French Pressed Love by M.C. Hutson was a thoroughly enjoyable book
A slow burn sapphic romance that was utterly enjoyable!
The story moved along at a nice pace and kept me so engaged.
I really enjoyed this author's writing. I haven't read anything by them before, but I really got into the story and the pacing of it. The characters were well developed and lovable.

Don't let the adorable cover and cutesy title fool you—they're messy! They're toxic! No, seriously.

This is billed as a messy, angsty romance "that rivals Tryst Six Venom" in the description, but it's easy to overlook that line amid the coffee puns and bright colors—and, judging from the other reviews, I think a lot of us did.

The problem? To make messy, toxic characters work, you have to commit, and, like its main character, it doesn't feel like "French Pressed Love" was really down for any sort of real commitment (OK, I'm sorry—I had to). Instead, we get half cutesy coffee shop romance, complete with adorable homemade dinners and characters finally seeing the kind of support they never knew they could ask for in life...and then half straight-up mean, unexplained nonsense that comes out of nowhere and never gets explained by the plot. This is the first time I haven't been delighted to see main characters in their thirties (Jordan is 32)—the drama felt very YA.

As another reviewer said, there's a difference between messy and just plain unlikable, and much of the book felt like it was building up to a simple story of two unlikable characters coming together. Because Jordan, at least, does seem to be written to be intentionally unlikable—we hear that she hates paper straws, we get a detailed description of how grossed out she is to be near a sick elderly person, we see her fire someone for calling out from work—but then beyond that, we see her complex, lovable personality and it's hard not to want the best for her. Ultimately, I really wish the book had stuck to that simpler plot, because the bones are there and it's when the plotting got more complicated that it really went off the rails.

Star rating breakdown: 5 stars for the adorable romance bits, 2 stars for the "wait, why on earth did [redacted] do [redacted]" bits, averaged to 3.5 stars rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are, of course, my own.

I don’t even know where to start with this book. Messy is an understatement. These are truly some toxic lesbians.
If you are over sweet and fluffy this one is for you. All the relationships are a mess in this book. Not a book I would typically read. The ending is a bit controversial in my opinion. The format I received the ebook made it more difficult to read. I feel that some scenes skipped forward too soon. That more could’ve been there. Personally I don’t relate to any of the characters, but that doesn’t mean others won’t.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the advanced copy.

There was so much unnecessary drama between the two main characters that I ended up not even rooting for them to get together in the end. Ultimately I thought this book was intriguing enough to want to keep reading but I was left unsatisfied in the end.

2.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for a free Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for a review.

This was really good debut book.
I genuinely was captivated by the setting and plot, but I do feel more romance elements were needed.
More stolen glances, more ways of feeling yearning from both characters.

But the writing style was so fresh and inviting, it became so easy to stay tuned for the rest of the book.

I think this book fell into wrong time to read. It was just difficult to get into and connect with. Overall I wanted to enjoy it more than I did. The concept is great but it felt hard to connect with the main characters.

I loved reading this book, it had me feeling so immersed in the relationship and I really enjoyed the characters.

The stuck-up hottie coming in for a specialized latte every morning stirs Jordan up in all of the wrong ways, but that doesn’t stop her from wanting Noémie. Then Noémie asks for a job and Jordan thought she was in trouble before (chuckle).

French Pressed Love is a cute romance. M.C. Hutson gives us complicated characters, but leaves most of the darkness off-page. I have to say that I had no clue about the language differences in Canada and the author gives us a quick heads up before delving into the story.

There is plenty of steam and after so many clean romances I welcomed the fun! I will give you a heads-up that Jordan does “date” other people which is something I’m usually not a fan of reading. But like I said this story hit right after so many slow-burns that leads to nowhere (chuckle).

I really like Jordan. We share many life experiences and even though I’m a femme (mainly), I really connected with her the most. She protects herself because she’s been hurt, discarded, and rejected. These walls make it hard for people to connect, but it also makes it hard for her to connect too. She recognizes this and lives with her choice. There are uncomfortable moments, but it reflects real-life. Plus, it doesn’t take away from the romance at all.

