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Unravel Your Fanfiction Nostalgia With This Trope-Heavy Comfort Read

by Sophie-Emilia Matebel

As someone who is queer and likes to consume any and all sapphic media there is, I knew I had to give this book a try. Especially since we do not get a lot of sapphic content within popular culture media. It is incredibly disappointing how the media seems to be annoyingly concentrated on male gay love stories. If you compare the amount of mlm stories that exist to the amount of wlw stories, it is insanely disheartening. That is why it is so important to me that books like these exist. The book I am talking about is called Unraveled, a sapphic undefined, but large age-gap love story written by Andie Scott. It is the first book of an interconnected collection of standalones. Unraveled is filled with clichés, and a billionaire who makes ruining other people’s careers her personality trait, consequently being called ‘the ice princess’ by everyone. Then the main character bursts into her life, unraveling (pun intended) the oh-so-cold billionaire and destroying her carefully constructed walls one by one after she was betrayed by her ex girlfriend. All of this feels familiar, a plot we have read before, especially if you are into fanfiction. Strangely enough, it did not bother me too much. I mean, yes, at some points I definitely found some plot decisions incredibly unrealistic, but it did not ruin my reading experience at all. I mean, every dramatic story needs a character that is not like the others. A character who can carelessly challenge the ice-cold billionaire without any consequences. Quite unrealistic? Yes. But if you are someone like me, who has read tons of fanfiction throughout her life, it will entertain you thoroughly and in this case, not necessarily in a bad way. As fanfiction is something I have used to read sapphic stories due to the lack of sapphic media in popular culture, it was very refreshing to read a sapphic book that was actually published. 

Throughout the book, we basically are being thrown from one spectacle to another. Obviously, we have a token best friend who supports the billionaire’s love interest Sloane’s intense (sometimes unrealistic) journey with the billionaire. Her best friend is surely not the only cliché box ticked off successfully. You will get stellar sexual tension as soon as the two main characters lay eyes on each other. Estranged parents on both sides. Trauma after Sloane was drugged at a party during her college years. And if all of this was not enough fanfiction material for you? Lucia’s parents die throughout the story, and of course Sloane runs to comfort her. From there on the two of them get closer, they kiss, and obviously right after, the drama starts. We then are thrown into a dramatic and spectacular back and forth between the characters, fanfiction style. Failed communication starts to develop into actual communication between the characters (which was quite surprising to me, in a good way) and after THE event (namely, when Lucia’s rich ex threatens Sloane’s career), which they are able to overcome (of course), they get their happy ever after with a sweet engagement in the epilogue. Please, imagine there is some heart confetti on your screen right now. 
One of my favorite parts that I would like to point out in this book is when Lucia, on a whim, decides to buy the nightclub Sloane is at with her best friend. To protect her, of course. (Side note: apparently, and I had to Google this, it is possible to buy a nightclub within a few minutes. Still, it does not make it any less ridiculous. It certainly is an interesting but amusing plot choice.) Lucia then decides to go there to watch Sloane in order to protect her, if needed. Sorry to say, but this is definitely something Edward Cullen would do if he were a billionaire with a job in real estate. Surprisingly, I would like to say that this did not make the book any less enjoyable. It rather made the entire reading process a lot more enjoyable and added to the fanfiction character. Also, how refreshing is it to read about sapphic characters making insane decisions instead of either heterosexual or homosexual male ones?

Additionally, the book flows well, and the conversations between characters are fun and refreshing. The writing style is easy to read, quite amusing and it managed to make me laugh many times. There was a good amount of chemistry between the main characters and I definitely found myself rooting for them. Their undefined but large age-gap was not a turn-off in any way, it was addressed throughout the story and the characters were able to talk through it. 

Unraveled obviously is filled with angst, which is a must for any good and dramatic story or fanfiction. What I did not expect was for the main characters to actually start behaving like adults. When they start to properly communicate, set up boundaries and decide to take things slowly (after everything has escalated within three weeks), I was pleasantly surprised. There might have been some insane plot choices throughout the book (like the nightclub one) but their actual communication in the end definitely added a star to my overall review. 

Honestly, I could not have written this story any better if I intended to write the most cliché nostalgia-induced fanfiction-like story. Despite all the unrealistic plot choices apart, it was not a horrible read but actually a rather entertaining one with nicely flowing conversations. If you want a simple, sapphic read to make you feel nostalgic about all the fanfiction you have read, I advise you to pick up this book. Obviously, another bonus point is if you are into billionaire romances. Personally, I would give this book four stars because it was pretty entertaining, nicely written and had very likeable characters. Unraveled will not alter your brain chemistry as some novels might do, but not every book has to be revolutionary or incredibly logical. Some books are enjoyable simply because they make you feel nostalgic and give you early 2010s-Wattpad energy.

4/5

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