Rating: 
Summary: Alma Mater is a Letdown
Review: I like Rita Mae Brown's books and have wished for more of them. Not after reading Alma Mater though. This one is terrible. I don't mean the central theme, although that has been done to death and I'm pretty tired of being enlightened (clubbed over the head) by those who think the rest of the world needs to up on the subject. The writing is what I'm referring to as terrible. It's not up to her usual standard. Was this a manuscript she wrote before Ruby Fruit Jungle and has hauled out of mothballs to meet some writing deadline? Is it written to a junvenile young female reader audience? It seems dated and the writing stilted (not even as good as Nancy Drew). The characters are boring, silly and one dimensional. As far as this being considered a Southern novel, let's just say it is set in the South. Rita Mae has lost her touch with this one. I hope Sneaky Pie's next story will be better. That series has been consistently good and the characters are believable folks. Outfoxed and Riding Shotgun were o.k. too. Come on, Rita Mae! Either do better than this or your books are going to be relegated to a dusty corner in a bargain book store.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointment
Review: I love the Mrs. Murphy series, but Rita Mae Brown seems to flounder without the helping hand of Sneaky Pie. This book was just plain boring. There was a lot of supposedly "witty repartee" by Vic's family and friends that had nothing to do with the story and appeared to be in there just to show how cute they all were - I found myself starting to skim every conversation in the book. The "quirky" characters came across as demented and strange, and I got tired of all the emphasis on how beautiful Vic and Chris and various others were - I think this was supposed to be some political statement that not all lesbians are masculine and ugly, but she kept making this point over and over, and it got tiresome. Vic made more long, tedious speeches than a politician, and at times the book felt more like a lecture than a story, with some sex scenes thrown in that were also surprisingly dull, given how steamy they were - in fact, very little seemed to happen.
If this is your first Rita Mae Brown book, don't judge them all by this - the Mrs. Murphy series is a million times better.
Rating: 
Summary: A darned good read with warm brownies
Review: I was really curious to see if Rita could maintain the quality of her "non sneaky pie" books. Yep, she did it. The writing is fluid and typically southern (which I happen to love). The characters are well written and physically described so throughly I can practically pick them out of a crowd. I laughed my butt off at the mental pictures of the updated wardrobe of the Virgin Mary!! This book is warm and ripe and lovely.
Rating:
Summary: One of Rita Mae Brown's Best
Review: I've read all of Ms. Brown's books and probably enjoyed this one the most. I picked up Alma Mater one evening at 6:30 P.M. and didn't put it down unitl I finished the book at 11:00. The characters were delightful and realistic. The description of William and Mary was right on the mark. It is definitely a book that I will read over and over again.
Rating:
Summary: No Winner Here
Review: It's been a long time since Rubyfruit Jungle, and I've often wondered what an early, cult success means to a writer. Does it frustrate that all work after that is compared to something that might have been part fluke? This most recent book by Rita Mae Brown does make Rubyfruit look more and more like a fluke. I, too, don't understand the time setting of the novel, and it seems increasingly clear to me that Brown doesn't have a real grasp on what coming out was like for women who aren't *gasp* breathtakingly beautiful, surrounded by wealth and opportunity, and don't have the pickings of any of the *gasp* breathtakingly beautiful women around them. I found Vic to be manipulative and unlikeable on many levels. She feels pressured to save her family fortunes by marrying a rich man (in 1980, not 1950. Vic doesn't even come close to convincing me anything more than her vanity and desire to continue being wealthy is at stake. Truthfully, though many people just can't conceive that a mere small press lesbian romance novel could compare to anything by Rita Mae, I recommend Karin Kallmaker's Substitute for Love to anyone who wants to see what it's like when a character is convincingly forced to reject her lesbian soul to save her family. The families are daft, which is vintage Rita Mae, but not in the delightful way that Six of One conveyed. They are wearing and tedious, and the dialogue full of wasted words. Characters make speeches to each other and nobody really seems to interact, not even the lovers. I've stopped expecting another Rubyfruit or Six of One from Brown, but even so this book disappointed. It doesn't succeed as lit'rature or a romance, or a slice of life or historical perspective piece. It just doesn't succeed at all.
