This queer romance novel from a lesbian fiction great is like a warm, chocolate fudge sundae on a lazy afternoon.
I have to start this review with a confession… This is the first Georgia Beers novel I have read. Tsk, tsk, and I call myself a fan of les-fic. Georgia is author of the Lambda award-winning Fresh Tracks, plus many other highly-regarded lesbian romances, and I can honestly say that after reading this delightful book, I will definitely be going back through Georgia Beers’ catalogue to see what I’ve been missing.
If you like your les-fic romance warm and funny; romantic without being too schmaltzy; sexy without being clinical, then this latest stand-alone offering from Georgia is a must for your collection. This is pure romance of the best kind. The two main characters, Andrea and Kendall, are both roundly written, with just enough vulnerabilities and issues each to keep them very real. In fact, one of the most surprising yet enjoyable aspects of the book for me was the slowly-revealed vulnerability of Andrea, something you would perhaps not expect from the opening sentence of the story. (No spoilers!)
I’m always keen for an author to show me the different layers of a character, and Georgia doesn’t let me down. We discover a lot about what makes each of the two women tick, what drives them, what has made them as successful as they are, and why that causes problems when push comes to shove. And this is done without reciting a life history for either of them—it comes across in just enough detail and background for us to understand them. Both women, and their lives, are very believable. There is nothing particularly ‘Hollywood’ about their careers, or their relationships with their families, and that is what makes the story such a pleasant journey from start to finish.
I’m also a big fan of writers who give me sex in a story when it’s most appropriate, rather than throwing it in just anywhere with no thought to the natural progression of things. This story has a number of sexy scenes, but we wait a while for the first one, and that’s as it should be with a story like this. Neither Andrea or Kendall are the type to jump right in there – we know that from what we have discovered about them as the book has progressed – so Georgia judges it just right in terms of when to ramp up the intimacy. While the connection between the two women has been developing throughout the story up to that point, and sizzles off the pages a bit as it does so, I really liked the idea that they took their time acting on that attraction.
For me, this book is like a warm, chocolate fudge sundae, something you want to savour on a lazy afternoon, allowing yourself a little indulgence because, quite frankly, you deserve it.