Tag: lesbian

Posted on

#BookReview: Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner

Several YMMV Issues But Nothing Objectively Wrong. This is one of those stories where there are a LOT of valid issues that people may have with the book, but ultimately pretty well all of them are matters of taste and not something truly concretely objectively *wrong*. Some may quibble about the rather obvious nature of having lesbians playing women’s professional sports (in this exact case, soccer). Fairly or unfairly, this is almost insulting in just how much it plays into the stereotypes of women’s professional sports in particular. Some may quibble about the extremely casual and flirting with erotica level sex that dominates most of the book, or the way that neither character actually knows much about the other before starting this form of “relationship”. That last bit may actually be the most realistic thing about that aspect of the relationship here, however! Some may quibble about the lack of communication and arguably even consent in at least a few key aspects of the later story. Some may quibble about the insistence on medication and the glorification of a “miracle cure” that eventually comes up. Some may quibble about the rather blatantly obvious “bad guy ex” stereotype or the rather wooden and largely barely characterized at all extended cast of friends and teammates that play such crucial roles at various points in the tale.

And I could keep going, but you, *my* reader, begin to get the picture here. There are issues, but they are issues that any given reader may or may not actually have problems with, and that is completely for Wilsner’s readers to decide for themselves here. Ultimately, I felt the book was fine for what it was, with nothing truly *jarringly* glaringly wrong about it, and nothing to objectively say “THIS IS WRONG!!!!” about. So read it for yourself if you’re remotely interested in reading about lesbian romances. Recommended.

This review of Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner was originally written on October 5, 2023.

Posted on

#BookReview: Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner

Dang Near Erotica Level MILF Lesbian* RomCom. Seriously: Read the title of this review. If that type of book isn’t for you for any reason at all… save yourself the time and the author the 1* review and just find something else to read. The sex scenes start in Chapter 1 and are fairly frequent throughout the book – and *far* from closed door. XXX “on screen”, in fact. And all the sex is between a 40 something woman whose daughter is in college and a 21yo female college senior. Again, if that isn’t your thing… just move on. Finally, there are f-bombs and other curse words quite heavily as well (not sailor/ programmer level, but also not Independent Baptist Church level either). So yet again, not your thing… just move on. Please.

For anyone else that is still here… this is a somewhat slow ish angsty romcom, but the resolution comes perhaps a bit too quickly once it finally gets to that point. Still, there actually is a decent amount of drama here, and a seemingly realistic (enough) portrayal of people actually in these types of situations. The comedy part of the “romcom” label is mostly in the initial few scenes between the leading couple, but there are laughs to be had throughout the book and the romance itself picks up when the comedy wanes, so it works. Really the only quibble for those still here is the flash-forward epilogue, which is one of those things your mileage may vary on but which does add a bit of humor to the tail end of the tale.

Overall this was a solid tale well told, and the characters themselves are rare enough that anyone seeking “something different” will find this quite refreshing indeed. Very much recommended.

*Note: While the characterization of the leading couple is *actually* bisexual, according to the text here, and one has even been married and had a kid (and the other had a boyfriend before the events of the book), the only romantic/ sexual relationships actually in the book are all of the sapphic nature, and thus for actual purposes of review would be considered lesbian in at least some circles.

This review of Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner was originally written on October 8, 2022.

Posted on

#BlogTour: When Sparks Fly by Kristen Zimmer

For this blog tour we’re looking at a solid young adult/ new adult tale of lesbian love in high school. For this blog tour we’re looking at When Sparks Fly by Kristen Zimmer.

First, here’s what I had to say on Goodreads:

Solid Lesbian High School Romance. This one has the metric shit-ton of angst one would expect from teenage girls – you’ve got the foster kid trying to fit in. You’ve got the spoiled rich kid hating herself over something the foster kid knows nothing about (but finds out about eventually) who leads one group of friends. You’ve got the spoiled rich kid’s ex-girlfriend who shared in the tragedy and the guilt… and who leads the other group of friends. You’ve got the foster kid trying to fit in with both sets. And along the way, you get all kinds of will-they/ won’t-they teasing between the three… which *also* leads to quite a bit of angst. 😀 But yes, somewhere along the way it becomes a bit like Sky High’s *awesome* final line, and you do in fact get an actual romance as it does so. Zimmer also did an excellent job of making this a shared universe with her first book, but while making it effectively a standalone book rather than a true “series” book. So if you’re into high school and/ or LGBT/lesbian romances, give this one a try. Even if you’re not, this one is a good book to experiment with. As is typical of many high school based romances, there is less sex than many/ most older adult romances and more kissing. Though there is an eventual rounding of the bases. Or several. It just primarily happens “off screen”. Not for the “clean”/ “sweet” romance crowd, though I’ve seen little evidence of that crowd looking to the LGBT romance arena anyway. Very much recommended.

