gina's lesbian best friend takes her to see a band and the experience starts her on a journey of discovery. I found the main character to be really irritating due to her prevarication and inability to tell the truth to anyone, which I guess was the point but still annoyed me.
Looking for the perfect fun read for #pridemonth? Look no further, Double Booked is it! This is a really joyful romantic comedy and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I found it a quick, engaging read that I didn’t want to put down… With a delightful cast of characters (George/Georgina in particular) this is a well paced read and hard to believe it’s a debut really. Looking forward to whatever Lily writes next! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my gifted ebook.
I really enjoyed this book; probably a book that I would have picked up in a shop but I still thoroughly enjoyed Georgina's journey throughout this story.
Georgina is happy with her life and her shared calendar with her boyfriend Doug, but after a rare night out she begins to think that there is more to life and is confused about where her life is taking her.
It captures the LGBT community and prejudices to those who are attempting to explore their sexuality. A really well written romance novel that was an enjoyable read.
This is a good book about finding out who you really are and finding your place in the world. We follow Georgina Green who goes through a journey of finding out if shes Gina, George or Georgina. This book incorporates friendship and love in a good balance