Review: FADED by Lisa B. Trinidad

I most recently came across Faded after asking about romances by authors of color with a bookstore setting on Twitter, as it was the next topic I’d be discussing on the Read Harder podcast. Someone shared it with a note that one of the characters works at an erotic bookstore, and after reading the description I immediately added it to my Kindle Unlimited library. I wasn’t sure if there was enough of the bookstore setting to include it in my discussion for the Read Harder challenge task of “a book set in a bookstore”, but I needed to read it anyway, because it was so very different from any Black romance that I had ever picked up.

Omar does not have his life together. He’s not quite finished with his studies, not quite friends with his roommate, and not quite ready for the future. So after he seduces his roommate’s fiancé and is promptly kicked out of their shared apartment, he peaces out to San Diego, where he moves back into his childhood home with his similarly outlandish cousin. At a family event, he runs into his ex boyfriend, Brent, and a friend from his youth, Layla. He and Brent had come out of a long-standing on-again-off-again relationship mostly due to Omar’s complete need for therapy, but sort of fall right back into it. Omar is also happy to reunite with Layla, whose parents still live next door to where he’s staying. A few miscommunications and misconceptions lead him to explore life with both of them, but neither is particularly ready to commit to someone who isn’t committed to them. As time progresses, though, they all have some stuff they need to learn about themselves and each other, in order to move forward with the best relationship for themselves. Meanwhile, Omar has to come to grips with potentially seeing his parents again and dealing with the fallout of any reunion that might occur.

I have a lot of feelings about this book.

I will start out by saying I am glad I read it; there’s nothing else quite like it that I know of, and I was really satisfied with the ending. The people felt real and the situations they found themselves in felt like things that normal messy people would do to themselves. And maybe that’s why I can’t say I 100 percent enjoyed it. Because there was some stuff, especially in the middle, that made me hurt. For everyone. But I’m so glad I kept going, because the payoff was great.

Let’s talk about the ways this book stands out.

Number one: Representation.

• Omar, the character at the bottom of the vee, is a Black bisexual man. He is working on a doctorate, but isn’t sure if he wants to pursue his line of study. He probably has multiple neurodivergencies, including ADHD and anxiety. He is a regular weed smoker who uses it and alcohol to self medicate.
• Brett is a gay Black man. His family is Honduran Garifuna and he speaks multiple languages, including Spanish. He restores classic cars and wants to open his own shop.
• Layla is a straight(?) Black woman. She works at a bookshop that also sells erotic items. She maintains a vlog and podcast for Black goths and other subculture folks.

There is no one kind of Black person here. There are folks of all sexualities, genders, interests, education levels, prejudices, age groups, and socioeconomic statuses. There are scholars, surfers, and singers in this community, and they move in groups and as a whole where necessary. This is literally the first time I’ve ever picked up a romance novel featuring a Goth protagonist, and the only one I can even think of that features a Black one. Same for Brett’s Garifuna heritage. This isn’t diversity for diversity’s sake; this is the presentation of just how varied and glorious our Black people can be.

And…how messy.

Everyone knows I am a literal walking representation of that Marie Kondo meme. I love mess. I love romances centering messy people who have to get their lives together. But sometimes when their own mess is also messing with the potential HEA of their loved ones, I start to feel less inclined to root for them. And the amount that I loved Layla and Brett, and how their friendship developed, made me wish better for them on occasion. And sure, I wanted Omar to figure his shit out so that he could have the best of both worlds, but the way that he communicated that to the people he wanted to be with was so disappointing. And that could have been because I’m so used to polyam books in which there are discussions of exactly what a relationship is going to be before it starts, and in which everyone involved is interested in and familiar with non-monogamy. This was a different representation of ethical non-monogamy than the usual closed triad that is so common in erotic romance, but no less important to show. And Brett and Layla’s response to Omar’s disinterest in monogamy is one thing that hurt. Because each had moments where it felt like they couldn’t possibly be so closed-minded, so judgmental. But I also remembered that these were real people, and real people didn’t have to just go with the flow and be open to any little thing to maintain their relationship. So bring on the uncertainty, the negativity. Some folks need to go through that before they can find their way forward.

This book is also wildly sexy. And I don’t have a lot to say about that? Because while there was a lot of it, I wasn’t reading for it at the time and don’t particularly have thoughts about it. For those interested in polyamorous romance for the possibility of group sex, you should know that this isn’t the book for that—Brett is very much all about that D and Layla doesn’t have any interest in him as more than a friend (and even that takes a bit). There is a lot of baggage that comes with some of the sex, but it’s all consensual, grown up, and hot. That, I do remember.

When it comes down to it, neither courtship is particularly spectacular. One features ex-lovers reuniting and going down the same path again. The other includes old friends with chemistry thinking the other one isn’t into them like that, and slowly realizing they’re wrong. We’ve read those stories a thousand times. But the combination of the two stories intertwining, the messy man at the middle of them, and Lisa B. Trinidad’s exploration of their lives as real people with real friends, real family, real jobs, and real desires for love, is what makes this book fantastic to read.

I can’t wait to read more of her work.

Content Notes: Non-monogamy; cheating (not main characters); sex on the page; discussion and use of sex toys; heavy drug usage; heavy alcohol usage and drunkenness on the page; classic cars; goths; surfers; queer protagonists; toxic family relationship; anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment (not main characters); minor violence; neurodivergence; on-page panic attack; misuse/lack of use of prescription medication