I thoroughly enjoyed this little novella. There was an air of surrealism throughout it's run that I deeply connected with. It was simply a vignette into the world of extremely flawed people. In a way, reading it felt somewhat disconnected, but in the same way reading the Great Gatsby feels disconnected. I also loved how completely southern this book was as someone from the south. Red clay, Buc-cee's, burned-out motels at random highway stops, and off-brand cigarettes made it feel as if Dizzie and Smoak were two people you could see passing through town at the local gas station. The whole book felt like a deep-fried fever dream in the best way possible. I believe that this book achieved exactly what it was aiming for. I look forward to it's release in June.

This story opens with the two main characters hiding a body in the woods, and the action doesn’t slow down until the last word. After the opening scene, we are carried back to the beginning, when Dizzie, a young transgender woman, and Smoak, a young man dreaming of becoming a hit man, are hired to carry out a drug deal. Their employers are a group of Chinese women looking to pick up some easy money. This book fits into the Southern Crime Noir genre and the story and characters remind me of books by Elmore Leonard and Cormac McCarthy. The action is intense, and you have to pay attention to the characters and the situations. Things change constantly as Dizzie and Smoak try to not just finish the job they were hired for, but to survive. It was interesting watching the relationship between these two grow from mistrust to a friendship of sorts based on their circumstances.
Set in South Carolina, the book is rich in description and transports you to the gritty South. There are scenes with graphic violence and an explicit sex scene. You could probably page past the sex, but the violence is pervasive and is woven into the story line and impossible to avoid. I enjoyed the book – the writing was so vivid I felt I was watching a movie and I never flinched from the blood on the page.
I gave this book four stars for the story and writing, but it missed being five stars because I felt the ending was rushed and too abrupt. Maybe I just didn’t want the story to end.

<i>I found this book available on NetGalley.</i>

3.5

<i>Cigarette Lemonade</i> by Connor de Bruler is a well-written novella about drug dealing following Dizzie, a fierce transgender lead, and her hilarious companion, Smoak. I really liked the writing of this book, but what I liked most was the fact that, despite the story only being around 95 pages, both Dizzie and Smoak were really nicely fleshed out characters. I had a great time reading about them.

What threw me off a little was the ending, as I found it to be kind of abrupt. Other than that, I really enjoyed reading this novella.

This was more violent than I expected, but there were a lot of parts of this book that I liked. The chapters feel very episodic, moving from one setting to another without much transition, and I think that it worked very well with the story that this book is telling. The characters are interesting, and in fact, I would have liked to know more about a lot of the characters. It's fast paced, which works well in connection with the episodic nature of the chapters. I read it straight through without putting it down, and there is a lot more action than you would expect from a novella of its length.
To me, it did feel like some of the scenes were a bit rushed. There were places that I wanted to see more of a description of the scene, or more explanation for why Dizzie and Smoak reacted the way they did to conversations or circumstances. Sometimes it felt like characters were introduced only to be left behind at the end of the chapter.
3.75/5 - rounded up on Goodreads
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

I don't read many thrillers, but I read the description and was intrigued. I really enjoyed Dizzie's character as I don't see much trans representation in this genre. I liked that this was a quick read that kept me interested as someone who has a short attention span when it comes to books outside my favorite genres.

As short as the novella, Cigarette Lemonade, is... it ended up being a DNF for me. I love the cover, and the basic summary sounded interesting, but the plot was too meandering through things that didn't really feel important. The entire first half of the book, the main characters Dizzie and Smoak are driving, staying in sketchy motels, or messing around with drugs and dangerous people. The whole story just feels like it's lacking a *why*.
Even by halfway through the book, I wasn't sure of the characters' reasoning for what they were doing. Just because? Maybe. But unfortunately it didn't hold my interest enough to finish.
The writing style and the descriptions on page were written well though, so it wasn't a total loss.

This has a very interesting premise but it was a bit weird and seemed like it was trying too hard to fit too much of a good thing in such a short book.

This was a really interesting and engaging read. I was rooting for Dizzy and Smoak throughout the story and really enjoyed getting to know them.

