Lesbian Fauxmance Book Review of ‘Cause and Affection’ by Sheryl Wright
3.25 Stars. Parts of this book really clicked for me, other parts unfortunately just didn’t work.
I love lesbian fauxmances books, they are my favorite lesfic romances to read. I feel authors have to work extra hard to make the romance believable since there is no love at first sight. This fauxmance had an interesting twist where only one character didn’t realize the romance was real. I like that Wright took a chance at something different, but I do have to say that I don’t think it worked quite as well as the regular fauxmance theme. While I liked the main characters together and felt a connection forming, I didn’t get that intense chemistry I normally feel in fauxmances.
When it came to the setting of Vegas and Toronto and the inner workings of Kara’s company, that is where I thought the book shined. Even with Kara’s relationship with her father being dysfunctional, her other familiar relationships were the best parts of the book. I was wrapped up in the boardroom scenes, the scenes with Kara’s siblings, and even the contentious scenes with her father. All the Wexler family scenes worked well and kept me turning the pages.
There were a few places sprinkled throughout that I had trouble with Wrights writing or choices. There were a few times I was not sure who was speaking or whose POV I was in. It was odd because the story was flowing well then something would happen to kick me out that groove, and I had to backtrack since I was confused. I’m not a speed reader, but I like to go at a good pace and anything that stops that flow can be jarring. There were also a few choices that I didn’t understand. For instance, Wright skipped the first kiss. It caught me so off guard that I was completely confused. They kiss, and then Wright is explaining that they had kissed already that night. I still am unsure if that first kiss I saw was the second or third actual kiss. It was just a really odd choice and again jolted me out of the flow of the story.
When it came to the actual romance, I thought it was about average. Missing the first kiss didn’t help me. I did believe the connection but at the point, I wanted more, the characters would separate for jobs or whatever, and the romance seemed to just stop for that period. I don’t really like romances when the characters are apart. It wasn’t for too long in this book, but it affected me enough that I started caring more about what was going on in Kara’s company than the actual romance.
While I thought Wright could have really pumped the romance back up towards the end, (she did try) there was not enough time left. The ending was too quick and a major storyline was left open-ended. You have an idea of what might happen, but I’m not sure and do not see the ending play out was disappointing for me.
This one is a little tough for me. Parts like Kara’s family and company were really fun to read. I was completely hooked into certain storylines and was enjoying myself. But the romance itself didn’t grab me like I was hoping for. I would still recommend this book, I was entertained, but just be prepared for some bumps. If you are new to Wright I would recommend her book Don’t Let Go over this one. The romance with Georgie and Tyler was really sweet.
An ARC was given to me for an honest review.
