Fated Love

Rating:
Summary: A pleasure
Review: After months of disappointing reading, I bought two fantastic romances in one week, and this was one of them. I had not read any of Radclyffe's work before and it was a pleasure to discover this fine author. The characters were believable and the medical background was very well done. The temperature of the story climbs rapidly and the relationship between Quinn and Honor is much more than the usual superficial stuff common in lesbian romances. I highly recommend this book if you're looking for a well written story that will keep you interested right to the end! Warning-if you don't like love scenes avoid this book :)

Rating:
Summary: A Delicious Serving of Romance, "Straight" Up
Review: I am a big fan of Rad and "Fated Love" is one her best romances. Uber is absent, and that was welcome to me. The characters of Quinn and Honor are therefore built from the ground up and seemed fresh and new. They both have secrets but neither is "tortured and dark."

What keeps a writer's work in lesbian romance fresh, to me, is one of two things. Either she plays with the basic formula or she does the basic formula *really well.* To me, Radclyffe has done the basic formula *really well* in "Fated Love." So I'm puzzled by reviews that suggest this book "breaks" the romance formula. How so?

Two women meet, are undeniably attracted, but separated by a variety of factors. Over time they learn to respect, then to admire and like, and finally to admit to love. Together, they overcome the things that separate them. This journey is where all the fun is. This is the "straight up" romance plot of 80% of the lesbian romance books produced. The difference between novels is the writer's talent (Rad's is undeniable!) in breathing life into the story so that the reader experiences this familiar tale in a brand new way.

"Fated Love" follows this precise, tried-and-true journey. It does so consistently, with zest and eroticism, in an exciting, fast-paced setting. As with "Love's Tender Warriors" (same basic outline) Radclyffe knows how to form, stir up and satisfy our expectations. Her erotic scenes are powerful and realistic.

If anything, I liked "Fated Love" more than Warriors because the issues that separated Honor and Quinn were the kinds of things I, or any friend of mine, could be dealing with. Family concerns and health, career and outright terror to find yourself falling in love. They are Rad's usual strong-willed and extremely talented women, but both are fragile for different, realistic reasons. They are super women, but not superwomen.

There are so many novels out there that follow this formula and do it with tired, mechanical, uninspired, forgettable stories that use the basic formula in the most mediocre way. (There are a few writers who seem to do little more than search-and-replace to change the character and place names before they call it a brand new book!) Only a few can do the beloved, familiar romance formula again and again and each time tell a story that is fresh and entertaining. So perhaps that's why some feel "Fated Love" is not a formula romance -- where Rad has broken the rules is in doing the formula *really well.*

This *is* a formula romance for lesbians, and it's one of the really good ones. Good characters, exciting storytelling, excellent craftwomanship, hot sex and a truly believable conclusion. It's about as "straight" up as a lesbian romance can be!



Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: I loved this book, i found my self waiting for that first kiss with the turn of every page. The love scenes were so hot i was sweating just reading it. Radclyf is a really good writer and this was my first book I read of hers. I want to read all of her books if they are half as good as this. I read it in one day it was so good and if you knew me then you would understand how big that is.

Rating:
Summary: Great Story
Review: I Loved this story about Honor and Quinn. It is one of my favorite Radclyffe books, and I've read the majority of them. I only hope that there will be a future book that continues the story of these two fascinating women.

Rating:
Summary: Radclyffe does it again
Review: I'm hard pressed to now pick my favorite book of Radclyffe's but this one is definitely right up there. The dynamics between the characters is very life-like and intriguing - I couldn't put it down before finishing it. Her writing seems to only get better and better. Here's hoping Radclyffe continues to share her genius and talents for many years to come.

Rating:
Summary: One Heckuva Terrific Romance
Review: New employee Quinn Maguire shows up at Philadelphia Medical College's ER/Trauma Unit on a quiet Monday morning, but before she's even had a chance to be introduced to the lone woman sitting behind the intake counter, a gunshot victim is wheeled in. Quinn looks around, can't find an attending physician, and immediately takes over the victim's care with the help of a nurse and the woman who first greeted her whom she assumes is a resident. Big mistake. Instead, it's Honor Blake, the chief of emergency services. Fortunately, Honor doesn't hold Quinn's assumptions against her. While both women are secretly impressed with the skills the other displayed in saving the patient's life, they're also wary of the other.

