I love a book club. It’s so rare outside of them that we’re all reading the same books at the same time, and talking about books is one of my favorite things. At one point I was in three different book clubs, trying to juggle all the books and their deadlines. That may have been a tad excessive.
We moved to virtual discussions during the lockdown phase of the pandemic, but real discussions were harder to have over Zoom, and only one of the book clubs survived. But with the pandemic, I discovered more ways to talk with people about books through online discussions, and when I saw a post for the SapphFic Book Club where the authors would attend to chat and answer questions, of course I signed up to read The AM Show by TB Markinson and Miranda MacLeod.
I’d seen T.B. Markinson’s books often on the Amazon lesbian romance charts, and I’d listened to the Lesbians Who Write podcast she co-hosts, but somehow had not yet managed to read one of her books. This was a good place to start.
The AM Show centers on two women working in the morning news field. Amanda Morgan works on the most popular morning show in the country, The AM Show (essentially Good Morning America). In her early 40’s and at the top of her professional game, she’s been fending off management hoping to replace her with someone younger and dealing with an untalented, nepotism-hire co-host. Dakota Washington’s career is just getting started, covering the agricultural news on a very early morning show.
When they have a one-night fling, they think that’s all it’s going to be, until Dakota’s star starts to rise. Now forced to work together on the same network, Amanda has to decide if Dakota is a threat or if she wants to help guide the way. Of course, the network’s policy bans any sort of romantic relationship between them, but they can’t ignore how they feel.
I love a good love story that doesn’t hinge on constant miscommunications to cause tension, and this book does it well. The things that threaten to keep the two women apart are believable, as is the way they grow to care for each other throughout the book. There’s also a fun mystery that comes in toward the end that I thought was a nice touch. I appreciated the book not shying away from the difficulties women face in a business that constantly wants younger, fresher faces, and where most of the major decisions get to be made by a board room full of men.
Overall, highly recommended if you’re looking for a light and positive romance with good chemistry, and really, who isn’t?
