Publisher: Bywater Books
‘Plain English’ is book three in the ‘Full English’ series. I loved all of the installments and highly recommend reading from the beginning if you haven’t already.
Claire has moved from Amberwick to London so that she can paint and sell her artwork in the building her grandmother left to her. Her morning is interrupted when a motorcycle crashes into her field. And she is not going to fall for the ridiculous, flirtatious charm of the attractive rider.
Later, that same handsome rider, Pip, calls Claire up to thank her and offer to repay her for her kindness. No matter how much Claire tells herself she is not going to repeat mistakes by getting involved with another person who gets whatever they want only to leave her without ceremony, she ends up agreeing to see PIP casually. If she knows the score up front, what can it hurt? Famous last words.
Oh yeah, Pip is actually Lady Mulgrave and her family lives in a castle. Throw into the mix that Pip doesn’t feel very lady-like or even knows what pronouns to use, you have a very complex and sensitive situation.
The motorcycle crash in the beginning was one of the better meet-cute scenes I’ve read. It was super cute and I loved Claire’s attitude toward Pip and how she wasn’t about to fall for any of that put-on charm.
I don’t read a lot of books with non-binary characters. What was interesting about this one was that it involved someone who was going through the uncertainty of things. They hadn’t already figured it out and we go on that journey with them.
Usually I am a prude when it comes to sex scenes. But why is there not more strap-on sex in lesbian romance? There was a really hot scene where Claire just needed it and couldn’t be bothered to climb a ladder before she got Pip to take her on a table. Authors: More of this, please?
Overall, I liked how Pip and Claire equally struggled to keep their feelings casual. That they each had sounding boards (from characters introduced in earlier installments) to talk about their challenges. It was an uplifting story about being true to yourself and how things steeped in tradition can be changed if for the right reasons.
I recommend this to people who love to read romance, nobility, art, old motorcycles, friends, non-binary, and puffins.
I received and ARC in exchange for an honest review.