Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: Whirlwind 
AUTHOR: J.V. Speyer
PUBLISHER: JMS Books
LENGTH: 101 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 14, 2018
BLURB: Rock star Jo Avery didn’t have a choice about coming out, but ever since her ex outed her as bisexual, she’s been a proud advocate for LGBTQ+ issues. Most of her family wants nothing to do with her, but her brother has always supported her. When he gets married, he wants her in the wedding party.
The only problem? Her new sister in law is the daughter of conservative pundit and anti-LGBT warrior Sarah Tremblay. Sarah has another daughter, too, the beautiful and charming Valeria.
Valeria has been in the closet since she was fourteen. She’s always envied Jo’s strength and freedom, if not her path to living her authentic life. Soon Valeria finds herself falling for the fierce, pretty rocker, but coming out could cost her everything. How many risks can she take for someone she’ll only know for two weeks?
Can Jo and Valeria turn attraction into love, or will their whirlwind romance blow out before it gets off the ground?
REVIEW: Once rock star Jo Avery stepped into her old hometown and the awful family that came along with it, I knew this book would be a bumpy ride. It’s a story that doesn’t stray from heavy themes of dealing with conservative anti-gay family members, but through the tough stuff, there’s a believable romance.
I really like Jo as a character. She’s exactly the sort of cool, bad-ass bisexual girl you want to spend a story with. Seeing her hold her tongue for her brother’s sake is hard, but I like how we get to see her “found family” support system in her bandmates, her bodyguard, and eventually, Valeria. She’s lived a complicated life, and now she’s being thrown back into the chaos.
Though the family drama made for a riveting story, the conservative mother characters (Sarah and Nathalie) were so one-dimensionally evil that I just couldn’t understand why Jo and Valeria would tolerate them for even a second. And even though Jo’s brother Tom loves and supports her, I’d have major issues with my brother still associating with a violently homophobic mother who literally wishes her gay daughter would die in a plane crash. The hate is so strong throughout the book. Whenever she enters a room, Jo isn’t just given dirty looks or whispers—people actively hate and mistreat her for her sexuality. There’s a point where I just wished she’d stop taking the high road and kick some ass. It gets exhausting to see our awesome and talented gay ladies being mistreated for a hundred pages.
In addition to the heavy family themes, I feel like I was missing something in this story, like there was a lot of backstory I would’ve liked to read about before diving into Jo and Valeria’s romance. I wanted to know more about Jo’s band Whirlwind, their fame, and Jo’s early start as a teen rock star. I wanted to know more about Valeria’s writing career and why she still feels so tied to her incredibly homophobic and cruel family. I wanted to know more about Jo’s public outing and how it affected her relationships with her mother and brother. This is a short work, but it could’ve used a little more characterization to really get us invested in the drama.
In the end, the heart of this book is a solid romance between two women who are ready for the next step in their lives. It might be a speedy relationship, but Jo always seems good for Valeria’s confidence, and Valeria treats Jo like a normal human rather than a famous rock star. They get a lovely ending that makes up for a bit of the book’s harsh tone. We also get to see one hateful character start their path to redemption, which is always nice.
I wouldn’t categorize this as the year’s feel-good romance, but there’s definitely enjoyment in seeing Jo and Valeria get together amidst such a maelstrom of hate.
RATING: 
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