Low Key Love

by Cheri Ritz

Frankie Malone is out and proud. She works at an animal shelter, volunteers at a local LGBTQ youth center, and helps out at her favorite café. But even with all that personal fulfillment, it seems like something’s missing in her life. When one of the shelter cats makes a run for it, Frankie bumps into the woman who might just change her world.

If Lily Lancaster can keep up the perfect image her manager has crafted for her, she could be the next big thing in country music—even if it means wearing just the right clothes, singing just the right songs, and being seen with just the right people. Hiding her true self seems like a small price to pay for making her dream come true.

But when Lily scores a gig in Las Vegas during Rodeo Week she meets free-spirited Frankie—who turns her whole idea of a perfect world upside down.

Genres: Romance

192 pages, Paperback

Published April 19, 2022

About the author

Cheri Ritz loves a good romance novel so much that she decided to write one of her own! She enjoys attending her sons’ many activities, volunteering with a local LGBT film festival, and spending cozy weekends marathoning TV shows. She lives in a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her wife, three sons, and the sweetest cat in the world.

Reviews

[pipsqueakreviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Country singer romance.

This book is written in the same universe as Cheri Ritz's earlier book, Love's No Joke but both books can be read as a standalone. I found this book easy to read and finish. It wasn't boring to me perhaps because celebrity romances are my jam and I didn't dislike the romance drama.

But I had issues with originality. In all honesty, a closeted celebrity having to keep her love life a secret is a storyline that's overused, and it takes a bit more these days to make such a story work. Furthermore, it is also an instalust /instalove story that makes the whole romance less believable, especially in the way Frankie and Lily meet and how quickly they develop feelings for each other.

At this point, I'm also unsure if it's still relevant for celebrities to hide in the closet anymore to save their career, even for country music singers. I'm sure it was difficult years ago, but I believe we're past that now and with every other celebrity identifying as queer these days, coming out is not even a novelty anymore.

I received an ARC from Bella Books through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Jo reece · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I read the blurb for ‘low key love’, I thought it was very promising. The first chapter had me wondering if this book was in a series, as everything just seemed to happen within minutes/days of the main characters meeting etc. maybe there was a build-up of these two characters in a previous story. The story (in my personal opinion ) felt rushed, it was rather a short story too. All in all, I was left slightly disappointed. I like slow burn romance, nothing rushed, this book just wasn't for me.

I've given ‘low key love’ a 2.5/5

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think this is officially part of a series, at least I haven't seen it listed anywhere, but this book tells the story of a person in a friend group that we met in Ritz's Love's No Joke.

Negative Nancy Mara, who is the main in Love's No Joke is a secondary character in this book and she gets on my nerves like no other character. This book tells the instalust story of Frankie and Lily. They have two chance meetings and that leads to a hot and heavy night. Lily is an up-and-coming country star in a fake relationship with her rodeoing gay BFF. Both stuck in the closet by an awful human of a manager. Frankie has no idea who Lily is, which she finds refreshing. Mara is very negative about all that goes on, in true form for a comedian in my experience, they tend to be only funny when on stage. Frankie is overwhelmed by her job at the animal shelter and enamoured by Lily, she doesn't see anything going wrong until it's right in front of her face. Even when something is fake it can still hurt.

Anyway, this book is just a little boring and not for me. Instalust that turns into instalove, not my cup of tea. If I would have known it was part of this not series series I would have skipped it, mostly because I didn't like Mara and how her story played out either. It was an easy read and gave some light entertainment, but my overall feeling is just boredom. Please read other reviews.

*ARC received in exchange for a voluntary and honest review*

[Ashlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute read but a little too insta love for me. Frankie meets Lily, not knowing that Lily is a country singer, and over the course of a couple of days the two find themselves with some feelings for each other. Lily’s career though is an issue since she isn’t out and her agent is pushing her to keep the truth a secret. Their story is a little too formulaic for me and it was bit too easy to guess what happens next. The characters were cute but the agent comes off as you’d expect and there were really no surprises, good or bad, in this book.

