Love Detour

Lovefest #2

by Allie McDermid

Kirsty Hamilton would do anything for family, but when her mother insists she enters a dating contest to publicise their cafe, her commitment is put to the test.

Rhona Devi dreams of travelling the world. When she takes on a photography job to earn some cash, she never expects it to lead to her biggest adventure yet.

Rhona thinks she deserves a chance. Kirsty doesn’t see the point. Will they be able to meet somewhere in the middle?

Book two in the Lovefest series features a love on a time-limit romance oozing with sexual chemistry and flirtatious banter. Buy Love Detour today and see if love truly can defy the odds.

Genres: Romance, Queer, Lesbian, LGBT, Adult, Contemporary Romance, Lesbian Fiction

296 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 7, 2022

About the author

Allie McDermid is a sapphic romance author. Her debut novel, Love Charade, has been published in August 2022. Born and raised in Perth, Allie now lives in Glasgow with her ever-growing gang of cats. She is partial to a good scone.
(source: Amazon.com)

Reviews

[Amy Marsden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this as much as the first book in the series, but it was still well written with unique characters.

I really liked Rhona and think she's deserves better than Kirsty. I really didn't like Kirsty. She drags her feet and is hot and cold and leads Rhona on, and considering she's 35 the whole thing was very immature. They didn't communicate well at all. For most of the book I was hoping Rhona would just leave and find someone else. Kirsty goes into a mood and throws a fit at Rhona on their first date when Rhona says she wants to travel, and it didn't get much better from there.

Besides Kirsty though, I liked everything else. The side characters were good, and as mentioned before, so was the writing. Onto book 3!

[decklededgess · Rating 4 out of 5]

trigger warnings: sexual content, alcohol, infidelity, car accident mention, death of parent mention, pregnancy mention, theft mention, emetophobia/vomit, sexual harassment

This series has been unexpectedly delightful. I went into the Lovefest books expecting some lighthearted brain cleansers, quick reads to move on from, but I've been bingeing this series back to back and am very upset to see only three are out and I have to WAIT until December for the fourth one. Needless to say, Allie McDermid has gained another enthusiastic fan.

This book follows Rhona, an Indian-Scottish photographer, and Kirsty, a barista at her parents' coffee shop as they befriend each other and then fall in love over the course of the second Lovefest held in a suburb of Glasgow. The author has done a fantastic job of really situating the story in this small town/suburb, to the point that I was excited to revisit old haunts even though it's literally the second book in the series. It's quaint and cozy, the perfect setting for a romance, and incredibly homey.

Rhona and Kirsty are really well rounded romantic leads. Their history guides their actions and mistakes. Their chemistry is electric, the flirting is simply too damn cute, and the physical chemistry?????? hooooo boi. I also genuinely enjoyed how chaotic their situationship was. It's a sort of slow burn, sort of friends to lovers, sort of friends with benefits thing all so tightly wound together that situationship is literally the only way to describe it. Frankly that's so incredibly true to so many wlw realtionships I've witnessed irl and on tv that this just felt honest, not chaotic.

One thing that needs to be noted is that Rhona is South Asian and that doesn't really play into her character at all aside from her family and the desire to travel India. Since the author is white this seemed like the appropriate amount of culture to get. I appreciated that no lines were crossed in her characterization at least.

While a lot of the conflict in this book was lead by miscommunication, it was clearly informed by the girls' past traumas so while it wasn't fun to read it was honest to their stories. I appreciated the greater cast of friends providing these two fools with support and love and also providing me with some reprieve from their nonsense.

Overall, quite an adorable and quick read. Allie McDermid has gained another loyal reader.

[Misha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as enjoyable as the first in the series for me because of the extensive lack of communication. While I can get behind their chemistry together, the fact that neither behaves like an adult when discussing their feelings or plans throughout the book really put me off, since it seemed like the primary conflict was reasonably easy to work through one way or the other with literally one conversation. There were some reasonably funny moments and the main characters feel fleshed out, so definitely an easy read.

[Alexa Steli · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5
Definitely enjoyed this one better than the first one.

I'm glad this book doesn't have perfect characters cause it would had been boring.And maybe this book was a headache but boring it's not a word I would use to describe it.

I enjoyed their romance, I liked seeing them getting more attached to eachother, more comfortable.They definitely had chemistry, wish it wasn't mentioned so much to,it's eazy for the reader to come to that conclusion itself after a few chapters

[Kexx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good follow up, but both characters were really frustrating: just get on with it, I wanted to say, as their friends did endlessly. Fun, though, setting up the rest of the series and offshoot.

