Best friends all their lives, Bettina and Bart are both queer, so they decide getting married makes their lives easier and allows them to pursue other relationships alongside. Of course, things don't go quite that smoothly. My overall impression was this book had a great idea at its heart, but it didn't quite deliver on it, and the last third seemed a bit rushed. ( )

In The Inverts, we see the lives of Bart and Bettina, two childhood friends who enter into a Lavender marriage and live a decadent lifestyle full of drink, drugs and affairs.

This is an absolute train wreck in slow motion, and I have to say that I am completely here for that. We know that something bad is going to happen because we're told at the beginning of the book, and then after that the whole story is building up to that moment. I'm keeping it vague to avoid spoilers, but there was definite tension as I waited to see how things were going to go down, which I really liked.

About the characters. Well, everyone in this book is absolutely awful. There were pretty much no characters that I liked, and it felt a bit like watching soaps or reality TV. I did feel for the main characters at times, but most of the time I just really didn't like them, and felt they were kind of getting what they deserved. Or, at times when things seemed to be going alright, that they were getting more than they deserved.

The book has a great sense of atmosphere, and the place and time came across really well. However, the plot dragged a little at times, and then ended rather abruptly. I did enjoy the book, although I did need to read something with nicer characters afterwards!

3.5 stars. ( )

https://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2021/02/2021023-inverts-crystal-jeans.html ( )