LIPS LIKE ICE was even better than I imagined it would be. It's beautifully written and leans into its premise, hard. When Lydia wakes up, she finds herself the literal plaything of a callous alien royal. The alien is a surly teenager, from a species that is born genderless but then "Chooses." This alien will soon be male, and when they reach their sexual maturity, Lydia fears what he will do to her.
It's hard to read because Lydia really is dehumanized and, like many teenagers, the love interest can be a total insensitive asshole. He even almost kills Lydia at one point: not even intentionally but just because he leaves the window open, and the temperatures on his planet are cold enough to kill. Then he realizes his mistake and is like oh shit.
It's been a while since I read a romance between two such flawed people. It gave me flashbacks to reading R. Lee Smith for the first time because in this book Barnett spends the same amount of time and detail on her world-building. She also lets her characters be themselves and doesn't try to make any apologies for how they are. The sexuality and gender components were also great. LIPS LIKE ICE examines what consent and bodily autonomy mean, and what a society might look like if gender norms followed after one's chosen sex. The hero also experiences some pretty bad shaming from his family about his choice, including misgendering and dead-naming. I liked how the closure of his narrative arc ended with him choosing his own name, as many trans people do once coming out.
This was just a really good, really haunting story. I started it last night and when I put it down to go to sleep, I ended up thinking about it before bed. When I woke up this morning, it was the first thing I picked up after my phone and my coffee. I can't wait to read more from this author (who also writes under the name J.M. Frey).
4.5 out of 5 stars
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