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.

I wanted to love this book but I just honestly couldn’t get into it. First and foremost, the format of the PDF really threw me off and it was difficult for me to read. Although I do think there is potential, it overall just fell very flat for me. I found myself constantly getting drawn out of the story.

I gave up on this book at 21%. The ARC I received (for Kindle) was formatted poorly and really could have used more editing.

I give almost every book 20% of reading to determine if it's worth continuing. By that point a book should have painted it's backstory and made you at least interested in the main characters. “French-Pressed Love” did not do that. Not only did I find the main characters insufferable, but the plot was not interesting enough to keep me reading.

Unfortunately this isn't a book I will recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest feedback.
I finished this book and had to sit with it for a day to get my thoughts together. In my opinion, both Jordan and Noémie were absolutely insufferable and their “love story” was not believable. It was so toxic and I was left cringing so many times while reading. I will admit that I wanted to dnf this book several times throughout reading it because i felt like it was pushing negative lesbian stereotypes but I pushed myself to finish. While this book was not a hit for me, I think someone who loves reading about messy toxic relationships may enjoy it.

French Pressed Love was a short and easy read, but unfortunately, it didn’t work for me. While the premise had potential, the story felt like it was missing depth. The writing style was very simple, which isn’t always a bad thing, but in this case, it made the lack of depth even more noticeable.

One of the main issues was that we’re told a lot about the characters and their struggles, but it doesn’t feel like these things actually impact them. We hear about their problems and emotions, but their actions don’t always match up or show much growth. This made it hard to connect with them or feel invested in the romance. I also found Noémie to be underdeveloped. It was hard not to dislike her at times because of how messy and unlikable she came across. By the end of the book, she had improved a little, but not enough for me to fully root for her.

While I didn’t enjoy it, readers who prefer light but messy romances might still like it. It just wasn’t the right fit for me.

this book had a lot of potential but unfortunately fell short for me. i was so excited for a cute coffee shop romance, but it was oddly paced narrative with a very negative main character and a whoooooole lot of toxicity.

firstly — i get that we’re not supposed to like jordan at the beginning, but her negativity is a little over bearing for something with such a light, happy description and cover. it was very unexpected. i feel like we could’ve gotten a lot more depth had her friends been more developed, or even if we got more dialogue, but interactions with her friends were minimal, and most of the time it seemed like jordan didn’t even like half her friends.

wayne was really funny, but i really wasn’t expecting his twist at the end? i read that part multiple times bc i was so confused. but i liked him until then.

again, the time cadence was weird and i feel like that’s partially why i wasn’t fully pulled into the story. we’d gloss over seemingly important parts, like when jordan realized she was falling for noémie, which seemed like a pivotal moment and was even described as an epiphany.

i also wish we had seen much more of jordan’s drawing, family life and background, and overall her creative side. there was a lot of potential and directions it could have gone there.

i’m glad i read it, but i was hoping for a bit more overall.

French Pressed Love was a delightful and heartwarming read that left me with a smile on my face. The cozy coffee shop setting added so much charm to the story and created the perfect atmosphere for a budding romance. You can practically smell the coffee and feel the warmth of the cafe as you read.

The characters were well-written and had great chemistry. I enjoyed watching their relationship grow, with plenty of sweet and heartfelt moments along the way. Their banter felt natural and super cute. While the romance followed some familiar tropes, it was done in such an endearing way that I didn’t mind the predictability.

While the plot wasn’t groundbreaking, it was comforting and enjoyable, making it the perfect escape when you’re in the mood for something uplifting. If you love coffee, cozy settings, and feel-good romance, French Pressed Love is definitely worth a read!

I have to admit that the main reason I picked this book up was that I saw that the main character Jordan was a stone butch. That is an identity that is not featured enough in lesbian media imo and so even though I don’t read romances that often I just knew I had to read it.
Jordan is… a complicated main character. In true stereotypical butch fashion, she has a lot of trauma, that she bottles up and never talks about. I did like that that was something she managed to improve on over time. I also think that the way she treated her friends was unfair at times. But I like messy characters and seeing them do dumb stuff that messes up their lives, so I enjoyed that part of the story. And I really loved that Jordan’s stoneness was something she refused to change, even when people tried to shame her for it.
Be prepared for miscommunication (or well, no communication) playing a relatively big part in this story. Unfortunately, there is a lot of things that could have been prevented if people talked to each other and that was a bit annoying, particularly the [spoilers] constant assumption that Noémi’s ex must have been a man, when Noémi always tried very carefully not to use any pronouns. Stuff like that is fine for the first half, but when I still get assumptions like that 200 pages in it gets a bit boring. I do understand why the big reveal hit Jordan hard, when it did happen, but it felt a lot like drama for drama’s sake. [spoilers end]
What I really disliked was the constant biphobia and predatory lesbian stereotyping featured in the story. While I do certainly believe that those are conversations that happen in queer circles, it was tiring to keep hearing Jordan called a predatory lesbian who turns straight girls gay even by other gay people and those she considered her friends. It got a lot worse when she turned it onto herself, but thankfully that is resolved pretty quickly. The idea that any of the characters who show or are assumed to show attraction to more than one gender are never even thought of as bisexual, but only straight, also bothered me.
I also really, really disliked the reveal at the end, when we [spoilers] find out that actually Noémi and Wayne had a bet going on for Noémi to seduce Jordan. I always heavily dislike that trope and to have it be done to Jordan by people she considered her friends was just heartbreaking. Since it happened so late in the story, I also think that it shouldn’t have been made Jordan’s responsibility to forgive. There just wasn’t the time there for her to forgive her naturally and I think it would have worked better if Noémi had been the one to beg her forgiveness. [spoilers end].
Also, there’s a harry potter reference. In a book that’s published in the year 2025. No, thank you!
And finally while the ending was sweet, I do wish there had been a bit more focus on Jordan’s backstory instead of on the miscommunication drama or that the book had been longer and allowed for more time for the forgiveness-arc.
All in all, I didn’t hate this book and again, I loved seeing a stone butch character being loved without someone trying to change her, but I wish that either the messyness of the characters had been accepted as messy but intriguing or that they had been given more time to actually fix their communication issues.
If you enjoy your slow burns to be really slow and enjoy drama a lot, maybe you'll like this more than I did though :).

TW: past prejudice against a stone person, slight aphobia from side character (it’s not natural to want to be alone), homophobia, colorism, past rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, victim blaming, trauma, fatphobia, addiction, cheating

Strong pacing and cute moments has me unwilling to put this quick read romance down! It’s the type of romance you might stay up all night just trying to get to the other side,

1.5 stars
listen, I hate giving ARCs low ratings, because it affects them more than alreardy published books but this was: very toxic relationship disguised as a coffee shop romance because what was that? the writing was too choppy for my liking and switched between beautiful and wattpad level too many times.

there is no character 'development' because half the characters we only see on a surface level. the rest stay the same or somehow end up worse than how they were at the beginning?? (yeah, I'm talking about Noémie)

after chapter 33 I couldn't take it anymore and sped through the remaining. the plot? drama drama and more drama. I figured out the rest of the book at the 51% mark but, hey, at least the cover's pretty.

This book was messy and dramatic and I loved every second of it. Life is messy, people are messy and this book honestly captured that brilliantly even if it WAS dramatic.

I really liked this book! I liked the cute moments and laughed a lot. I definitely do recommend this book a lot!