Jane Fletcher
Bold Strokes Books
www.boldstrokesbooks.com
1933110244, $15.95
For Natasha Ionadis, the rules of life are as clear as her reflection on the breast plate of her Temple Guard uniform. For the last few of her 22 years, her mantra has been the Guard maxim, "when in doubt, polish it." In Walls of Westernfort, this devout young woman is offered an opportunity by the Temple hierarchy to be part of a covert mission and she leaps at the chance to offer her life to her goddess, Celaeno. She is to be part of a team of three women who are to infiltrate a group of evil heretics, journey to their stronghold known as Westernfort, and assassinate their leaders.
Natasha's commanders doubt any of the women will survive their mission. Posing as a family interested in joining the heretics, the intelligence agents' journey will challenge the beliefs that Natasha has sworn herself to defend, force her to face her own internal crisis, and define the nature of loyalty and faith. Along the way, she also struggles with her definition of family, and finally, love.
Walls of Westernfort is a recent release from Jane Fletcher and part of her growing Celaeno fantasy series. Celaeno is an all-female society in a pre-industrial, pre-Enlightenment setting ruled by a strict theocracy. The idea of a female-centric, goddess-worshipping world is often symbolic of a utopian culture in lesbian-feminist founded speculative fantasy and science fiction. And a new reader to the Celaeno series might be tempted to adopt this view initially, especially as she travels with the naive and earnest Natasha on her coming-of-age quest.
However, it soon becomes apparent that not all is as it may appear in Natasha's world. The Temple authorities who oversee the worship of Celaeno, with its complex undercurrents of science cloaked in religion, will tolerate no deviance from its established policies and will stop at nothing to ensure compliance with temple law. Thus issues involving the nature of religion, particularly that of a fundamentalist view, and the dangers it can impose in politics is a primary theme of Fletcher's Celaeno world.
As a result, Walls of Westernfort, is not only a highly engaging and fast-paced adventure novel, it provides the reader with an interesting framework for examining the same questions of loyalty, faith, family and love that Natasha must face.
Refreshing in its original twists on old themes, the Walls of Westernfort is well conceived and Fletcher's characters are multifaceted and interesting. Through Natasha's eyes the reader is treated to layered discoveries of the complexities of these women. Indeed, it is through familiarity that the "evil heretics" are revealed to be intelligent, equally determined women struggling to survive within their own conscience. This humanization of the evil enemy creates increasingly difficult internal conflicts for Natasha, forcing her to think for herself rather than accept established doctrine.
It is unnecessary to have read any other Celaeno novels to follow the action and the unfolding culture. While some of the characters in Walls will be familiar to readers of other Celaeno titles, the series is not designed to be strictly chronological. Rather, it appears to be theme-based on the institutions of that world, with stories focusing on the ruling Sisters of the Temple, the Temple Guard, the Rangers, the Militia, the psychically skilled healers known as Imprinters and, perhaps most importantly, the heretics.
In Walls of Westernfort, we see the Temple Guard, inside and out. We learn of their strict code of discipline and life, including abstinence from alcohol and sex, and with Natasha we learn of the harsh, cruel methods the Guard employs to deal with heretics in the name of Celaeno. Natasha finds herself struggling with age-old conflicts faced by military personnel. Is it lawful to complete a mission that is morally wrong? Is it insubordination to refuse? Who gets to decide?
Related to Natasha's self-questioning is her growing attraction to Dani, one of the heretics assigned to guide the "family" to Westernfort. A potter by trade, Dani's short life is marked by scars from a great deal of loss and pain, courtesy of the Guards. And as the attraction and affection between the two women grows, it will become apparent that before Dani can allow herself the hope of loving Natasha, she will have to deal with those scars.
In Walls, Fletcher brings this chapter of Natasha's life to a satisfying conclusion. However, it is clear that many stories of Celaeno remain to be explored. This reviewer will be looking for other titles set in Celaeno and hopes that Fletcher continues with her storytelling.