Prosey like an ash-colored rose. From the title, I suppose Smoak is pronounced like Smoke and he hides a body on page one. Dialogue’s snappy, world-building (not talking fantasy) is thick but in a very authentic, pithy way. Massage parlor back room deals with an optimistic all-girl crew. Medium-size drug deals, frowny faces carved into wrists, beautifully ugly highway scenery. The sense of smell is especially specific and evocative.

Dizzie is fun and relatable despite being a trans woman and a dealer, because she’s an average bumpkin into sarcasm, looking to blend in, not latch to any identity to preach about. Once she becomes too high-strung and dangerous, it’s justified being partnered with a jag-off stranger.

Smoak sucks but in a way that makes the plot interesting. Though he dresses like a dad, he’s very pity-me-socialist and cause-a-scene-over-assumptions. Line cook sleazy. When they have to interrogate people, he seems too cruel when the narrative offers no tell that his victims are actually lying. We need them to contradict something or be too vague for things to seem more clever, that the duo doesn’t just get lucky in their bloodlust.

Before a third in, things are super eventful and high stakes yet Dizzie doesn’t react during or after at all? That def took away the five star rating. And how is she suddenly not shy or dysphoric or scared of assault to pee like a man with door open and walk out without a skirt after in a motel room with him?? At first, I thought she was adrenaline and wine drunk, horny… I guess it sorta makes sense later but only half.

I like the bits of humor, there could be more. Question and answer bits need commas. Ex. “It’s messed up, isn’t it?” Not sure I love or found the ending too surprising/shaded in. But maybe that’s “pointless” life.

Not going to lie, I picked this book on NetGalley because I loved the cover. I didn’t even read what it was about. What a surprise! It’s a novella about two drug mules, Dizzie and Smoak. Two people that probably should not be drug mules. It’s right around 100 pages of drugs, violence, torture and murder.
I really enjoyed the novella. I feel there could be a follow up story since the it ended so abruptly. It was super fast paced and overall a great novella.
Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read an advance copy.

Great crime noir, cat, mouse chase! Loved the characters, ending felt a little rushed, but I liked the way it did end. I had already planned out a different ending so it was a nice little curve ball to go in the opposite direction.

Cigarette Lemonade is a quick and thrilling novella filled with crime, torture, and death. I loved the setting of this story and the vivid action sequences, The adrenaline was pumping the more I read. It left me wanting more each chapter.

Bruler did a fantastic job with the writing and pace of this book, as well as creating a simple yet compelling chemistry between the two main characters Dizzie and Smoak. Dizzie is a such a girlboss. Personally, her character was more intriguing to me from the get go compared to Smoak. This was a fun and exciting read.

** spoiler alert ** There were a lot of things I liked, but there were also quite a few things that were not for me.

Minor spoilers ahead.

Content warnings: gun violence, drug use, dead naming, transphobic slurs, sex, pornography

The book is about Dizzie and Smoak, who are thrown into a wild world of drugs, guns, and hitmen. It's a violent book, much more than I had anticipated.

The main plot is really fun and moves quickly. The two main characters are thrown into a world that feel straight out of a thriller and seems full and vibrant. I was very invested in the main plot and read the book in one sitting. It seemed to be a cozy world where the two main characters were very different yet just clicked with each other.

However, there were a couple of things that didn't work for me and I think took away from the plot and the world that the author created.

There was a scene between the two characters where a soft-core porn is vividly described followed by a couple of sexual encounters that came out of nowhere and was really awkward to read. It felt very clinical and didn't have the "spice" that a lot of readers want. It also just ended. There was no mention of it again. I'm note sure why that entire chapter was in the story.

One of the main characters is Dizzie, and I am not quite sure why she was made trans. There are a few times where other characters misgender her, use her dead name (but the author never does!), and use transphobic slurs. I found that to be very distracting from the main plot, which was quite captivating.

Overall, I did enjoy it, but a few things were too distracting to love the book. However, I do recommend it for a quick, cozy, high-paced read.

