Never Trust a Gemini by Freja Nicole Woolf: Review

Never Trust a Gemini

When 14-year-old Cat Phillips decides to finally confess her feelings to her friend and long-time crush, Alison, she instead accidentally walks in front of a bus. Though Cat escapes with minor injuries, this is only the first of many mishaps, comedic and serious, that occur as Cat navigates life as a young, yet-to-be-out lesbian who really, really wants to find love before Libra Season is over. 

Never Trust a Gemini is a delightful and funny read. Cat’s narration is full of slang, nicknames, and asides that can occasionally fall a bit flat and slow down the narrative but most of the time add to the humour of the book and serve to expand and strengthen the characterisation and world building. 

As for the story itself, I absolutely loved it. I was hooked on Cat’s ever-escalating obstacles from chapter one. Her crush on Alison and the questionable choices she makes because of it. Her short-lived but mortifying relationship with a male friend. And everything surrounding the titular Gemini and second love interest, Morgan Delaney. 

Particularly in the second half, I was in a constant conflict between wanting to put the book down from (enjoyable!) second-hand embarrassment and needing to get to the next page to see how Cat would manage to fix her situations or, perhaps, make them even worse. 

Never Trust a Gemini is an excellent teenage romcom that I would recommend to anyone, but especially to fans of Heartstopper, looking for something similar with a sapphic focus.

Camille Boelt Hindsgaul