So begins an uneasy alliance during which circumstances draw Honor and Quinn together, and they find themselves unaccountably attracted to one another. Honor can't figure out why a surgeon as skilled as Quinn chose to leave a prominent position at a big-time New York hospital to be an attending ER doctor at a university hospital in Philly. And Quinn can't figure out why Honor shies away from her when it's clear there's an undeniable pull between them. Both of them have secrets they refuse to divulge. How can they work together, much less become friends-or more-so long as each is so carefully guarding her own little world?

The story of these two women's lives-and the twists and turns that take place to bring them to the same place-is impossible to put down. With ample angst, realistic and exciting medical emergencies, winsome secondary characters, and a sprinkling of humor, FATED LOVE turns out to be a terrific romance. It's one of the best I have read in the last three years. Run-do not walk-right out and get this one. You'll be hooked by yet another of Radclyffe's wonderful stories. Highly recommended. ~Lori L. Lake, author of lesbian fiction and freelance reviewer for Midwest Book Review, Golden Crown Literary Society's The Crown, The Independent Gay Writer, and Just About Write.

Rating:
Summary: Excerpt
Review: Quinn stuffed her street clothes into an empty locker, pulled on a pair of navy blue scrubs and Nikes, and, hoping to get on better footing with her new chief, went in search of Honor. She found her reading through a stack of papers in the staff lounge, a small, windowless room tucked into a rear corner of the emergency room. The space was unadorned and starkly functional-the only decorations were a bulletin board with the obligatory rules and regulations covering everything from waste disposal to bomb threats, and a large erasable 12-month calendar showing the staff's shift assignments. The furnishings consisted of a single grouping of end tables and chairs along one wall and a central table that looked as if it had been pilfered from the hospital cafeteria.

"You said you wanted to go over some things," Quinn said as she helped herself to coffee from the warmer on the counter. It was her first and only cup of the day, and she fervently prayed it would be decent. She took a cautious sip. Not bad at all. Maybe that's a good sign. She and Honor were alone, and Quinn waited for an invitation before sitting down. "Is this a good time to talk?"

"Any time that it's quiet for five minutes in a row is a good time," Honor said with a soft sigh, pushing the messages aside. Most of the time, she enjoyed the administrative aspects of her position, but the paperwork was never-ending. She gestured to the chair opposite her at the stained gray Formica-topped table. "I'm sorry that I didn't get to meet with you when you were here to interview in June."

"So am I." Quinn kept her voice neutral and her face expressionless, wondering if they had met if Honor would have hired her. At the moment, the ER chief didn't seem too happy to have her on board. She'd been lucky that her previous chief had been able to pull some strings and get her an interview at one of the few university hospitals that still had an ER handling trauma. Most hospitals, like St. Michael's, had both a trauma unit to handle acute injuries and a separate emergency room for the treatment of medical illness. At PMC, however, the ER docs evaluated and stabilized even the level one traumas, only calling upon the surgeons for consultation or when the patient was ready to go up to the OR. It was as close as Quinn was going to get to an operating room for a while. Face it. Maybe forever. She pushed away that thought as well as the faint nausea that accompanied it. "It was kind of a rush deal."

"Yes, the way you were hired was a bit unusual." Honor studied Quinn's deep blue eyes, searching for some suggestion of evasion or discomfort. The surgeon's gaze was direct and surprisingly serene. The tranquility was not something Honor would have expected of any surgeon, but particularly not of this one, especially not after having witnessed Quinn's aggressive handling of the trauma alert earlier. What an interesting mix of contradictions she is. Or else she's a great poker player.

Annoyed to discover that she had lost her focus, Honor spoke more sharply than she intended. "I'm not sure what you were led to believe, but it's not going to be possible for you to see only surgical problems down here. We're-"

"I wasn't led to believe anything except that I had a job." Quinn tilted her head with the barest flicker of a grin. "Is that still true?"

Despite herself, Honor laughed. "Well, considering that you passed your practical exam this morning with high marks, I'd have to say yes."

"Good, because I've already put down first and last months' rent on an apartment."

Honor caught herself as she was about to ask where Quinn was living. For some reason, she couldn't seem to keep her mind from wandering from professional into personal areas, which was distinctly unusual for her. She was friendly with all of her colleagues, but, for the most part, her time was spent on administrative responsibilities or patient care. She didn't socialize very much with any of her colleagues other than Linda, and she almost never saw her fellow attendings outside of work except at departmental functions. I'm probably curious because she just appeared out of nowhere. It's not like there's really any great mystery about her. So, I'll just get this little introductory talk out of the way, and we can all get back to routine.

