Chances are you’ve heard of the author of The Key to You and Me as Jaye Robin Brown also wrote the highly acclaimed Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit. And while I was really excited to pick up this book after hearing all the praise, unfortunately this story wasn’t exactly up my alley. The premise sounded perfect: a certified horse girl and a small town girl meeting during one summer that will change everything? Sign me up. The execution of that concept, however, left something to be desired.
On the positive side: the main characters, Piper and Kat, were definitely engaging. From their first respective POV chapters, I could get a good sense of who they were. Piper struggles with a recent break-up and Kat has always wondered whether she likes girls and now wants to experiment to find out for herself before she tells anyone about her identity. When the two of them meet, Piper tries to make her ex-girlfriend Judith jealous by posting cosy photos with Kat who, in turn, wonders if there might be a chance she could ‘experiment’ with Piper and find out if she really is into girls.
While this was a really lovely set-up, I never got fully invested in the characters and the stakes. It’s not that the plot was meandering—there are clear goals for both Kat and Piper—but I found myself turning the pages and waiting for something monumental, for some plot twist or some character growth, but unfortunately, there never occurred that one moment from which point on I had to keep reading because I was so invested. Since this is set over such a short amount of time, it also grew repetitive quite quickly—Piper is still hung up on her ex and the storyline between them dragged on with a back-and-forth that was more frustrating than anything. Similarly, Kat kept thinking about wanting to act on her attraction to girls but even that transpires differently than one might expect from a sapphic romance.
Speaking of, for all its sapphic representation, I do have to mention that I felt quite uncomfortable with some of the discussions surrounding other sexual orientations. There are a few comments about being part of the asexual spectrum that made it sound like being asexual would be the ‘only’ explanation for all of Kat’s actions (e.g. not dating anyone or talking about crushes), which I didn’t appreciate, especially when, in the same conversation, her cousin argues that life would be easier when you’re asexual. There’s also something to be said about internalised homophobia because both Kat and her cousin are struggling to articulate their feelings and their discussions often lead to one of them brushing the other off instead of actual conversation.
Despite the pacing issues, I still recommend this to lovers of quick contemporary romances or anyone who is the ‘horse girl’ of their friend group (that’s still a thing, right? I’m not that old yet, am I?) because Piper’s love and ambition of becoming the best rider out there will definitely win over many people’s hearts. Not to mention that Piper’s grandmother is an absolute show stealer and she has my whole heart and respect.
The Key to You and Me is a journey of self-discovery perfect for fans of quick and fluffy contemporary reads with quirky characters and summery feels.
The Key to You and Me is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of April 20th 2021.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
A sweet and funny #ownvoices LGBTQ+ romance perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Julie Murphy, from the critically acclaimed author of Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit!
Piper Kitts is spending the summer living with her grandmother, training at the barn of a former Olympic horseback rider, and trying to get over her ex-girlfriend. Much to Piper’s dismay, her grandmother is making her face her fear of driving head-on by taking lessons from a girl in town.
Kat Pearson has always suspected that she likes girls but fears her North Carolina town is too small to color outside the lines. But when Piper’s grandmother hires Kat to give her driving lessons, everything changes.
Piper’s not sure if she’s ready to let go of her ex. Kat’s navigating uncharted territory with her new crush. With the summer running out, will they be able to unlock a future together?
