This is a hard book to review because there were a few elements that didn’t work for me, but I don’t think they’d stop other readers from loving Second Night Stand. But before I dig into everything I adored about this book, and how everything I didn’t like is my own fault, let’s describe the plot.
Lillian is the aloof dance master of a Very Serious™ ballet company on the brink of disaster. Her backers are threatening to stop funding unless the dancers win a reality tv dance competition. Caught up in her fears for the future, she has a one night stand with a charismatic woman named Blue the night of the audition. Lillian’s absolutely sure she’ll never see her again. So, of course, her hookup shows up a few weeks later as one of her fellow competitors on the Great American Talent Show.
Izzy is the leader of a body positive burlesque troupe in Portland, Oregon, the filming location for the Great American Talent Show. She goes by her confident stage persona, Blue, when she needs to seduce women like Lillian, or go out in Portland, or hang out with her dancers, or…well, pretty much all of the time. No one sees the vulnerable woman underneath except for the haughty ballet dancer she’s now pining after, who also happens to be her troupe’s toughest competition on this trainwreck of a reality show.
At the start of Second Night Stand, Lillian and Izzy both feel lonely and unknown, even though they’re surrounded by dancers who rely on them. When they meet as strangers at a bar, Lillian is brutally clear about what she wants:
“After we have sex, I’m going to ask you to leave. I don’t cuddle. I’m never going to buy a second bedside table. Not with anyone.”
Will Lillian change her mind and decide she wants that second bedside table with Izzy?
Problem #1: It took me several chapters to warm up to Izzy. When she first meets Lillian she introduces herself as Blue Lennox, her alter ego stage personality, and they both try to out-flirt the other:
“After tonight you’ll—” Lillian whispered.
At the same moment Blue whispered, “I’m going to—”
Blue pulled back, her arms looped around Lillian’s waist.
Lillian laughed. “How were you going to finish that sentence. I’m going to…?”
Blue studied her, pulling their hips closer together casually, as though the press of their bodies didn’t make Lillian ache like a new flower pushing at the sepal that held it closed.
“Give you everything you’ve ever wanted?” Blue offered, in her sultry voice.
It did sound like her Sultry Voice, and it still turned Lillian on.
“How do you know you’re not getting in too deep?” Lillian asked. “What if I want something bizarre?” Lillian gave Blue a quick peck on the lips to show that she was teasing.
Blue relaxed with a dramatic sigh. “I can’t say, I’m going to give you the best semi-anonymous sex you can have with someone who doesn’t know anything about your body.”
“That does ruin the mood,” Lillian said, pulling Blue’s sweatshirt off her shoulders.
“Does it really?” Blue asked, her voice rough.
“No.”
“And how were you going to finish after tonight you’ll…?” Blue asked.
“I don’t know,” Lillian murmured. “You’ll be ruined for all others?”
Blue is more than a stage name, she’s a persona that Izzy consciously slips in and out of, often within the same conversation in an effort to hide her vulnerabilities. Blue Lennox loves talking about sex and wears corsets every time she leaves the house. She is charismatic and irrepressibly confident. In contrast, Izzy likes sweats, works too much, and worries about being liked.
I found it disorientating when Izzy, as Blue, would suddenly spout bombastic platitudes in private moments with her friends or with Lillian. When her best friend asks Blue how she’s going to pay for the rundown theater, Izzy doesn’t want to admit that she needs the competition prize money so she lets Blue explain that everything will be fine.
Izzy refers to Blue Lennox in the third person, but it was hard to tell where Blue stopped and Izzy began. This made it harder for me to get a handle on who Izzy was, and why she was a good fit for Lillian. I particularly disliked the slipperiness of Izzy’s personality in intimate moments, like flirting and sex. It’s hard to get to know a character who isn’t being herself.
Izzy is a lonely character, because she hates that people only know her as Blue. Even guarded Lillian has a cousin who knows her well. But Izzy seemed to have no one who she could be fully herself around. Her closest friends know her as Blue and Izzy struggles to share her true feelings with them. This was all giving me shades of undercover spy stories, which are my least favorite type of mysteries.
But Lillian loves Blue’s swagger, even as she occasionally asks her to “drop the act.” Lillian continues to exclusively think of her lover as Blue for the first half of the book, including most of the sex scenes. This made it hard for me to sink into the emotions of those scenes, because who exactly is Lillian fucking here:
“Blue followed her into the cottage. Lillian meant to control their kiss, to tease Blue, and to break her with pleasure. But as soon as they were inside, Blue pressed her against the wall where Lillian had pinned Blue earlier. Blue leaned her whole body against Lillian’s, every inch of her softness touching Lillian. Lillian clutched Blue so fervently she felt all of Blue all at once, her hands pulling Blue closer, her mouth open for Blue’s kiss. She needed Blue. She’d waited too long. She needed to give in now.”
I didn’t really believe in Izzy and Lillian as a couple until Izzy tells Lillian her real name, about halfway into the book. Ultimately, I liked seeing Izzy learn to integrate the different parts of herself and be more honest with the people around her. I’m glad I powered through. I think readers who are interested in watching characters unmask themselves may enjoy Izzy’s trajectory more than I did.