I really enjoyed this romance. I did have an idea about Noémie all along (chuckle). This did not take away from French Pressed Love at all. One look at Jordan and I would be a latte lover too.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a slow build up but one that was worth it and those surprises at the end just kept on coming....

jordan is a barista at a successful coffee shop... it wasnt what she intended to do with her life but then life always has its own curve ball to deliver... and one of those was a customer... jordan always looked out for her.

Noémie St. Pierre liked her coffee how she liked her coffee and wow betide anyone that got it wrong......she had thousands of followers on her accounts so jordan couldnt get the coffee order wrong as she didnt want noemie to blacklist their coffee shop

so when noemie stops coming into the coffee shop jordan is surprised and concerned for her... maybe the only one as it seems noemies father is famous and very well known has cut off all financial support to her

but jordans personal life is also is disarray with her friend uhauling it she either needs a new housemate or a new place to live....

a culmination of events ends up with Noémie St. Pierre being a new employee of the coffee shop and also jordans new housemate when she moves into a room at noemies house...

thats when it all starts to get interesting.....

i thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the characters of this book, plenty of drama and intrigue didnt see the twist coming but will be keeping an eye out for more of this authors work

This was an overall miss for me; I wanted the two main characters - Jordan and Noemie to get together but I needed more. I felt that they had a lot of toxicity and things to communicate about before their happily ever after began and wanted more out of the ending and more epilogue to round out their story.

There were scenes and moments throughout the book that I absolutely loved. The characters themselves were developed well and their problems and struggles were real and heartbreaking. It just felt like the ending was rushed, especially for the level of drama and struggles that the main couple went through.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley & BooksGoSocial for this ARC!!

Disappointed to say the least 🫤

The lack of romance. The lack of communication. The basically unlikeable main character. I understand it was a slow burn but you're waiting basically 70% of the book for ANYTHING. The first time I was actually rooting for a HNA.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!


I hope the imaginary epilogue includes them all going to therapy. Every character.

Jay and Noémi have no business being together which honestly is the reality of most relationships.

Noémi had no redeeming qualities to me. In fact, she somehow became worse?

Jay also did not show very much character development. It was like alright we’ll both admit we’re not shit and try anyway.

I did find the story entertaining as I was dying to get to the bottom of why they were so fucked up and the background behind the poutine Princess. I definitely ate up the drama.

I felt like some things were left unanswered and the transitions were a little choppy but it was a fast read

DNF at about 30%. The writing was very surface level and I was really not vibing with main characters. I can absolutely see others loving this book unfortunately wasn’t for me.

Overall, I enjoyed this. I just wish things had been more fleshed out. It felt like everything was a bit rushed which is such a bummer because I wanted to see more of these two; and I really wanted to read more about being a "touch-me-not" lesbian. I know it's not the author's job to teach, but I've never read a book that featured a stone lesbian before, and I would have loved at least a short discussion about in the text about her experiences. That being said, I liked the glimpse we got of Jordan's Caribbean culture. I also liked the brief discourse on cost of living in Canada. I feel often here in America we think of Canada as having life so much easier than we do here, and that's simply not the case.

Characters: 7
Atmosphere: 9
Writing: 8
Plot: 9
Intrigue: 8
Logic:8
Enjoyment: 8

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. French Pressed Love was a 2.5 for me.

What worked:
- attractive MC
- ⁠chemistry between MC
- ⁠queer yearning

What I didn’t love:
- ~10 year gap between MC
- ⁠Emotionally immaturity (both MC)
- ⁠Lack of depth, why even bring up past trauma just for it to be glossed over.
- ⁠As a reader, I didn’t really get to know Noémie that well, despite her being a MC
- sudden use of c0ke at the 76% mark
- ⁠having Noémie identify as lesbian and not bi at the end (although I guess the “relationship” with Felix was fake and there was never mention of other bfs/ male exes)

I really wanted to like this book and read a cute little romance but this book didn’t work for me. The book lacked the depth I would want to see from characters. Although we’re told Jordan is smitten with Noemie it all just felt like lust. It didn’t really feel like they fell in love and that twist at the end made it all feel like this wasn’t a great match. I also wasn’t a big fan of the way Jordan’s family was portrayed in comparison to Noemie. Usually by the end of a story you want to see characters grow and change. Can’t say that’s the case in this book. Although the story had its moments that felt realistic I would say it was a miss. 2.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

