♥♥♥.75 (3.75 hearts out of 5) – Something to Talk About is the debut novel by Meryl Wilsner who identifies as non-binary and uses they/them/their pronouns. It is also the first female/female romance novel published by Berkley Publishing Group. The contemporary romance novel was published on May 26, 2020.
The story follows a Hollywood powerhouse, Jo Jones and her assistant, Emma. After a red carpet incident at the SAGs, the rumors start about their relationship. This is where our story begins…
Jo Jones was a child actor, and is now one of the hottest directors in Hollywood. She is about to start a new movie project, and in order to limit the media interaction on her new movie, she invites her assistant, Emma to be a buffer at the SAGs. After a reporter tries to question Jo about her movie project, Agent Silver, Emma quickly jumps onto the red carpet to save her – and this where the rumors start about Emma dating her boss to help her climb the Hollywood ladder.
Emma and Jo have a love/hate relationship throughout the novel. Emma is her assistant, so naturally knows exactly what Jo needs and wants. However, she isn’t accustomed to the celebrity lifestyle and paparazzi so frequently fights with Jo about the tabloids talking speculation on their relationship.
After Emma is sexually harassed by a celebrity crush of hers, Jo starts to re-evaluate her original thoughts on how the media perceives her and Emma’s working relationship. One could almost argue that that is when Jo started seeing Emma as more than her assistant.
I tend to not gravitate towards most romance novels. My esthetic in reading is geared towards sad or dark stories. However, I will always read any queer romance. Although I found the pace to be too slow for my liking, I really enjoyed the personalities and relationship between Jo and Emma. Being in a biracial relationship with a Chinese American woman, I appreciated being able to see that resemblance in a story.
Overall, Meryl’s writing style as a contemporary romance is by far my favorite. The last three or four chapters really drove the story home for me, and can I mention the beautifully written sex scene?! All authors of intimate scenes within romance novels should take a look at how Meryl wrote out the sex scene in “Something to Talk About”!
If you haven’t picked up a copy of this book yet, I strongly urge you to order it from your local indie!
A DC Ginger Reads 