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frankie Malone manages the Las Vegas (Clark Country) animal shelter. In her spare time she works with LGBTQ youth and meets her friends at Cafe Gato, their favorite diner. A runaway cat leads her to a chance encounter with beautiful woman who she later rescues from a drunk at a local casino. Lily Lancaster is an up and coming country western singing. She is genuinely thrilled that Frankie doesn’t know she is famous. She is in town for Rodeo Week and for her own concert at the end of it. Her manager has her in a fake romance with a rodeo rider, a life long friend, who also happens to be gay. Being out could stall her career. Lily is happily spending time with Frankie but when even innocent outings hit the tabloid press the manager insists on showcasing the fake relationship. It makes it difficult to start a relationship.

I read the author's Love’s No Joke last year whose main characters are part of Frankie’s world and friend set. (It isn’t listed as a series on Amazon or Goodreads.) The friend group is supportive and fun and I quickly fell back into their world. Frankie and Lily are equally likable and I can understand the dilemma they face. I thought it strange that Lily choose to go to an LGBTQ dance if she is trying to be incognito. But it was more odd to me that Lily doesn’t tell Frankie about her neighbors grandson who outed them on social media. Minor quibbles in what is a light and easy read. You know what the angst issue is going to be about. I was more annoyed at the gay rodeo friend for using her to further his career than I was at the manager because of their long friendship. I like that the author adds some personal angst for Frankie is trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life regardless of whether she is in a relationship.

I recommend this as a quick and easy romance. It has good heat as well. I enjoyed this book story-wise than the other book I mentioned. Thank you to NetGalley and Bella Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. (3.5 stars)

[soph · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. I was interested in this book because it was a sapphic romance with cats (!!!) but what I got was insta love, a singer forced to hide her sexuality by her manager and a fake straight romance to hide that fact. And when we got a very big misunderstanding that lasted for quite a bit that could have been easily resolved with just a simple conversation... That is simply not a story I want to read.

[Teddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good premise but I struggled all the way through this one. It felt forced, I didn’t believe the romance and it was too cliche. Their relationship seemed too intense given the timeline and unrealistic. I also felt that Lily was the primary protagonist, not Frankie. I think focusing on her would have enriched the story. The group of friends was fun, and there’s plenty to work with there if Ritz wants to make it a series.

Short Summary: Lily is a country music star on her way to the top as long as she stays in the closet. But when she falls for Frankie, an openly gay woman with a circle of gay friends in Vegas, Lily questions whether she’s on the right path.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bella Books. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

[Silvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frankie works for an animal shelter and while chasing a runaway cat she bumps into Lily. Lily is a closeted country music singer in a fake relationship with her gay best friend. After their brief encounter they meet again accidentally and so their story begins. I have a few questions about certain parts, this best friend who seems to do everything to sabotage Lily’s relationship with Frankie, going to a LGBT event while deeply closeted and not addressing the neighbour kid post on social media.
Quick and easy romance with little angst for a chilled afternoon, I rate it 3.5 stars.

[Domi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light read about out and proud lesbian Frankie and in the closet country singer Lily who meet during Lily's 2 week stay in Vegas. The book features the manager that doesn't want her star to be out, a fake straight romance and you can basically fill in the plot right now. It's not a very original storyline and on top of that it's instalust going to instalove. A nice interlude when you're looking for an easy read without setting your expectations too high.

This review is based on an ARC

[Erica Palmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really really wanted to love this book. I loved the synopsis and the ideas and concept. But I hate the trope of insta love, and this very much felt like that while I read it. I also love tropes and think they exist for reasons, but this book felt so heavily trope paced that it made it difficult to actually get into the characters and the plot. It was a light read, and I did like the concepts of the story, but I felt very disconnected and very much like I was reading a book throughout it.

[Stacey Antonucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a quick read. It has story lines that most of us can relate to… struggling with our sexuality in order to “fit in” or be accepted by the masses, a romance that starts faster than you ever expected, or the friends who are there by your side through it all. Well written and overall good read!

[Vita L. Licari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, I love this book! Frankie is an out and proud lesbian living in Las Vegas. She literally bumps into Lily, an up and coming country singer, who's in the closet. But the pull is there. But Lily's manager wants to keep her in the closet. Is the pull to Frankie strong enough? This is a fantastic coming out love story! 5 stars!

[Bee Sherrard · Rating 2 out of 5]

I made it to Chapter six. I know many others will love this book but I just didn’t like either of the main characters. Hate giving a bad review so please read other reviews where this book might have received a better review.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bella Books