Content and trigger warnings: gratuitous blood/murder, gratuitous sexual imagery, explicit homophobic slurs, implicit transphobia

I love Dizzie’s character, I love the exploration of a trans MC who is a totally BAMF. Dizzie’s firecracker personality shines through and especially in compliment to Smoak who is more stoic. I thought Smoak was snarky with a quick tongue, and I enjoyed his dialogue a lot. The two MCs are definitely very likable on their own right and as partners.

Unfortunately, I found the plot to be lacking. There isn’t enough time to breathe from one event to the next, so it reads more like a travelogue from point A to B. This book doesn’t do a great job of maintaining tension throughout the story. Dizzie and Smoak and their adventure is very akin to a buddy cop story, but the events taking place don’t feel tense or exciting. If new characters were introduced, their impact would be neutralized very quickly. Things seem to go smoothly for them every single time, which reads more as plot armor.

I also thought the dialogue and scene break-up was very aimless. At times, it felt like chapters were too short and filled with scenes that really didn’t add to the overall plot line or character development. Same with the dialogue; there were times I would read it and wonder what the author was trying to accomplish with some of the lines. Even the way the book is written is a little monotonous; paragraphs would sometimes be a string of short, basic subject-verb-object sentences back to back, with no variation in sentence complexity, which gave the book a very bland rhythm.

I also wasn’t really pleased with some of the relationship progression choices in this story and felt it was out of character in terms of chemistry.

Lastly, I found the ending to be extremely unsatisfying and also far too abrupt.

Overall, while I love the treatment of Dizzie as a trans MC and love the representation in this book, I felt that the story was a little uneven. Yes, Dizzie is a BAMF, but there wasn't a lot of obstacles in her path so we don't really get to see her shine the way I wanted her to.

Cigarette Lemonade is a novella, about 95 pages, of drug dealing, torture, killing mystery.

In all its little glory, it was a decent book. Intriguing enough to keep you reading, enough detail to keep you into the characters, enough twists to keep you wanting more. Unfortunately the end was really a let down.

Dizzie and Smoak are the most untypical drug mules possible. It’s almost like they both accidentally ended up in this line of work. I really liked their dynamic together, and how well the story flowed through them. In the end, I wanted more, and a different ending.

An excellent ARC!

Cigarette Lemonade is a beautifully vivid novella. Bruler has an immaculate writing sense and establishes a setting without it being lost in chunks of exposition. There is a purposeful sense of mystery, and the characters are decently fleshed out throughout the novella.

This story was engaging, addictive, and very neatly presented. That being said, I ultimately rated Cigarette Lemonade 4.5 stars. While I adore the concept of an open ending for this novella, I couldn't shake the feeling that the conclusion presented was slightly rushed and detached from the tone of the majority of the novella. It fell flat, and it might have to do with the pacing of the final scene. It felt slightly "he did/she did/done."

That aside, this book was thrilling, and I really, really LOVED it. I'm absolutely looking forward to reading Bruler's other writings, and I can't wait to see the success of this book when it is officially released.

The first thing that caught me about this novel was the title. One of my best friends sent me a list of books in order of when she’d be reading them and this was on it. Immediately, I was like… yo… what is that?

Anyway, colour me curious. I got it. I read it in a few hours and when I tell you that I absolutely devoured this novella… I mean it. As a non-binary person who grew up in South Carolina, I was immediately attached to Dizzie. Despite the clothing she’s in and the makeup she wears, people still perceive her as the gender she was assigned at birth and that’s something I can relate to directly. I found myself admiring her grit and determination (especially in the scene with the whole one free pass thing; she’s such a badass and I think I’ve told my friends I would die for her [a fictional character, mind you] numerous times since reading that scene).

The ending left me feeling a little snuffed with how abruptly it ends but I think this is more of me wanting to see more of what happens to Dizzie. She’s my age, right, and I’m young… which means she has an entire life ahead of her. Presumably, anyway. Mayhaps. I want to know more about Dizzie and where she takes herself after the end of the novella, but I suppose that’s the beauty of how it ended. It’s all up to interpretation.

Overall, I’m giving this a solid 4.5 stars, rounded down for GR and exact for TSG. This was a super fun and fast-paced read, and I definitely plan on checking out more of de Brueler’s work in the future.