I don't know if this story just wasn't for me and if maybe I'm the problem here, but this felt like every negative stereotype and toxic trope about lesbians wrapped up into one succinct novel. Lesbian MC falls for straight girl and is type-cast as a 'predatory lesbian' by basically everyone around her. The straight-girl-maybe-closeted-lesbian MC is... a lot. These characters are fundamentally unlikeable and the 'romance' makes me cringe.

BUT if you enjoy high-tension, full of drama, absolutely dripping with angst queer stories, especially with characters who are real and raw and absolutely unredeemable (maybe in a sequel?), this might be the book for you. The hook was strong, the plot definitely drew me in, but the entire time I was going, "What am I reading right now?" I love a story with characters that have experienced and caused trauma as much as the next person, but at least one of those characters has to grow and develop and change to make the story feel worth it. I didn't feel like <b>anyone</b> made any positive change throughout this read.

Basically, for me, this book just lacked the deeper development I expect from a tale with fallible, real, raw characters. I was never immersed in it, but I felt I had to keep reading because inevitably there'll be growth, right? Wrong.

I really think the last 20% ruined this book for me.

The story is about Jordan, who works in a coffee shop where Noemie is her annoying rich customer who she might have a slight crush on. Some circumstances lead to the two of them working and living together and Jordan tries hard to not fall for Noemie.

I really liked how much of a slow burn this story was, and how much Jordan was fighting against her feelings and telling herself there's no way Noemie could be into her. I mean there was a lot of miscommunication in place for Jordan to believe Noemie couldn't be interested but I enjoyed it nevertheless. But then around 80% of the book in we find out how many things Noemie was purposefully lying about just to play with Jordan's head and personally that just wasn't for me. I think the break of trust was too big to come back from. When the main characters have the conversation how they shouldn't be together it's usually easy to dismiss that with their insecurities. With this story, all these characters were saying was the truth and I cannot believe any of Jordan's friends would still be on Noemie's side.

It's a shame because I did enjoy most of this book. But I do think it's important for a romance book to stick the landing.

3.5☆|5

And the more messy book award goes to… Okay, but seriously, this book was really messy. Not that it is a bad thing, but it's something worth mentioning. We follow here Jordan, a Canadian barista who desperately needs a flatmate, who writes a lesbian graphic novel, and whose life is a mess. And we meet Noémie. Noémie who is, well, a lot. She makes a fuss every time she enters the coffee shop; she seems somehow egocentric, and Jordan can't stand her. But then Noémie's dad cuts her off. And she needs to work with Jordan. Oh, and Jordan's gonna live with her. Wonderful, isn't it?

This is more about a really messy and toxic-ish relationship than it was about a romance. Really, it was really toxic, and I am begging them to learn the word communication. Because it is apparently not in their vocabulary. But you know what? That was fun. A breath of fresh air in my day, and I don't ask for more.

I was not a fan of the writing (maybe a bit too much of tell and lacking some show?) and I won't lie and say that I adored the side characters. But I liked Noémie. She's a nightmare, but she was fun. And Jordan (Jay) was nice. Overall, I sort of liked this book, even if it's not a romance to my eyes (not that I was especially looking for one, so we're all good). However, I won't post about this book on my social media due to the fact that there's a Harry Potter reference (that is totally useless and avoidable) in it. I had a chat with the author about it on Instagram, and she told me that she was gonna remove it from the e-book, but I do not want to expose people reading my reviews and trusting them to a hurtful reference to a book written by a TERF.

TW: homophobia; mention of the death of a family member; reference to SA (off-page); mention of racism; mentions of drug use and abuse; explicit sex scenes.

I really enjoyed the slow burn of Jordan and Noémie’s relationship. I wasn’t entirely sure on how it was going to end and every time I put it down I found myself picking it back up, I needed more. This book was like a drug, keeping me addicted to it. Such a great story.