Sally's Reviews > What Was Meant to Be

Like its main character, What Was Meant to Be is far more than the cover blurb would have you believe: a thoughtful alternative-lifestyle romance that masks itself as a mainstream arranged-marriage romance. In fact, were it not for a recommendation from Miss Pearl – who also turned me on to His Secret Illuminations – I would have never given this a second glance.

Heather Guerre’s small-town romance not only features a neurodivergent (autistic) main character, but also incorporates a gentle femdom relationship, and manages to do both with absolute perfection. Three pages into meeting her, just nine pages into the book, and I knew Rain and I were going to connect.

“She wasn’t very social, and she was unavoidably weird. She didn’t like change. She didn’t like unknowns. She didn’t like upheaval.”

Boom! I felt seen and heard, right there. I saw myself on the page, and I knew that somebody out there understood. And it’s not just one thing, one token gesture towards incorporating autism, but the first of a long and lovely pattern woven throughout the entire book.

“She wasn’t very social, and she was unavoidably weird. She didn’t like change. She didn’t like unknowns. She didn’t like upheaval.”

I want this on a shirt so, when I’m forced to socialize, people know what they’re getting into!

“She liked almond croissants; she just didn’t like the texture contrast of random little stabby bits of almond mixed in with flaky pastry and soft frangipane filling.”

Personally, I don’t like almost croissants, but I do know the horror of texture. Something can look, smell, and even taste magnificent, but if the texture makes me cringe or gag, we’re done.

“The feeling of a serged edge made her want to peel her own skin off.”

Again, yes! Texture isn’t just about what’s in my mouth, but about what’s touching my skin. It’s precisely why I’d rather watch my skin turn blue on a cold, snowy day than suffer a pair of pants.

“Rain didn’t have the patience to play at being normal today.”

I could go on and on. Seriously, I have so many other examples of finding myself in the story, but show a little more patience than Rain, stop hyperfixating, and try to get back to a ‘normal’ review.

Given how much the book hinges on the arranged marriage aspect, I thought Guerre did a wonderful job of explaining it, justifying it, and exploring it. For Wes, it’s all about a land transaction, and for Rain, it’s all about giving her time and space to find her way in the world. It’s so incredibly awkward, with a major clash of personalities, that the personal conflict would normally be too much for me, but I loved Rain so much that I wanted (needed) it to work. Perhaps that’s why I got so angry and frustrated with Wes, so impatient with his ignorant assumptions and snap judgments. He was told by Rain’s father that she’s autistic, and his brothers are on the spectrum, so he should be so much better at all of this, and it upsets me that he’s not.

Fortunately, Rain develops a support system, managing to find a best friend, a new friend, a mother figure – not bad for an autistic woman, coming from a sheltered life, who admits to being horrible at making friends. I’d love to have someone like Ashlyn or Renee to lean on and confide in, and the fact that Guerre makes them so loveable is fabulous.

Getting back to the gentle femdom aspect, I was shocked by how suddenly it came on, yet delighted by why it developed. It’s almost exactly halfway through the book (give or take a few pages) where the hints we’ve seen of the steel within Rain finally come to the surface – and where Wes’s need to be confronted with that steel is revealed.

“But then Rain’s hand slid up the back of his neck to fist in his hair. She tugged, hard, and the chaos in Wes’s mind went totally quiet.”

Given I spent so much of the book not liking Wes very much, I have to give Guerre credit for exploring his need for submission with compassion and understanding. I saw something of myself in him as well, a craving to put the stresses and worries and anxieties and responsibilities of the day aside and embrace that quiet, and I can tell you it rings as true as Rain’s autism. That being said, he doesn’t deal at all well with this turning point – in fact, he’s rude, cold, and belligerent the day after – and that swings me right back to aggravation. The erotic power exchange is what ultimately leads to the realization of feelings, which is where the real challenge comes in, but getting there did try my patience at times.

What Was Meant to Be isn’t quite perfect, but it’s damned good, and for all Wes’s faults, the story is already destined for my books-to-revisit shelf when I feel the need to walk hand-in-hand with Rain all over again.


https://sallybend.wordpress.com/2024/...