This was my first book from this author,Tailor-Made was a book that I had heard about, and thought that I'd give it a go as well. Turns out, this novel wasn't for me, unfortunately!

I've read Wallace before. But for me this didn't meet her usual high standards.

For me this book read like "once upon a time" there is absolutely nothing wrong with fairy tales. I was brought up on them. But for me this book read like one. A little bit of fairy dust and all your dreams will come true. Maybe I am too critical because life is as far away from fairy tales as could be.

Grace is a tailor and I had a hard time connecting to her. She took reserved to a new level. Dakota, however although a model is much more likable. I say although a model, in the real world they appear stand off ish. She was actually the nicer of the two characters.
Will Grace's instant attraction work out. Or is it doomed from day one.

Well guess what? I'm not telling you. You are going to have to read it to find out for yourself.

I also found the end a little rushed. It would have been better if Wallace had added a few pages.

Enjoy!

Grace is a tailor, working at the family firm her father built up, mainly taking the women and younger clients, but gradually taking over the business from her father. Her work-life and home life are great, but her dating life is a mess, constantly trying blind dates with women her friends set her up with and rarely making a second.

When rising supermodel Dakota Lane walks in late for an appointment, needing a suit for her sister’s wedding, Grace is annoyed and hostile. She hates people who are both rude and presumptuous. Add to that Dakota is totally not her type, all hard edges and attitude, and they have little in common.
But Dakota has other ideas and peruses Grace with a humorous determination, showing a different side to her public profile, and proving that she is more than just the playboy model.

This is a traditional romance, but takes on and deals with the attraction between different styles, how we stereotype ourselves as well as our “type”. Add in the gender-bending, the trans clients and this subtly highlights the prejudices we face within our own community let alone outside it.

As the story progresses business, family relationships and grown-up decisions add depth to the story. Family and friends add a great cast to the piece, from the strong patriarchal figure of Grace’s father, the jealousy and prejudice of a traditional family, through to the genderfluid friends in Dakotas world and Lillie, in particular, nearly steals the show.

The romance is a typical “will she won’t she”, but both characters must recognise their need to grow and change, both must open up to something different from the past. The ending felt a little rushed with a few slightly incongruous actions that could have used a little more detail, but overall it worked well.

Enjoyable reading, something a little different which always appeals, and I really loved the diversity of the characters and the way Wallace handled the ‘not my type” and gender-bending sup-plots… oh and the sex scenes were HOT.

This was a really sweet story that I enjoyed quite a bit. I've read a few of Wallace's books and I'm always impressed how adept she is at switching things up and keeping things interesting- plots, settings, story lines. - and also includes a more diverse set of characters than you normally see in lesfic., Tailor-made focuses on Dakota, an androgynous model/bike courier and Grace, a tailor working in her family's business. It's a great set up and Wallace does a fantastic job with developing both characters. The mutual attraction may be. pretty much instant, but the novel takes the time to develop their relationship and encourages the reader to become in both the storyline and the characters. The ending is tremendously sweet and perfectly caps off a really great romance. Definitely recommend.

FInally more woc queer women/femme stories! Loved that her love interest was a genderqueer femme, and she was hired to make her look good!

A stunning romance with enough twists and turns to keep me hooked but not so many that it made my head feel like it was going to explode. The balance between characterisation, the dual plot and the blossoming romance between the two was perfect. The slow-burn of their relationship and how it shifted from work to friends to definitely more than friends was done incredibly well.

I normally like this author's works but this one fell a little flat for me. The connection between the two leads was instant and didn't feel believable. I liked Dakota as a character but struggled to understand her gender identity - I thought she might have been non-binary but she was referred to as she throughout. I would have liked to see this more fleshed out as reading about non-binary characters is sadly still a rarity. I did not like or identify with Grace - she was very judgmental and self-centred as a character. Overall this was an okay read but not one of the author's best.

