Warm breath upon her neck and goosebumps up and down her skin: ON HER TERMS.

On Her Terms by Amy Spalding
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

No one fake dates and then accidentally falls in love like us gays.

Clementine is a budding baby gay when she meets the wise and experienced Chloe at a bar. The two exchange numbers, which leads Chloe to propose a fake dating scheme. She'll help Clementine--a bisexual who is coming off a 20-year relationship with a man and therefore is new to the gay dating world--learn the ropes about dating in the lesbian community. Meanwhile, Clementine will be Chloe's date at a series of events leading up to (and at) her friends' wedding, so all her partnered friends leave her alone.

Of course, while fake dating, Chloe and Clementine spend lots of time together and feelings develop. Unfortunately, neither is known for their communication skills, and they don't do the best job of expressing these thoughts to one another. Complicating things is that Chloe's friend group includes Clem's boss, Phoebe. (If you've read any of Spalding's Out of Hollywood series, you'll recognize characters from other books, including Nina, Ari, and Sadie.)

The strength here is Clem and Chloe's slowly growing chemistry and their witty banter. It's a wonderfully realistic exploration of not just queer relationships, but queer friendships as well. Chloe's friend group is one any gay could relate to, and the book stresses how important these friendships are to those who need a found family. Chloe's focus on her issues with her own (straight) friends was harder: not that they were straight, at all, but the emphasis on not wanting to get married, have kids, and the fact that she was growing apart from her friends was covered ad nauseam. At first, it was nice to see a book exploring these issues--the whole idea is that neither Chloe nor Clem want the "typical" relationship experience. But Clem's repetition of this fact was a bit much.

Spalding does an excellent job looking at the nuances of coming out later in life and treats Clem's bisexuality quite well. She also touches on topics such as plus size relationships and difficult families. Clem's brother is absolutely awful, but the way Chloe handles him: oh my gosh, I would have fallen in love with her, too.

So, yes, there's a lot going on here, but it's all handled deftly. With the exception of Clem's storyline getting rather repetitive, this is a really cute romance, full of diverse characters, friendships, and a sweet romance.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Kensington Publishing in return for an unbiased review. Look for ON HER TERMS on 02/25/2025!


View all my reviews

That song that's in my soul is why I left: AT HER SERVICE.

At Her Service by Amy Spalding
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Charming sapphic romance!

When I requested this incredibly fun queer romance, I did not realize this book was the second in a series. Luckily, it can certainly stand alone, but I loved it so much, I'll be reading book #1 soon now. Because it's me, of course, I had book# 1 already sitting on my shelves. My house is basically the equivalent of a small library now...

AT HER SERVICE is so charming, featuring a wonderfully relatable main character. Max moves to LA from Kentucky with a dream of a new life, where she climbs the corporate ladder and discovers the love of her life. Instead, she finds herself the assistant to a Hollywood talent agent, stuck in the thankless job with no plan to move up. And don't even get her started on love, where she can do nothing but scroll dating apps and suffer through a series of hapless first dates.

When her (gorgeous, popular, queer) influencer roommate Chelsey suggests Max be the face of Chelsey's latest promotion, a self-actualization app called You Point Oh, Max reluctantly agrees. Suddenly she's receiving career counseling, joining queer kickball leagues, and making the big move with Sadie, the hot bartender she's had a crush on for ages. But when Chelsey crosses line with how much of Max's life she shares with her followers, all of Max's forward progress threatens to tumble. She has to take what she's learned and truly apply it, especially if she wants to keep Sadie.

This is such a "lesbian in your 20s book," and I mean that with the highest praise. Max is so relatable with her fears; thoughts that she is waiting around for life to start; and anxieties about being unable to stand up for herself. Only the most self-assured among us (aka not me) will be unable to find some kernel of truth in Max's story. As she pines for Sadie, you cannot help but desperately want the two to get together, longing to jump into the pages and push the pair closer. Sadie, of course, has her own baggage, worrying she's not good enough for Max, and struggling to realize her dream of buying her uncle's bar.

This is an engaging romance that blossoms without tossing in a bunch of contrived problems for our protagonists to solve. Sure, they face plenty of issues, but for the most part they seem realistic. It makes excellent points about the importance of queer spaces, friendship, and community. The romance is sparkling and winning. In fact, AT HER SERVICE is a winner. 4.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Kensington Books in return for an unbiased review.

View all my reviews