February 12, 2024
Screenwriter Lee-Kennedy pivots to romance fiction with the low-key tale of a bisexual love triangle between 20-something slackers. Aspiring actor Ada Highfield, living the single life in London with her more responsible roommate, Mel, leaves a performance at the Edinburgh Fringe with two romantic opportunities: there’s fellow Australian Sadie, who Ada hooked up with after clubbing, and Liverpudlian Stuart, with whom she begins a text-based flirtation. When Sadie’s living situation suddenly sours, she moves in with Ada and the two resume hooking up, even as things deepen between Ada and Stuart. While trying to stay solvent and measuring herself against her sister’s more traditional life as a new mother in Florida, Ada leans into the thrill of both budding relationships. Lee-Kennedy showcases her flair for dialogue both in the apartment’s household dynamic and in the sense of cautiously building interest in Stuart and Ada’s texts. Though Ada is introduced as an impulsive free spirit, she, and by extension the novel itself, is surprisingly timid after the steamy opening. Despite a promise of playfulness, the story delivers far more understated anxiety. Still, Lee-Kennedy’s witty approach to the realities of modern dating is sure to draw readers in.
December 12, 2023
Brydie Lee-Kennedy’s debut, Go Lightly, is an honest, hilarious and often painful exploration of taking risks in life and love. Full of wry humour, it dives into the complexities of relationships—romantic, family, and friendship—and the different versions of ourselves we present to others. Twenty-six-year-old cabaret performer Ada is the free-spirited protagonist, an Australian living in London, struggling to make ends meet and launch her acting career. When Ada simultaneously falls for Sadie and Stuart, curiosity drives her to see where both roads lead. But when Sadie and Stuart find out about each other, and as pressures mount from Ada's family, friendships and finances, she must ask herself what she really wants. This is not your typical love-triangle romance with a neatly resolved ending, but a story about our deep-seated need for connection. The subplot that intrigued me most was the fraught relationship between Ada and her sister, Gabby, and I longed for more backstory and a deeper dive into this. Lee-Kennedy is an Australian screenwriter based in Sydney who has written for Netflix, Apple TV and Disney. Here, she has written a nuanced character who draws us into the modern, messy realities of finding our way in life and love. Her style, cadence and ability to subtly get under the skin of her characters will appeal to fans of Sally Rooney, Dolly Alderton and Naoise Dolan.