An honest review thanks to NetGalley. This was a nice charming romantic read. The chemistry between Dakota and Grace was immediate but the slow burn and situations they found themselves in reminded me of a fairy tale. The only thing that irritated me was Grace's constant declaration of her feelings that Dakota wasn't her type. After a while, it got a bit annoying, though overall this is a nice romantic book.

Rep: Plus size Black Lesbian MC, Genderfluid presenting MC, supporting LGT cast, Filipino side character

CW: some homophobic comments/inferences 

Tailor-Made has lighthearted moments like many romance novels, but there are many depths within this novel. There's steaminess as well, plus it touches on serious subjects such gentrification and difficulties faced by the LGBTQIA+ community. 

Grace and Dakota may be the focus of the story, but once you pick up this book, you will find much more than their story alone to enjoy. There is writing that draws you into the story, weaving various aspects into a larger picture that keeps your interest and leaves you wanting more.

Steaminess level: Hot!

The character game is strong in Tailor-Made. Grace, one of the main characters, is a generally no nonsense type of person with a strong head for business. She's worked her entire life in order to take over her father's tailor business and while she's learned everything from him, she doesn't simply embrace his ideals, she builds upon them and makes her craft her own. Through the questions she asks of Dakota during an interview to make a custom suit, it's clear that not only does she know what she's talking about construction wise, but the author does as well.

While reading Tailor-Made, I really got the sense that Wallace had at least more than a passing knowledge when it came to clothes making. During the above mentioned, Grace asks Dakota for details about how she dresses, considers that Dakota's presentation is genderfluid, and she asks "do you dress left or right?" I didn't understand this at first and had to Google it. Doing so made me appreciate the detail in the book even more because I realized that Wallace was getting things correct, even if they were seemingly small.

Dakota, the other main character, was an intelligent character that had many personality facets. As a model, she is business savvy, particularly when it comes to modeling. Poignantly aware that there's a shelf life on that type of career, there's a secondary career throughout Tailor-Made that took up Dakota's time, as well as mentions of investments like a gallery or day trader dabbling. Dakota's strength is also evident in an unwillingness to compromise personal integrity. As a model that specializes in modeling menswear as opposed to women's clothes, while Dakota could be making a lot more money modeling bikinis and wedding dresses (supermodels raking in top dollar can make millions while male models make significantly less), Dakota isn't willing to do so just for money. Money is good, but it isn't the be-all-end-all in their life. Blurring the line between male and female is who Dakota is, whatever anyone else says.

The relationship between the two starts with a good foundation of attraction versus instant love. It felt like a more comfortable, authentic beginning than some stories I've read and allowed me to enjoy it more. There's a good blend of tender moments that illustrate the building blocks of their relationship mixed with increasingly fiery moments of passion. Their conversations, getting to know each other, lead to intimacy and steaminess that would certainly melt a block of ice in the middle of a New York winter, so fans of those scenes won't be disappointed. 

Supporting characters ran the gamut from good people to disappointing. Lillie, a co-worker of Grace's, was a fully supportive friend that was more family like than anything. An older woman, she kept up the spirits of a much younger person and had an openness that was refreshing. While she made some comments about Dakota and modeling that were a bit crass, that misconception doesn't last as she gets to know Dakota throughout the book and sees how much Dakota means to Grace, even before either of them is really ready to admit just how much.

Dakota's family was a mixed bag. Early on, when Dakota is remembering when she came out to her family, there's a point when her sister Brooke seems like she might be as difficult to like as the rest of Dakota's family (parents have rigid, old fashioned thoughts regarding "boys should look like boys, girls should look like girls"). Brooke's reaction is antagonistic at best, but when Brooke comes to New York later in the book for a visit, there's a real in-depth discussion that reveals a lot more to the situation and a lot of growth on Brooke's part. It also allows the reader to consider what questioning might mean themselves, whether things that are felt as younger people mean something or evolve into something else as we learn more about ourselves. While Brooke isn't on the page as much as some of the other characters, she was more developed and experienced more growth.

