book review | Guava Flavored Lies by J.J. Arias
book review, lgbtq books
I was saving this book. Due to title, cover, and annotation, on a hunch it’ll be good. Having read the Guava Flavored Lies by J.J. Arias, I can confirm, good indeed. Beautiful summery lesbian romance, with so much delicious sounding baking in it, I highly recommend having a snack at hand.
About the Book: Campos and Machado were always enemies. One family blamed the other for stealing their pastry recipes. And whilst Lauren couldn’t care less, she just wants to get on with the baking, continue the traditions, and create new things out of the old, Sylvie can’t let it go. So, whilst working on upcoming fests, and juggling a very stressful baker’s job, she convinces her friend to dig a little and finally get proof of the truth. Whilst she waits, two women have no choice but to work side by side, as whether they like it or not, they have a lot in common. From aspirations and dreams, to work ethics. Except that Lauren keeps butchering traditional recipes and is being stupidly kind. It must be a ruse. Right? No matter, once the truth is out, everything will change. Or so Sylvie hopes.
My Opinion: Oh, this was so good. For one, such a pleasure to read about people in their thirties. For two, whilst soft femininity is beautiful, these young women have a far more flexible expression of gender whilst both, seemingly, cis women. I tend to not really resonate with sapphic romances, being a bit more into men myself, and always worried it was some kind of hidden bias. But no, I just like a certain type of person, and Sylvie and Lauren are both those kinds of people: strong-willed, caring, disciplined. Very lovable characters, both so well written. The story itself was superb too, light plot twists, scalding summer heat, all those pastries, descriptions short, but vivid, something many authors could take note on, ngl. Truly, I couldn’t recommend this more for that good, lazy summer read.
A solid 5 out of 5. This book gave me the summers I love vibe. The fact characters were so loveable is just a bonus, really. Treat yourself, seriously.
Disclaimer: the book is marked as f/f and/or lesbian romance, this is not to erase characters possible bi-curiosity or bisexuality where applies. I follow the guidelines provided, nothing else.