And Playing The Role Of Herself by KE Lane holds an especially dear place in my heart because it’s the very first lesbian romance I ever read. I didn’t even know they existed, and this book was my gateway drug.
Caidence Harris has finally made it in Hollywood and is happy with her steady gig playing a detective and sidekick on 9th Precinct, a popular police procedural. Sometimes she has to share her trailer with Robyn Ward, a model turned actress who sometimes plays a defense attorney on the show. If she could just stop blushing and giggling and generally making a fool out of herself every time Robyn is around, life would be so much easier. After all, Robyn is straight and involved with tennis superstar, Josh Riley.
Caid and Robyn strike up a friendship and enjoy their time off the set even more than when they’re working. But when the season finale calls for an explosive encounter including a kiss between them, Caidence realizes that maybe the attraction isn’t one-sided and that Robyn isn’t as straight as she thought.
The Characters
Tara: And Playing the Role of Herself is told in the first person from Caidence’s perspective. She’s funny, self-deprecating, and very sweet, and it’s easy to see why she’s able to break through Robyn’s walls. Her voice is so distinct and clear that I found her very relatable, especially as she moves through the murky waters of finally confirming her sexual identity as a lesbian. She has some anger issues and a hot temper, which often isn’t attractive, but feels very honest.
I appreciate that K.E. Lane gives us a full concept of who Robyn is, despite the story never being told from her perspective. Robyn is driven in her career, going from strength to strength as an actress. Her deep friendship with Josh, a former boyfriend, allows her to pursue flings with women on the side until she becomes involved with Caidence. She’s guarded at the beginning of their friendship, and gradually opens up as they become closer, giving her the most drastic character arc of the book.
Liz Stokley, Caid’s best friend and star of 9th precinct, is my favourite side character. She’s brassy, beautiful, and has no filters, yet is still very sweet to the people she cares most about. I occasionally imagined her as Joan Blondell in Desk Set, but younger.
Mildred: Every character is fully realized and well drawn. Even the crazy guy with a very short time on screen, so to speak, makes a huge impact and is unforgettable. I love the idea of Liz being a young Joan Blondell, one of my early girl crushes, and I would love to have a brother like Perry.
Caidence is young, ambitious and hard working, easy to like and respect. The author doesn’t really make a big deal out of her struggle coming to terms with her sexuality. She’s nervous and cutely awkward but not neurotic about it at all. This leaves more time to deal with Robyn’s issues, and they are many, about her sexuality. Though the story is told from Caid’s perspective, the reader gets a great feel for Robyn’s fear of professional and personal backlash if she even falls in love, much less being outed. Hers is a frustrating character, but Caid’s love for her pulled me in as a reader and I was happy to see them finally get together.
The Writing Style
Tara: And Playing the Role of Herself has an easy style that I found entirely charming and engaging. The romance is compelling and complete, with very tame sex scenes. You can recommend this book to your straight friends and family if they want to dip their toes in the lesbian romance scene.
Mildred: Beyond being a great romance between two powerhouse actresses, this is a story that dives deeply into the world of Hollywood on the cusp of the modern era of openness about sexuality. These women need to be in the closet, still, but that’s not what takes so long for them to fall in love. The pacing overall of the story is deliberate, though I never found it too slow. There are a lot of forces at play in both women’s life and the author makes a point of working through the effects of those forces.
Narration
Mildred: Robyn’s voice is described as “whiskey soaked” and raspy, and the narrator made her sound like that for me. It’s easy to discern every character from the sound of their voice and the cadence of their speech, making it easier to stay in the moment as a reader. Caid sounds young and hopeful, but her strength comes through when needed. Liz has a great, soft southern accent that I could listen to all day, but other players are performed as sharp or nasal or deep, with obviously different voices marking every one as a distinct character.
There are a number of dramatic moments in the book that are well handled by the narrator, who performs at a deliberate pace that fits the pace of the book. When events become dramatic is where the narrator is at their best because of the calm and thoughtful speech a listener has become familiar with.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
Tara: Easy to read, relatable characters, and it leaves us with a believably established relationship.
