An easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating!
Before diving into ‘This Is Who I Am’ I revisited ‘And Then She Kissed Me’ and I’m so glad I did. It gave me a deeper appreciation for the beautiful setting of Clearwater Bay and introduced me to many of the key side characters in this book, including the Ireland siblings.
This book blew my mind in lots of ways! 🤯 On one hand it was a riveting love story about two beautifully flawed women who each have their own talents, passions, challenges and insecurities. Their instant connection, curiosity and companionship makes for a wonderful read. ♥️
On the other hand, this book also made me feel ignorant at times. Ignorant to the difficulties Ace people face when coming out and also some ignorance to the level of confusion that it can cause those who are romantically pursuing them. I loved that this book faces into the raw emotions, the confusion, and the insecurities that come along with feeling inadequate or less than. This story will do great things to bring awareness to asexuality and the spectrum that sits under such a broad umbrella. 🙌🏼
It was also incredibly refreshing to see menopausal women represented in a much deeper way than simply needing to keep a bottle of lube in the bedside table! 👏🏼 It goes beyond the hot flashes and night sweats (although they are present in all their grim glory!) and gives readers a glimpse of the moods, insecurities and complete loss of control that sometimes accompanies women at this point in their lives.
But more than anything, this book is truly about acceptance. ♥️ Accepting ourselves and our partners for who we truly are. The good, the bad and the sometimes ugly.
To wrap up, this book IS different to Harper’s other books and yet it’s also quintessentially Harper 🤷🏻♀️ - pushing boundaries and raising awareness. 🙌🏼
On a lesser but equally important note, this book seriously needs to come with a hunger trigger warning! I was hungry by chapter 2 and I’m really craving a Black Forest soufflé now… 🤤