Fiona Zedde

Broken in Soft Places by Fiona Zedde is a case study of LGBTQ relationships and how decisions can impact one another.

I picked this book up at my local, indie bookstore and initially thought it was a romance. The cover and summary made it seem like I was going to be following two women in their passionate relationship, but that's not exactly what I got. There is definitely romance in this book, but it's not the main focus - it's more of the setting.

Sara is a first year college student away from home after her brother disappeared. She meets Rille, a fourth year who has many lovers and can't help but stray. Sara's feelings for Rille are intense, and the two develop a complicated relationship, with both women in very different spots in the relationship. Sara wants Rille to be loyal and compassionate, while also being who she is, but Rille cannot help but stray and wants to live her life with any and all freedom. We follow the two through the years as they reconnect and eventually even have a polyamorous relationship with a man, but their struggles in being themselves bring very intense emotional layers to this story.

Fiona Zedde's writing is intoxicating. She writes with deep emotions and documents the coming of ages and journeys for these characters so well. I am now determined to pick up more books by Fiona. What a marvellous writer who I had never heard of before! I'm thrilled that I've discovered her, and I'm also thrilled that her books feature LGBTQ characters. The intensity of this book is so incredible and what a reading journey I had!

The ending hits you like running head first into a wall. It's very impactful and makes you think, but gosh darnit I hate endings that stop like that! That's a personal take, but it works very well with this story.

Five out of five stars. This book blew my away!… (more)

I was given this ARC by the publisher in exchange for an Honest Review.

This was intense. It was a sequel to "The Power of Mercy" with many of the same characters, but, this time it focused on Xóchitl instead of Mai and from Xóchitl's point of view as well.

A lot of it has to do with Ethan and his upcoming hearing where big things could happen that aren't exactly being welcomed by Mai or Xóchitl. There were also some definite growing pains in the relationship between Mai and Xóchitl.

I"m not usually super on board with grey characters and 'heroes' in relationships, but, these two and their story is just super interesting and everything about it kept me guessing.

Really cool.… (more)

I was given this ARC by the publisher in exchange for an Honest Review.

Ylva books almost always surprise me, and this one was no different. It's about Mai. She's a teacher and also a Meta (this takes place in the same universe that "Shattered" by Lee Winter does, I think? Sorta? Anyway. That's how I read it, that these books from the Superheroine Collection will be in almost the same universe?)

But, she's not a very, very powerful Meta, and that's always been a bone of contention in her family, because of her Mother especially, but, her other family members too, are powerful and influential and Mai is instead all about the humans, and helping people of all kinds as Mercy.

Then her Uncle is killed and that's when the meat of the story gets going. Who did it, and something that I thought was even more important in the story (and more interesting, I sorta guessed the who, didn't guess right they why), why did the person who did it do it?

There was a little bit of a romance, sorta, kinda, ish, in the book as well with a character that I will only spell, and even with the author very helpfully telling us how the name was pronounced (loved that sentence in the book, it was so seamless) I'm pretty sure that I'd still screw it up. Xóchitl was an interesting character that I would have loved to see more of (but I get why we didn't). And in general while I really liked the book, I did wish that there had been some parts that had been more in depth, maybe a little more Mai and her family's part of the world building.

Still, I really enjoyed the book, and it's always fun being surprised by something different in lesbian fiction books. *Taps fingers* Okay, so, (not to be horribly greedy) when's the next Superheroine Collection book coming out again? (I love these, I need 500 of them.... :))… (more)