Her Golden Coast: Will these emotional opposites find their forever?

What drives people to be in relationships that don’t work? And how do those choices keep us from getting into relationships that do? Those are the two most powerful questions posed in Deracine’s latest novel about two women and their experiences of love as they start their adult lives. So much of romantic queer literature assumes characters know their orientation slowly then suddenly and all at once, with the remainder of the novel a question about whether their world accepts them. The protagonists in this novel have lives with many more fears — abandonment, defensiveness, financial ruin — that collide with a bisexual self-understanding that evolves over many years. The context of our action — the tech wealth boom of the early 2010s — enables much of the action but simultaneously shows us how sudden success does not simply translate into relationship fulfillment. Deracine’s breezy, readable prose shows us that love is not linear and neither is orientation, confidence can be used to disguise vulnerability, and dysfunctional relationships are sometimes exactly what avoidant people want. As a gay man, I’m not the target for this book, but I did find her characterization of straight men funny and fresh. The men of HGC are callous, tone-deaf, still earnest but ultimately unable to access the inner lives of the women they are with, and worthy of the light humor pointed their way. I laughed out loud at the observation that there are some men whose SciFi obsessions mask their…

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌶️ Low-ish Spice Slow to Medium Paced Character Driven F/F Romance is slowww to get to (and ultimately not the main focus of the book) Content warnings at the bottom 👇🏻 Admittedly, at the beginning of the book I found myself confused by all the tech jargon. I do not work in a tech field, so I was concerned this lack of knowledge on my part would affect my ability to appreciate this book. I stuck it out though, and I ended up enjoying Her Golden Coast quite a bit. I felt the main character, Laurie, was detached from the narration for the majority of the book. She was there, but she wasn’t there. With the rest of the content of this book, I found this worked well with the plot. That combined with my tech ineptitude meant I felt more in Laurie’s shoes than I would have thought. At the beginning, I really appreciated and admired Mal. I even wrote in my reading journal “I wish I was more like Mal” since I related more to Laurie. But seeing Laurie’s journey, I was ultimately more inspired by her and hopeful toward my own journey. Also, all the men in this book are absolutely insufferable, truly. Also also, I felt nostalgic for that time period (the 2000s) while reading, which is always a bonus for me! Overall, I recommend for those who enjoy character driven novels and don’t mine low-spice, low-romance. Bonus if you are interested in the San Fran tech scene during the 2000s.

As much as it pains me to consider this historical fiction, since it's set at this weird turn of the century boom in Silicon Valley, a time of techbros and startups being so rampant, I must admit that as much as I dislike it, the 2000s are indeed a time of historical fiction. It's hard for me to contain my enthusiasm as a millennial South Asian person working in tech in a predominantly white country for a story where one of the main characters is a very successful and enigmatic Indian woman who enjoys dominating Silicon Valley startups filled with men. Malini (Mal) Kumar is a fantastic character and deeply enigmatic to the reader. We observe her through Laurie's extremely empathetic lens, who is the point of view character. Both women are trying to make careers in predominantly male-heavy companies and environments and both are trying to mould the idea of marriage and love to something they can digest and embrace while being hounded by their families to just take the traditional path and not think too much about it. Laurie struggles with the idea of being "just an admin" in a culture that raises up technical people, mostly men, above all else, and tosses around new buzzwords every month. Her attempts to find her people and fit in somewhere without feeling lesser than are relatable to most people, but her nature is one of deep empathy and "people skills", which really makes her compelling as a character who always feels on the periphery of her own life. Mal is focused,…

When headstrong, confident Mal drops unexpectedly into the life of empathic, sensitive Laurie, the two are magnetically drawn into each other's orbits. Quickly becoming roommates-of-convenience, they find themselves uniquely positioned to help each other grow in unforeseen ways. Despite (or because of) their fundamental differences, a watchful undercurrent of fascination with each other is born. Both are challenged: Laurie to face her budding bisexuality and her artistic aspirations, and Mal by her family's bullying to settle down and procreate, and by her growing desire to leave the tech field and return to her love of writing. Laurie is strapped financially and hamstringed by fragile self-esteem and people-pleasing tendencies. Logical Mal, fearless except when it comes to love, is unwilling to open her secretly tender heart to vulnerability. Throw in controlling exes, a lavish background, and a tumultuous teen playing cupid into the works, and you have a fresh take on a slow-burn. From colleagues to roommates to friends to lovers, this is a will they/won't they, happily-ever-after story filled with gorgeous prose, salty humor, and penetrating observations of an extravagant early-2000's San Francisco tech boom. The main characters are vivid and complex- you'll find yourself rooting for them. I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Her Golden Coast is full of poetic descriptions of Silicon Valley at its most absurd, providing witty and sometimes cutting satire through the perspective of two very relatable women as they navigate a world of tech bro startups replete with over-the-top office parties and conspicuous consumption in the late 2000s. What I appreciate most about this book is its focus on the human element. It highlights the financial and mental chasm the boom times created between the techie haves and the have nots of San Francisco, doing so with great humor while also being sensitive to its characters. It also has a lot to say about the definition of family and gender roles in a culture that prided itself on changing the world while very much maintaining traditional social hierarchies, but it does so in an empathetic and relatable way. Overall, a very entertaining and thought-provoking read. Highly recommend.