Problem #2: The reality tv setting felt like an afterthought.
Most of the book takes place during the tv show’s production but little time was spent rehearsing, performing, or giving interviews. Instead, Lillian and Izzy’s groups were mostly filmed during downtime with other teams. These scenes were sometimes funny, but I would have loved to meet the other dance troupes competing or read more about the dance choreography. For example, Lillian’s company’s first performance was described only as a ballet with lots of light effects. The burlesque routine descriptions sometimes felt flat.
The tension between the narrative the reality tv show is trying to promote, and the main characters’ actual experience, is my favorite part of reality tv romances. I missed that in Second Night Stand, because most of the time I couldn’t understand how the show was structured or what the producers were thinking. I was lost, which meant it was hard for me to understand if Izzy and Lillian were slacking off, sneaking around, or wisely using their offtime for kissing.
At one point all the contestants are bussed to a beach to fly kites while wearing outerwear made by one of the show’s sponsors, and later spend multiple days hanging out together on an unfilmed break. Why? This is such a weird show! It was distracting trying to figure out how this confusing shooting schedule might affect Lillian and Izzy. However, readers who are happy to let the competition fade into the background are likely to have an easier time than I did.
Problem #3: I love a slow burn, but Lillian and Izzy are drawn to each other from their first meeting, and it doesn’t take them long to get out of their own way and start spending most of their free time together. With few romantic obstacles left to overcome, I found the second half of the book a bit slow. However, I think readers who like instalove may appreciate Izzy and Lillian’s dynamic.
Now that I’ve gotten my frustrations out of the way, I want to gush about the many things I liked about this book.
First, I was looking for a relaxing read, and Second Night Stand let me savor Izzy and Lillian’s obsession with one another, meeting up after filming, and learning to trust that their feelings were real. Neither have experienced a functional adult relationship before and they were adorable taking those baby steps together. Plus there are so many meddling dancers and friends who help shepherd the couple over any minor bumps.
I also loved seeing Lillian let go of her chilly demeanor and perfectionism. I love a melting ice queen! One of the major themes in Second Night Stand was learning to connect with your people and let yourself be loved. The chosen family vibes were excellent.
Izzy and Lillian are a mixed-weight couple–Izzy is shorter and round, Lillian is tall and muscular. These two love worshiping each other’s bodies through many sex scenes. I appreciated how Second Night Stand acknowledged the physical differences between them while allowing both characters to love their own bodies.
Part of why this book is relaxing is how some of the main characters’ stressors are neatly resolved with minimal fuss. One of the things I enjoy about Stetz-Waters’ books is her talent for emotional misdirection by resolving conflicts in unexpected ways. At the start of the book, Lillian’s whole identity is tied up in her work, and she enters the competition without admitting to anyone that the dance company is at risk. This omission weighs on her throughout the book but is ultimately solved neatly and off-page. This is just one of the ways this book encouraged me to focus on Lillian and Izzy’s budding romance, not the drama swirling around them.
One final note—despite the cheerful cover, readers sensitive to terrible parenting should know this book has double mama drama. Izzy was raised by an aspiring singer who neglected her as a child and abandoned her as a teenager for a new life with Izzy’s stepfather and half sister. Her mother has shown little interest in Izzy’s life since. When she resurfaces after Izzy is cast on a reality show, Izzy struggles not to fall into the habit of craving her approval.
Meanwhile, Lillian’s stage mother is awful in a different way. A former prime ballerina who excelled when few Black ballet dancers existed, she demands exacting perfection from Lillian in all areas of her life. Her dictates, like “relaxation is distraction, and distraction is the first step to failure” have turned Lillian into someone who prizes emotional control and struggles to connect to others. She forced her daughter to break up with her first girlfriend and Lillian hasn’t felt comfortable having a relationship since. Yet, she also fights for opportunities for Lillian when she is discriminated against by the dance industry.
Izzy and Lillian’s journeys to healing from being hurt by their mothers echo one another, because both have mothers who struggle to communicate their love openly. Lillian’s mother is an especially nuanced character that may feel familiar for those of us with demanding moms of color. The resolutions of Lillian and Izzy’s relationships with their mothers was a quiet one, without the catharsis of a big argument or boundary setting. I was ultimately satisfied with the ending, but readers looking for a significant relationship reset may be disappointed.
As a queer Black woman, I felt very seen by this book’s portrayal of the pressures on Black women working in mostly White fields. My favorite part of Second Night Stand was seeing Lillian shift from a tightly wound perfectionist who was terrified of making a mistake, to a confident woman willing to jump into a relationship with Izzy, even though she had no idea what the outcome would be.
Ultimately, this is a steamy sapphic romance where the love story easily overshadows the reality tv competition. Both heroines start the book feeling afraid other people will see their flaws, and I loved the themes of healing, being loved for your true self, not making work your whole life, and finding a new path to happiness. I admit, I had trouble getting to know Izzy. Her reliance on her alter ego felt like what would happen if Beyoncé referred to herself as Sasha Fierce 90% of the time. But readers who like ice queen heroines, meddling friend groups who keep pushing couples together, and couples who help one another grow and heal, may enjoy Second Night Stand.