Jude in The Stars (Aug 2021): Dead Lez Walking
I already knew Benson writes angst incredibly well. I shouldn’t be surprised she can insert that heart-wrenching stomach-churning quality in gory scenes just as well. This mix of humour (mostly dark), melancholy, and downright gruesome moments results in excellent and diverse characters, a delightfully inappropriate romance between idiots (which I of course love), and a whole lot of adrenaline. […] I almost wrote that this book was a lot of fun. And gore. But it’s not, fun I mean. It’s better than that. On the surface, it’s full of clever horror clichés and dark humour, and underneath it’s about who people really are.>>Read more
Les Rêveur (Dec 2020): The Thing About Tilly
There are times I am handed a book to review and I lose all sense of awareness and time. At 4am this morning I realised this was one of those books!! […] G Benson has well and truly put her heart and soul into this one. My heart broke for Tilly and Evie’s love story, and I still get an ache thinking about certain parts of the book. It’s been a long time since I’ve cried or felt so much emotion in a story. In fact, there was a scene in the baby store with Tilly and secondary character Luke, and I almost couldn’t finish the page because I was a sobbing mess. >>Read more
Kitty Kat’s Book Review Blog (2020): The Thing About Tilly
Do you know how difficult it is to write a review with happy tears streaming down your face? Well, I found out today. ‘The Thing About Tilly’ by G Benson is hands-down my favourite book of the year. Tilly runs away – a lot. Throughout their friendship, Ellie has had to accept that she would. But she’s never known why. Finding herself unexpectedly pregnant, Ellie needs to be able to rely on her friends. She can rely on the third member of the triumvirate, Sean, but Tilly’s another matter. There are so many secrets between them, secrets that stop them living their lives to the full. Will they find a way to be honest, to say what needs to be said? >>Read more
The Lesbian Review (2017): Who’d Have Thought
Who’d Have Thought by G Benson is a romance that has a whole bunch of my favourite themes. It has an age gap, a thawing ice queen, a rich girl/poor girl relationship, a marriage of convenience, and it’s a medical workplace romance. And on top of all of that, it delivers a great story! […]
Who’d Have Thought has the slowest of slow burns to it, carefully building Sam and Hayden’s relationship from colleagues who don’t talk to acquaintances to friends and then lovers. It’s beautiful to watch as they get to know each other better and grow (or thaw) in ways that are necessary for them to each realize that the other is really good for her.>>Read more
C-Spot Reviews (2017): Who’d Have Thought
Rarely do I want to write a book review before I’ve completed the first chapter of a book, but I was 2% into Who’d Have Thought by G Benson when I started lining up my squees of delight.
First, this novel includes an actual, living, breathing, “they” pronoun-using non-binary character. Luce isn’t the central character, but they have a life beyond pronouns in the story. […] Second, Hayden is matter-of-fact pansexual. When she answers a Craigslist advert for someone seeking a wife-for-hire, she shrugs away the possible gender of Sam. Spoiler alert: Sam’s a woman. >>Read more
Kitty Kat’s Book Review Blog (2016): Pieces
‘Pieces’ is an emotionally deep story, dealing with very difficult subject matter. At one point I found the issues upsetting and hard to read but the characters really got to me and I had to find out how their story ended.
Carmen has been looking after her brother Mattie since he was a baby, as their mother was a neglectful junkie/alcoholic. The teenager showed such strength and determination and her desire to keep them together was astounding. After meeting Ollie at school she has something of her own, something beautiful. She has a very difficult journey ahead but so many good people want to help. There is so much about this book that I want to recommend, I’d be here all day extolling it’s virtues. A well deserved 5 stars! >>Read more
The Lesbian Review (2016): Flinging It
Flinging It by G Benson is one of the best books I’ve read this year, and possibly the best lesbian romance I’ve read in 2016. It plays with typical lesfic conventions, or occasionally ignores them entirely, resulting in a fresh take on a popular genre. […] It’s difficult to know how to talk about characters in a story that revolves around cheating. Can I admit that I liked them, even as they chose to behave unethically? Because not only did I like Frazer and Cora, I loved them. >>Read more
The Lesbian Review (Jan 2016): All the little Moments
All the Little Moments by G Benson is an absolute gem. It deftly and delicately explores the challenges of navigating a new life while grieving, including when joy starts to pop up again, but also provides a satisfying romance. This is a fairly long book, but I couldn’t imagine it any shorter because every scene and interaction is necessary for either story or character progression. Plenty of lesroms explore grief in the context of widowhood, but this is the first I’ve seen with a story like this. Benson nonjudgmentally explores how it’s possible to grieve for many things at once (people, a former life, the future you thought you were going to have), acknowledging that sometimes it means working through thoughts and feelings we’re not proud of. >> Read more
2015 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (Dec 2015): All the little Moments
A winner, in my humble opinion. It’s truly a wonderful book, especially because it deals with the painful side of life: loss, grief, living with a big hole where there used to be a person while trying not to drown in other’s grief and accepting that life does go on. What I loved most about this book is the message it seems to send. Nothing so trite as “life goes on” or “time heals all wounds”. But more “if life pushes you where you never wanted to go, and you have the courage to accept this new way, you can find unexpected happiness”. That, to me, is deeply encouraging. >> Read more
Curve Magazine (Dec 2015): All the little Moments
Benson does a good job writing about a heavy topic. She knows how to show what her characters are feeling, and there are some poignant scenes. I liked that she runs the whole gamut effortlessly from heart-wrenching to humorous and takes us on a roller coaster ride with the new “mom” who needs to learn parenting real fast. The kids worm their way not only into the heart of Anna, but of us readers as well. And when Anna and the kids are threatened and ugliness rears its head, you want to strangle everyone standing in the way of their happiness. Into this main story of grief the author interweaves a budding romance and the building of a new family. And for those who are looking for main characters of color, here you go. >> Read more