Reviews

 


April 2010

Title: Clarity
Author: Jocelyn Powers
ISBN: 10) 1-935216-07-4; 13) 978-1-935216-07-0
Publisher: Intaglio Publications, www.intagliopub.com
Available at: Bella Books, www.bellabooks.com
Price: $16.95
Pages: 212
Genre: Romance












Jocelyn Powers debuts in the ring of lesbian fiction with a romance set in the mountains of Colorado.

Andrea Payton is a television producer in search of a new life. Her boss in Chicago doesn't appreciate her talent and her girlfriend has dumped her for another woman with brighter social prospects. Determined to change the course she's on, Andi accepts a job with a station in Colorado, moving far from the family she loves and all of her friends. Things immediately improve when she finds that she's in a much better work environment and a friendly small town. Complications occur almost immediately. The station is hired by a local resort to do a series of commercials for them and Andi has to work with Julianna Stevens, the marketing executive. The attraction is immediate on both sides, but problematic. Julianna is straight and has a reputation for working her way through the men in the town. Andi wants nothing to do with a straight woman who is experimenting, but Julianna doesn't seem to be that type. Julianna is equally confused by her reaction to Andi and the implications for her own life. Will they remain just friends or will something deeper develop?

Clarity is a standard romance. It's a nice story that unfolds fairly well with likeable characters, but there is nothing that makes this book stand out as unique or unusual. At times the writing is simplistic and it's sometimes choppy in places, but experience and a good editor should smooth out these problems for the author. There's nothing offensive about this book. It's just not special.

If the reader is looking for a light, easy book to entertain you for a few hours, Clarity will suit your needs just fine. _____
Reviewed by Lynne Pierce


Title: Comfortable Distance
Author: Kenna White
ISBN: 13) 978-1-59493-152-9; 10) 1-59493-152-6
Publisher: Bella Books, www.bellabooks.com
Available at: Bella Books, www.bellabooks.com
Price: $14.95
Pages: 271
Genre: Romance












Dana Robbins is a successful syndicated cartoonist who plans to spend her summer vacation on a houseboat. The boat isn't going anywhere. She just needs to get away from her girlfriend Shannon so that she can think about their relationship. Shannon has proven that she can't be trusted and Dana isn't sure they have a future. There is a whole community that lives at the harbor on boats and she soon makes a new group of friends, including Dr. Jamie Hughes, a marine biologist, who is studying Puget Sound and its ecosystem. When Jamie has to rescue Dana and her niece from a sailing accident, the women become sailing friends and Jamie decides to help Dana work through her trouble. Neither woman is considering any other kind of relationship, but an attraction is inevitable. Shannon isn't going to give up Dana without a fight though and that may doom any chance Jamie has of pursuing her interest in Dana.

Kenna White writes quick easy to read romances. They follow a traditional formula and have the expected conclusion. Her characters are appealing and the story flows evenly. There isn't much depth to this story and parts of it seem rushed, but there are some nice scenes. There could have been more plot and character development, but both are sufficient to move the story along. If you're a fan of light romance, Comfortable Distance will suit you nicely.
_____
Reviewed by Lynne Pierce


Title: Death of a Dying Man
Author: J.M. Redmann
ISBN: 13) 978-1-60282-075-3; 10) 1-60282-075-9
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Available at: Bold Strokes Books, www.boldstrokesbooks.com; and SCP Books, www.SCPbooks.com
Price: $16.95 - Pages: 281
Genre: Mystery












Fans of the Micky Knight series had to wait a long time for this installment. The fact that Redmann lives in New Orleans played a big a part in that and the fact that Hurricane Katrina becomes a character in this book.

Damon LaChance is a well-known figure in the New Orleans gay community, famous for his decadence and the bars he owns in the French Quarter. Seven years before he slept with a woman for the first and last time, so, when she told him she was pregnant, he rejected her. It couldn't be his child, could it? Now Damon is dying and he's having doubts. He wants Micky to find the child and determine if she is his daughter. He wants someone to leave his property to, but more importantly, he wants to feel a connection to the future he won't have. When someone murders Damon, Micky becomes more determined to find the child that someone is trying to disinherit.

Her task and her life are complicated by Dr. Lauren Calder and her lover Shannon Wild. Dr. Calder is working on a project with Micky's lover Dr. Cordelia James and taking up way too much of Cordelia's time. Shannon is a journalist who decides that working with Micky to solve the LaChance case would be a great way to get experience and to hit on Micky. Micky's professional work is distracted by Shannon's presence and her personal life begins to deteriorate as she suspects something may be going on between Lauren and Cordelia. As Hurricane Kartina roars into the Gulf Coast Micky's emotions are torn in multiple directions and she is forced to face the possibility that not only will she lose the city she loves, but the relationship her whole life is based upon.