Rating: 
Summary: Ahh, the Discovery of New Love
Review: Rita Mae Brown's latest book shares the story of Vic and Chris, two women who happen upon their attraction to each other. The women meet and become fast friends, and soon, they begin a love affair so explosive it shakes the very core of their sexualities. The only problem is Vic already has a commitment to her BMOC boyfriend, Charly. As a modern Southern belle, her hand is practically promised to the well-to-do, handsome football player. Although Vic's heart quivers for Charly, it burns passionately for Chris. So what's a girl to do, especially when you are raised with a genteel upbringing? She spends the majority of the novel trying to understand her new feelings and how to break it to Charly. And in the midst of her discovery is a cast of Southern eccentrics, who add a life to what could have been a dull take on lesbian love. There's her levelheaded parents, Frank and R. J., her bold Aunt Bunny, and her outrageous younger sister, Mignon. Intensifying the madcap is the Wallace family, who take the term "hillbilly" to another level. The only thing that made the book tedious was Vic's wavering attitude toward ending her relationship with Charly. I kept wondering when she would finally bite the bullet and just be honest with everyone. Although it had a slow start, the book held my interest as I kept reading on. Thanks, Rita, for making me laugh and making me think.
Rating:
Summary: Rita Mae's closet Xena "uber"?
Review: RMB's best since "Six of One," though, as with every Rita Mae novel, there will be times when you want to throw it across the room in exasperation. This witty, sly, touching love story between college age women comes across as very familiar territory to those of us who've been reading the (now much of it published) Xena fanfic online for years and rumors are rife that this is indeed of the genre "uber." It's the first RMB novel I've hugely enjoyed in years. Also, if you enjoy this, the similar themed and very definitely uber online and published novel by L.J. Maas, "None So Blind" will also be to your liking. Not to mention S.X. Meagher's wonderful near Dickensian saga of modern S.F. (a distaff version to rival Maupin's "Tales of the City"), "I Found My Heart in San Francisco." Both concern the romances of college age women. The uber novels are some of the best writing by women for women that I've ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: Not her best, but not bad either
Review: Southern humor and outlandish characters is a stalwart trait of writing by Rita Mae Brown, and her latest offering, Alma Mater, doesn't stray far from it. Set on the campus of William & Mary College, it tells the tale of Victoria "Vic" Savedge, the statuesque beauty of an old-fashioned Virginia family, where life is lived according to tradition, and daughters "marry well." Vic's life is following her mother's plan perfectly until she meets Chris, the diminuitive blonde new to the college. This happenstance meeting turns Vic life upside down, has her questioning everything she has ever known to be true, and before long, finds herself madly in love with this beautiful woman. Once this passion is unleashed, it follows an unpredictable path guaranteed to upset the course of both their lives. Compared to other Brown novels, Alma Mater doesn't quite live up to the enchanting and charming characters of say, Six of One, one of the most entertaining books I've ever read. But as a standalone novel without previous knowledge of Brown's other work, Alma Mater is an enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: it's really a good'un
Review: Story of my life. I loved this book. I could read it again and again, and I have. It definitely has some hot sex scenes.
Rating:
Summary: What happened to a favorite author?
Review: There was a time when holding a new Rita Mae Brown book was cause for rejoicing. But unfortunately, having just finished this book, there is no joy from reading Alma Mater. While I can remember so many pleasurable hours as I read Riding Shotgun, Outfoxed, Bingo, Rubyfruit Jungle and other titles by Ms. Brown, I'm now wondering if this was the same author I once really enjoyed reading. The plot of the book, while fairly simple, has a new and very much Rita Mae Brown twist. Boy loves girl, girl loves boy but suddenly girl also loves a girl. And while I don't mind reading about either heterosexual or homosexual relationships, I didn't find these characters in the least bit interesting, rather almost annoying. And because of the undeveloped portrayal of these people, it didn't make too much difference to me who was pining for whom and who would eventually wind up staying together. In the tradition of Alice Hoffman and Anne Tyler, Rita Mae Brown did try filling the pages with some of the quirkiest people even if they are Southern Virginians. But even there, she fell short in her attempts. Instead of them being endearing and lovingly eccentric to readers, they seemd foolish and I began to tire of their complaints and antics. The ending when it finally did come, and believe me reading this rather short book found me dragging my feet if not eyes, was rather predictable. I did wonder if perhaps Ms. Brown had continued the book for a couple of more years, so we could see the lives of these three later on, if her readers might not have warmed up to this book a bit more. I would have to admit I found this book rather boring and am not sure I will continue reading Rita Mae Brown in the future. But knowing me and how much I once enjoyed Brown's books I probably will. But I will also be hoping that the next books will be a better book than Alma Mater.
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