Big woah -- What a novel.

I am so thankful to Henry Holt Books, Jenny Fran Davis, NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio for sending me many versions of Dykette -- Audiobook, Physical ARC, and Digital Access. Dykette narrates the tale of several adult lesbians and how their friendship flourishes over the years as they journey into the vast experiences within their sexuality, adult films, and defying gender constructs simultaneously.

I enjoyed how each date possessed different storylines and narratives from each couple over the holiday season. Sasha and Jesse, Jules Todd and Miranda, and Lou and Darcy all huddle in for the cold winter weeks at the end of the year to celebrate Christmas morning and the days that follow, exploring erotically stimulating activities, cooking home-inspired meals, and going through the motions of monogamous relationship in peril of being opened wide open.

Dykette hits shelves on May 16, 2023, and I can't wait for more of my friends to jump into this wild wide of the novel.

I really didn’t want to DNF this book. I wanted to see the drama unfold between these characters. However, from the first page, I just struggled so badly with the prose. I tried three different times to read the book, just to make sure it wasn’t an issue of me not being the right headspace, but every time I would get lost a few minutes in. It’s probably just a me problem in general, but I had to give up as I don’t think I’ll ever click with the author’s writing style.

another netgalley. man, i really wanted to like this one, but it turns out the relationship drama i hate in straight books does not suddenly become bearable in queer books
nitpicks: sasha calling her pussy "kittycat," the relentless referencing of other media, always done in the exact same way like explaining to a child. maybe i'm not the target audience because i had already read/watch/was deeply familiar with pretty much everything that was referenced, so the explanations only felt redundant to me, but then the fact that i knew all the references suggests that i AM the target audience (20-something genderfuck lesbian), so who knows
good things: it was sexy at times
in fairness to the book, i might just be tired of city queer stories and novels where the protagonist is getting some humanities phd at an unnamed but implied ivy. lou was the only bearable character, 10/10 boygirlfriend goals
1.5 rounded up to 2

Reminded me of other books I've loved, Melissa Broder and Alissa Nutting. It's transgressive, but missing a certain something that I couldn't put my finger on. Entertaining in parts and I did not regret reading it.

A visceral, honest, and astute portrayal of what it means to be queer. I loved the rhythm of this book and the setting/plot kept me entertained throughout.

I REALLY wanted to like this book but I just didn't understand the writing. I typically have good reading comprehension but for some reason I genuinely had no idea what was happening in this book to the point where I couldn't finish it. The way these words were strung together just really made no sense.

This felt like a literary experience of a Zillenial version of the Real L World reality show, but featuring some of the OG elder lesbians. Nothing really happens, but there's a lot of drama.

Dykette reads largely as a character study, an attempt at a satirical commentary on society, and an exploration of queer dynamics-- but specifically femme/butch dynamics for a specific demographic (Young Millenial/Gen Z, upper middle class to upper class, white).

There was a lot to like here, and I was able to think of individuals who may enjoy this more than I did.
I liked that the story doesn't cater to a straight reader; it's very much by queers for queers, and doesn't try to explain as it goes. Some of the references are probably quite inside-softball (hehe).
I appreciated the inclusion of lesbians characters that use both she/her and he/him pronouns, the lesbian boyfriend, and non-cis characters. One of my favorite parts was a discussion around the pros and cons of top surgery; I thought it captured a lot of the nuance and significance of these choices really well and with a great use of dialogue.
I liked how Dykette looked at the generational differences in femme/butch lesbian relationships, and also the way those are perceived by those of other generations.
I appreciated the honest look at performance in queer relationships, which may seem to have more defined boundaries and stricter rules and straight relationships.
I found the exploration of desire and kink and sex and consent interesting and fairly well done.

I also found the character view too limiting in a lot of ways; if you don't belong to this specific slice of queer culture, it may not resonate the way I think it's intended to. I'm a queer woman, and I chuckled at the recognition of some of these characters, and similarities to people I've met in real life; but overall this felt frivolous and performative and specific to certain individuals. I could not relate at all to the narrator, or empathize with her, or even sympathize with her in any way. I could recognize that there are many people who can relate to these behaviors, but I don't feel comfortable perpetuating what I consider to be psychologically unhealthy games and did not enjoy almost any of the main character's traits, thoughts, musings, opinions, or actions.

