BluJag72

This book gets at observations I have had about the world that I thought were only my own. It's incredibly well-wrought and lingers a little over every moment, but not enough that you become bored or feel like the book wastes time. The plot is incredibly simple: 3 queer people and 1 straight person buy a house in the countryside and plan a housewarming party while the main character figures out her romantic struggles. And yet, this book hooked it's Twighlight chicken fangs into me for the several days I read it, because the writing is wonderful.

Sometimes I feel like I'm not gay enough, or bi enough to be considered Queer, or that I'm secretly straight somehow and have just been "confused" or "faking it" the whole time. Part of what has been contributing to this issue for me is the lack of Queer representation in media in general, but also a lack of romance plots that make sense to me.

Sometimes I read a romance novel I really like and the characters are clearly into each other and make that clear (at least to the reader) almost every time a moment like that comes up. There is something about this vulnerability that I understand, but something about these kinds of plots just doesn't fit for me, and that's because when I have a crush, I act like El instead. Remain close to the person, say nothing about how you feel, admire them from close up and afar, keep everything in your chest until you explode. I have a distinct lack of wildness when it comes to romance, even if I'm fairly wild everywhere else, and there are many times in which I wished I was "normal" about romance instead.

All that is to say that I feel incredibly seen by this book, both in falling in love with your Girl Best Friend™ and the way in which El fell in love.

Note: I picked up this book because I thought it might fit into the "Queer Palace" trope that I've observed in other literature, and I think this book is close, but the Lavender House isn't really meant to hide the queer community. There are probably adjacent tropes that this could fit into.

🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍🌈 HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!! 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍🌈