Stevie‘s review of Sweet Surprise by Jenny Frame
Contemporary Lesbian Romance published by Bold Strokes Books 16 Nov 21
I love butch/femme dynamics in real life, but I’ve had mixed responses to Jenny Frame’s depictions of them in fiction. Some stories I’ve loved, while others have just felt a bit average. So far, the less good ones haven’t stopped me from grabbing almost all her contemporary(ish) romances as they’ve come out and the blurb for this one suggested she was once again writing in a setting I might be familiar with: Glasgow, this time. I also love traditional shops, so the backdrop of a sweet shop and a barber’s added to the appeal. The two heroines are not particularly traditional protagonist material, however.
Flora was already struggling to cope with her social anxiety and OCD, when she was attacked by a group of men on her way home from a support group meeting. Fortunately she was rescued by Mack, the enforcer for a locally notorious family of semi-reformed criminals, along with several of their employees. The pair never spoke to each other immediately following the incident, but a year later they find themselves working next door to each other as business owners: Flora running her family’s sweet shop and Mack setting up as a barber. Having served time in prison for a crime committed by another family member around the time of Flora’s attack, Mack has been given the chance to walk away from her former life, though not from the family itself, many of whom she loves dearly.
Those family ties help to bring Mack and Flora closer together, as Flora befriends Mack’s niece – also dealing with issues around her mental health – but also place Flora in jeopardy when one of Mack’s old enemies decides to exact revenge by targeting those whom Mack cares about most, in a near-repeat of the incident that led to Mack’s previous imprisonment. Flora must, at least temporarily, overcome her issues if both of them – and their budding romance – are to survive. Mack, meanwhile, must also learn new ways of dealing with challenges in order to help Flora and herself.
I liked the dynamic between Mack and Flora, as well as the slowly developing friendship and then romance the two shared. The descriptions of the two shops and their varied staff and customers were very vivid as well, but I felt the crime storylines felt hollow and vague, with little real detail of the activities of either Mack’s family – even their modern legitimate businesses – or those of their far nastier rivals. I’m intrigued by Mack’s cousin, who currently heads up the business and would quite like to see her get a romance story of her own, provided the family businesses get some fleshing out if and when that happens.
Overall, one of the author’s more average stories, but there were some nice touches in there.
Grade: C
Summary:
Flora Buchanan doesn’t think a relationship is an option. A variety of mental health issues—anxiety, OCD, and PTSD—make it seem impossible to find love. Instead, she seeks joy in the one thing that is safe and ordered: her sweetshop in Glasgow.
Mack Sharkey is ready to start a new life after being released from jail. As part of the infamous Sharkey family, she took care of business on the edge of the law for the once criminal, and now legitimate, empire. After being sentenced to jail time her cousin should have shared, she’s promised a quiet life running her dream barbershop.
Flora and Mack are bound together by a night that changed their lives two years before and never thought they’d ever see each other again. But when Mack opens up her barbershop right next to Flora’s sweetshop, their connection comes roaring back.
Read an excerpt.
