Lou’s Review: Vintage and Vogue, by Kelly & Tana Fireside

Vintage and Vogue is a sizzling hot Small Town romance co-written by Kelly & Tana Fireside. This is the first book from these authors – and a very respectable debut. Fittingly, I read this novel on my journey to London for the Romantic Novelists’ Association conference. And it certainly brought colour to the trip!

Hazel Butler moved back to Owen Station when her mum got sick, and never left. Though her parents are gone she upholds their legacy by working tirelessly to preserve her hometown’s history. Hazel’s happy as the town’s librarian, taking care of Owen Station’s archive and sharing its materials with people keen to learn more. And she loves her friends dearly, being blessed with a chosen family. But secretly Hazel worries about being stuck in a rut. Until Owen Station’s newest arrival threatens to change everything Hazel values about her community. Then Hazel’s commitment to the past stands in the way of her future.

Though Sena Abrigo’s the sharpest of her siblings, their father’s determined to pass his tech empire on to a male heir. So she packs up her Louboutins and ambition, moving to Owen Station. Sena has big plans for the town’s cheap real estate and abandoned copper mine, envisioning a new Silicone Valley. And Sena’s plans don’t stop at the professional – she wants Hazel from the moment they meet. But Hazel’s fierce opposition to her futuristic goals puts a spanner in the works. And sparks fly every time they clash.

Vintage and Vogue absolutely nails the Opposites Attract trope. Hazel’s a luddite librarian who raids her grandmother’s wardrobe – even her style reflects her strong commitment to tradition. Whereas cosmopolitan Sena is up to date with the latest fashions and fully embraces change. Hazel worries that Sena’s development will see locals priced out; their heritage lost. But Sena sees only the benefits of bringing new jobs to a struggling local economy, and is determined to bring Owen Station fully into the modern day.

There are layers of conflict between our leading ladies, heightened by their differences in personality and belief. As a result, there’s crackling sexual tension and a compelling story. It also raises interesting thematic questions about the cost of gentrification – and the way people perceived as outsiders are treated in small, hermetic communities.

It would have been very easy to make Sena into the villain here – a corporate nightmare who needs love to blunt her ambition and show the error of her ways. I’ve seen enough heterosexual romantic comedies to be wary of that trope. But Vintage and Vogue is much more nuanced than Hollywood when it comes to characterising career-oriented female characters. After all the discrimination she’s experienced – including from her own family – Sena wants to change bro culture in tech. Her core aims involve challenging the industry’s racism and sexism.

Sena cares deeply about inclusion, which manifests repeatedly in who she hires and prioritises within her company. She isn’t someone who pays lip service to “diversity”, but instead someone who uses her money and influence to remove barriers for minoritized people in her field. And it’s very hard not to like that about her – though Hazel’s determined to try!

Unfortunately, while I love the Opposites Attract element of their dynamic, the rest of Hazel and Sena’s relationship didn’t entirely work for me. I felt the sexual connection… but not the emotional one. Sena opened up way too quickly about her past – in her very first scene with Hazel – for the reader to feel the emotional impact of later claims that she never shares this part of her life with others; that what she shares with Hazel is unique. They fall in love almost instantly, with very little to base those feelings on. Perhaps I’m jaded, but Instalove is so easily won that it doesn’t feel particularly valuable.

There’s also a lot of crying. Characters crying in the street, crying themselves to sleep, crying over arguments. These are adult women in their thirties. Women who have known loss, hardship, loneliness – and found ways of enduring. And the melodrama of all that crying compromised realism, making me feel less instead of more. Sena is framed as strong and self-sufficient, which doesn’t exactly fit with the relentless tears. Subtler ways of showing characters’ pain and frustration would have worked better.

Also, Vintage and Vogue has another significant problem. The book opens with an intriguing hook: two thwarted lovers who perform a ritual so that they can be together in a future life. That element of magical realism is a big part of what drew me into this story. But, after that brief prologue, it’s absent for the vast majority of the novel. And I didn’t find the resolution of this subplot to be particularly satisfying. It was obvious from the beginning where this was going, and a sense of mystery would have made the story more engaging throughout.

That being said, Vintage and Vogue has real charm as a novel. I adore the side-characters – especially Lace, who married Hazel’s best friend only to realise that she’s a lesbian. This dynamic is absolutely fascinating. Lace steals every scene she’s in. Plus, the fact she runs a sex toy shop in a small town is massively entertaining (if not entirely realistic).

I was thrilled to learn that Lace gets a love story of her own in the next Owen Station book, and look forward to seeing how Kelly & Tana Fireside will continue to develop as writers. Their style is consistent throughout, which is even more impressive for a first book and a co-write. It’s obvious Kelly and Tana are in sync with each other – according to their website, they’ve been best friends for 25 years and happily married for 16. That closeness pays dividends, as these authors have created a seamless story here.

Copy received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.