Thursday, July 7, 2005
Friday, April 15, 2005
Sugar
Karin Kallmaker
Bella Books
www.bellabooks.com
1594930015, $12.95
"She'd read a romantic book and thought maybe someday life would be like that, but it never seemed like women in books had jobs and families and worries -- things that made it hard to look around for somebody who might be fun, might want to see if where they were headed in life was the same destination." (79)
This passage defines a theme in Karin Kallmaker's newest romance, Sugar. Kallmaker, arguably the best-selling writer of lesbian romances, contrasts images of a "traditional romance" (if such a thing can be said to be portrayed in lesbian writing) with the realities of love as it exists in everyday life. The lead character, Sugar Sorenson, is a talented, intelligent woman in her thirties struggling to establish her own specialty bakery business in Seattle's post-Dotcom-boom. The action opens when Sugar's home is destroyed by fire and her plans for competing in a city-wide "Cook Off" contest, with its related monetary prize and boost in notoriety, are seriously threatened.
After months of no social life, Sugar suddenly finds herself under the romantic notice of not one, but three attractive, dynamic women. There is a gentle but strong social worker named "Tree," a tall, dark and handsome firefighter named "Charlie" Bronson, and the elegant and vivacious television producer named Emily. Their combined energy is almost more than Sugar can juggle after her long, self-imposed solitude, not to mention the stress of the fire. For a time, Sugar is confused because her apartment is not the only fire she is feeling. The sexual tension is palpable and Kallmaker serves readers a few deliciously hot scenes. Sugar tries to decide which woman really attracts her -- and, more importantly she realizes -- which woman's life is headed in the same direction as Sugar's.
With nowhere to go Sugar finds herself returning to her maternal grandmother's house and braces for the onslaught of judging, preaching and meddling that characterized her grandmother while she was growing up. But something has changed dramatically and Sugar discovers that she perhaps didn't know her grandmother as well as she thought. There are assorted complications and mis-communications to occur in the weeks following the fire and Sugar's life does not turn out as she'd expected.
Food and baking flow through the novel in many ways. Descriptions of complex baking projects occur through much of Sugar's day as well as the steady, comfort baking of Sugar's grandmother. Further, Sugar's world view is often cooking related with Emily's eyes being "the blue of four drops of food coloring into a quarter-cup of sugar" (p7) and a woman is "hotter than Tabasco." (132)
Sugar is a kind of "every lesbian" and the issues she and her friends deal with are those that most of us face in our day-to-day lives. Kallmaker's Sugar does not follow the "story book romance" formula; however, she plays with its themes. Even the cover art, which is reminiscent of a 1950s "happy home maker" image, tweaks at this "ideal."
Kallmaker's writing is charming entertainment. Her wry wit and gentle humor prompt smiles and quiet chuckles, as when Sugar dresses for her first date in months to discover "Good God in heaven, how long had that enormous black hair been growing out of her chin?" (p63) Or when Sugar mentions that she'd heard Charlie and Tree had dated for a time, and is told "We did not. We met at agreed upon places and argued." (p182)
In many ways, Sugar is a return to some of Kallmaker's earlier romances, like Painted Moon or Making up for Lost Time. However, if it is a return, it is not without the maturity that her writing continues to develop. Peopled with real women who are grounded in the realities of life and willing to accept the risk of love, Kallmaker's "romance" provides readers with simple, touching moments. As Sugar reflects, "The world seemed peacefully asleep. It was just her and the moon and the scent of Emily on her fingertips." (111) Sugar is a lovely dessert of a book made with real eggs, butter, and no doubt, chocolate. Light and fun it is, yet it's not an artificial confection. Readers of the lesbian romance genre will want to lick the spoon.
-MJ
Bella Books
www.bellabooks.com
1594930015, $12.95
"She'd read a romantic book and thought maybe someday life would be like that, but it never seemed like women in books had jobs and families and worries -- things that made it hard to look around for somebody who might be fun, might want to see if where they were headed in life was the same destination." (79)
This passage defines a theme in Karin Kallmaker's newest romance, Sugar. Kallmaker, arguably the best-selling writer of lesbian romances, contrasts images of a "traditional romance" (if such a thing can be said to be portrayed in lesbian writing) with the realities of love as it exists in everyday life. The lead character, Sugar Sorenson, is a talented, intelligent woman in her thirties struggling to establish her own specialty bakery business in Seattle's post-Dotcom-boom. The action opens when Sugar's home is destroyed by fire and her plans for competing in a city-wide "Cook Off" contest, with its related monetary prize and boost in notoriety, are seriously threatened.