I also often like unreliable narrators, but this one was SO unreliable, and so dramatic, and applying this layer of judgment and her own neuroses to everyone else, that it just felt toxic and frankly annoying to me. Again here, I can see how this is appealing to some readers; I find almost every reality show intolerable for similar reasons to why this book was difficult for me, but I am aware that they have mass appeal and their target audiences don't include me.

There were some funny moments; there’s a heavy helping of social satire, and some of it works. A lot of it fell flat for me, however, and often felt like it was trying far too hard. I could see this resonating more with those in their early 20s instead of their mid-thirties (me), so perhaps that's it. There were places where the narration felt like it was trying to sound so smart and profound at every turn, and instead made me cringe a bit, imagining a young person who wants so very much to be grown up and deep and profound. Given the character study and subject matter, perhaps this was meta and part of the satire, but it just didn't work for me.

The constant navel-gazing was also exhausting for me; however, I'm aware that I'm typically less drawn to character studies and prefer a plot with some character growth, so this may appeal more to others who are here just to observe the characters. Basically nothing happens plot-wise, aside from some semi-disturbing sexual events towards the end. Those should come with content warnings, but were also some of the most interesting events of the book for me.

There is SO MUCH focus on fashion and brands and clothing and accessories, to an (in my very biased opinion) absurd degree. The narrator was making the point that this is part of the performance of the dykette, of this femme identify. I found it frivolous, but also that's because it's not my thing and the older I get the more I despise our consumer and beauty culture. Personally I find some of these types of performance immature and exhausting and limiting and damaging in real life. I don't expect everyone to share these opinions, but it bothered me that there was no real evaluation or reflection here; it almost glorified and defended some of the more toxic behaviors demonstrated, which were clearly causing pain to both members of a relationship and to those around them.

I know this was a character study on these characters, but there’s an implication that all of the dykettes, these Zillenial super-femmes, are (or should aspire to be) super insecure and emotionally volatile and deceiving and frivolous and unstable and selfish; this is simply not true. There’s even a line that I found borderline personally offensive about gay femmes who aren’t dramatic or glitzy or neurotic not actually being gay. I get that it’s meant as more satire and some profound commentary on performance being who you are, but it rubbed me the wrong way, and flippant statements like this can be harmful.

It felt like the author, or at least the narrator, was saying throughout, "well yes i'm high maintenance and I might be hurtful to those I love and no therapist would call this a healthy relationship, but I'm high drama and this is me and that's just how it is with dykettes!"
And I think we can do better than this.

Note to the publisher: I almost DNF'd this book a few times, but I felt I wanted to be able to provide feedback based on the entirety of the work. I hope this is helpful in terms of identifying audiences, as I'm a queer woman (I sometimes identify as lesbian, sometimes as pansexual or bisexual) who leans femme in my 30s. I generally love "by gay, for gay" fiction, and even though this was not for me, I wish it the best in finding its target fanbase. I'd be interested to check back in and read this author's work in about ten years, and see if anything has evolved :)

This is a 2.5 for me, rounding up to a 3 here.

I was so excited to begin this book when it opened with a moving passage from "The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions" by Larry Mitchell and ultimately was let down by the mess of dyke drama that followed (think L Word Gen Q levels of overwrought relationship issues).

While I enjoy Davis' declaritive writing style and the exploration of performance in queer relationships, this story and it's characters are hollow and joyless. And that seems to be a trait common among lit fic or character studies, so if you typically enjoy those sorts of reads, you might enjoy this one. Just keep in mind that it's definitely a "by us, for us" type of novel that doesn't hand hold or try to explain the queer dynamics that get explored.

CW for graphic torture, sex, consensual non-consent, infidelity

Thanks to Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for the digital ARC!

I feel like Davis wanted to make a lesbian, Zillennial version of Larry Kramer's "Faggots."

