Welcome to another LGBT book review! All reviews touch on genre/plot, tropes (if any), quality of LGBT content, and avoid most spoilers. Catch up on my last book review of Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. You can find all LGBT book reviews here.
Fun Rose & Rosie and Overshare context
Why yes, that is my signed copy of Overshare in the featured image. Full confession: my girlfriend and I attended Rose and Rosie’s “Overshare” documentary and book-signing tour in 2018 before we actually read the book. By some weird lesbian sixth sense, Rose asked if I read the book after I complimented Rosie on her improvised rap about Norwich. I gulped. “Um…” I half-confessed.
“Oh, so you haven’t read it then?” Rose declared me a fake fan, likely noted my deer-in-the-headlights look (deeply pleased that I’d just been insulted by Rose–a check off the bucket list), and softened the well-deserved insult with laughter so quickly that the moment barely existed. I said that I would, of course, read it soon, and then we had pictures taken. (Shout out to R&R for choosing yellow as the book cover, and thus, the backdrop of this picture. For once, my teeth don’t automatically draw the viewer in due to the copious amount of coffee I am now dependent on.)
Well, Rose, I’m here to report that after two years, I held up my promise. (I think two years counts as “soon” to someone who is over 30? I wouldn’t know because I’m not middle-aged yet.) (This is a joke; I’m 25 and acutely aware of the passage of time.)
In my defense, my girlfriend held my copy of the book at her house in the UK, and when I flew back over the Atlantic Ocean to her in 2018, I had less than a week before the Overshare event, and I was kind of busy making up for the lack of sex for the 14 months before then. (Read about our 5+ year US to UK long-distance relationship.) As for after the Overshare event until now? That two year stretch of time? I have no defense. I just now created a goodreads account to leave a 5-star rating in attempt to redeem myself.
LGBT Book, Overshare: Light spoilers
Genre/Plot
For those who don’t know, Overshare is kind of like an autobiography but without the stuffy and boring connotations the word autobiography has. A hilarious comedic duo act at best, a narcissistic indulgence at worst. And it’s worst will still make you chuckle because the self-deprecating fuel for arrogant-infused pride is part of the charm. If you’re a reader of this blog, you’re already familiar with the tone.
Rose and Rosie share their life journeys in Overshare, a big part of which includes their sexualities. They both touch on their internal coming-outs and acceptances, coming out to family and friends, and even being outed.
Characters/Relationships
While Rose and Rosie are real people, they are certainly characters. The book’s font, headings, and tone make clear distinctions between narrator switches and gives each storyteller a few pages per chapter, allowing them to share their unique experience. Rose and Rosie are married, and in the second chapter, they detail how they first met (and what a rollercoaster that was).
Both narrators also share some stories from past relationships as they become relevant to the story. (Although, I must point out, what is the running thread of this book? Other than both flexing their ‘stardom’ and ability to be both funny and serious?) Some of Rose’s story includes unrequited love. (Rose is the lesbian, so go figure.)
Gay Content
As real-life gay people, the gay content in Rose and Rosie’s book about their own gay lives; it doesn’t get more authentic than that. At different points in the book, they share moments of difficulty due to their sexuality and/or relationship, mostly that being of random strangers feeling the need to have an opinion about it. The women also offer advice for LGBTQ people coming out, dealing with internalized homophobia, and other gay topics, but they make a point of stating they are not a mouthpiece for the whole community. (Despite the fact that they are literally sitting on a mouthpiece in the book cover.)
LGBT Book, Overshare: Rating
As a pretty big Rose and Rosie fan (or as “big” of a fan as you can be when you put off reading their book for two years), Overshare fulfilled (and exceeded) every expectation I had for it. I laughed out loud an uncountable number of times with a range of muffled chuckles to jaw-dropping, eyebrows-in-the-hairline, gaspy laughter.
Rose and Rosie put a lot of themselves into this book. As much as I use Rose’s nonchalant and unashamedly cocky humor as a personal escapism, finding her unexpected vulnerability on these pages made the serious moments of the book just as rewarding as the humorous ones. Equally unexpectedly was how deep Rosie’s “oversharing” dove into her mental health challenges and how she coped with those struggles.
Anyone who enjoys Rose and Rosie’s videos will surely love this book. Even though it would be benefit from some Oxford commas, it gets a 5-star rating from me.
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a lesbian and her laptop 