After months of no social life, Sugar suddenly finds herself under the romantic notice of not one, but three attractive, dynamic women. There is a gentle but strong social worker named "Tree," a tall, dark and handsome firefighter named "Charlie" Bronson, and the elegant and vivacious television producer named Emily. Their combined energy is almost more than Sugar can juggle after her long, self-imposed solitude, not to mention the stress of the fire. For a time, Sugar is confused because her apartment is not the only fire she is feeling. The sexual tension is palpable and Kallmaker serves readers a few deliciously hot scenes. Sugar tries to decide which woman really attracts her -- and, more importantly she realizes -- which woman's life is headed in the same direction as Sugar's.
With nowhere to go Sugar finds herself returning to her maternal grandmother's house and braces for the onslaught of judging, preaching and meddling that characterized her grandmother while she was growing up. But something has changed dramatically and Sugar discovers that she perhaps didn't know her grandmother as well as she thought. There are assorted complications and mis-communications to occur in the weeks following the fire and Sugar's life does not turn out as she'd expected.
Food and baking flow through the novel in many ways. Descriptions of complex baking projects occur through much of Sugar's day as well as the steady, comfort baking of Sugar's grandmother. Further, Sugar's world view is often cooking related with Emily's eyes being "the blue of four drops of food coloring into a quarter-cup of sugar" (p7) and a woman is "hotter than Tabasco." (132)
Sugar is a kind of "every lesbian" and the issues she and her friends deal with are those that most of us face in our day-to-day lives. Kallmaker's Sugar does not follow the "story book romance" formula; however, she plays with its themes. Even the cover art, which is reminiscent of a 1950s "happy home maker" image, tweaks at this "ideal."
Kallmaker's writing is charming entertainment. Her wry wit and gentle humor prompt smiles and quiet chuckles, as when Sugar dresses for her first date in months to discover "Good God in heaven, how long had that enormous black hair been growing out of her chin?" (p63) Or when Sugar mentions that she'd heard Charlie and Tree had dated for a time, and is told "We did not. We met at agreed upon places and argued." (p182)
In many ways, Sugar is a return to some of Kallmaker's earlier romances, like Painted Moon or Making up for Lost Time. However, if it is a return, it is not without the maturity that her writing continues to develop. Peopled with real women who are grounded in the realities of life and willing to accept the risk of love, Kallmaker's "romance" provides readers with simple, touching moments. As Sugar reflects, "The world seemed peacefully asleep. It was just her and the moon and the scent of Emily on her fingertips." (111) Sugar is a lovely dessert of a book made with real eggs, butter, and no doubt, chocolate. Light and fun it is, yet it's not an artificial confection. Readers of the lesbian romance genre will want to lick the spoon.
-MJ
Friday, January 14, 2005
All the Wrong Places
Karin Kallmaker
Bella Books
www.bellabooks.com
1931513767, $12.95
At 26, Brandy Monsoon is about to "grow up." In one week she will: face the ghost of her father and the pain of her childhood; realize that while she might not "know" that she can have "forever after" with one woman, she wants to try; and discover that a family of choice and community are options even for a dyke on an isolated resort island in the Southland.
Employed as a fitness instructor and staff member for Club Sandzibel, Brandy finds a ready supply of casual lovers among the resort's female guests but none of them are interested in more than their holiday fling. Meanwhile, her best friend Tess, though willing to share a more-han-friendly-night occasionally, is supposed to be straight ... a point that confuses both women.
Brandy is the wholesome, girl-next-door, phys-ed major. She clearly enjoys working at the resort, including her shifts teaching children tumbling and various team sports. In a charming scene from the end-of-the-week, Brandy observes, "I was set upon by the toddlers again, and this time I gave chase. We'd had a running battle all week and it was time to show these desperadoes who was the law. That would be me, Sheriff Monsoon.