What "Faggots" had, though, that "Dkyette" does not was passion. Kramer wrote fiercely; Davis writes in soft, colorful phrases. There's no fire to her story, to these characters. They're hollow markers of people rather than people. Maybe that was the idea? I don't know. But I didn't like it. I found the whole thing tedious, strange, and emotionally isolating.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book but I did not finish it. My recommendation to readers would be to download a sample before buying to see if it is a fit for you.

I think it might be enjoyed by a younger audience as most of the characters themselves are reflected to be. They will probably relate more to the characters, dynamics and situations in the book at this point in time.

The queer representation is decent and includes interesting takes on the butch/femme dynamic that are likely quite relatable to many and I think readers will enjoy that.

Mostly the book is about three couples, two young (25-26) couples and one older on a holiday getaway. I found the younger couples too immature with lots of whining, sniping at each other and playing ridiculous mind games, including Sasha’s constant anger and manipulation. Of the older couple one of them was basically checked out and disaffected. It was annoying and tiresome. I’m usually a fan of unlikable characters and I don’t think they always have to have major personality changes by the end of the book but I like some redeeming qualities. I couldn’t find that with these characters and I couldn’t imagine reading the entire book. I’ve also seen it billed as humorous and I didn’t get that from it at all. I didn’t find the substance I anticipated in these characters or in the book as a whole.

this is the kind of book you will either love or despise - no in between.

there isn’t a single likeable character in the main cast and every relationship is complex and toxic and cruel. the main character is insipid and possibly one of the most unlikeable characters i’ve ever read about.

but by god this book was INTERESTING and i just couldn’t stop reading to see what fucked up shit they did next.

This was an interesting novel to read. I am still undecided about how I feel. I dunno. It did what it set out to do though.

[3.5]

I found the first 75% of the book very very good; the writing was laugh-out-loud funny and the protagonist was messy, insecure and chaotic but in a way that feels familiar. It really focused on the sexual and interpersonal dynamics between these three queer/lesbian couples who are at one of the couple’s country home. I found Sasha’s observations about all of these people so interesting to read about. And it felt like it was building up to a disaster in a very subtle way.

But then the last 25% really erupted in a way that took me by surprise and at some points felt out of the blue. The protag definitely was going off the deep end and embarrassing herself in a wild way - and it made endeared he to me as it felt like she was spiraling out of control and pushing all of her problems onto those around her (who amongst us hasn't) but I feel like the writing style made it feel almost rushed and hard to follow at times.

I think the book had some really interesting things to say about butch vs. femme bodies and also their gazes, what it means to perform your gender and sexuality, and the ways our desire manifests and affects our relationships and the intersectionality across all of that.

It squeezed in some gender and sexuality theory that felt like it went over my head at times, but that’s probably a personal problem LOL

Overall, I enjoyed myself and think that fans of lesbian lit will have a lot of opinions about this book - I’m sure it’ll be divisive with the messy protagonist but I always enjoy watching women spiral out of control, personally.

Thanks Netgalley and Henry Holt & Co. for the ARC ⭐️

I've sat down to write this review several times but can never quite wrap my mind around what I really thought of DYKETTE. On the one hand, it's a blisteringly funny social satire that will surely be incomprehensible to anyone outside of a queer zillennial audience. On the other hand, it's an upsetting cocktail of provocative navel-gazing that shoots past 'shocking' and straight into 'disturbing' territory around 70% in. The tone of the novel is difficult to track, with the disturbing moments (read: legit torture porn) veering into abject horror and the domestic scenes reading more like razor-sharp social commentary. Sasha is a fabulous narrator, but OOF, man, there are three distinct scenes of body horror that made me physically ill and one sex scene that achieved its goal of being shocking and off-putting a little too well.

Complaints that the characters are unlikable or that the representation is inaccurate are .... completely missing the point. (Also, idk what you're talking about, I've met every single one of these people in real life, several times over.) Davis' analysis of queer femininity is worth puzzling through, and the concept of the 'dykette' should spawn a thousand thinkpieces (including some that will be canceled a la Sasha's experience) but ooooooooh I'm ready to read some hot takes on the livestream of it all. If ever a book called for Andrea Long Chu's analysis, it's this one.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review of this book.

