I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book from Netgalley and Get Lifted Books. This has not impacted my rating and this review is voluntary.
- Genre: Fiction, Romance, Lesbian Fiction, African American Women Fiction
- Published by: Get Lifted Books
- Publish date: April 25, 2023
- Number of pages: pages
- Author’s website: https://www.instagram.com/livslittle
- Support local! Buy the book on BookShop!
“This vividly rendered story of a dynamic young woman finding her way is a compelling and engaging read for fans of Talia Hibbert, Sally Rooney, and Candice Carty-Williams.” —Booklist, Starred Review
A deliciously gritty and strikingly bold debut novel about discovering love where it has always been.
Elsie is a sexy, funny, and fiercely independent woman in South London. But, at just 28, she is also tired. Though she spends her days writing tender poetry in her journal, her nights are spent working long hours for minimum wage at a neighborhood dive bar. Not even sleeping with her alluring coworker, Bea, can quell her existential dread. The difficulty of being estranged from her family, struggle of being continually rejected from jobs, and fear of never making money doing what she loves, is too great. But Elsie is determined to keep the faith, for a little longer at least. Things will surely turn around. They have to.
But when Elsie is suddenly evicted from her social housing, her fragile foundations threaten to collapse entirely. With nowhere left to go, Elsie turns to her childhood friend, Juliet, for help.
Among Juliet’s mismatched cushions and shelves lined with trinkets, Elsie is able to breathe for the first time in years. But between their reruns of Drag Race and nights smoking on the balcony, something else soon begins to glimmer in Elsie’s heart . . .
Sometimes what you’ve been searching for has been there all along. Can Elsie see it in time?
Featuring the incredible poetry of Kai-Isaiah Jamal, Rosewater is a story of intergenerational love, healing, and one woman’s journey home.
Rating: 3/5
The main character, Elsie, had me yelling at my book “Girl what is you doing?!?” many times, but you can’t help but root for her. I think many young people can connect with Elise even if they aren’t in her exact situation.
You have a character in her late twenties who doesn’t have everything figured out and is feeling pretty lost in many ways— relationships, career, and purpose. These are things that I myself have felt being in my late twenties. This comes to a head when Elsie is evicted. I wouldn’t approach a lot of this journey the same way Elsie did and that’s okay! We also see other people in her circle such as her best friend Juliet, coworkers, people in the poetry scene, and her family all dealing with life and the various things it throws at them.
I think that’s what made this book a little difficult to follow. Elsie is on a journey and that journey is all over the place. This of course is accurate for real life but is difficult to read in a book because the plot is disorganized.
I was personally annoyed with the climax situation. It seemed like a cop-out to bring Elsie to the conclusion she needed to make about one of her relationships.
Regardless, this is an interesting read that I maybe wouldn’t recommend to everyone, but I would recommend it to someone who finds themselves in a similar time of their life to the main character.
Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to know!
Musings by Michelle 