Grace's family was, for the most part, tight knit. They live together in a brownstone while having their own spaces within, walk to church every Sunday, and have meals together that can last for hours. They aren't perfect, though, which is very apparent in eldest sister Hope. Neither Hope nor Faith, Grace's other sister, are involved in the family business other than profit collecting, but Hope seems particularly selfish in this regard. Regarding some events toward the end of the novel, coupled with her actions during it and especially her snide, borderline homophobic comments, her selfish nature is quite solidified. She might have been confronted at times, but there are no lasting consequences, which was a problem for me.

One of the failings I found in Tailor-Made was, I think, in the resolution of the book. There were some sudden turnabouts of character personalities that didn't make sense, given what we'd learned about them in the course of the novel. Their endings as detailed in the last few pages didn't feel earned and thus felt cheap, Hope especially. Even prior to the epilogue there were some choices that I was really confused by, given the setup that the author had made up earlier in the book. I wouldn't say sloppy in that regard, rather baffling.

Yolanda Wallace, while her bio says that she's not a professional writer, sure could fool me. This book is really good and was a satisfying read, even if I was kind of unsure about some of the choices made in the narrative.

I just want to personally thank NetGalley for giving me the chance to read an advance copy of this book, I apologize that the review is late.

As soon as I saw that this was an LGBT+ book I knew I needed to read it and I delighted that I was given the chance to and in return give my honest review.

This is my first time reading a book by Yolanda Wallace and I'm glad to say that the book was wonderful.

I loved the diversity of the characters, the worlds that they live in and the interesting aspects of their lives and I would suggest everyone read this book and give their own opinions and views because I'd love to read what everyone else has to think.

3.5 stars. A bit too fairytale like for my taste but otherwise a pleasant read. Never have I read a lesfic book that involves tailoring and it's nice to tackle new topics. Keeps me engaged.

But other than that this is a fairly typical butch x femme story. Both characters were nicely developed though Grace's wishy-washiness was too forced at times. She did a lot of 180° seemingly without much extrinsic pressure. It was also not quite clear why Dakota changed her player ways too. It's all a bit superficial. Could've used more development there so it'd make more sense.

But then dialogue is really nice, the writing style overall is pleasant. And as I said it covers a topic I've not read about previously.

ARC received via NetGalley for a fair review.

Lots of diversity in this heart warming love story between two strong, independent women. Love won out in the end and I was particularly happy for Grace that she didn't let her father stand in the way of love.

Lush lesbian romance set in contemporary NYC. A fun read.

I loved that this book touched on some of the unique aspects of the masculine lesbian, as well as issues faced by lesbians of color. I enjoyed getting to know the main characters, and was absolutely in love with this book until I got to the end. The last 50 pages seemed a bit rough. After spending a good portion of the book getting to know the characters, it felt like the rest of the plot was rushed, and I couldn’t really enjoy it. Could have easily been another 100 pages if not more. If the last part would’ve been given as much attention as the first, this would have easily been 5 stars. As it is, it is still a quick, fun read.

Stevie‘s review of Tailor-Made by Yolanda Wallace
Contemporary Lesbian Romance published by Bold Strokes Books 11 Dec 17

I love a well-fitted three-piece suit, on myself or on an attractive person of any gender, not that I’ve yet managed to justify the expense of buying anything not off-the-peg. One day I’ll get there, and, in the meantime, it’s fun every so often to read stories about tailors and the clients who visit them for fittings.


Grace Henderson is one such tailor, working in her father’s shop, and hoping one day to take on the business herself. Although most of her clients have been men, particularly sports stars, she is unfazed when she receives a visit from butch fashion model Dakota Lane. Dakota has been invited to a wedding and wants to create an impression without overshadowing the bride: her sister. Although she mostly models menswear, nothing she has been allowed to keep in the course of her work seems suitable, and as her other work is as a bicycle courier, she has no appropriate work wear from that job either. The pair quickly establish a rapport, and Grace finds herself breaking all her self-imposed rules about mixing business with pleasure as Dakota invites her on a series of dates.

