Book No. 61 of 2020
This, IMHO, is Jasmine Guillory’s best book; it features the most natural-feeling writing I’ve read from her yet, and I was really hooked by her characters and the very specific-yet-relatable circumstances they get into. Also, as someone who grew up in the Bay Area and moved to LA recently, I totally related to Olivia.
It’s a very fun read with characters who truly love their careers in a very real-feeling sense (not just in a lazy, “we’re using this job in place of real character development” way) and in the times we’re in, it was a balm to read about a senator who is passionate about criminal justice reform and a lawyer who volunteers at a community kitchen. I liked how, as always, Guillory doesn’t shy away from the realities of Living and Dating While Black, the occasional dissonances that come up in any multiracial relationship (even the good ones), and deftly shows how rom-com-style impulsivity is so often a function of white privilege. It’s a really fun read that is also really firmly grounded in reality, and I was genuinely bummed to finish the book, because I enjoyed being in those pages so much.
Similar Reads
Some of the themes reminded me of Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, another recent read that, while light and fun, also deals with unwanted/uncontrolled fame and the precariousness of being a POC in white spaces.