Mildred: The process of the Hollywood machine is fascinating and the author obviously has intimate knowledge of how things are done in the chaotic environment that somehow turns out polished product. Despite their youth, Caid and Robyn are professional and I enjoyed watching them navigate fraught work situations and balancing their demanding professional life with a challenging personal life. Something I especially enjoyed was reading about two femme women who must sometimes navigate harsh physical events and the author has no problem demonstrating their strength and endurance.
Heads Up
Tara: I don’t know if this is actually a con, but Caid has so many bad things happen to her, it’s almost like she’s cursed. That, more than anything else, pushed the boundaries of believability for me.
Mildred: This is a sometimes violent story, either through accident or misadventure. Caid does seem cursed, but I really like the way it showcases her thorough strength of character.
The Conclusion
Tara: I love this book and you probably will too if you haven’t read it yet. It’s one of the best lesbian romances about celebrities falling in love and well worth a read.
Mildred: This is one of my all time favorite books, and also one of the first lesbian romances I read. There are many good things to enjoy, from the intimate look at how Hollywood works and acting from the actors’ perspective, to a somehow both sweet and fraught romance between two strong characters. Hearing Caid’s voice narrated elevated the book, which surprised and delighted me.
Excerpt from And Playing The Role Of Herself by KE Lane
Tara’s Excerpt
“Caidence?” She leaned back, draping a long arm across the back of the couch and regarding me with a look she’d begun to favor me with recently—a secretive little smile that was a mixture of amusement, curiosity, and taunting.
I was starting to think that perhaps Ms. Ward was quite aware of the effect she had on me, and enjoyed watching me make an idiot of myself. “Uh, sorry. Spaced out there for a second.” I smiled wanly, took a last swipe at my face, and turned around to face her.
“I can relate, believe me,” she said with a tired smile, and stretched out her legs to their full length— which took up nearly half of the room—crossing them at the ankle. “So, what’s your opinion of Kreizeck? I haven’t had to work with him yet, but I have three scenes today. I talked with Liz, and she said he was fine, but Danny said he was an ‘effin’ looza.’ ”
She mimicked the actor’s New York accent flawlessly and I laughed, startled by a less serious side of the normally very reserved woman; a side that I didn’t see very often. The laugh was spontaneous, and seemed to take us both by surprise, probably because my laughter in her presence usually sounded slightly giddy or hysterical, like a twelve-year-old girl hopped up on Pop Tarts and Ho-Hos.
Hey, maybe I could behave like a normal adult around her, after all.
Mildred’s Excerpt
“Sorry.” I shrugged in sympathy. “But if you really want to piss him off, stand close to him so that he has to look up to talk to you. Works like a charm.”
The eyebrow went up, and she said dryly, “Sounds like a technique you may have used yourself, a time or two.”
“A time or two,” I replied with a wink.
Holy crap.
I winked at Robyn Ward.
One might even construe what I had just done as…flirting.
I was flirting with Robyn Ward.
Me–who had just a few years ago come to the cautious conclusion that I was attracted to women, and had yet to act upon that attraction–flirting with Robyn Ward, who was constantly being photographed with her very handsome, very famous, very sweet, tennis-playing boyfriend Josh Riley; together the poster children for blissful, rich-and-famous heterosexual coupling.
Holy fucking crap. What in the hell was I thinking?
Robyn seemed as stunned as I was, whether by the fact that I had winked and was quite possibly flirting with her, or the fact that, contrary to what she had believed before, I had shown in the last few minutes that I actually possessed a personality equal to my thirty-four years, and could be somewhat charming when I put my mind to it.
Get It Online
When you use the links in this review and buy within 24 hours of clicking then we get a small commission that helps us run the site and it costs you nothing extra.
Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 9781932300727
Publisher: Regal Crest Enterprises
Audiobook Publisher: Tantor Audio
Narrator: Jen Jayden
If you enjoyed this book then try
Note: No money was exchanged for this review of And Playing The Role Of Herself by KE Lane. When you use our links to buy we get a small commission which supports the running of this site.
