Thank you to the author Mary Ann Marlowe, publishers Amara and Entangled Publishing, and NetGalley, for an advance digital copy of HOLDING OUT FOR A GYRO. All views are mine.

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. The character's yearly friends challenge checklist at the beginning, before the opening of chapter 1, is brilliant. It also lends an interesting form to the narrative.

2. I have become very picky about what I consider a really well-written steamy scene. I want to see sll participants having fun, I want lots of consent, and I want participants talking about protection. It's hard to meet these standards and keep it sexy, I hear this. But Marlowe writes beautiful, spicy intimate scenes that meet all these standards. Bravo!

3. Omg the cat's name is Jacques Lacan!😍 Okay, between this and the Derrida lecture, I gather Marlowe has some higher education in writing. But these name drops don't really fit the context that well, as neither fmc is a writer or whatever, so I gather the references are in here for bragging rights purposes.

4. One of my most favorite things about this story is that it's a dual love story. Each of these inseparable best friends, Chelsea and Elizabeth, go through the challenges of new love at the same time. I adore stories about friendship, so this really appealed to me.

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. I'm not sure how I feel about Basil the face- model-beauty from Greece. I just...can't buy into him. Also, how am I to read "Bas?" Is it like "base?" Like "bass" the fish? Like "bazz?" I just don't think these characters are well designed, at least not at first.

2. I feel like this book goes on too long, by at least 50 pages. The list takes over, becoming too much of the story instead of just giving it a really good shape.

3. Oh no, not truth or dare.🤦‍♀️ This is such a common romance and horror genre occurrence, it should be a trope. One of my least favorites.

4. The plot has a bit of an odd structure. It's like two short related plots, end-to-end. This is probably what's making the book feel so stretched out!

Rating: 📃📃📃.5 long lists
Recommend? Yes!
Finished: Jan 24 '24
Format: Digital arc, Kindle, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
💖 romance
🚪 open door romance
👭🏽 women's friendships
🪣 bucket lists
🫂 strangers to lovers trope
⁉️ truth or dare trope