Jaine was kind enough to send me a copy of Dirty Like Us to review and, just as I knew I would, I devoured it. Jaine’s my go-to girl for really awesome characters.
Befitting a half-entry in a series, this is a novella, and I think it sets us up better for a continuation of the Maggie-Zane story than it sets us up for Jesse and Katie (still my favorite cute meet ever) despite the epilogue, which feels more forced than anything else.
But the Maggie-Zane thing? I loved it. Love the interplay between these two, love that they have a long history that’s both troubled and solid, love the sort of couple they are turning into. No forced dominance here because it’s the trendy thing. These two are on a par with each other.
The one area where I can see people having trouble with this novella is the whole, “Let’s get married to fuck with your father” idea. The joke in this instance isn’t on either Maggie or Zane, it’s on Dizzy, and he’s too clueless and self-centered to get it. I can see others complaining that this decision undermines feminism or something along those lines.
Personally, I think it’s stupid, simply because Dizzy is the sort of person who’ll never understand he’s the butt of a joke, even when someone tells him that he is.
While this is one of the harder plot points to move past, it’s also easy because it’s so clearly an excuse for Maggie and Zane. It’s convenient, it’s an out. In a way, that makes things all the more delicious.
I can’t wait for their full story. Hope Jaine’s kind enough to send me another copy because man, I am now an official fan.
