I experienced so many mixed emotions with this book!!

I’ll start with the author and her author’s note. Firstly, I love Iman! I’ve follow her on IG, watched a few podcasts with her as a guest, and instantly picked up Female Fantasy because of her author’s note. I felt so inspired by her note, where she advocates for the healing + empowerment of women & racialized folks’ sexuality through the genre of romance. It was beautiful, and I haven’t stopped reflecting on it since I first read it. It touched me, and shifted my entire perspective on the genre, and my own feelings towards romance & reading romance. Very powerful 🩷 I also appreciate Middle Eastern + Iranian representation in the romance genre and would love to see more from Iman in the future!

My appreciation for the author and her voice makes this review so hard to write because I did not enjoy this book, and I really, really wanted to.

The book takes itself way too seriously to be a satire! The FMC (and author) holds such a deep love for romance & romantasy… so why go for satire? Why write something satirical about the very genre you’re trying to get people to take seriously and respect more? The romance genre is often considered satire by the general public anyway (unfairly), and so this could have been a book that grounds romance more + illustrates the power of believing in love.

Also, I wonder if instead of writing this satire about ACOTAR (also Fourth Wing?), I’d be more interested in a satire about how the publishing industry and romance writers are recycling ACOTAR in their books, over and over and over again.

I’m assuming because it’s meant to be satire, Female Fantasy includes so many typical romance tropes (one bed, enemies(?)-to-lovers, fated mates, chosen one, kidnapping etc.). But they were written so seriously as part of Joonie & Nico’s story?! Was it supposed to be funnier / cheekier? It just didn’t read as playfully as maybe the author intended. Especially because Joonie (FMC) would then speak about how she’s learned to be resilient, resourceful, brave, etc. from romance novels (which I loved!!!). But it was very confusing because I couldn’t always tell what was meant to be satire and what was meant to be serious.

The author also positions the book as a love letter to romance readers, which was the main reason I picked up this book. But then, to have your main character stalk the person who her favourite fictional character is based on… doesn’t seem like a love letter to me… ? IS THIS THE SATIRE??? idk!!! 😩

I also didn’t like the mix of A Tale of Salt Water & Secrets at the end of each chapter. I was not invested at all in Merriah/Ryke - we were barely introduced to their characters and it all felt too rushed. What worked about ACOTAR is (spoilers for ACOTAR ahead) was the build up of trust between Feyre and Rhysand … and that just didn’t translate to Merriah and Ryke enough for me to care about their story. I thought the idea of having a romantasy novel in a romance novel was very, very creative - but I wonder if the author could have referenced passages of ATOSAS (and other fictional series) instead of including the chapters. I’d also be interested in a romantasy in the world of ATOSAS! I feel like Iman could do a really great job, and lean into her love and passion for the genre, and I think it would do her justice!

Thoughts on Nico & Joonie:

• I did not like Nico as a love interest. He was mean, and his actions towards Joonie (past and present!!!) were not excusable? I’m surprised Joonie let things go so easily? I was not bought into their romance at all
• Also, how did Nico not read ATOSAS but read allll of Joonie’s fanfic?! H U H
• Racism was a huge part of Joonie’s story and I would have liked to see the book explore more of the interracial dynamic between Nico/Joonie

And lastly - I need a spin-off with the Salty Girls plsssss!!!!! 🧜🏻‍♀️

🦩I read this book as part of the SourceBooks Summer of Swoon Quest🦩

This was my first from this author, and I really loved the writing, but unfortunately, it stopped there. The plot didn't deliver 😬 It was just... meh. Like usual, I went into this blind, and even if I don't generally read age gap, I would have still finished the book if I had been invested enough in the story or the characters. I wasn’t.

The insta-lust threw me off, and I just didn't get Feyi. It wasn't about her right/wrong choices or morality, but more about how her grief seemed to be her reason and excuse for everything. If she was hesitant in getting serious with a relationship it was because of her grief, but if she was reckless and irresponsible it was also because of her trauma. Girl, come on.

I don't know, the cover and the title were so beautiful that maybe I expected a bit "more" than a messy romance with a side of drama.