Below the jump, the publisher information, including the book description, a bit about the author, and some direct buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: When Sparks Fly by Kristen Zimmer”

Posted on

#BlogTour: The Secret Ingredient by KD Fisher


Once again we come to a Carina Adores Blog Tour, which are always awesome. Seriously, I haven’t encountered a bad book in this program yet, and I’ve found several authors doing this that have taken me to places I’d never been before – and that is always awesome. 🙂

This time, we’re looking at The Secret Inredient by KD Fisher.

Here’s what I had to say about it on Goodreads:

Fun Foodie FF Romance. This is a lesbian romance where the two ladies are about as opposite as it gets – one is a trained chef working for a corporate restaurant group, the other is a legacy baker who took over and revitalized her mom’s shop. As a short romance, it works well in that it hits all the requirements of the genre (yes, including sex) and executes each solidly – but you’re not going to get the conflict and growth of a 100 page longer book. Though there are still significant, more complicated than Hallmarkie, conflicts here. Ultimately a fun book that hits all the right notes and even manages to highlight the particular region it features very well. Very much recommended.

And below the jump, a page-ish excerpt from near the front of the book (Chapter 2, IIRC):
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Secret Ingredient by KD Fisher”

Posted on

Featured New Release of the Week: Shanghaied by K’Anne Meinel

This week, we look to an excellent lesbian historical fiction novella. This week, we’re looking at Shanghaied by K’Anne Meinel.

One of the things I like about Meinel is that she tells stories where the characters happen to be lesbians – and romance and sex aren’t driving features. In this opening to a new series, she stays true to that form.

In this book, we get a survival story in the present day – a woman has been mistaken to be a man and has been shanghaied in circa 1900 San Fransisco and is now trapped on a ship full of men who have no idea she is a woman. Here, Meinel does an excellent job of showing the stress and creativeness necessary for her heroine to survive such a situation, and she truly makes the reader feel the heroine’s terror.

In flashbacks, we get the heroine’s history – including the romance that eventually put her in San Fransisco to begin with. Here we do get a bit of the sappy, played well to the period of the book. And yes, there are indeed a couple of sex scenes. But even through these events, the focus is on showing the heroine’s history and motivation while giving a bit of a well needed reprieve from the stress of the present day storyline.

Excellent work, and very much recommended.

Also, the author would like me to note that the rest of this series will be available shortly after the release of this book and thus is very bingeable. 🙂

As always, we end with the Goodreads/ Amazon review:
Continue reading “Featured New Release of the Week: Shanghaied by K’Anne Meinel”

Posted on

#BookReview: Across the Dark Horizon by Tagan Shepard

Strong Story, Abrupt Ending. This was a strong story of two women brought together by circumstances largely out of their direct control… wherein such circumstances happen to be a prison riot on the moon. Excellent tale from both the military and business sides, and without too much “science fiction” other than the setting itself (and *some* of the tech, but that level of tech is rarely mentioned in the story). Other than the very abrupt ending that feels like the author wanted to end the book with the final words of the last chapter and only tacked on an epilogue after an unknown third party insisted on it, the story was amazing. The ending was *almost* enough to drop it a star, it was that jarring. Still, a very much recommended book.

This review of Across the Dark Horizon by Tagan Shepard was originally published on June 4, 2018.

Posted on

Featured New Release Of The Week: The Post by Kevin Munoz

This week we look to an excellent post Apocalyptic zombie tale by a promising debut author. This week, we look to The Post by Kevin Munoz.

This was a book that was very reminscent of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road in terms of overall bleakness. The key difference being that while I often cite The Road as the singular worst book I have ever read, this particular book was genuinely great. While I cop to being a Georgia native – and UGA athletics fan -, I am not overly familiar with most of the particular locales described in this book. That said, it is always nice to see an area you’ve known even a bit to be featured in a book. This book is an excellent examination of how society can rebuild itself from nearly anything, including the dual Apocalyptic events described as having happened years before the events here. Truly an excellent human centered book that happens to take place in a world that has survived the Zombie Apocalypse and is still in the process of rebuilding, this book shows those efforts – and secret efforts that could undo every ounce of progress made so far. I really cannot heap enough praise on this debut work. If you are open to genre, read this book. If you like post Apocalypse, read this book. If LGBT centered stories are your particular bent, you will also enjoy this book. If you’re just looking for a solidly entertaining read, read this book. Seriously, just read this book and hope – as I do – that we get an unnecessary yet welcome sequel.

And as always, the Goodreads/ Amazon review:
Continue reading “Featured New Release Of The Week: The Post by Kevin Munoz”