The chances of their having any kind of long-term relationship seem remote, since Dakota never stays with the same woman for long, and anyway is nothing like the kind of woman Grace is usually attracted to. On top of all that, both are beset by family and work-related problems: in Grace’s case, the two being very much interwoven and have little energy left to support each other.

I really loved this book. All the characters were richly portrayed, and I particularly liked the way Grace found herself dealing with an increasingly diverse clientele thanks to word-of-mouth recommendations first from Dakota and then from other clients sent to her via Dakota’s enthusiastic friends. I also liked the contrasts between Dakota and her main professional rival: another woman who has made a career out of modelling menswear, but who is markedly different in every other aspect of her personality and aspirations.

Both heroines have complex, though mostly supportive, relationships with their various family members, and it was good to see the debates taking place as Grace and her father try to compromise on their different ideas on how to take the business forward. I’d love to see much more of all these characters.

Grade: A

A POC main character in a lesbian romance! A genderfluid main character in a lesbian romance! I can pretty much stop writing now - those are two good enough reasons to read this book.

So, if you can't tell, I was super excited to read a lesbian romance with diverse love interests. That said, though, this was a pretty good book aside from those two factors. I especially enjoyed Grace's family - they easily accepted her sexuality, but in other ways were in every way like every close knit black family. I enjoyed the references to the influence of the gentrification of Brooklyn, and where Grace felt comfortable, and didn't. I loved the opportunity to learn about the world of bespoke tailoring - a world I had no idea existed. And the tension between Grace and Dakota was, of course, delightful.

Overall, a good read. And yay for diversity!

This was interesting. I've never even been in the same room as a tailor, so even that stuff was cool little tidbits to me. But, of course, that wasn't the point of the story.

It was Dakota and Grace's story. Grace is the tailor in the story. She works for her father's company which brings some of the drama into the novel. Dakota is a model who models men's clothing and underwear. They meet when Dakota comes in to buy a suit for her sister's wedding. From the beginning there are sparks, but also barriers like the fact that Grace wants permanence and Dakota has been a player. I do wish that like I've read in other books there was more of a change during the book when it came to Dakota's player status. We were sorta told instead of shown that.

Once they meet it's a fairly typical lesbian romance. With a little bit of interesting conversation on gender and such. But, I did feel like the ending was a little bit rushed and abrupt.

Overall it was a fun novel and a fast (and good) read.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.

With all the flaws this book clearly has, I enjoyed it. It was confusing at times and things left me wondering, so I kind of want my friends of my lgbtqia+ community to read this and give me their opinion: I don't think I'm in the position to fully understand something I haven't experienced firsthand even if I am part of said community and had various chances to listen to a lot of different stories. I don't know everything so I'm learning everything there is to know in order not to offend anyone. This book tries exctly this but I think the confusing part of it wants to emulate the confusing reality some find, and not always it transpires from the narration because there's no explanation of some things that happen. It was nonetheless cute and hot, a tad frustrating, and after I really started reading it I wanted to see how it was going to end. I was mad at Grace and Dakota's lack of communication because I knew what was going to happen as soon as they started thinking one thing and acted differently. Why can things be easy for once? The love story would've been beautiful and drama free. I love a drama free love story and sadly I never get one. I understand the need to put the characters into situations for them to grow but sometimes it just isn't necessary, in my opinion, it's just superfluous. I liked the end and I liked the feelings, and I liked the effort.

Consummately professional tailor Grace Henderson falls head over heels for gender non-conforming model Dakota Lane, whose dalliances frequently grace the tabloids (or their social media equivalent). Grace is a delightful protagonist with a good head on her shoulders and a strong commitment to her family, and it was great fun to watch her initial mistrust of Dakota and her struggle to get over her preconceived notions. Each character had her own personal growth arc to go through before their relationship could actually take off, and while sometimes this involved more telling than showing, it still made for a credible and satisfying love story.

