Femdom Review “What Was Meant To Be” by Heather Guerre

Cozy, autumnal and… autistic representation? This gentle femdom contemporary romance is an absolute comfort read to grab as the season transitions. While people are a lot more familiar with her previous exploration into femdom, with her immensely creative take on the billionaire romance genre of “Preferential Treatment”, Guerre released this one to perhaps a bit less acclaim, but no less quality. Consider this your chance to grab an underrated gem.

Ok, enough gush – what are you in for?

Wes Sorenson has one last hurdle in restoring his family’s resort, an arranged marriage to Rain Kateb. Per her old fashioned father, Rain isn’t able to function in the outside world and a husband is the easiest solution. If Wes wants the final piece of missing land she’s a non-negotiable part of the deal.
Rain is autistic, and this is handled extremely well. One of the most awkward parts of neurodivergence is the general conflation with having high support needs in some areas with being low capacity in everything. Much of the story is told from her perspective as she gets out of the stifling control of her father and learns to find her own two feet. And very refreshingly, not all the challenges she deals with are attributed to her autism. Rain grew up in an artist’s commune and is navigating being both biracial and steeped in very different cultural norms of her hippy mother for the first half of her life.

Although Wes sets her up as a roommate he thinks he is expected to care for, Rain quickly overturns his expectations, with a take charge dynamic even as the writing permits her to be unsure and experience growth. This is one of the places Guerre shines, with a dominant being vulnerable without undermining her. Expect wholesome and accepting idealized small town vibes and a very omnipresent autumn atmosphere, as Rain comes into her own. Autistic readers please be reassured, Rain is not here to inspire anyone else, not even her love interest. She’s here to be inspired, recognized and admired.

That being said, I further emphasize the “cozy” label. There’s no intense stakes heavier than getting out of the house, and nothing approaching physical violence. Also, while I found Wes very plausible as a character, as a rescuer he is less useful at direct help and possibly more useful at eventually getting out of her way. While her journey was to discover just what she was capable of, his was to give people more credit and be a bit less selfish. You don’t have to be too patient for him to catch up with Rain, but he can be a bit dense and starts from a very unfortunate place- by the time he realizes what he’s got he’s dug himself into quite the hole. And don’t worry, their happily ever after is also addresses their relationship challenges in a very satisfying way.

TL;DR

If a pumpkin spice latte was a femdom romance, this would be it. Small town, fall, autism rep and a heroine taking charge in the bedroom while she learns to take charge of her life outside it.