An enjoyable romance that hit several harder-to-find demographics in the lesbian romance market: a religiously observant protagonist, an interracial relationship, & a gender-nonconforming protagonist. I found the descriptions of Grace's work as a tailor more interesting than Dakota's work as a model, but both women's careers are well sketched, as are their families (Grace's parents are active churchgoers and supportive of her sexuality; Dakota's family is not).

It's funny when I read the blurb I wasn't drawn to the book however I do enjoy Yolanda Wallace's previous books so thought I would read it anyways. I enjoyed the story more than I thought I would which was a nice surprise. I did struggle a bit with Grace as a character who I found to be a bit judgmental. Her sisters just sounded like brats so they weren't great additions to the book.

I didn't love the book but still enjoyed it enough to finish. The characters won't stay with me. A quick light read with your normal f/f romance story.

Finally a book about a POC that wasn’t too cookie cutter and annoying. She does end up with a non POC it was still a very good book. I liked Grace I could really relate to her predicament with her hair. Although a small part of the book this tends to be a huge issue in communities of color. I thought the addiction of Dakotas sister was awkward and unnecessary. Like why did she go to NY? There was never a good explanation and if she was having serious doubts about her marriage I don’t think it could be fixed in two conversations. Oh well I thought Grace’s family was written poorly and very one dimensional. I also have problems with Gays who go to church that just seems idiotic to me. Overall a good story of a tad unbelievable. And there was a protagonist who is African American which you don’t read a lot of in these lesbian romance novels and if you do they are written so stereotypically they aren’t all that interesting.

Loved this book, great storyline and you could really feel the attraction between the characters. I grew to love the two women and was really quite sad for the book to end. Will definitely read this author again.

Grace Henderson knew from an early age she would, like her father be a tailor designing suits for men, women. When she's contacted by model Dakota Lane to make her a suit for her sister's wedding she finds herself, for the first time in her life attracted to a Butch. Not any Butch but a top model who's specialists in modeling men's wear. Dakota is happy with her life being with women who like herself only wants a good time but when she meets Grace she starts having feelings for a woman who wants more than a few nights. Problems arise when Grace's family become involved. Ms Wallace knows how to tell a story that on the surface looks like a typical romance but as you read you realise is so much more. Excellent read.

An interesting story of Grace, who has expectations for relationships and her career as a bespoke tailor that are perhaps different than those of Dakota, a gender fluid bike messenger (and model). I enjoyed the glimpse into the professions of tailoring and modeling. Definitely worth a read.

Hello, opposites! Dakota is a playgirl and party girl. She’s such a playgirl that there’s an off-hand comment that one of the security guards at a building she delivers to is always good for a “quick round of athletic sex in the supply closet.” That’s some serious dedication to hookup sex! Dakota is confident in her sexuality and the androgynous image she models, and isn’t interested in relationships. In her words, she’s “never met anyone who makes me want to come back for more.”
Grace is set in her ways, so much so that she won’t even change her hairstyle. She puts her family and work responsibilities ahead of everything else in her life, including her relationships. She’s known she wants to follow in her father’s footsteps as a tailor for as long as she can remember. Though Dakota and Grace have a definite chemistry from the beginning, Grace doesn’t want to be another notch on her bedpost. She’s looking for someone she can have a relationship with, and Dakota definitely doesn’t fit!
“Butch women might not be her cup of tea, but they deserved to be able to express themselves in any way they chose. In the immortal words of the famed philosopher RuPaul, everyone’s born naked and the rest was drag.”
I’d expected Dakota to be the hold out in this relationship, but instead it was Grace. Grace typically dates feminine women – think Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston – and while her family seems fine with her being a lesbian, they disapprove of butch women. Grace, outwardly at least, seems fine with butch women even if they aren’t who she normally dates, until confronted by her attraction to Dakota. She keeps coming up with excuses for why a relationship with her won’t work – she doesn’t mix business with pleasure, her family would disapprove, etc, etc. Grace – despite being a tailor who understands the power of clothes reflecting the person wearing them – cannot accept Dakota for who she is. This was a really sore point for me. Grace seems to vacillate back and forth between paying lip service to being true to your inner self and being a prejudiced idiot, and eventually ends up breaking up with Dakota in the worst way possible. I started out liking both characters and then gradually came to dislike Grace more and more.
“I want to be with someone who gets me. Someone who’s willing to accept me for who I am and doesn’t make it her mission to try to change me into something I’m not.”
As for other cons, there seemed to be lots of secondary characters, none of whom felt particularly well fleshed out, besides Lynnie, though it was nice to see them surrounded by other f/f couples. Also, the ending felt rushed. Both families suddenly reversed course and accepted Grace and Dakota’s relationship. One of Grace’s sisters was particularly cruel earlier in the book, to the point where I had to walk away from the book for a while I was so upset, and I was disappointed to read that she had at least the beginnings of her own HEA in the epilogue.
Overall, I did enjoy this book. There were several adorably cute scenes – Dakota coaxing Grace to ride on the handlebars of her bike and them kissing in the rain were two of my favorites – but Grace’s actions really brought the book down for me. If that’s not as much of a dealbreaker for you, this is a fun and cute book!