A more detailed version of this review has been scheduled to post on my blog on the 26th January 2018. (The link below won't be active until then.)

I enjoyed the premise of this book -- enough to request it from NetGalley and be relatively hopeful about it -- but the execution was something of a disappointment, and as a result, I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I'd hoped.

My issues were mainly stylistic. In particular, I felt there was too much exposition, and it wasn't particularly skilfully done. In the early chapters, this mostly took the form of "As you know, Bob..." style dialogue, where characters gave each other an unrealistic amount of information about things they probably already knew all about. Describing each others' backstory through dialogue made it feel stilted and unrealistic, and this didn't entirely go away, either, as it happened later in the book too. There was also just too much information. When Grace was designing Dakota's suit, I felt there was too much information about the different cuts she could have used, as though the author wanted to show off the research she'd done into tailoring, although it wasn't necessary. Then, later, there were a couple of paragraphs that literally just described what paintball is, even though I doubt there are many people who wouldn't already know that. So that felt like it could have been trimmed.

Beyond those stylistic things, which mostly affected the dialogue but sometimes seeped into the narration (as in the case of paintball and tailoring details), my other issues were with how gender was treated. Although the book purports to be about a genderfluid character (Dakota) and in some ways is... I don't know, I wasn't comfortable with it. I'm not genderfluid (I identify as agender), so I might be wrong, but it just felt strange to me that Dakota found so much validation in being identified and treated as a woman, when that seemed at odds with how she presented the rest of the time. In addition, despite several affirming statements about trans characters and gender =/= genitals, there were a few lines of dialogue that were at odds with that. A gay male character told a female character (as a compliment on her appearance) that if she had a penis, he'd sleep with her -- a statement that seemed to suggest his sexuality was entirely about genitals, which felt kind of trans-exclusionary, and odd in a book that otherwise attempted to be very inclusive. There were a few other references to characters' gender being about what was in their pants, too, which just sat oddly with me.

Finally, I didn't find the romance particularly compelling, but I think that was mostly about me. It was very much the kind of romance that's based on sexual tension and physical attraction, which as an asexual person I just find confusing and unrelatable, and thus it's never all that convincing for me. Though I don't think that's why I found the sex scenes kind of... meh. I've definitely read more enjoyable ones. And I wasn't really sure how a relationship that seemed to be based so much on physicality developed into something so emotional -- but hey, I literally do not comprehend romance at all, so that might be on me.

Those issues aside, I did enjoy how many LGBTQ characters were in the book. I liked that Grace and Dakota each had communities of other queer people whom they valued and spent time with, and weren't isolated. I liked that it referenced various real events that impacted queer communities (such as the Pulse shooting) and that it seemed to be about a community as a whole, rather than a couple of isolated characters surrounded by straight people. I did occasionally get confused because a lot of the names were traditionally masculine but seemed to refer to female-presenting characters, which threw me off a couple of times, but overall the diversity was enjoyable. I especially liked that there were a handful of trans people and there was discussion of pronouns -- despite my other misgivings about the trans rep.

I also liked that Grace's family was black and religious, but that this didn't stop them being supportive and accepting of her sexuality. It was nice to see a character for whom religion was a part of their life without being a source of conflict because of their sexuality, and in fact, to see a church-going character who was just sort of ... normal. (In books, religion seems to appear at extremes, not as a regular part of ordinary people's lives.)

All in all, while the premise was still enjoyable and the book wasn't without its good points, I was ultimately disappointed with it. Perhaps if the writing had felt crisper and more polished, without the clumsy-feeling exposition, I would have overlooked the other issues I had with it, but the combination stopped me from enjoying the book as much as I'd hoped.