I hadn't quite proven my superiority when their parents came to claim them for a last good-bye. One protested it wasn't Saturday yet, while the other said I was the best playmate ever. ... I have to say that part of the job is pretty cool. Kids give great hugs." (33-34)
When an all-lesbian tour group arrives for the week, Brandy finds the acceptance and validation that she has rarely enjoyed. Furthermore, the famous lesbian entertainer, Celine Griffin shows clear interest in some after-dinner Brandy. Meanwhile Tess' behavior is becoming less and less straight.
All the Wrong Places is the first erotic novel-length title released by the "Bella After Dark" imprint and there is truth in advertising here. Brandy's sexual encounters are explicit. Kallmaker does not shy away from earthy language during sweaty encounters and she opens the "toy chest" and lets her characters explore "accessories." There is a forthright and evocative negotiation of adult consent as well as a subtle but highly charged power exchange between Brandy and Celine.
Some Kallmaker fans may find themselves challenged by this bolder approach. Hopefully they will also find the story to be arousing entertainment. They can be reassured that All the Wrong Places is also one of the sweetest little romances that Kallmaker has written. For example: "Our bodies were suffused with the golden light that seemed to radiate from her eyes and smile. We were falling together, mouths feathering kisses on any skin we could reach. Touching her anywhere felt like touching sunshine. Her shoulders were as warm as her mouth and we were in danger of losing our edges, our form, as we melted together." p 139
Given the length and focus of the story, Kallmaker's characters show depth, humor, and heart with a willingness to grow. Thus All the Wrong Places has a number of elements readers have come to expect from Kallmaker; in addition to hot sex and sweet romance, there are touching side stories and delightful wit. Indeed the humor is bubbles throughout the story. And in a laugh-out-loud moment for this reviewer, Kallmaker tosses in what has to be the funniest variation on the classic "U-Haul joke" in years.
Brandy is the youngest lead character that Kallmaker has explored in her novels since Reese in Watermark. Hopefully a new generation of readers will find Brandy's voice familiar to their own experience and will consider Kallmaker's other novels as a result. Long time fans can enjoy All the Wrong Places as another example of Kallmaker's willingness to explore new elements in her classic story telling style. All readers can enjoy the affection, validation and respect that she gives her characters and by extension her readers. This erotic romance is a like a lovely slice of the chocolate bread that appears on the resort dessert menu; and like that confection, you'll want to savor it slowly and very likely go back for more.
-MJ Lowe
Bella Books
www.bellabooks.com
1931513767, $12.95
At 26, Brandy Monsoon is about to "grow up." In one week she will: face the ghost of her father and the pain of her childhood; realize that while she might not "know" that she can have "forever after" with one woman, she wants to try; and discover that a family of choice and community are options even for a dyke on an isolated resort island in the Southland.
Employed as a fitness instructor and staff member for Club Sandzibel, Brandy finds a ready supply of casual lovers among the resort's female guests but none of them are interested in more than their holiday fling. Meanwhile, her best friend Tess, though willing to share a more-han-friendly-night occasionally, is supposed to be straight ... a point that confuses both women.
Brandy is the wholesome, girl-next-door, phys-ed major. She clearly enjoys working at the resort, including her shifts teaching children tumbling and various team sports. In a charming scene from the end-of-the-week, Brandy observes, "I was set upon by the toddlers again, and this time I gave chase. We'd had a running battle all week and it was time to show these desperadoes who was the law. That would be me, Sheriff Monsoon.
I hadn't quite proven my superiority when their parents came to claim them for a last good-bye. One protested it wasn't Saturday yet, while the other said I was the best playmate ever. ... I have to say that part of the job is pretty cool. Kids give great hugs." (33-34)
When an all-lesbian tour group arrives for the week, Brandy finds the acceptance and validation that she has rarely enjoyed. Furthermore, the famous lesbian entertainer, Celine Griffin shows clear interest in some after-dinner Brandy. Meanwhile Tess' behavior is becoming less and less straight.
All the Wrong Places is the first erotic novel-length title released by the "Bella After Dark" imprint and there is truth in advertising here. Brandy's sexual encounters are explicit. Kallmaker does not shy away from earthy language during sweaty encounters and she opens the "toy chest" and lets her characters explore "accessories." There is a forthright and evocative negotiation of adult consent as well as a subtle but highly charged power exchange between Brandy and Celine.
