Femme Like Her – Fiona Zedde

I have to admit this wasn’t what I was expecting from my first opportunity to read a Zedde work. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing – I was just a little surprised. It was somehow sweeter than I anticipated, despite the obvious steam and some hard topics.

Nailah isn’t in to femmes. She’s been telling herself this for years. Scottie, a femme, spots Nailah in a crowded bar she’s been dragged to and goes after what she wants.

The book starts steamy, then quietens down to the point where I was beginning to wonder where Zedde was taking us in the narrative. Once things heat up again the chemistry between Nailah and Scottie is very apparent. There’s an inevitable conflict that lies in lack of communication and some growing that needs to be done.

I liked all of the characters in this book. Both MCs are well written. Nailah’s best friend Pauline is crazy but good at the same time. The ex’s and the hangers on were at least somewhat interesting and the parents were great. No character in this narrative is perfect, they’re all treated to good and bad moments (mostly) and whilst in many respects I enjoyed that it almost felt a little overplayed – no group of people is so fully individually self aware in that regard – but it’s nice to dream.

Despite my surprise as to the heart of the book, I did enjoy this and would give it a high three stars. The book is written from Nailah’s point of view, which was interesting but I wanted to know more about Scottie’s thoughts and feelings too.

There’s a lot of potential for more stories from Nailah and Scottie and I’d happily read another instalment.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.