I’ve seen this author’s work on social media and wanted to give her a go, unfortunately this book wasn’t for me. I couldn’t get into it.

More like 2.5⭐It took me a while to get into the book, it's quite different from what I usually read and that's why I wanted to read it. The writing style is also very different comparing to others I'm more used to. I liked the plot, but I do think it was very slow and that it could be maybe shorter. Despite that, I liked it and I think it's a very cute friend to lovers romance.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for a review!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book, from the cover to the writing. I adored Peaches and found Jamie very swoon worthy. Amazing idea for a romance novel. If you love friends to lovers (written properly) I definitely recommend reading this!!!!!

Can't Let Her Go
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Release Date: June 20, 2023

Format: eBook ARC on Kindle

Have I had Peaches & Cream by 112 stuck in my head for days? Why yes, yes I have. Can't Let Her Go revolves around Peaches & Jamie, their journey from friends to lovers while navigating the impact our families do/do not have on all our other relationships. Miscommunication at time ensues, it all felt very real.

I struggled at times with keeping up with whose POV we were experiencing as it would jump rather quickly. There is no lack of detail in this book, at times a bit too much detail.

As a new to me author, I look forward to reading more of Kianna's work.

Thank you to Kianna and NetGalley for the opportunity!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this!

I liked the whole friends to lovers trope. But the writing style of the author didn't gel with me. The MCs were okay but I enjoyed reading more about the secondary characters than anything else.

A friends-to-lovers romance. Peaches and Jamie are in the same friendship group but Jamie has always had a thing for Peaches, and in one tipsy moment Jamie confesses her feelings. Peaches has a lot of responsibility building her business and being a rock for her family, while Jamie has plans to back to college to advance her career. So will these two work it out and find space for Love?

I really wanted to love this one. I was so excited to read a Black lesbian romance but I was bored throughout and frustrated. I appreciate how the author highlighted the experiences of being the eldest daughter, the struggles of being a middle child, good examples of allyship in the LGBTQIA+ community - especially for our non-binary character Taylor. As well as highlighting how Black women are underrepresented in STEM. But I don’t think they were embedded well enough in the story.

The dialogue was boring and consisted of a lot of small talk between Peaches and Jamie and there wasn’t a lot of progression. They would meet up, talk, sometimes have sex and repeat. There was a lot of over explanation and description of simple things, the conflicts didn’t make sense to me and weren’t convincing. Especially the first conflict. There were attempts at good communication to foster a healthy relationship and in the end, it worked out but eh.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Can't Let Her Go' by Kianna Alexander.

I must admit, I didn't quite love this as much as I loved Kianna Alexander's previous work 'Can't Resist Her'

It had the same charm and personality and the romance (and content of a sexual nature) remained consistent but I just didn't feel as connected with the story.

Thank you, Montlake, for allowing me to read Can't Let Her Go early.

Kianna Alexander writes queer Black love beautifully. This was my second novel of hers and I was enamoured by both. Perhaps, Can't Let Her Go was even better.

This story could have been shorter. The relationship between Peaches and Jaime was a little overdone.

I read this ARC for free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute sapphic friends to lovers romance. It took me a little bit longer than I wanted to read, but overall it was good.

Peaches is a barbershop owner in Texas who is her family’s go-to when they need something. In her friend group is Jamie, who is looking to open her own nail shop after she gets a chemistry degree.
Jamie works to seduce Peaches and eventually make their friendship more.

This story could have been shorter. In my opinion, the description were overdone and focused way too much on details that weren’t moving the plot along.
With that being said, it was still a good story for a friends to lovers romance.

This one was okay, honestly it was a little too slow for me, as I don't neccessarily like slow books. I enjoyed the romance, and.I think this would work better for someone who likes character driven books, but I'm not that right person. It wasn't a bad book.

A heartwarming and emotional slowburn romance romance that had me all gaga over the main characters every now and then. Incredibly good!!

I was really excited to try this book because of the diversity in the characters and because it's Sapphic.
While I thought the idea held promise, I struggled to engage in the story in a meaningful way. This is a little different writing style than I usually choose and I think that was the biggest barrier for me.
2.5/5

An enjoyable read that tok me a while to get into because it is a slow burning read, which I am not always the bigegest fan of. I also wasn't a huge fan of some of the characters, I just couldn't warm to them because fo they acted and treated others at times.

3 ⭑
i did enjoyed reading the book but i got bored at some chapters and i did take some time to get in the Story also i wish i was more invested in the main couple but what i really enjoyed about this book was the praise kink it‘s a yes immediately for me. it‘s also so much fun reading Books with powerful FMC‘s. i would still recommend this book if you looking for a good sapphic romance with a little spice and absolutely gorgeous cover!

Jamie and Peaches are part of the same friend group, and through this book you find that they start to test out being more than that. Both characters sound super hot, not to mention the food. The cover is amazing in my opinion. Also, with Jamie and Peaches I will say that even though they’re friends and have some steam, I’m not sure if they seem like the end game kind of couple. There does seem to be some red flags/miscommunication that is hard to root for them when they both have things they could improve on. I love that this story is one of a queer perspective, but on the same note my heart was not completely rooting for the two. For me it was 2.75 rating as I wasn’t extremely invested in the main couple. I loved the friend group. Thank you so much for the advanced reader copy, and please look out for this story in June 2023!

I’ll start with the positive. Thanks for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I love the cover art, and I love the general story line that is two strong-willed women open to the idea of risking it all for the chance to love each other. However…the dialogue was very forced. The conversations were often realistic. I’d hope for more natural/subtle approach. Hope this helps!

I liked returning to the friendship group from I Can't Resist Her. Sometimes the dialogue got a bit set in concrete - at one point a character says 'Wow, I guess the conversation got good,' when they lose track of time. (Not from where I'm standing, it didn't). The depictions of food were mouthwatering but sometimes too detailed and not always relevant. I'd love to go to Thanksgiving dinner (and to bed with) some of these women, but their chat isn't up to much.

Jamie and Peaches did some things in the middle of the book that made the other one feel rejected. Jamie wasn't always in the right and sometimes used her sexuality manipulatively, but to me it was Peaches who seemed too judgy and into making stuff about her and her hangups from her previous relationship (I find that a massive red flag so it's interesting that the author seems to be on Peaches' side). I liked that Peaches turns out to be quite round as well as short but that isn't clear from the early part of the book, unless I missed something, and I'm not sure why as there's a lot about food and working out etc. when it could have come up.

Also in the first book, Peaches calls Aiko 'playa,' but not the other way round at all, and in this book it's the exact opposite.

This book was hard for me to review. I wavered between a 3 star and a 4 star review. I liked the main storyline and the secondary characters, but there are a couple chapters in the middle of the book where I just really don’t want the two main characters to end up together.

Peaches and Jamie are in the same friend group. They decide to get to know each other better away from the friend group to see if they want to be more than just friends. They seem to click pretty well, but then Jamie did/said some things that I just couldn’t quite get past, which is why I ended up giving it 3 stars.

However, this book is about two strong and confident black women who are surrounded by other strong and confident people who help them navigate their new relationship.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for Can’t Let Her Go to come out June 20, 2023.