Second Night Stand is a captivating novel written by best-selling author Karelia Stetz-Waters and her spouse, Fay. Though Karelia individually has nine novels to her name, she maintains that many of the best ideas came from Fay. Since Fay has been a big part of Karelia’s brainstorming for years, co-authoring a book seemed inevitable. In fact, it was something they had been talking about for quite some time. However, it was paramount to them that their story included things that are important in strong relationships, like healthy communication, especially during sex. They believe it’s sexy to see this kind of communication in sapphic fiction. I agree; I’m glad they made sure to weave it into Second Night Stand’s narrative. It’s what makes it so much fun to read.

Though this is their first collaboration, it doesn’t feel that way at all. I’m sure much of that stems from their familiarity with one another. Together, they have a fresh and unique writing style, one that’s filled with wit and wisdom. Scenes include a charming sense of humor and keen insight. This enables readers to gain a relevant perspective on the complexities of Blue and Lillian’s relationship. In addition to that, their script flows nicely and allows for emotions to play out organically. This provides the narrative with believability, making the storytelling relatable and reliable.

What stands out most about Karelia and Fay’s style, however, is their vivid and immersive descriptions. Their word smithing makes the story world appear three dimensional. Events and places, especially those that involve the reality show competition, are not only interesting but exciting. As Blue and Lillian navigate the talent show, the Stetz-Waters duo knows just how to use imagery to increase the tension and keep readers invested. Readers can not help but cheer for these two women, making the ride to HEA a roller coaster of fun.

This is a character driven story, and Karelia and Fay do their work here, too. These are strong, independent women, but Karelia and Fay give them relatable flaws and vulnerabilities. These are likable, appealing women that readers enjoy getting to know. However, the writers are cognizant of the fundamentals of character development; they make sure to provide measurable depth and growth while constructing the arcs of these women. Blue and Lillian’s complex portrayal comes off as genuine and authentic, allowing readers to form a connection with them. It doesn’t hurt that their chemistry is off the charts either. Theirs is an unexpected love filled with possibility and passion. Quite simply, their romance resonates, making the journey wholeheartedly worthwhile.

Final remarks…

Second Night Stand gives readers much to appreciate. The storytelling is layered and nuanced, making for a reflective, yet compelling reading journey. The smooth pacing ensures balance between the slower, introspective moments and the faster, exciting scenes. The well-written dialogue is infused with humor. It facilitates a certain degree of levity, making the heavier, emotional moments lighter yet impactive. The characters are well-designed and multi-dimensional; they more than carry their weight. Readers witness their struggles, conflicts, and triumphs, creating a depth and complexity to the storytelling that sticks. This is an excellent first book for the Stetz-Waters team. I look forward to their next collaboration.

Strengths…

Strong character development
Relatable, reliable storytelling
Nice balance of conflict and tension
Engaging storyline
Diversity and representation

This was a really fun read! The cast of characters are all really interesting, and I appreciate the diversity across race, sexuality, and economic classes.

The reality dance show element was a great setting to have, the characters are well-written and feel authentic, and the romance is real and you can’t help but rooting for the main characters to get together.

The book deals with some heavier topics, but still manages to remain overall lighthearted. This is a perfect romance and I would definitely recommend!

3.5 - Thank you Forever and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a fun book because it is a couple writing it together and you can tell they have a healthy relationship just from their characters. I enjoyed seeing Lillian and Izzy/Blue fleshed out and see their true selves because each hides behind a mask. I didn't really get into the talent competition aspect of it and it took a bit to really get into the book, but it was an enjoyable read and I always enjoy a good HEA

I enjoyed the flow of this book! It was my first time reading a book by two authors, and it was interesting to see how well their different writing styles merged together. Unfortunately, I did have to DNF. I felt as though the book was trying to fight way too many social battles at once. You can’t die on every hill, and I think it started to take over the book for me to the point that I no longer enjoyed the plot.

Second Nightstand gives us a diverse interracial lesbian couple who have both chemistry and depth. Izzy Wells is a burlesque dancer and needs money to pay the mortgage to save her theater. Lillian Jackson is a ballet dancer who needs money to save her ballet company. I enjoyed the setting and how our two main characters compete on reality TV’s Great American Talent Show. The winnings would make everything better for these women. Both women are compelling on their own, but their teammates and friends rounded out the story nicely. The story was a quick read and I found it to be both fun and heartfelt.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Izzy Wells is a burlesque superstar who does not have time for anything more than a hookup. When she gets into relationships, she tends to pick women who value their career more than her. Lillian Jackson has lived her life dedicated to ballet, wanting to be the best. She has a rule of only having one night stands. When both women meet in a bar and have a hookup, they never expected to be competing against each other on The Great American Talent Show. Their chemistry is electric and is too hard to resist but can they make it through the competition without broken hearts?

I loved the characters in this work and the plot was interesting. The writer is really descriptive and detailed and I loved how it touched on two major issues in the dance community. This book had all of the elements of being one of my favorites but I for some reason did not connect with it. I think I had an issue with the way the relationships with their moms were shown. Neither of them ever addressed how they felt to their mom? It is a cute romance but not my favorite this year.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am a huge fan of Karelia Stetz-Waters' other books, so I was really excited for this one! Unfortunately, it fell quite flat for me. One of my biggest pet peeves is authors using euphemisms to describe plus-size/fat characters--it was impossible to tell, until about 2/3 of the way through the book, that one of the characters is actually plus-sized. It's so emphasized that the other character is strong, thin, and muscular that she's worried about hurting her partner when they're physically intimate due to her strength??? Which was super weird to me and didn't make sense. Beyond that, the reality TV plotline wasn't for me, and the dancer elements didn't come through very strongly.

