Review of ‘Other girls’ by Avery Brooks

This was a really good read. When I heard enemies to lovers and that there would be softball involved, I had a feeling this would be a Lex book. There are a few types of romance I just love with fauxmances and enemies to lovers being right at the top of that list. These two different kinds are actually both alike in what I enjoy about them. In both cases, while there may be some initial attraction, the author has to work really hard to make these kinds of romances believable. There is no insta-love here. When one if not both characters hate each other, the author really has to develop a good romance to convince me that this potential couple is meant to be together. I’m happy to say that Brooks was successful in doing just that.

Sam is the single mother of a cute 5-year-old boy. After the sudden passing of her wife three years ago, Sam is still struggling in her grief. One thing Sam looks forward to the most is her recreational softball team. Unfortunately, that comfort is suddenly shattered when the newest team player just happens to be one of the bullies that made her high school life a living hell. While tension and unexpected chemistry are present between the two, Sam can’t decide if she can trust that Ash has changed or if she still is the mean girl she was sixteen years ago.

I really enjoyed this read. I think romance fans are going to be happy with it too. This is a debut for Brooks and that makes me even more impressed. The book does have a few small bumps that I wasn’t surprised to see by a debut author. It was a little predictable at times. You could see the main conflict coming a million miles away and I also thought the ending dragged a little and got a bit repetitive. It kept switching between both point of view, with both characters thinking the same thing multiple times. I’m sure Brooks will get more used to what little parts she can cut out without affecting the outcome. But besides those two small issues, I enjoyed the whole rest of the book. This was a real quality romance and it makes me excited to think what else Brooks might write next.

I thought Brooks was very successful in making me feel. A character who had been bullied as a kid and was a single mother because her wife had died, I expected this book to choke me up at times. I wanted some drama that needed tissues; I did not want a fluffy romance. Brooks absolutely delivered. While this was not a doom and gloom book, I had to bust out the tissues multiple times, just like I wanted. I love it when an author can make me feel and I’m impressed by how well Brooks was able to do that. This book was the perfect mix of good feels to tissue ratio and I really enjoyed it.

I absolutely recommend this to fans of lesbian enemies to lovers romances. This was a quality debut and I really enjoyed it. I would also recommend it just to romance fans that like a little drama mixed in. This book will make you feel which I think is always a good thing. Brooks is an author that I would not hesitate to read in the future. If she started off this well, I have some pretty high hopes for her. 4 stars

This is slightly off-topic. Bywater Books may be a really small lesfic publisher but they are pretty mighty. I have read more books from them this year than I ever have before and I have been really impressed. While they have big gun authors like Ann McMan and Rachel Spangler, they seem to be really good at finding debut authors too. I love discovering new authors with lots of potential so I’m going to be keeping a closer eye on Bywater from now on.

A copy was given to me by the publisher for an honest review.