Sutton Spencer’s ideas for her life were fairly simple: finish graduate school and fall in love. It would be a lot simpler if she could pinpoint exactly what she should do when she graduates in less than a year. Oh, and if she could figure out how to talk to a woman without feeling like a total mess, that would be great too. Charlotte Thompson is very much the opposite. She's always had clear steps outlining her path to success with no time or inclination for romance. Her burgeoning career in politics means everything to her and she’s not willing to compromise it for something as insignificant as love. Fleeting, casual, and discreet worked perfectly fine. When they meet through a dating app, it's immediately clear that they aren't suited for anything more than friendship. Right?
My quibbles here are entirely personal preferences about tropes and character arcs. People who enjoy stories of coming out, and of characters with low self-confidence slowly finding their feet, will likely find this even more enjoyable.
[Edit] December 2021: After rereading Those Who Wait, now in audiobook format, (and after having read other books by Haley Cass) I’d like to add to my previous review… READ THIS BOOK IMMEDIATELY
Last year, despite a number of sapphic readers urging me to read it, I didn’t pick up the book right away because its impressive length, and the fact that the central romance focuses on a character-who-just-doesn’t-do-relationships, felt like a journey I wasn’t ready to take yet.
Some of my original review still applies after a second read through, but FUCKME this author has an incredible talent for storytelling and character development. Her writing is exceptional and every book she writes just keeps getting better and better, so go read her other ones too.
October 2020 I started this book with some...apprehension—a no-strings storyline with young main characters usually wouldn’t catch my attention, especially not from a new …
[Edit] December 2021: After rereading Those Who Wait, now in audiobook format, (and after having read other books by Haley Cass) I’d like to add to my previous review… READ THIS BOOK IMMEDIATELY
Last year, despite a number of sapphic readers urging me to read it, I didn’t pick up the book right away because its impressive length, and the fact that the central romance focuses on a character-who-just-doesn’t-do-relationships, felt like a journey I wasn’t ready to take yet.
Some of my original review still applies after a second read through, but FUCKME this author has an incredible talent for storytelling and character development. Her writing is exceptional and every book she writes just keeps getting better and better, so go read her other ones too.
October 2020 I started this book with some...apprehension—a no-strings storyline with young main characters usually wouldn’t catch my attention, especially not from a new author, but people kept telling me to read it, so I eventually bought it and was so.....frustratingly drawn in. I love a self-control freak, and the dark and withholding Charlotte was chefs kiss
Sutton’s naïveté was bothersome at times, but she grew on me as her character progressed and became more confident and BRAVE.
I could not put this book down.
The alternate/parallel political universe was an interesting choice and it mostly worked, but I found myself annoyed by fictional characters being given credit for accomplishments of real politicians [for the sake of avoiding spoilers I won’t say too much more]
This would have been a 5 star book if the overall writing (frequently repeated phrases and words, and a couple small typos) were a tiny bit more polished.
