Thank you netgalley and Macmillan for an ALC of this book.

Unfortunately I do not think I was the correct audience for this book. I did not enjoy plot or writing at all.

I thought the narrator did a great job, but the last 30% of this book had me literally shaking.

Maybe I "don't get it" but wow. This wasn't it for me.

This book felt like I was watching The L Word or something, not because they are similar but because they both baffle me a little bit. As I sit here in my second-hand flannel on the couch with my wife, I have to wonder if this is real life or just high drama - it just seems so complicated and performative. But I think that also may be the point - performance, gender, sexuality, Insta filters, jealousy, desire, stereotypes, etc. I guess I'm more like one of the old settled lesbians who host this vacation...but I'm happy with my marriage. Like, no one in this book was happy. And that's fine, I don't need only queer romances or anything, but to have so much representation and then have them all be fake and miserable...it just wasn't for me. Also the ending gets wacky. The writing is solid (though I did almost quit the whole book after the exhaustive Grinch filter thing, but not mad that I stuck it out) and the narrator did a great job. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t think I was the audience for this.

Dang it.
I was hoping for weird and enjoyable.
This was weird and not that enjoyable.
Toxic characters and the body harm were too much for me.

However. I absolutely LOVED the audiobook narrator-definitely want to listen to more books narrated by Alex Schmidt.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for an alc.

A horny lil cutie lil book that rockets out the gate with a sexy Grinch nudey shoot and is peppered with delightful references to all of my favorite Bravo series, ANTM booty tooching, smizing, gossip girl v. OC fans and many other relatable, generational pop culture nuggets. This was SUCH a fun and innovative ride, which provided a great palette cleanse to my last read (the disappointing and all around meh "Hello, Beautiful"--don't @ me!). This is also our May book club pick and I am truly excited to see what all of our members make of this naughty meditation on gender, sex, and relationships. I can already imagine some of our wine infused discussions and eagerly anticipate what the group will make of it all! 4.5/5 stars

Dykette is a debut novel by Jenny Fran Davis, to be published on 5/16/2023.
An advance copy of this audiobook was provided courtesy of MacMillan Audio and NetGalley.
I also received an advance copy of the physical book courtesy of Henry Holt & Co. Thank you!
My opinion herein is my own.

I was interested in this book because I heard about it in advance - Also there is a bird on the cover and I am a bird lover. Looked closely the cover is quite unsettling and creepy.

The book is about three queer couples goes on a luxurious holiday trip. Inevitably, wishful thinking is just so. Things go awry and relationship starts to fray. From the very beginning, there are a lot of saucy and not-so-saucy descriptions of sex objects, including body parts. And it didn't let up - I felt that maybe this book would appeal to a very specific demographic group (queer Manhattanites or Brooklynites or other city dwellers in their twenties who cannot afford ten days in an expensive resort, for example) who enjoy frank sex talks. With so much sex talk, there is no romance - just disillusions and wariness, guarded conversations which might be a sign of digital era, where no one can be totally honest to one another.... It made me so tired listening. If Ottessa Moshfegh's book had more sex in it, maybe it might look like this... Unfortunately this book wasn't for me.

As a straight person, I will fully acknowledge that this book probably wasn't written for me or my demographic and is the reason for only a 3 star rating. However, if you are queer you will probably understand and enjoy this a lot more than I did.

What I liked about it: The storytelling was very entertaining and I was intrigued by all of the relationship dynamics. I was interested to see how they would all pan out at the end of the trip.

What I didn't like: I was HELLA confused for most of this book. As a straight person but also an ally, I wanted to understand way more than I did. I almost felt like I need a queer guide to this because I was so confused.

That being said, I still learned SO much from this about queer relationships and their dynamics. I would like to broaden my knowledge more after reading this. There was SO much I still don't understand but I don't think it's really up to me to understand the inner workings of queer relationships given that I won't ever be in one. I love that this book is breaking boundaries though and exposing others to different types of relationships and ways to live.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I just couldn't get in to this book. The characters are unpleasant and made me really frustrated. I'm sure it's a great read for a ton of people, it just wasn't for me.

I have never been more excited to see discourse over a book than I was with this read! If you love messy, flawed characters, toxic relationships, and biting social satire, I would highly recommend this to you. It's an addictive read, even when the content gets off-putting. Be warned, it's the kind of book you finish and you aren't sure you if you like it or hate it but you know it'll stick with you for a long time.

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book just wasn’t for me which is a letdown because I was so ready to love it. I am all for a story with minimal plot lines which this heavily has, but for some reason the way it’s executed here fell flat for me. I do enjoy the character studies offered and the different types of queer characters that are showcased. I enjoyed the generational divide that always amuses me greatly. I enjoyed the ways in which different kinks are shown and talked about, I think that’s healthy and important.

But I just didn’t care enough about anyone in this story to CARE until around the 70% marker…it shouldn’t take that long for me to be engaged in the story.

Sasha and her partner Jesse are heading to the luxe home of their new lesbian power-couple friends to stay for the holidays. They’re joined by another couple, Darcy and Lou, whose relationship is somewhat new. There are some laughs, some strain, some drama, and of course, a pug named Vivienne to provide a little relief from the stressful POVs of the humans. Jesse and Darcy are working on a collaborative performance art pornography video, which is pushing Sasha to her breaking point and forcing her to confront what she wants as well as who she is.

Oh boy. This one was a little tough for me to follow! There are so many characters and so many plot points (some of which didn’t end up going anywhere), not to mention Jesse’s use of both masculine and feminine pronouns (sometimes in the same thought/sentence). I definitely had to go back more times than I cared to in order to try and figure out who was speaking or being spoken of.

All of the characters in this novel are downright unlikeable, which I’m pretty sure is intentional. I also have to point out that I absolutely hate that an adult woman refers to sex as “S” and her vagina as her “kitty cat.” HOWEVER, I think the absurdity of this novel is delightful and some of the scenes are painted so ridiculously perfectly. The performance art live stream is one of those things I will probably forever recall whenever I see a sauna, so thanks for that.

Is this book for everyone? No, definitely not. I’m a straight woman and I’m sure much of it went way over my head. It’s a unique novel for readers that like their books weird and “pointless” and grotesque to the point of absurdity.

Thank you to Jenny Fran Davis, Henry Holt & Co, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for my advance physical and audio copies!

'Dykette' by Jenny Fran Davis is refreshingly superficial, frustrating, messy and "cute" (?) on the surface. It's a nice anecdote to painful, arduous novels of queer experience. It has a punchy flow that feels like someone typing in all caps. I can't explain, it isn't really "funny" or "fun" but it's awkwardly relatable - at times - and gossipy and cringe (in a great way). While this, specifically, is not the writing style that I am seeking out, there was something special about a queer novel that was written FOR queers. In that way it reminded me of 'Detransition Baby' by Torre Peters. It's unapologetic in it's target audience. And I love that.

Everything I've said may sound like it's all fluff/no stuff but that's not the case. In removing all the metaphor and great explanation of THIS queer experience, it is connecting to the typically misunderstood and demanding those unfamiliar to GET familiar.

Quick paced, of the moment and probably confusing, this is going to create a lot of discourse in the book-world! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this tile. I particularly enjoyed Alex Schmidt's narration.

Based on the synopsis, I was ready to be wowed, but this book fell short for me. There is lot of telling instead of showing, which is one of my greatest pet peeves.

I ended up DNFing at 26% because I simply just got bored and didn’t care about any of the characters. Perhaps I’m not the right audience for this book, as other reviewers seem to indicate their love for it. I do feel this is a very niche kind of book, and you have to “get it” to enjoy it.

Dykette follows a young couple that embarks on a 10 day getaway with two other queer couples. I enjoyed the book but am not exactly sure how to describe it. I thought it was funny and I was engrossed from the start.

An interesting read even if the characters, especially the main character, were entirely offputting. I didn't hate the audiobook narrator, but she often seemed on the verge of laughter, which was distracting, and if there are going to be sung portions of dialogue I wish they could get a reader who can and will actually sing them instead of just droning them in a monotone.

Dykette by Jenny Fran Davis is an addictive and darkly hilarious debut novel about a young couple, Sasha and Jesse, who embark on a ten-day getaway with two other queer couples, including an older and richer lesbian couple, Jules and Miranda. As the days go by, the group's motivations become increasingly unclear, and Sasha is pulled into a spiral of destructive rage that threatens the future of each couple. The novel explores the complexities of desire and the search for recognition, capturing the crossroads of queer nonconformity and seductive normativity. With propulsive plotting and wickedly entertaining prose, Dykette is an unforgettable love story that will leave readers wanting more. Highly recommended for fans of LGBTQ+ fiction.

Big woah -- What a novel.

I am so thankful to Henry Holt Books, Jenny Fran Davis, NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio for sending me many versions of Dykette -- Audiobook, Physical ARC, and Digital Access. Dykette narrates the tale of several adult lesbians and how their friendship flourishes over the years as they journey into the vast experiences within their sexuality, adult films, and defying gender constructs simultaneously.

I enjoyed how each date possessed different storylines and narratives from each couple over the holiday season. Sasha and Jesse, Jules Todd and Miranda, and Lou and Darcy all huddle in for the cold winter weeks at the end of the year to celebrate Christmas morning and the days that follow, exploring erotically stimulating activities, cooking home-inspired meals, and going through the motions of monogamous relationship in peril of being opened wide open.

Dykette hits shelves on May 16, 2023, and I can't wait for more of my friends to jump into this wild wide of the novel.

I did not enjoy the narrator that was picked for the book, and it felt too much like a queerer version of normal people by Sally Rooney, which just isn’t my style. But I can see how other people might like it. It just wasn’t the book I was hoping for or looking for.

Reminded me of other books I've loved, Melissa Broder and Alissa Nutting. It's transgressive, but missing a certain something that I couldn't put my finger on. Entertaining in parts and I did not regret reading it.