To start off, I finished this novel nearly two weeks ago, but have had such a hard time writing a review because it's unlike the majority of books that I've read. It's strange and raw, sometimes gross, and often egotistical.. That said, it's a glaring, no holds barred commentary on subsections of the queer community, and it can also be touching and funny and vulnerable.

I don't feel that most readers will enjoy it, but that in no way makes it a bad book. So if you find yourself in one of more of the below categories, you might consider giving it a try:
1. You have cried to Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift at least once, because the lyrics hit too close to home.
2. You relate the phrase "non-practicing intellectual."
3, You simply really enjoy literature that makes you squirm or grimace occasionally.
4. You have ever lied about where you bought something because you didn't want someone else to have it too.
5. Born to Die is your favorite Lana Del Rey album.

Thank you to NetGalley & Henry Holt and Co. for the ARC of Dykette and the chance to read and review this book prior to publication. I am very grateful for this opportunity!

DNF at 39%. It is heavy on my heart to make the decision to DNF Dykette, not only because it was the first ARC I was ever personally approved for, but also because it is described as a advanced and modern portrayal of the queer community as it is evolving today.

I could not bring myself to care about Sasha or Jesse, and found myself wanting an entire story about Jules and Miranda's relationship and how they came to be the "elder queers" of this 6-some group Dykette follows. Lou and Darcy felt tertiary to the plot. Maybe I would have felt differently if the entirety that I had read so far was in Sasha's POV - I love a mean girl, but Sasha was rude, disingenuous, and mean to even her partner whom she flipped hot/cold on whether she even loved him at times.

I did love the casual he/him and gender non-conforming butch representation that Jesse was, but I felt that he deserved much better than Sasha gave him. She is deeply insecure and self-absorbed and doesn't care about anyone but herself. She doesn't like Jesse but then gets incredibly possessive when she assumes someone else is interested in him, and gets upset when she hears him talking about Sasha in a way that might be unsavory (TO HIS THERAPIST... stop eavesdropping!)

While I understand and appreciate the need for stories following unlikeable characters, this is a story that is chock-full of them that I just was not interested at this time. I do plan on and look forward to coming back to Dykette at a later date because I love messy books allowing queer individuals to be their messy selves, it just wasn't right for me at this date and time.

Dykette is about a wild/weird/awkward holiday trip consisting of three queer couples who are all connected—but loosely so. It's giving "chosen family" Christmas vacation but the couples don't actually get along all that well and there is a lot of passive aggression.

I really enjoyed most of this book and many lines made me laugh out loud. In the first 70% of the book, nothing much happens. It's all relationship and character based which is generally my vibe. I mostly enjoyed the first two-thirds of the book. Perhaps a little repetitive and I grew a bit impatient for something, ANYTHING to happen. WELL. At 70%, things get very weird on IG Live. I won't spoil what happens, but I was taken aback. I have a high weird/disturbing tolerance but this didn't make sense to me. I wasn't SCANDALIZED by it, I just didn't really understand WHY.

I really appreciated the exploration of aesthetics, gender, and sexuality in Dykette. It just really lost me in the third act.

DNF at 30%

Unfortunately I was just not enjoying this at all. I didn’t find any of the characters sympathetic or likeable and not even interesting enough for me to continue despite them being unlikeable. There was such an emphasis on image and lists of specific products that I didn’t understand the point of.

I have tried multiple times to read this. I cannot get into it. I am one who loves literary fiction and all it entails but nothing can get me through the second half of this book.

This book did a great job at exploring queer themes and relationships that I don't feel like are shown very often in media outside of online discourses. For that reason I would def recommend! My only critique (and it's personal) is that by the end, I felt that I was able to easily move onto my next read. For whatever reason, I just didn't click with the characters/story in a way that felt like a long-lasting impact. Though overall, still a great and quick read.