A fairy-tale-ish story about two dramatically different women searching for love.

Grace is a tailor looking to expand her father's custom suit business. She's been on blind date after blind date, until model/bike messenger Dakota Lane walks in wanting a a custom suit for her sister's wedding. Dakota is nothing like Grace is usually attracted to: hard edges instead of soft curves, gender bending instead of distinctly feminine, and a player with lots of previous conquests. There's no denying the burning attraction between the two, but can they overcome their differences and internal baggage to give love a try?

Almost a DNF, as I hate romance that breaks down the bodies of the characters, and I especially hate lines that are along the lines of breasts straining buttons on shirts. Icky. And it's insta-love. But it picks up and it gets better, having the characters deal with careers, family expectations, family in general and friendships. I loved the f/f friendships that are scattered throughout, and Grace's welcoming acceptance at corning at niche market in the male custom suit world.

This is a pretty standard romance novel, and by that I mean a m/f romance except we're talking f/f. And guys, the lesbian sex is realistic. I REPEAT, THE LESBIAN SEX IS REALISTIC AND HOT HOT HOT! I'm fanning myself as I write this, honestly. Until this book, I didn't think that a f/f romance with realistic sex actually existed. BUT IT DOES. AND IT IS HERE.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

From the beginning I didn’t really click with the book and it didn’t get better until the end. I didn’t like the dialogues and the main characters - they didn’t have any chemistry in my opinion. I did not enjoy it but it could be great for someone else

What a great romance! Tailor Grace Henderson is assigned the task of measuring and designing a suit for gender-fluid model Dakota Lane. There's instant chemistry, but Grace has the voice of her conservative father in her head, warning her that Dakota is too much of a wild child. Or it just that Grace is afraid of her own feelings for Dakota, who's nothing at all like the woman she usually dates?

There's a real sense of fullness in this story, with Grace and Dakota both having rich backgrounds of family, friends, workplace struggles, and the weight of expectation--both from society and from themselves. Yolanda Wallace does a fantastic job of describing each woman's inner struggles with all of those issues as they engage in a tentative relationship. Even though I wanted for Grace to be more bold and brave, it's clear that she really struggles with how to please herself and her family. Dakota knows who she is and is proud of it, but her character isn't hard or full of bravado. The obstacles they face feel real, and although some of the inner conflicts seem drawn out, it also feel genuine---this is how real people are! We want so badly to be brave, to make dangerous choices, to be risk-takers, but it's hard and scary and takes time.

I loved this book!

A much improved work by Ms. Wallace, with relation to plot direction and character interactions. However, problems persisted regarding the treatment of gender by the author (specifically, its discussion and the language used during several exchanges), the hurried, somewhat cliched positive ending as well as the sudden resolution of the rifts between the protagonists and their respective families. The romance was standard fare that was most substantially hampered by those issues in the last third of the story.

3 1/2 Stars. This was better than Wallace’s other two books she released this year, but wasn’t as good as some of her older work. I like Wallace as an author and I also like that she writes many main POC’s. I’m always happy to read books with some diversity in them. I enjoyed this read but had a few issues with it.

Dakota is a model who is well known for her androgynous look. She models and wears mostly men’s clothes. With her sister’s wedding approaching, Dakota decides to get a suit professionally tailored to truly fit her body. Grace is a tailor who works for her father’s business. When Dakota enters their shop, Grace is surprised to find herself attracted to Dakota. Grace normally prefers feminine women with curves. Do the more free spirted Dakota and the reserved Grace have a chance at a relationship, or are they just too different?

I really enjoyed Dakota as a characters, she was extremely likeable. Grace was a little harder to connect to as she seemed to be all over the map with her thoughts and feelings. The secondary characters are where things fall a little flat for me. They were not fleshed out well enough and didn’t really help with the story.

The romance went at a pretty good pace. I was happy it was not insta-love. The characters actually got to know each other, which I appreciate. The sex scenes were decent, not the best but above average.

The biggest issue I really had were parts of the story were really rushed, especially the ending. As others have mentioned, the ending was almost too HEA. I like happy endings but the complete turnaround of both families was a little unbelievable to me; especially with how one of Grace’s sisters always treated her. I just didn’t find the ending that realistic.

As I mentioned before, I think this was the best book Wallace has released this year. I was not crazy about the other two and this was an improvement. I still like her older books much more, but this book is more on track to what I expect from Wallace. This has a few bumps, but it was an enjoyable read.

I enjoyed the dynamic between Dakota and Grace tremendously. This is one of those sweet romances where one of them is determined to not be more than friends, however, persistence prevails.

There are some LOL moments and very slick dialogue. Also some insights into tailoring and modelling. This is good book and im glad i picked it up.

