Written by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick  (Simon & Shuster)

Young Adult, Romance, LGBTQ+

The new hate-to-love rom com from bestselling author Rachael Lippincott and debut writer Alyson Derrick, is the perfect queer romance to lose yourself in. 
The plot
At first, Molly thinks Alex is brash, headstrong, bossy and too much of a flirt.  Meanwhile Alex thinks Molly is weak, awkward, exasperatingly shy and ... useful.  Because while Alex can flirt and get any girl she wants, she can’t seem to keep them. And Alex needs to prove to her ex, Natalie, that she can be a good person and help others, without trying to flirt with them.  
Molly seems to have everything but the girl – Cora Myers that is – the girl she ‘followed’ to Pittsburgh College who is cute and funny and confidently cool. Alex decides she’ll help Molly get Cora and thereby win Natalie back. It’s a long shot but she knows she has to make some real connections with people, something she finds hard with an alcoholic mother and absent father. 
Molly’s parents are adorably loving and a little too involved in her life.  Her mom acts as her best friend since she’s always battled to overcome her social anxiety at school.  But college is the chance to change her habits and who better than super-cool Alex to guide her?  
Do they fall for each other?
You’ll have to read the story to find out which girl they each get.  What’s great are the cast of characters supporting them, because while many side characters feel superfluous, these characters give context and depth to Molly and Alex.  You can feel Alex’s difficult and anguished relationship with her mom.  Molly’s frustration with her Korean mom’s internalised racism adds a different layer. Ditto, Jim, Alex’s tough and gritty boss who turns out to have a heart of gold.  The stars of the show though, are Molly and Alex, who feel real, believeable and interesting.  Perhaps because they are based on the real love story of the two authors, which you can read about here.  A few cliches aside, the story is satisfying, heartwarming and real enough to keep our interest. And they give pretty good banter – another plus. 
Verdict: We need more lesbian romances like this. Read it! 

Photos provided by Rachel Lippincott (@rachellippincott)/Instagram

 

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