I won a signed copy of The Hues of Me and You on Twitter during a giveaway before the life-got-busy-saga™. I packed it up in my travel bag and off to Gatlinburg we went! Unfortunately, I was unable to finish the book during that trip. In fact, I didn’t finish it until February 2nd!
Life has been quite busy, couldn’t you tell?
The Hues of Me and You is a second-chance romance between former college roommates Arlette Adair and Brooke Dawson. Arlette was raised in a well-to-do family whose prominence is most noted in the military and politics. For as long as she can remember, she’s been forced to live the life they wanted. Everything, even down to her relationships, were pre-decided. Brooke Dawson has always been her polar opposite, marching to the beat of her own drum and chasing her dreams with an enviable tenacity. Their could-have-been story ended in the last few weeks of their college career, and subsequently, ended their friendship. Years have passed and, somehow, the fates have decided to bring their paths together once again. Arlette is forced to question whether she’ll stay on the path her family laid out for her, or chase her bliss with someone who, by all rights, should want nothing to do with her anymore.
From the first page on, we are treated to beautiful characterization. Each character—main and side alike—have their own voice. Too often (particularly in the romance genre) side characters have the supplemental “means to an end” sort of “vibe” about them. Miller took time in fleshing them out, giving them small idiosyncrasies that made them feel just as real and significant as our main characters. I loved getting to know Arlette and Brooke. Watching them come back together after years of separation was incredibly sweet and quite gratifying to me, as a reader.
I will admit that I wasn’t grabbed by this story at first. The first chapter felt a tad overwritten, falling into “info dump” territory. I was honestly startled by how little time had passed when I looked at the clock after reading the introductory scenes. There it was, barely a half hour since I sat down to read, and already I felt like it had to be three in the morning. All that to say, it dragged. I feel like it could easily be remedied with a bit more fine-tuning with a red pen.
After getting over the initial hurdle, I was pleased to see that the pacing picked up. There were a few more pockets of info-dumping and repetition that made this book feel a bit arduous at times. If I wasn’t so obsessed with the rekindled friendship (and romance) between Arlette and Brooke, I don’t know that I would have finished it.
I am happy that I took the time to finish reading this story. I loved all of the characters and the overarching theme of returning to where one’s heart truly felt at home. I felt for Arlette and her constant fear of disappointing her family. I rooted for her as she learned to stick up for herself and chase her own bliss. I also found myself rooting for Brooke, relieved and ecstatic to see her start to kick her imposter syndrome in the ass.
Overall, I feel like The Hues of Me and You is a truly special book that definitely should be on your TBR if you love friends-to-lovers/second-chance sapphic romances. This is my first read by Morgan Lee Miller and I definitely think I’ll be picking up more books from her in the future!
You can find Morgan Lee Miller: Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter, and her website.
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Ivy Whitaker 