Some Kallmaker fans may find themselves challenged by this bolder approach. Hopefully they will also find the story to be arousing entertainment. They can be reassured that All the Wrong Places is also one of the sweetest little romances that Kallmaker has written. For example: "Our bodies were suffused with the golden light that seemed to radiate from her eyes and smile. We were falling together, mouths feathering kisses on any skin we could reach. Touching her anywhere felt like touching sunshine. Her shoulders were as warm as her mouth and we were in danger of losing our edges, our form, as we melted together." p 139
Given the length and focus of the story, Kallmaker's characters show depth, humor, and heart with a willingness to grow. Thus All the Wrong Places has a number of elements readers have come to expect from Kallmaker; in addition to hot sex and sweet romance, there are touching side stories and delightful wit. Indeed the humor is bubbles throughout the story. And in a laugh-out-loud moment for this reviewer, Kallmaker tosses in what has to be the funniest variation on the classic "U-Haul joke" in years.
Brandy is the youngest lead character that Kallmaker has explored in her novels since Reese in Watermark. Hopefully a new generation of readers will find Brandy's voice familiar to their own experience and will consider Kallmaker's other novels as a result. Long time fans can enjoy All the Wrong Places as another example of Kallmaker's willingness to explore new elements in her classic story telling style. All readers can enjoy the affection, validation and respect that she gives her characters and by extension her readers. This erotic romance is a like a lovely slice of the chocolate bread that appears on the resort dessert menu; and like that confection, you'll want to savor it slowly and very likely go back for more.
-MJ Lowe
Thursday, October 7, 2004
Dreams Found
Lyn Denison
Bella Books
www.bellabooks.com
1931513589, $12.95
"Wait on." Cathy held up her hand. "Maggie Easton and Jayne Easton?" She slapped the side of her head and her graying curls bounced. "Jayne's Maggie's daughter and your sister?"
"Ah, no. Jayne's Maggie's husband's daughter from his previous marriage," Riley explained.
"You mean your boss is your mother's stepdaughter?" Lisa laughed. "That makes you stepsisters."
"I think the butler did it," Brenna said dryly and they all laughed. (81)
In Dreams Found, the latest romance from Lyn Denison, an out lesbian and skilled carpenter, Riley has known she was adopted for years. However, Riley recently has taken steps to locate her birth parents. She finds Maggie living in Brisbane with a husband and three stepchildren. Imagine Riley's surprise when she also finds herself attracted to Jayne, a woman who, while not blood related, is her stepsister! The required misunderstandings abound, particularly in regard to secrets. Kept secrets are justified because Maggie wants to tell her husband first about Riley before her stepchildren learn of her. With the convolutions and secrets, the plot could have been for a bit more humorously treated without losing its serious quality. Instead Denison goes for the angst in a way that is not particularly engaging to this reader.
Dreams Found is one of Denison's shortest works and in this reader's mind something is missing. Perhaps it's the way the author deals with family issues. This is a primary issue to the story. Riley is depicted as a woman for whom family is an important support system. It is perhaps for this reason that she decides to reach out to her birth parents. The two negative, if not just dislikable characters in the book, Darren, Jayne's business partner and apparent love interest, as well as Lisa, a lesbian who is attracted to Riley, both belittle family relations. Darren could almost be tossed off as the self-centered, thoughtless male whose disrespectful treatment pushes Jayne to reevaluate her life. (Darren's stereotypically negative male qualities are acceptable in that several other male characters, family members and friends are depicted as caring, intelligent humans.)
However, the author seems to skim over the fact that neither character seems to have enjoyed the family support that Riley or Jayne do. This is particularly troubling of Lisa. Of her family, we're told that her "parents had been through a messy divorce, and Lisa and her three siblings had spent their childhood years swinging between an alcoholic father and his latest partner and their manic-depressive mother. Lisa left home as soon as she was able and she'd never gone back. She hadn't seen either of her parents for years and was happy to maintain that particular status quo." (9) The portrayal of Lisa's inability to bond with family is seen as a serious character flaw for the unsympathetically portrayed Lisa, but with a family like Lisa's, who can blame her?
