Perfume and Pain A Novel

A messy queer love story set in LA that sees a controversial lesbian author falling in and out of love, trying to revive her reputation.

Reading this book felt like listening to a Chappell Roan song but performed by Lana del Rey somehow. We follow a pretty unlikable millennial lesbian living in Los Angeles, who is freshly canceled and is obsessed with being obsessed. There's some lovely hommages towards lesbian pulp in this and also a lot of moments that made me chuckle. I did not particularly like the ending but I think that's entirely a preference thing.

Perfume & Pain perfectly fits into the category of "no plot, just vibes". We follow a millenial, lesbian author as she navigates toxic relationships, writer's block, drug abuse and a bordeline creepy obsession with her new mysterious neighbor. All of the characters in this book are ridiculous and say the most outragous things. They either made me laugh out of shock or made me want to sink into the floor out of second hand embarassment. If you can appreciate an unlikable main character who constantly makes extremely questionable choices, this is the book for you.