Rating: 
Summary: Kallmaker Does it Again
Review: Kallmaker did a really good job with this one. I couldn't put it down and finished it in record time. My only wish is that it had been a bit longer, but I say that about most of these cheesy lesbian romances. I don't know what it is about them, but they just draw me in.
Rating: 
Summary: Reyna is the magnet for this story
Review: Kallmaker is a very sweet-tempered writer, and her heroines likewise, even the "dark" ones. It may be a personal predilection, but difficult, tormented Reyna really grew on me--I found myself yearning for a sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Kallmaker gets better and better...
Review: Karin Kallmaker continues to amaze me. The books get better and better. In my opinion this book may not be the steamiest, but certainly is the most well written of them all. It has a more complexity in it's story line than most lesbian novels and holds your interest without fail. I can not overlook it's quantity either. How many times have you bought a book that's so thin, with large type, it equals a 30 minute sitcom? This books content is vast for this style of writing. I've always wondered if Naiad had a built in page limit. For once I'll say this is a great one and a half hour movie.
Rating:
Summary: Now I Believe!
Review: Love at first sight is just in the movies. It's not real, right? I read this book over two nights -- it's LONG! -- and by the end I not only believed that love can happen at first sight, I believe that thinking sacrificing love today is okay because there will always be tomorrow is a horrible waste. When Holly found Audra I was in tears, when she finally, finally meets Reyna I was holding my breath. Chapter 11 --the entire chapter! -- of this book is worth the price alone because the erotic explosion between Holly and Reyna is Kallmaker at her top sensual form. What an emotionally challenging, draining, fulfilling and dramatic novel this was. Brava! Brava! Brava!
Rating:
Summary: The hottest Kallmaker yet!
Review: Maybe it's the leather jacket or the Virago motorcycle, but Reyna Putnam has to be one of the sexiest women ever to hit the page. Maybe I feel that way because she's also one of the most complicated heroines Karen Kallmaker has ever written. I liked Holly's character a lot, but Reyna was the one who rocked my world! Her situation was so beautifully conveyed that I completely understood why an anonymous, seedy, seamy encounter was literally a sacrament to Reyna. I don't know why anyone would think this book is less erotic than Kallmaker's others -- I thought it was easily one of the hottest. Really, and it isn't just the motorcycle!
Rating:
Summary: She Takes my Breath Away!
Review: MJ Lowe's review says a lot of what I would say also say -- Karin Kallmaker's latest novel is simply wonderful. It defies the romance formula on many levels and yet delivers a wrenching, emotional story. There's no shortage of plot, or sketchiness in characterization and a number of authors could take a lesson from this book.For example, Holly never tells us, "Clay works on his search for Nirvana while I do all the work." Instead, Kallmaker shows us Clay home early from work, he's meditating when Holly gets home hours later. She puts away groceries, does dishes, waters plants, blames herself for not getting to the mending, then he saunters out of his study and starts bugging her for food. That's characterization. That's showing, not telling. And that's just a *fraction* of the excellent storytelling in this book. 271 pages, in a type 1 or 2 points smaller than Naiad's usual -- it's a tome. The pacing is wonderful for the length. The construction of the plotline is another rule breaker -- the two main characters don't actually meet until nearly three-quarters of the way through the book. To keep our interest we're given a couple of very brief flash "fowards" to show exactly what will happen when they do finally see each other in a bar. At that point my heart was pounding nonstop. Do yourself a favor and don't read the last quarter of the book when you're sleepy... or alone! Kallmaker fans know what I'm talking about. There are a number of downers in this book -- another romance formula rule breaker. Homophobia, "ex-gay" ministries, even a memo detailing why homosexuals should not be allowed to get married. And every one of them is countered in a realistic, uplifting way that both puts homophobes in the spotlight instead of shadows and models (without a hint of preachiness) a way for those of us who live the real world to not just cope, but to be happy in the face of ignorance and hate. I think that Kallmaker would say that being happy inspite of them is the best revenge. I'm going to wait a week and read this book again. As much as a found to love the first time I know I'm going to find more the second. I'll read Chapter 11 twice. Kallmaker fans know what I'm talking about.
Rating:
Summary: Great book by a great writer!
Review: My heart pounds, I cry, I wish I had a girlfriend handy, I laugh, I daydream and I feel better about myself -- all from reading Karin Kallmaker's books. Thanks Karin, for all the happy hours you've given me and the undying hope that someday our lives will be just as valued and full of love as anyone else's. This book is HIGHLY deserving of the nomination as a Lammy Finalist! Given the other finalists -- it should also be the winner.
Rating:
Summary: No Substitute for Kallmaker
Review: The book description above does not do justice to the actual impact and power of the plot of this book. The story line is considerably more complicated than that. Holly's coming out process, Reyna's terrible dilemma, and the roadblocks between these women seem insurmountable, and the turns of events are not so simple as that description would lead one to believe. Kallmaker has put together a terrific plot with twists and turns one does not usually expect in a romance novel. Each character is rich and full, and the flow of the narrative is masterfully handled. I can't say enough positive things about this book. It adds to Kallmaker's varied and increasingly complex collection of finely written books about lesbians. I also found it interesting that other talented novelists, for instance Lori L. Lake (see her review below), have also been so effusive about this book. Like Lake, Kallmaker writes stories about real life people who have real life jobs and who are not romantic fantasies. It says something very positive when Kallmaker's peers are bestowing her with such high honors. One can only hope that she gets the well-deserved Lammy award for which she has finally been nominated. My only regret is that so few lesbian novels are made into films. This story would be an excellent addition to movies by, for, and about lesbians. Any aspiring filmmakers out there?
Rating:
Summary: Where is the movie?
Review: This is the book that introduced me to Karin Kallmaker's writing skills. I was so moved to contact her about this installment, could you believe she has never thought of her characters brought to life, either by cable television or the movie screen.
I would pay at the drop of a hat, to see her work on screen. As long as it was kept like the book. I think Queer as Folk is leading the way...
So again I will ask, where is the movie ?
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: This story left me feeling breathless for so many reasons. The audacity of Reyna's father, blackmailing her in such an ugly way, to keep her from expressing her true self, made my stomach gnaw with anger. Holly.....what can I say? She is so very endearing in her newly awakened feelings. My own coming out was not so very long ago, and this brought back those first feelings of uncertainty at allowing the longing that had been shoved away for so long to be released. My heart went out to Reyna and I wanted so much to see Holly grow to understand why she had to have things that way. I LOVED detective Ivar for his compassion and taking matters into his own hand, so that Reyna could finally have the life she deserved. I hated for the book to end, because I really wanted to see what sort of life Reyna and Holly ended up having together.
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