Read on Holiday

[O T · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I liked the first book enough (3.5 stars) to continue with the second book of the lovefest series. But this one was soooo painful to read. Kirsty is simply Insufferable and nothing in her's and Rhona's situationship would justify Rhona sticking around for her, and more than that, Kristy is so self centered that she truly believes everything is about her and should be on her terms! She is basically a barista in her parents' cafe and still convinced that Rhona needs to drop everything and live in her hometown. I really, for the life of me, could not see the connection between these two, Rhona is a wonderful woman and she deserves so much better than Kristy. Also, I personally don't like the slow burn romance trope, it's always unrealistically slow and this one is no different. It's 2.5 stars for me

[Ell Gignac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love me a good sequel. Truly. I love romances where you get little hints of the other characters. It’s like those stories when you’re really invested in a side character’s relationship more than the main one. And then the sequel just says “guess whaaaaaat!” I mean that isn’t the case for this one at all but I felt like talking about it anyway.

Anyway, this is a very well written book. Lots of anxious tension and pining and silliness, all the good stuffs you hope for in a lesbian romance. The sapphics love to complicate everything (myself included) and these are by no means an exception. Absolutely everything about this couple is complex and difficult and love conquers all and I can’t help but love that. You got me, I’m a damn sap. And this is a damn good book.

-Ell

[Alison Hine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good writing but...

I've read three books in this series now, and I've had pretty much the same reaction to all of them. The writing is good, as is the editing, but for reasons that I find it difficult to explain, I just don't find them engaging. In this story, a world traveler meets a Glasgow homebody and they instantly fall in love. But then they dither endlessly about whether they can make a relationship work. It's frustrating rather than exciting.

Still, the writing is good, and I wish the author well. Maybe I'll check out the latest book in the series and see if she's found a way to ramp up the dramatic tension.

[Kymbe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right place wrong time

What happens when you find that special someone but your dreams play into their fears? Kristy and Rhona meet at Love fest and have a connection worth exploring. Unfortunately, there's an expiration date on the romance and they have to decide if love is worth the risk. The author once again brings to life a cast of characters that you want to get to know. The supporting characters are weaved into the plot in a way that doesn't detract from the main storyline.

[Clara Addicted to sapphic books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 2 and i have the feeling Allie McDermid is the queen of miscommunication, at a point that even I had trouble understanding Rhona,what she wanted and her priorities. I put myself Kirsty shoes  and i wanted to protect her so bad.
Kirsty's queer crew brings a good dose of friendship with “a L word vibe“, which is really nice. I also loved the sisterhood between Dani and Kirsty.The slow burn is definitely there, chemistry too and some steamy scenes.I may like this one less than the two other book of the serie because like i said,  miscommunication was a little too strong for me but I still had a good time reading it.

[Doug Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kirsty and Rhona meet during Lovefest though their relationship only begins to develop after the conclusion of the event. Each brings baggage leaving them more than a little skittish to embark on anything serious. While this is understandable, the dithering does begin to try the reader's patience after a certain point. Fortunately, there is a very good secondary cast to help move things along and the couple do eventually achieve their HEA.

[Chelles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Detour ❤️

Wow- talk about a slow burn! Rhona and Kirsty meet and then skirt around each other for 3 months! They are definitely the most "will they, won't they" couple I've ever read. But that's the brilliance of it... because when things happen, it's fireworks! 💥 The two have chemistry, but their communication sucks! It made for a good, sweet romance, though.

And l have to know what's up with Dani and Ashley! Arrrggghhh!

[alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sassy and cute

I enjoyed the author's first book in The Love Fest series but the second one I absolutely fell in love with. The MC is perf and the expansion of a larger friend group made the story much more interesting. I love the diversity of characters and the banter in dialogue. Excited for Dani's story in the upcoming book!

[Toni LibraLover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patience is vastly overrated 🤔

A fun story of two people who simply cannot make up their minds about where the future resides.
A cute continuation of the Lovefest series.
If you enjoy the concept, this one will easily lead you into number three.
Enjoy.

[Patricia Livers · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, but too much like her first book.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed it less than the first

[Eliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story full of miscommunications, drama and angst with a very slow burn romance.

[Gemma Dornan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this a 3 and a half! Loved the character of Rona but I found Kirsty incredibly childish and unlikable

[K D · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the large number of minor characters confusing.

[Brianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can confirm, you will fall in love with Rhona! She is one of my favorite characters of the Lovefest series.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second book in the Lovefest series and I much preferred this one to the first book! Enjoyed the characters a lot more aswell as the side characters.