Lisa's family of origin is almost implied as an excuse for some of her behavior: that of being tactless, blunt to the point of pushiness, and unwilling to accept Riley's declination that their casual relationship be explored in a more serious way. We're told, "Riley's sense of family had been a source of tension between them on a couple of occasions. Lisa couldn't or wouldn't recognize Riley's closeness to her family, the respect and love she had for her parents and older brother." (9)
This simplistic portrayal is particularly annoying when in reality many lesbians, gays and bisexuals have found their families of origin unsupportive in the face of their queerness and have as a consequence worked hard to develop support systems that are based on the love and respect of friends, i.e. "families of choice." A point that is itself personified when Riley hesitates for weeks to tell her newly found birth mother that she is a lesbian. This somehow suggests it is more difficult for Riley to risk Maggie's rejection because family is important to her. Further that Lisa, who did not enjoy that kind of relationship with her family, had it easy and shouldn't be so brusque about the importance of family to Riley. Lisa's point of view does not excuse her rudeness. However, it is Riley's inability to "get" Lisa's issues with family that made Riley, not Lisa, the one needing to work on her compassion. It is possible that Denison did not intend for this presentation. Indeed, given her other works, it is even likely that she did not. However, the impression left a bad taste with this reader.
Lesbian romances are not merely the idealized tales of love that heterosexual romances can be. Lesbian romances hold a much more complex role. They serve as a validating mirror for lesbians and our community. Hot sex is rarely enough for a lesbian romance to be a success. It can be, as it is in classics like Forrest's Curious Wine. While the erotic moments in Dreams Found will hold most reader's attention, they are not enough to be the primary focus. Denison has put the definition of "family" on the table for this novel and since she has only validated families of origin, those readers who have created families of choice may feel left out in the cold.
Dreams Found is a pleasant enough, albeit brief, read for a slow evening. However, overall the novel is predictable, and not particularly interesting, nor funny. Dreams Found does not hold up to the quality of Denison's earlier novels. Hopefully, this is not a trend. In the meantime, Dream Lover, The Wild One, and Gold Fever are all better reading in this reviewer's opinion.
Bella Books
www.bellabooks.com
1931513589, $12.95
"Wait on." Cathy held up her hand. "Maggie Easton and Jayne Easton?" She slapped the side of her head and her graying curls bounced. "Jayne's Maggie's daughter and your sister?"
"Ah, no. Jayne's Maggie's husband's daughter from his previous marriage," Riley explained.
"You mean your boss is your mother's stepdaughter?" Lisa laughed. "That makes you stepsisters."
"I think the butler did it," Brenna said dryly and they all laughed. (81)
In Dreams Found, the latest romance from Lyn Denison, an out lesbian and skilled carpenter, Riley has known she was adopted for years. However, Riley recently has taken steps to locate her birth parents. She finds Maggie living in Brisbane with a husband and three stepchildren. Imagine Riley's surprise when she also finds herself attracted to Jayne, a woman who, while not blood related, is her stepsister! The required misunderstandings abound, particularly in regard to secrets. Kept secrets are justified because Maggie wants to tell her husband first about Riley before her stepchildren learn of her. With the convolutions and secrets, the plot could have been for a bit more humorously treated without losing its serious quality. Instead Denison goes for the angst in a way that is not particularly engaging to this reader.
Dreams Found is one of Denison's shortest works and in this reader's mind something is missing. Perhaps it's the way the author deals with family issues. This is a primary issue to the story. Riley is depicted as a woman for whom family is an important support system. It is perhaps for this reason that she decides to reach out to her birth parents. The two negative, if not just dislikable characters in the book, Darren, Jayne's business partner and apparent love interest, as well as Lisa, a lesbian who is attracted to Riley, both belittle family relations. Darren could almost be tossed off as the self-centered, thoughtless male whose disrespectful treatment pushes Jayne to reevaluate her life. (Darren's stereotypically negative male qualities are acceptable in that several other male characters, family members and friends are depicted as caring, intelligent humans.)
