Lily Seabrooke and Jacqueline Ramsden release a lot of books, both together and separately, and as much as I wish I had the time to read them all, I don’t. I was keen to read this one though, because how many sapphic books do we have with a trans MC? And how many of those are written by authors who can be trusted to get it right? And if I know it’s going to be an enjoyable read, even better.

Which this book was. Our trans MC is Mackenzie Vale, a superstar but, more importantly, a sunshine of a person. Mackenzie grew up on the (fictitious) Celadon Islands and her agent has booked her for a reality TV show which, under the guise of exploring celebrities’s hometowns, tries to delve deep into their childhood and past. By her side will be Lola Barnes, a history professor, an expert on the islands, with her own secrets and zero desire to be on TV.

Not Like Before is a classic grumpy/sunshine romance, with endearing characters (of course), some past drama they’ll overcome, a pinch of present drama in the form of an ex you’ll love to hate, a lot of quips and sweet banter, and heartwarming moments. There are strange turns of phrases sometimes but so much enthusiasm in the writing that it carries you away anyway. Also, I dislike Tanya very much and I wish Mackenzie remembered her agent works for her, not the other way around.

All in all, Not Like Before is a cute, uplifting romance novel, definitely not perfect but enjoyable and heartwarming. 3.5⭐️

Read Not Like Before:

Bookshop.org

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