I enjoy romance novels and this read was sweet with some push and pull but communication is the key to navigate the challenges. I like the main characters. What interesting and unique careers they both have. The bike ride, caught in the rain, a meal in a quaint/trendy restaurant and a cute scene at a baseball game. The romantic in me smiles very big. Both characters are likable and you want happiness and fulfillment to boil over for them. Grace Henderson has it all figured out from the business she will take over and the type of women she plans to share her life with or so she thinks. Dakota Lane has a lot going on which makes her a little hard to believe and connect to. She appears so self aware which makes her even more likable but also unbelievable. Both women have family challenges which they choose to navigate carefully, ignore, or just be upset about. I wanted so much to like this read and provide more stars but the story felt disjointed.

Grace Henderson works as a designer and tailor in her father’s bespoke suit shop in Brooklyn. Working in the family business has all the perks and problems you’d expect, but Grace loves the chance to create for her clients.

Dakota Lane is hired as a male model for her gender-bending looks. However, for Dakota, it’s more than just a fashion statement. Looking for a special outfit for her sister’s wedding, Dakota asks Grace to design a suit. A suit might be their introduction, but how far will it go?

This was a charming book by Wallace, and there were some lovely touches to this romance. The two lead characters were engaging and a little different, and I could see how both would be challenged by the other, but be a little fascinated too.

Wallace did a good job of setting up the characters and the plot, which ticked along nicely. The romance started slowly, but the pace seemed a little rushed towards the end. I could have done with a bit more time with the two characters, seeing how their romance might develop.

I also really enjoyed how Wallace introduced the concepts of Dakota’s gender-bending without it ever becoming hard work. It gave a spark to the budding relationship without ever distracting from the central romance.

This was a delight to read.

Advanced reading copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

This book is a kind of fairy tale, by the way it is developed and especially by its end and there are some things that are not quite coherent. It is clear that many of the characters in romantic novels are very stereotyped, but I believe that in this case, Dakota has too many topics. Also, does not it seem that her behavior is absolutely credible, being a top model and working as a bicycle messenger? Fairy tale. Then, the doubts of Grace and her changes of attitude towards Dakota seem somewhat artificial and with little logic. Of course, love has no logic, even less in fairy tales.

The secondary characters that could be more interesting, like Rich and Lillie, they appear very little in the story. And besides having very few sex scenes, one and a half maybe, the end is a bit hasty.

Despite all the above, the book has its charm and is not disappointing. It's worth reading it.

Okay, this is going to be tricky to review. I really wanted to love this but I just... didn't. There was a lot of discussion around gender which was good but both of the leads are cis. One of them, Dakota, does say she isn't a fan of labels and is overall more androgynous but in the end, the novel seems to only present her as cis. 

I should note I am cis but there were some lines that didn't sit well with me. At one point, Dakota's best friend makes a comment about how if Dakota had a penis he'd have sex with her. It's not really challenged at all since it's a very cissexist phrase. There was discussion around pronouns but one scene felt weird to me. First, there were name tags in one scene for people to right their pronouns on. But a character told Grace to write it down so she wouldn't be "offended" if she, and other, were misgendered. The language just didn't sit well with me. Maybe because I'm used to people using 'offended' to downgrade hurt, I don't know. But later a character who's a social worker who works with foster kids talks about how she wants to get into more training of working with trans and non-binary kids, and mentions using they/them pronouns. But Grace tells her to 'just use their name' and this is treated as her being enlightened. It just felt weird to me she was telling her to not better herself.

One line that didn't have to do was gender was how a character said another needed to lose weight, and she responded by mocking skinny women. That was another thing that wasn't challenged. 

I also didn't care about the romance and the overall plot was boring. It was a real disappoint.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story was just straight-up charming. I loved both characters, although Grace did annoy me a little, especially towards the end. I was worried this would be one of those ‘player keeps on playing whiled she decides if she can settle down’ books, but Dakota was far from that, and I confess to being half in love with her myself by the end of the book.

The chemistry between Grace and Dakota was immediate but this is a slow burn, although it takes place over only about six weeks (which is still longer than most lesfic). The two leads spend a lot of time together and talk to each other, and their developing relationship is just plain sweet. The secondary characters aren’t terribly well-fleshed out, especially their families, and taking a bit more time there could have added some depth.

It got a bit messy towards the end, I thought the breakup (not really a spoiler since there’s almost always a breakup, mores the pity), was the only misstep. Grace’s apprehension about dating a ‘butch’ woman seemed to have been resolved earlier, and then all of a sudden was a problem again, and it was especially callous given how it went down. Dakota is much more forgiving than I am.

The epilogue ties things up a bit too nicely, but if the worse thing you can say about a book is that the end is too happy, you’re doing ok. If you’re in the mood for a sweet romance, this should hit the spot.

Engaging! This romance novel did not disappoint! Yolanda Wallace provided an endearing narrative with strong character development and genuine emotions as this couple found their way.