Had it all! And a Women’s World Cup at the right time! That would have taken some planning, very impressed. I wish I was that organised! So much to say. Firstly, I love that this author acknowledges First Nation peoples, specifically the Turrbul and Jaggera peoples, as the traditional owners of the land on which the book was written: yes! And legend Lee Winter was also mentioned in the acknowledgements- I just love to see this little detail and think how Ylva writers interact- don’t mind me. It truly is a small world, especially when you see TikToks and Reels from around the world talking about Liz Rain from Australia. And for good reason! This book got me deep down. I think Liz Rain is so much more than a simple, cookie-cutter Sapphic author. Her stories have depth, great characters, heart and steam. I loved the queer-joy scene with the elegant suits…..heart be still! How many queer people have agonised or not been allowed or prepared to go to an important event in the attire they so wish for? The suits in this book made me drool with envy and desire. I also loved that one of the MCs was a person of colour and one of the supporting characters was non-binary. I recently went to a writer’s festival and asked each and every female author I met “Do you have any people of colour or queer people in your romance books?” All the authors said no. How sad is that! Do you know what they said? “I wouldn’t know how to do that.” To which I then said “Well do you have any male characters? How do you write from their point of view?” Pathetic excuse! As long as you utilise sensitivity readers, which Liz Rain has done beautifully, all stories deserve to be told. So thank you Liz Rain for not shying away from diverse characters. The love story was epic- I loved the build over time. It was like Carol for me- will they won’t they- time goes by- more details come to light and then BOOM! I won’t spoil it for you, but the bus scene- THE BUS SCENE! People! Read this book! This is not a drill! (get it?) I also loved the cameo from Perks of Office, Rain’s first book. No! I’m not going to spoil it for you! I also loved Christine’s sister. And I loved Fletch. Fletch was the character I have been waiting to read. I loved them. And I loved the settings and hearing Liz Rain’s Australian settings and language come to life. Made it much richer. This.Book.Was.FABULOUS!
