Review Tuesday: Love's Inheritance by Cheyenne Blue — #lgbtq #LesbianRomance #ReviewTuesday

Love’s Inheritance by Cheyenne Blue

Ylva Publishing, 2025

Clea Winneke, manager of Yarra Grounds coffee shop, enjoys her chats with regular customer Patrick. He’s thoughtful and supportive, the way a friend should be. She’s thoroughly shocked to learn of his sudden death, especially when she’s summoned to attend the reading of his will and learns that he had a long-ago romance with her free-spirited mum, and is actually her father.

Patrick bequeaths most of his substantial estate to his wife Maeve and their daughter Zara. To Clea, he leaves his beloved but struggling factory, Shamrock Sausages, along with the stipulation that she must guide it to profitability within one year. Armed with a business degree but near zero experience, Clea accepts the challenge. Her inexperience isn’t the only obstacle to Shamrock’s success, however. Before long she realizes that her step-mother is working hard to sabotage the company so that she can take over the valuable land associated with the factory.

Complicating the work of the novice CEO is the presence of food scientist Kat Nordling. Kat and Clea struggle to manage their mutual attraction and keep their relationship appropriately professional. Love’s not something that can be denied, though. And together, they might have a better chance of saving Shamrock than Clea would by herself.

A sausage factory isn’t your typical setting for a romance. For me, that’s a plus. Cheyenne Blue does a great job depicting the industrial setting: the routine, the machines, the constant required maintenance, and the scary feeling that the business and everyone’s jobs are teetering on the edge of failure. I enjoyed getting to know the various supporting characters who work at Shamrock, though given some of their blue collar backgrounds, I was a bit surprised by their uncritical acceptance of Clea’s and Kat’s lesbian connection. In the U.S., even today, I believe this would be far more of a problem.

Even more than Clea’s work colleagues, I adored the characters of her commune-dwelling, flower-child mother Tamsin and Kat’s elderly neighbor Elsie. The wisdom of age plays a pivotal role in helping Clea and Kat navigate the inevitable storms in their relationship.

Maeve’s underhanded and duplicitous behavior is plausible. The author manages to evoke a smidgeon of sympathy for the wealthy widow. Like Clea, she didn’t expect Patrick, a man in the prime of life, to disappear in an instant.

Finally, though I’m much more of a cat than a dog person, I could not help falling in love with Putchi, the rainbow pride dog. He’s a reminder of the power of simple joy.

Love’s Inheritance is a feel-good lesbian romance that left me smiling. It doesn’t offer much in the way of serious conflict, however. There’s never any doubt that Clea and Kat will finally come together, or that Shamrock will survive.

Fans of Sapphic fiction will enjoy the slow-burn pace and the frank acknowledgment of mutual attraction. The author is expert in focusing on the small details that generate or broadcast arousal. To be honest, I found the flirtation and first hesitant kisses more erotic than the actual love scenes, which had no suspense and seemed a bit rushed.

Finally, the book left me with an urge to visit Melbourne. I’ve never been to Australia, though I have many friends there. Clea and Kat walk by the river, stroll along the beach, visit friendly-sounding restaurants, bars and cafes and generally support the impression that this is a diverse and lively city. I always appreciate books that provide a sense of place. This novel could serve as tourist marketing for its setting.

All in all, Love’s Inheritance serves up a tasty Sapphic tale without an excess of angst. Relaxing and entertaining!