"The Monday morning rush is going to start very soon," Honor began, "so let's go over the ground rules before that happens. We try to see patients on a first come, first served basis as much as possible. Obviously, if there's an acute case, that takes priority."

Quinn nodded, watching Honor unconsciously turn the wedding ring on her left hand as she spoke. The ER chief had beautiful hands-narrow, supple, and long fingered. Those hands appeared very much like the woman herself-graceful and lithe and strong. With a start, Quinn realized that she had missed the last thing that Honor had said. "I'm sorry? What?"

Honor regarded her quizzically. "I said that I don't have a problem with you selecting out the patients with complaints that seem to be surgical in origin, because that just makes sense. But if there's a patient with a critical condition or someone who has been waiting a long time, you'll need to see them even if their complaint is a medical problem."

"I expected to do that," Quinn said evenly. "I've been boning up on my emergency medicine the last few weeks." She lifted a shoulder and shrugged. "I'm not that far out of medical school that I don't remember how to handle medical problems. I'm a little behind on the latest drug treatments, but I'll catch up."

"I'm sure you will." Honor stood. "Don't be afraid to check with one of us if you're not sure about something-just until you're a little more comfortable with the kinds of conditions you'll be seeing down here. I'm sure it will be very different from what you were used to at St. Michael's."

For the first time, Quinn averted her gaze, and a faint flush rose up her neck. Until four months ago, she had expected to be the newest trauma attending at St. Michael's right about now, not a green ER doc at the bottom of the totem pole. "Yes, I expect it will be."

Rating:
Summary: She's Done It Again
Review: Radclyffe has brought us another heartstopping romance. For those of you who have read her books before, you'll be in for a new treat. For those of you who haven't read a Radclyffe book, this is a good start to adding this wonderful author to your collection.

Fated Love is pure romance but with a twist. Radclyffe introduces us to Honor and Quinn, both are hiding deep personal secrets that have had shattering effects on their lives. Once again the author's work poses the question ," Can love redeem these two characters?"

Radclyffe builds the angst well here with Honor and Quinn, adding strong secondary characters that help move the story along. For the first time a child plays a central role in her story, adding much to the final outcome.

This is what Radclyffe does best whether a romance or mystery. All of her characters add to the complexity and strength of the plot, moving it along at a fast pace.

Her bold new direction in Fated Love keeps this story fresh and full of surprises. This is not formula romance by a long shot.

Rating:
Summary: Another offering from the mistress of lesbian romance
Review: There is an old Yiddish proverb that - roughly translated -counsels: "A man plans, and God laughs." Read one way, the aphorism suggests a cruel power governing the universe - a sadistic deity who chortles merrily as we go about our lives making plans that will never come to fruition because of forces beyond our control. Certainly, to the two central characters in FATED LOVE - the latest offering from Radclyffe (lesbian romance's answer to Nora Roberts in both quality and prolificness) - the fates have seemed unkind. Both Quinn Maguire - a precociously gifted trauma surgeon - and Honor Blake - the ER chief who is her new boss - once thought they'd achieved everything they'd ever desired in this life. Quinn was poised on the brink of the career she'd trained for; Honor had built a home with her high-school sweetheart and their daughter. And then, in a heartbeat, all was lost. Two lifetimes of plans were dashed.

But in this story of love and loss and pain and healing - and the terror that accompanies these experiences - Radclyffe suggests that perhaps "God laughs" not out of amusement at our despair and shattered dreams. Instead, the fates laugh at our human plans because what the universe has in store is so much more - more intense, more erotic, more wonderful - than anything we might plan on our own. Because the paths of Honor's and Quinn's interrupted lives converge in the Emergency Room where they both work, and Radclyffe's masterful hand guides these two strong, resilient women through the process of moving forward to life, to love, to the future.

FATED LOVE is exquisitely written. There is no writer of lesbian romance working today who conveys pure depth of emotion as truly as Radclyffe. Her characters scale the heights of erotic pleasure just as intensely as they plumb the depths of despair and hopelessness. And it should also be noted that FATED LOVE is a celebration of family - of the true bonds that connect us and of the sanctity of love above all else. Ultimately, love must be the power that guides us - because life is fragile and joy is evanescent. So read FATED LOVE, and be reminded of all the wonderful things the universe must have in store.