However, the author seems to skim over the fact that neither character seems to have enjoyed the family support that Riley or Jayne do. This is particularly troubling of Lisa. Of her family, we're told that her "parents had been through a messy divorce, and Lisa and her three siblings had spent their childhood years swinging between an alcoholic father and his latest partner and their manic-depressive mother. Lisa left home as soon as she was able and she'd never gone back. She hadn't seen either of her parents for years and was happy to maintain that particular status quo." (9) The portrayal of Lisa's inability to bond with family is seen as a serious character flaw for the unsympathetically portrayed Lisa, but with a family like Lisa's, who can blame her?
Lisa's family of origin is almost implied as an excuse for some of her behavior: that of being tactless, blunt to the point of pushiness, and unwilling to accept Riley's declination that their casual relationship be explored in a more serious way. We're told, "Riley's sense of family had been a source of tension between them on a couple of occasions. Lisa couldn't or wouldn't recognize Riley's closeness to her family, the respect and love she had for her parents and older brother." (9)
This simplistic portrayal is particularly annoying when in reality many lesbians, gays and bisexuals have found their families of origin unsupportive in the face of their queerness and have as a consequence worked hard to develop support systems that are based on the love and respect of friends, i.e. "families of choice." A point that is itself personified when Riley hesitates for weeks to tell her newly found birth mother that she is a lesbian. This somehow suggests it is more difficult for Riley to risk Maggie's rejection because family is important to her. Further that Lisa, who did not enjoy that kind of relationship with her family, had it easy and shouldn't be so brusque about the importance of family to Riley. Lisa's point of view does not excuse her rudeness. However, it is Riley's inability to "get" Lisa's issues with family that made Riley, not Lisa, the one needing to work on her compassion. It is possible that Denison did not intend for this presentation. Indeed, given her other works, it is even likely that she did not. However, the impression left a bad taste with this reader.
Lesbian romances are not merely the idealized tales of love that heterosexual romances can be. Lesbian romances hold a much more complex role. They serve as a validating mirror for lesbians and our community. Hot sex is rarely enough for a lesbian romance to be a success. It can be, as it is in classics like Forrest's Curious Wine. While the erotic moments in Dreams Found will hold most reader's attention, they are not enough to be the primary focus. Denison has put the definition of "family" on the table for this novel and since she has only validated families of origin, those readers who have created families of choice may feel left out in the cold.
Dreams Found is a pleasant enough, albeit brief, read for a slow evening. However, overall the novel is predictable, and not particularly interesting, nor funny. Dreams Found does not hold up to the quality of Denison's earlier novels. Hopefully, this is not a trend. In the meantime, Dream Lover, The Wild One, and Gold Fever are all better reading in this reviewer's opinion.
Wednesday, October 6, 2004
Caught in the Net
Jessica Thomas
Bella Books
www.bellabooks.com
1931513546, $12.95
A new dyke detective for the armchair mystery fan has arrived! Caught in the Net is a first novel from Jessica Thomas and introduces Alex Peres. Alex is a thirty-something dyke who lives (and grew up) in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Arguably, one of the country's most famous resort towns for gays and lesbians, Provincetown is "that strange and beautiful place, where the men are pretty and the women are tough." (1) With its seasonal population tide of tourists Provincetown plays as much of a role in Caught in the Net as many of the characters and Thomas brings the town's New England quirkiness and its queer color to life for her readers.
A thoughtful, self-sufficient, and independent woman, Alex Peres is a wry observer of nature (human and otherwise) who uses that skill to support herself. On the creative side her perceptive eye is expressed by her photography. She creates artistic impressions of the Cape and Provincetown area that are sold at local galleries. Alex's more analytical observation skills go into her work as a private detective. A job, which she explains, is filled with interesting but sometimes tedious work like following a wayward husband.
Fargo, the detective's 90-pound, black lab is as much a star of Caught in the Net as Alex. The details of Alex and Fargo's relationship will bring smiles, chuckles, tail wags, and warm fuzzy feelings, especially to readers with a canine love. Indeed Fargo's companionship is primary to Alex who has had rather bad luck in the love department.
