Member Reviews
Sarah C, Reviewer
Didn't work for me. I appreciate the opportunity to review. Sorry for the delay in reviewing, I'm getting to my netgalley backlog after a difficult few years.
Danika E, Reviewer
Roller Girl follows Tina, a trans woman who has recently divorced as well as retiring as a professional athlete. She’s adrift. So when she gets invited to play on the local roller derby team, she jumps at the opportunity. And it doesn’t hurt that the coach is a swoonworthy butch woman. They are drawn to each other, but Joe doesn’t want to endanger the team by admitting to dating a teammate, and Tina doesn’t want to stay a secret forever.
I don’t read a lot of romance, but I was delighted with this. Tina and Joe immediately click, and–at least initially–there’s a lot of open, healthy communication happening. They do both jump into angry tirades sometimes, but generally they try to talk to each other about their problems. (I hate when the entire conflict of the novel could be resolved if the characters just talked to each other.) I also loved that it was set in the world of roller derby! I don’t think any queer lady needs to explain why that’s a fun bonus.
I’m cisgender, and I don’t believe this is own voices representation, so I don’t want to be the arbiter of whether this is good trans representation, but I did really like reading a fun romance with a trans woman lead. It does come up in the story, but it’s just as much about Joe and Tina’s romance, or Tina’s journey to self-confidence, or trying to save the gym that she works at as a personal trainer. It’s a part of the story, but it’s not the whole story.
I wasn’t expecting this to get quite as steamy as it does! As I’ve noted, I’m still pretty new to the romance genre, and I was surprised by the amount and intensity of the sex scenes. I’m not complaining! I thought Tina and Joe had great chemistry, and they were very believable. But I did feel awkward reading it on the bus and in the break room at work!
This was a quick, fun read that I would definitely recommend.
Belinda M, Reviewer
Unfortunately this story wasn't for me. We did not include the review on our blog since it was a DNF.
Sue @ H, Reviewer
The protagonist Tina has certainly joined the league of characters I've come to adore and respect.
She made me teared up, her arc did it for me. That's how emotional, and good it is. I just sadly couldn't enjoy its full potential. I will cite the fact that it dragged at some point, and I don't particularly ship the otp which is one of my usual requirement for a favorite.
Overall, I would recommend Roller Girl within a heartbeat. Most of my friends love it! It guts me that the community reviews for this are filled with transphobia and fetishization of same sex couples
