Queenie is a book I've wanted to read for ages, but hardbacks are just so damn expensive. I eventually caved and downloaded this on my kindle earlier this year and really loved it. I only wish I'd read it sooner.
Queenie's a Black woman living in London who's 'on a break' with her boyfriend, wanting to believe it's just temporary. In the meantime, she's trying to put a brave face on things at work and with her family, concealing as much as possible how tough she's finding getting out of a long term relationship with a man she really does still love. She starts hooking up with new men to make herself feel better, but despite their obvious attraction to her, the short lived relationships get more and more hazardous and less to do with any kind of affection. Eventually Queenie realises she needs to accept some cold truths and face the fact that things aren't as okay as she's suggesting.
This is a really important book in my opinion. Not only are there feminist overtones throughout, questioning how men perceive woman, expectations (sexual and otherwise), careers etc, but misogynoir is addressed throughout. The whole book is specifically about what it's like to be a Black woman, discussing fetishisation, cultural expectations from older relatives, hair and hair care, and racism in a variety of difference settings. Carty-Williams discusses mental health and sexuality in depth, and I can't think of a single other book where this is at the forefront of a novel about a Black woman.
It's an invigorating read and something I really feel ought to be read by any fans of romance novels, though it does come with a trigger warning for sexual assault.
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