That bad luck has held until a new woman appears in town. Janet Meacham, a beautiful, intelligent, young woman has moved to P'town to start a new chapter in her life. Alex finds herself quite taken with Janet and the attraction appears to be mutual. Alex thinks that this is a relationship that could build in a more positive direction.
Meanwhile the severed human foot that Alex, or rather Fargo, found on the beach during a daily walk is the foundation (as it were) of a series of crimes in the area. Alex's brother, a local cop is looking for a young man who may have known the owner of the foot.
This first novel from Thomas is filled with witty insights regarding human foibles with Alex personifying several endearing qualities. Of herself, Alex claims, "Frankly, I am not a great admirer of children as a species -- the younger ones smell funny and the older ones look as if they know something you don't-- but even I didn't want two young kids stumbling on this piece of flotsam or jetsam or whatever you called a lost/discarded body part". (10) Or regarding her personal habits, "I sat behind the wheel and took a pack of cigarettes off the dashboard and lit one of the five I allow myself each day. I allow myself five. The other eight or ten I smoke are not allowed." (11)
Although an engaging character, Alex does not quite ring true as a typical Gen-Xer, which might annoy some readers. The mystery is a little thin with a plot that is probably predictable for most fans of the genre and a tad irritating in that Alex did not seem to see it coming. However, the lovely writing, quirky characters, charming setting, and wry observations provide a great deal of promise for future Alex Peres mysteries. Many readers will find themselves caught in this net for pleasant evening's reading.
-MJ
Bella Books
www.bellabooks.com
1931513546, $12.95
A new dyke detective for the armchair mystery fan has arrived! Caught in the Net is a first novel from Jessica Thomas and introduces Alex Peres. Alex is a thirty-something dyke who lives (and grew up) in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Arguably, one of the country's most famous resort towns for gays and lesbians, Provincetown is "that strange and beautiful place, where the men are pretty and the women are tough." (1) With its seasonal population tide of tourists Provincetown plays as much of a role in Caught in the Net as many of the characters and Thomas brings the town's New England quirkiness and its queer color to life for her readers.
A thoughtful, self-sufficient, and independent woman, Alex Peres is a wry observer of nature (human and otherwise) who uses that skill to support herself. On the creative side her perceptive eye is expressed by her photography. She creates artistic impressions of the Cape and Provincetown area that are sold at local galleries. Alex's more analytical observation skills go into her work as a private detective. A job, which she explains, is filled with interesting but sometimes tedious work like following a wayward husband.
Fargo, the detective's 90-pound, black lab is as much a star of Caught in the Net as Alex. The details of Alex and Fargo's relationship will bring smiles, chuckles, tail wags, and warm fuzzy feelings, especially to readers with a canine love. Indeed Fargo's companionship is primary to Alex who has had rather bad luck in the love department.
That bad luck has held until a new woman appears in town. Janet Meacham, a beautiful, intelligent, young woman has moved to P'town to start a new chapter in her life. Alex finds herself quite taken with Janet and the attraction appears to be mutual. Alex thinks that this is a relationship that could build in a more positive direction.
Meanwhile the severed human foot that Alex, or rather Fargo, found on the beach during a daily walk is the foundation (as it were) of a series of crimes in the area. Alex's brother, a local cop is looking for a young man who may have known the owner of the foot.
This first novel from Thomas is filled with witty insights regarding human foibles with Alex personifying several endearing qualities. Of herself, Alex claims, "Frankly, I am not a great admirer of children as a species -- the younger ones smell funny and the older ones look as if they know something you don't-- but even I didn't want two young kids stumbling on this piece of flotsam or jetsam or whatever you called a lost/discarded body part". (10) Or regarding her personal habits, "I sat behind the wheel and took a pack of cigarettes off the dashboard and lit one of the five I allow myself each day. I allow myself five. The other eight or ten I smoke are not allowed." (11)
Although an engaging character, Alex does not quite ring true as a typical Gen-Xer, which might annoy some readers. The mystery is a little thin with a plot that is probably predictable for most fans of the genre and a tad irritating in that Alex did not seem to see it coming. However, the lovely writing, quirky characters, charming setting, and wry observations provide a great deal of promise for future Alex Peres mysteries. Many readers will find themselves caught in this net for pleasant evening's reading.
-MJ
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