Karelia and Fay are a writing pair to watch out for. Karelia had already made her place in my heart as an incredible writer, but together with her wife they're writing absolute magic. Izzy and Lilian grow so much and have such a wonderful, realistic love story during this whole book. I absolutely adore a romance where the characters are already fully in love but don't know it and this one was just so delightful. I can't wait to see what these two, writing together or separate, do next!

The writing is great. The characters are well developed. I like the setting and how well I can picture the people and places. The authors are lovely. But this one just isn't for me. Thanks so much for the chance to try it.

Loved this book so much, maybe even more than Karelia Stetz-Waters previous two books. I adored the characters and always love a good reality show romance novel. Also obsessed with the depiction of all body types in Izzy’s burlesque troupe.

I thoroughly enjoyed this contemporary romance featuring an interracial lesbian couple competing against each other on a reality talent show. The authors effectively maintain high sexual tension between Izzy and Lillian, while also showcasing their genuine connection beyond physical attraction. The narrative skillfully balances their relationship development with the competition aspect, providing ample time for character exploration. The communication between the characters is a standout element, striking a realistic balance between openness and mistakes. Overall, it's a captivating read with well-developed characters and engaging dynamics.

The main character simply ooze confidence and chemistry that is scorching hot. The premise of this being situated around a dance competition had me intrigued, and the poc and queer rep had me delighted!

Blue, or Izzy, leads a queer burlesque troupe only hoping to save their studio. While the competition, Lillian, a black ballerina, is also trying to save her own dance company funded. This leads to a dance competition where both parties have some serious skin in the game.

I loved how they had self imposed ‘no second-night stand’ rules, that they were second guessing after the night that they simply hit it off. I loved the competitive nature of the two FMCs and this was a wonderful sapphic read that I can say, is pretty up there in terms of favorite reads right now.


Thank you to Netgalley, Forever Publishing, Karelia Stetz-Waters, and Fay Stetz-Waters for the eARC!

I liked the romance and the characters, but the writing style wasn't really my thing and the pacing felt off at times.

This was a stunning queer romance! I love the confidence that oozed out of both of the female leads and their chemistry was undeniable from their first meeting. This was the kind of romance that had me flipping through the pages faster to get to their next interaction. I was also intrigued by the dance competition plot but did find it dragging a bit, which is why I rated this a bit lower. My rating is 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for this review!

If you're into dancing competitions, I think? then this is the book for you. I didn't realize that this was a dance competition book and I'm really not into those television shows. I really did like how the author had amazing character development within the two women. Blue or Izzy, was probably my favorite because she didn't care what people thought of her and wanted body positivity no matter the size. She would sacrafice winning a competition to normalize women and their bodies and not support franchises that discrimiate against what she stands for. Which is very important these days. Over all, this book had a lot of good qualities about it but definitely not for me, due to the dancing competition. If it was anything else I would be all in. I will definitely be reading more of this authors books. Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

Second Night Stand is a romance set during a team dance competition between Izzy, aka Blue, the curvy leader of a queer burlesque troupe hoping to save their theater, and Lillian, a Black ballerina fighting to keep her dance company funded. After a one night stand, they meet again, and have to decide if they’re willing to break their self-imposed rules against second night stands. This book was cute, and I loved the diverse experiences about and perspectives on dance. I particularly liked Lillian’s history and conflict with her family, but the end felt too cleanly wrapped up and I wish I’d connected more with the secondary cast. I’d recommend this book for lovers of dance and sapphic romance.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

Incredible! I absolutely loved this one. Such a great book to curl up with. It was hard to pull myself away to do things, but I always looked forward to diving back in. Highly recommend!

I enjoyed this sweet and spicy sapphic romance. The whole competition aspect was fun and the stakes were high.
There was a good amount of body-positivity and I loved the overall diversity and fun of this book!
The banter, competitiveness and tension made this an enjoyable read.
I will post a review on release day on my bookstagram @thatbookishteach

Two women hook-up, no strings attached, only to be cast on the same reality show, with significant financial and career stakes for each of them if they do not win. They cannot stay away from each other and develop feelings, in spite of longstanding relationship fears. Both main characters leapt off the page for me, and sucked me in and made the story feel real. This is an interracial sapphic relationship with an only one bed trope, and it was a delight to read. Lillian and Izzy made me believe in them, and had me rooting for them the whole way.

4.5 stars!

I really liked this contemporary romance with an interracial lesbian couple participating (against each other) in a reality talent show. Throughout the book we are aware of the chemistry that Izzy and Lillian have in bed because of their one night stand that was supposed to remain just that, and I think one of the challenges in a romance is to keep the sexual tension high after that first time has happened, be it at the beginning of the book or later on. I think the authors did a good job at that!

It was also easy to see why the characters actually liked each other beyond the physical aspect, and I had fun seeing how the narrative kept putting them in situations where they got to be together and get to know each other even while being busy with their different teams. The competition element was always present in the background but never overwhelming, giving us enough time with the couple and with their teams/friends/found family. I would have loved even more time with their respective teams actually, but even from the first few times seeing them, each character was unique and it was easy to tell them apart by their quirks.

The communication in this book was great too and definitely one of the elements that made it stand out for me. It could have also been its biggest fault if it had been brought to an utopic extreme, except that Izzy and Lillian still made mistakes and fucked up and I was all here for it.