STARLIGHT AND CINNAMON

A romance blooms when a counselor helps a distressed spy at a costume party in Spears’ queer romance novel.

Daphne Redgrave has an outsize personality. She falls in love hastily and loves grand gestures, such as kidnapping a lab monkey for a beautiful vegan woman she’s never even met. Luckily, impulsive Daphne enjoys a large support network, including her big sister, Mattie; best friend Rin; and Brad and Atticus, allies at her workplace, a corporate espionage firm. At a masquerade party, Daphne feels butterflies after being talked down from a panic attack by a lovely woman costumed as Mulan. Mulan, who’s actually Cinnamon Cheung, a counselor for stressed-out tech workers, is just as taken with Daphne, who, in a moon costume, reminds Cinnamon of starlight, “All sharp, bright shards piercing the depths of night.” Unfortunately, the nascent romance derails when a home security camera reveals that just before Cinnamon got doxxed, Daphne logged onto her computer uninvited. Burned in a previous relationship and aware that the Redgrave and Cheung families are business rivals, Cinnamon suspects the worst. But Daphne isn’t ready to give up, embarking on a risky venture that she hopes will prove her innocence. In Spears’ romance, every character, even minor ones, overflows with personality. Security expert Brad is a pretend himbo who dresses up like Thor every year. Androgynous Clarissa, Daphne’s boss, had “never outgrown their ‘Matrix’ phase.” Even Coco, the kidnapped chimp, charms, “cooing…like an old woman excited to take a field trip out of the nursing home.” In Spears’ telling, San Francisco in 2015 is an exciting time and place to be. The Supreme Court is set to rule on gay marriage, and there’s an upcoming Pride parade to get excited about. Everyone parties at The Intermittent, a building in the Castro district, that’s a “a beacon of joy.” The book, lighthearted and witty, uses frothy dialogue that continually entertains (even when the characters text), yet the serious subplot of workplace and online harassment unfolds seamlessly. Best of all, the romance feels sweet and fresh.

A fizzy, original, and satisfying LGBTQ+ tale.