Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Oyster

SERIES:  Island Love

AUTHOR:  Fearne Hill

PUBLISHER:  self-published

LENGTH:  266 pages

RELEASE DATE:  July 11, 2024

BLURB:  

Low tides threw up all kinds of unexpected and random treasures. Wedding bands, hauls of driftwood, old bones worn smooth.

Jaded oyster fisherman, Nico La Forge, had seen them all.

Or so he believed. Until one night, a cold, bedraggled, and beautiful Éti Salvador washed up on the shore.

Nico had never been in love. Wasn’t even looking for love. With the body of a revolutionary hero and a face like the devil, Nico was the sort of guy your mother warned you to stay away from. But then, Nico had never come across anyone as extraordinary as Éti Salvador before; divebombing the emotional wasteland of his heart, shaking it like a maraca.

And, overnight, like the turning of the tides, everything changed.

Oyster is an MF queer romance.

REVIEW:

TW:  Death of a loved one from cancer.  Take care if this might hit too close to home for you.

This is such a lovely story.  I absolutely adore Fearne Hill’s writing and this is no exception.  Her beautifully conjured queer characters dealing with what life hands them are always fascinating.  Here we have a transwoman who is also a famous footballer.  She can only be her true self away from her club and Paris – in her private hideaway on an island.  When a local oyster fisherman saves her from an evening of bad decisions and a bedraggled state at low tide, she has no idea her life is about to change.  And neither does he.  Although he realizes the face is familiar, he can’t quite place it.  Until he does.  But he knows to tread lightly.  He’s concerned about the state he’s found her in and determines to make sure she is safe.

She knows that he has recognized her as her other wellknown persona – the footballer Etienne Salvador.  But here in her safe place, she is Eti.  And he recognizes her as such.  He doesn’t get her name wrong.  Or her gender and pronouns wrong.  She is ready to pay him off to keep her secret about her true self.  He’s not interested in her money – well maybe for a minute – but only as a means to an end of the current circumstances of his family life and his mother’s health.  He’s fascinated by Eti and she’s the first person he’s wanted to “date” in forever.

Eti has her own issues.  For one she has to play football as Etienne on the regular and so is living this bifurcated life.  She is a star but no one knows the real her except for Nico.  Eventually it’s noticed that Nico is not coming home and is spending more time with his girlfriend that no one has met.  He sort of hedges on what she does for the football team that she “works for” in Paris.  His friends are demanding to meet this woman who has so changed him.  For Florian and Charles, his best friend and his boyfriend get to meet her.  This goes very very well and so things get into more of a routine with their time on the island.  But things are about the change when Nico’s mother’s battle with cancer comes to its conclusion.

Nico and his family are struggling.  This sword hanging over all of them drops and they need to come together.  Eti wants to support Nico and so she does.  The grief and loss are difficult, but they are able to deal with it as a family with support from friends and loved ones.  When the whole family meets Eti, well things get even better because now Nico has all parts of his life together.  The same cannot be said for Eti though.  It’s her decision to make as to when she will be able to say the same about her live(s).

Eti is such a wonderful character and I loved the way she learned to trust Nico despite her initial misgivings.  In many ways he is a humble guy, but loving Eti and protecting her have shown him that there is more to life.  Dealing with the loss of a parent is never easy and his family has their share of tough times.  He needs Eti in a way he never considered and when he falls for her, it’s pretty fast and hard and unlike anything he’s ever felt for anyone.  Eti’s strength in living her two lives and doing what she thinks is best was heartwarming.  Considering the topic, this is a fairly low-angst read – partly because Eti comes from a privileged place which is acknowledged fully.  I absolutely loved this romance and cannot wait for the next in this series.  A truly gorgeous story and one of the best I’ve read so far this year.  Highly recommended.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon