Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: Leigh & Kirby (and the End of Everything Else)
AUTHOR: Brandon L. Summers
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
LENGTH: 188 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 20, 2017
BLURB:
When her girlfriend of four years asks Kirby to go away with her on their first adult vacation, Kirby eagerly agrees. It’s the perfect bridge between the high school life they just finished, and the lucrative jobs awaiting them—and the perfect cover to gather the pieces she needs for a machine that will stop the end of the world.
But her world-saving goal is a long-kept secret, and secrets don’t combine well with love and life—especially when danger is added to the mix.
REVIEW:
This is an incredibly fast-paced, colorful sci-fi story that never really managed to decide what kind of book it wanted to be. I was immediately drawn to Kirby, a young scientist who has come to the conclusion several times over that the world is ending in mere days, and her struggle to both stop the apocalypse and make sure her girlfriend Leigh is happy and safe. It is a good plot with plenty of potential for high-stakes drama of both the sci-fi and romantic varieties.
But this story was very scattered in tone and plot. Every single sci-fi/fantasy trope you could possibly think of (including vampires, Martians, cyberpunk, robots, dinosaurs, and zombies) makes an appearance, but they disappear quickly and are never heard from again, bearing little importance to the plot. The book often feels like a series of loosely-tied vignettes that don’t come together towards the “end of the world” plot.
At times, it was made painfully obvious the author is a man writing about lesbian women. The characters’ curves and appearances are constantly noted upon by both themselves and each other. Leigh’s wardrobe of “small shorts” is mentioned half a dozen times, even though I and probably many other women wouldn’t even know that that means (Daisy Dukes? Spankies? Spandex?). And Kirby’s constant insecurity about her body and appearance often rings false for her character, who seems single-minded on only two things: saving the world and Leigh. In no universe can I imagine a character as brainy and focused as her worried about her weight when the world is at stake.
Despite these flaws, I will admit, these two are pretty cute with each other. Their devotion and affection are apparent from the first page, and even through conflict, we never doubt their loyalty to one another. Leigh and Kirby are the ultimate “ride or die” girlfriends, and they are fiercely protective of one another, which is nice. It’s nice to read about romantic partners who actually like each other.
But the cloying, cutesy nature of their relationship could have been toned down a bit. They are constantly calling each other adorable and cute, as if they are puppies or kitties instead of women, and their romance consists mainly of snuggling, cheek-kissing, and the weird urge to “lick” each other. For two women who are dead-set on making sure everyone knows they are real adults, their relationship is startlingly G-rated. At worst, both of these characters (especially Leigh) come across more like schoolgirl anime characters who giggle and squeal their ways across situations that call for much more mature reactions.
Speaking of being adults, another big issue I had with characters is their age. Both characters are eighteen years old and have just graduated high school, only it doesn’t seem like high school to me—it seemed more like university. They are finished with internships and previously lived in dorm rooms. This is sci-fi, so of course, things could be done differently in this world. But I often wondered why they needed to be so young! It would’ve made much more sense for them to be post-college and in their early twenties. To most of us, eighteen-year-olds are still kids, so when Leigh and Kirby whine how they aren’t treated like adults, I can’t really sympathize with them. They constantly reassure each other that they’re starting their “adult lives” now, as if adulthood begins instantly at one set point. And at some points, they seem both much younger and much older, making the emphasis on age very odd.
My favorite part of this book was the ending—and I don’t mean that in a sarcastic way. Without giving any spoilers, I will say that the ending was spot-on for the plot of the story and ended on a much more mature, ambiguous note than I had expected. I was left wishing the rest of the story matched it in tone, scope, and stakes.
This isn’t a story I ever got truly invested in. The characters and plot were never truly fleshed out and I just didn’t buy Leigh and Kirby as two bad-ass women off to save the world. It didn’t work for me.
RATING: 
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