Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Black Rose Writing, and author Kathie Giorgio for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

When Donald Trump was elected in 2016, it was disheartening for many of us. This is particularly the case for women, who felt that they had made such strides over the years in regard to gaining equality and independence, only to have a confessed sexual abuser elected to the highest office in the land. Kathie Giorgio has written a book where a successful, independent woman asks questions of herself, the world, and her place in it after these events.

On her 55th birthday, Audrey finds herself taking stock. Her life isn’t the way she’s pictured it at all. In many ways, she’s a modern woman with a good job who owns her own home. However, her life seems to consist of work and coming home to an empty house. She has no close friends, and no romantic interests anywhere except in the past. She’s spurred on to make some changes. A gift certificate from a coworker has her shopping at Victoria’s Secret where she makes a friend of the salesgirl. Next, she visits a pet shop. She’s looking for a companion, but not a cat or dog.

Newt is what Audrey names her new iguana, after her favorite cookie, Fig Newtons. Rather than a pet, she sees him as a partner in her life. He gradually insinuates himself into her home, graduating from living in an aquarium to having free roam of the home.

At the same time, the widower next door begins noticing Audrey. It’s been three years since he lost his second wife to cancer, and he’s feeling the lack of a human presence in his life. However, he has six parakeets who keep him company.

All of this comes together in a fun romance novel that also examines what it means to be a woman in these uncertain times.

I had a bit of trouble getting into If You Tame Me. I’m not a fan of romance novels, but this seemed like it was more than that. In the beginning, most of the story goes on in Audrey’s head. It’s that way through a good part of the book and the stream-of-consciousness-type read had a hard time grabbing me. Once Audrey begins interacting with more people, I found the book held my interest much better.

The sequences with Audrey learning about the iguana are fun. She takes her responsibility for him very seriously, even as she says they are partners in this. Newt seems to pick up on her moods, and she personifies his movements as well. What many of us would dismiss as just being the way the species acts, Audrey sees as confirmation of his attachment to her. Either of them could be right, but I like Audrey’s point of view on this.

At college, Audrey was a bit of a wild child. She reflects on what brought her from those days to where she is now; all the changes in her life and in the world around her. Annabel, the salesgirl who helped her in Victoria’s Secret, states she is “not the f-word” – the “f-word” being feminist. What does that mean? Candid conversations reveal they are more alike than different, and spark Audrey to seek out her college best friend who she hasn’t talked to in years after a disagreement.

Feminism and what it means to be a feminist runs through the whole story. Audrey reflects on Gloria Steinem, a hero to many of us back in the day, and what she thinks of the world. How can a world that produced Steinem also have produced Trump? These are the questions she asks. She doesn’t always get answers, but her journey as she tries to make sense of all that’s going on is intriguing.

I felt the book had several “Big Chill” moments. I saw that movie when I was younger, and I understood it then. You think you’re young and rebellious and you’re going to change the world, but by the time you’re in your forties, you realize that none of that has happened. That’s basically Audrey here, although it seems she hasn’t reflected on her past that often prior to her 55th birthday.

Frank was an interesting character as well. He’s a bit older than Audrey and had the experience of a failed marriage as well as a second marriage that was lost to death. He’s a lonely widower, but he’s a nice guy. As he’s trying to get up the nerve to ask Audrey out, his second wife appears to him as a ghost who gives him dating advice. His first wife also turns up. A recent widow herself, she’s thinking it could be time to stir up old memories. Can a ghost be jealous?

While If You Tame Me isn’t the type of book I usually read, it was good. Once I got into it I enjoyed the reflections and themes. The romance was cute, but I could have done without the mental picture of a 63-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman banging like two teenagers. It also gave voice to the futility I feel about our actions and protests, and then also showed exactly why we still need to do them. It’s not always about changing the world. Sometimes, it’s just about feeling better once you’ve done it.

I do recommend If You Tame Me. Even for someone like me who isn’t big on romance novels, it was fun. The social reflections work very well, especially for someone like me who is close to the age Audrey was during this time period, as well as back in our younger days. I could identify with Audrey, even if our lives have taken decidedly different turns. I think readers who enjoy romance with a bit of awareness of the world will enjoy it as well.