Review: This Is Not A F*cking Romance

This Is Not A F*cking Romance by Evie Snow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Candy Blume is a half-Hong Kong Chinese/half American Goth. She owns the steampunk bar Hard Candy which she prides herself on being a safe space, so Monday night is munch night, Tuesday night is Drag Poetry night etc. When a young gay guy called Mattie comes in wanting to book his twenty-first birthday party at the bar Candy is suspicious but has no reason to doubt his sincerity. Little does she know that Matty is the younger brother of the guy who made her life in school a misery, and ruined her graduation, Trent Green. Matty has learned about all the awful things his brother did to Candy and is hoping to get a rise out of him.

Trent Green was a very different person back in high school, brought up by his toxic father to mock those weaker than himself and put others down, he had to grow up fast when his parents died in a boating 'accident' and he found out that their wealth was a tissue of lies. His potential career as an architect fell by the wayside and Trent had to work at his grandmother's cake shop in order to keep the monstrous McMansion his parents bought and put food on the table for his brother and three sisters. Over the years Trent has expanded his grandmother's business into a high end cake decorating business and he has almost succeeded in getting his siblings through college and into careers, all except Matty who has a chip on his shoulder as big as a boulder.

When Trent goes to check out the bar his little brother has hired for his birthday he is shocked to find that Candy is the owner, but determined to apologise for the way he behaved back then. At first Candy is having none of it, but when her abusive ex-husband breaks his restraining order and comes into her bar she (metaphorically) hides behind Trent to get him to leave.

Can these high school enemies find love? Can Candy trust another man with her heart? Can Trent stop trying to micromanage every aspect of his siblings' lives?

This is funny, and sassy, and almost achingly inclusive, but I kinda liked that. Keen to read more but sadly this seems to be the only one available at a discounted price.

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