Femme Like Her

(*I DNF’d this at 12%)

While I liked how the author used the narration to express the main’s character’s personality, most of this story unfortunately fell really flat for me. The conflict is oddly vague, and I don’t quite understand what’s keeping the main character from being with someone she seems interested in. I also primarily was bored by the characterization of the love interest, who felt largely like a caricature of the domineering love interest, and I didn’t understand why exactly they were attracted to each other as people, other than the surface-level physical attraction.

I would still recommend this to anyone who’s really interested by the premise and is interested in a short, steamy read. (That just wasn’t me unfortunately.)

I loved reading this book! Great pacing, a sweet relationship balanced with steam. See review links.

The story of two black women that work against the prejudice of the world, their own traumas from the past and the prejudices within themselves to come stronger on the other side and truly appreciate the new love that has graced each of their lives.

To me, the story was more about being Femme. There is growth, friendship, family, love and intimacy of love that goes beyond Femme. Yet, despite all the heavy lifting of serious topics, the books have a lighter feel to it.

I liked the story, the characters, the conversations but the villainous side felt a little out of place as a new villain rose in the end despite the building drama with a woman from the past. The ending left a little to be desired for as the beginning and the climb was pretty good, making if feel out disconnected.

I truly felt like the title didn't do the book much justice.

Mild Trigger Warning

4 steamy stars (came out Dec 8, 2020)

**ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.**
#NetGalley #FemmeLikeHer

Pros: Black f/f love, Black bisexual femme MC with dom-energy, Black lesbian femme MC, off-the-charts chemistry between the MCs, steamy sex scenes that had me feeling all kinds of things, supportive families, discussion of queer acceptance (or lack thereof) in Jamaican culture

Cons: Misunderstanding trope, overhanging work drama that was never integral to the plot or resolved, use of words like "crazy" to describe women acting violently in a relationship

Similar vibes: None that I know! This is the best BIPOC f/f romance I think I've ever read.

TW: near car crash x 2, talk of abortion, unwanted impregnation, emotional abuse in a relationship

Video link: [when filmed]

I just don’t think this book was for me. By chapter 4 I figured it was the writing style. I’m giving a neutral rating but after reading other reviews I am glad some are enjoying this book

I really, really wanted to enjoy this! Contemporary romance really need more voices like this.

The book follows Nailah, Jamaican-born, American from Atlanta, who struggles with connecting her identity with her Jamaican culture. I really enjoyed her interaction with family and how her coming out was addressed. But she doesnt only have issue with how her culture sees her, but how she sees herself and others. That becomes very clear when she starts her steamy relationship with Scotty that soon gets complicated.

This book is stuck in between non fiction and romance and it never unstuck... I wold however be curios of future books by this author and her progress.

3.5 Stars

In “Femme Like Her” Nailah is a femme who only dates studs. She was hurt years ago by another femme and has sworn them off. Out with her best friend she meets Scottie who makes her interest known. However, Scottie is femme and Nailah doesn’t want to give her a chance. Scottie is very persistent and won’t let Nailah’s reluctance get in her way.

I’m not one to really like these kinds of labels but I knew what I was getting into when I decided to read this and kept an open mind.

This started off pretty slow for me. In the sense that I was confused for about the first 25% as to why Nailah is so against dating another femme and some of the choices she and Scottie make. But I pushed through and ended up enjoying this quite a bit.

Nailiah is a pretty likable character. She’s not perfect and that’s part of why I liked her. She can be prejudiced and judgmental but when others point this out, she listens and grows. Scottie wasn’t nearly as likable to me at first. I think it’s more of a personality issue for me though. From other reviews, people seem to love her but I found her to be off-putting, however, she did grow on me.

This starts off hot and heavy and they’re chemistry is off the charts. But after a miscommunication where Scottie disappears for a while, things slow down and they start over in getting to know one another. The story really takes off here because Zedde lets you see beyond the surface and labels. This is told in Nailah’s first person point of view and I wish we had more from Scottie. She remains pretty mysterious throughout the story until right before the end.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read for me and this was the first I’ve read of Zedde and I’d certainly read more.

Nailah Grant’s life seems to be falling into some serious disarray – she can’t over losing her two best friends a couple of years earlier, the company she works for has been bought out and her department has been declared redundant. She has a hard-and-fast rule – she doesn’t date femmes. Then she meets Scottie, a femme who seems to already know her too well. Nailah falls for Scottie and believes Scottie has feelings for her, too. But then ….

Zedde has written a book with two strong, complex, intelligent, and likable characters. Nailah’s best friend is well written and while you make not like her, you know that Nailah needs her to tell her when she’s acting like an idiot. Even the parents are likable.

Her writing is excellent, and the plot line is believable making this a book that readers will stay up late at night to read one more page, one more chapter.

Zedde was one of my first authors in this genre; I hadn’t read a book of hers in a while but when I started this book it was like reconnecting with an old friend. Scottie was a really intriguing character and I wish that there was more background story on her because I feel like her history would be one that we, as the readers, would love to read about. In fact, that’s my only complaint with Zedde’s books: there’s not enough character development and not enough story. There is no doubt that she can write and describe the chemistry between characters but it feels like it’s missing more. Overall, a good quick read.