Redmann is a Lambda Literary Award winner and shows her experience in this book. The various subplots weave together like threads to form the pattern of the whole cloth. Just enough about the plot is revealed to keep the reader going, but not enough to keep surprises from popping up. Micky's emotions are tightly wrapped and on the verge of flying apart as she vacillates between confidence and doubt. The dramatic tension created by the search for the child, and by extension the murderer, is counter balanced by the tension between Micky and Cordelia.

Looming over everything is the growing presence of the storm as it approaches. Redmann captures the inattention of the residents as Katrina is just a story on the news and then the growing awareness of the danger they face as landfall becomes imminent. The terror of the flight from the city, the sense of powerlessness to help those left behind and the devastation caused to New Orleans pours from the pages. Characters who haven't acted nobly earlier in the book emerge as heroes and others show their true natures.

The spell that Redmann weaves draws the reader into and through the book. There is a totally unexpected twist in the relationship between Micky and Cordelia that begs for the rapid appearance of the next book in the series. Death of a Dying Man has a lot of selling points – mystery, romance, emotions and current events. Readers should be able to enjoy it on many levels.
_____
Reviewed by Lynne Pierce


Title: Missing Lynx
Author: Kim Baldwin & Xenia Alexiou
ISBN-13: 1-10282-137-2
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books, www.boldstrokesbooks.com
Available From: Bold Strokes Books, www.boldstrokesbooks.com
Price: $16.95
Pages: 308
Genre: Romantic Intrigue












Kim Baldwin & Xenia Alexiou just get better and better at coming up with tightly written thrillers with plenty of “seat of the pants” action. Missing Lynx is the third book in the Elite Operatives series. As with the other books, it takes the reader across the globe from America to China and Viet Nam. EOO Agent Lynx is sent after a serial killer who preys on beautiful young women. Her hunt is complicated by a mercenary, Jack, who is after the same target. As the two women search across the globe for “The Headhunter,” they explore their feelings for each other, their past, and their perceptions on their work. It is when the two women discuss their work that Baldwin and Alexiou truly excel as they explore the motivations of money, security, good and evil.

Missing Lynx is a roller coaster ride into the seamier side of life and the bonds which bind humans into trying to better the world. This is a book which grips the reader until the final page.
_____
Reviewed by RLynne


Title: Power Play
Author: Julie Cannon
ISBN: 10: 1-60282-125-9; 13: 978-1-60282-125-5
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Available at: Bold Strokes Books, www.boldstrokesbooks.com; and SCP Books, www.SCPbooks.com
Price: $14.95 - Pages: 184
Genre: Romance












Tate Monroe and Victoria Sosa are both powerful business women and they each want to buy Braxton Products, but for very different reasons. Tate has a chance to finally achieve the goal she's been working towards for years because, if she can close this deal, she will be named the CEO of Sumner Enterprises. Victoria is already the CEO of Drake Pharmaceuticals, a company that is experiencing financial difficulties. If she can't close the deal, she will lose her position. Peter Braxton throws a twist into their bidding war when he insists that the women attend a tour of the various Braxton facilities together before he chooses which one to sell to. The women fight a mutual attraction, but eventually find themselves in a torrid affair. That gives Tate the opening she needs to betray Victoria and reach her goal. There is a lesson to learn here however. Sometimes the goal you work toward isn't the one you really want to achieve.

Power Play is a book in the Matinee Romance series published by Bold Strokes Books. The company describes these books as "focusing on passion, exciting relationships, and compelling attractions in a tightly written, engaging package….Plots don’t have to be complicated…." This book certainly isn't complicated and there are some steamy sex scenes. The plot is straightforward and follows the formula for a routine romance. The characters aren't exceptional, but they're appealing within the confines of the story. Cannon is developing a reputation for turning out these stories quickly one after the other. If the reader is looking for something fast to read that doesn't require much attention, this book is suitable.
_____
Reviewed by Lynne Pierce


Title: Quite an Undertaking: Devon’s Story
Author: Barbara L. Clanton
ISBN-10: 1935053213 - ISBN-13: 978-1935053217
Publisher: Regal Crest Enterprises, www.regalcrest.biz
Available From: Allied Crest Editions, www.rcedirect.com
Price: $14.95
Pages: 160
Genre: Young Adult/Lesbian













In Quite an Undertaking: Devon’s Story, Devon Raines is mourning the loss of her beloved grandmother and trying not to let it show. During her grandmother’s wake, Rebecca Washington, a stunning, dark-skinned young woman and the daughter of the mortuary owners rescues her as she tries to deal with her overwhelming grief. Rebecca exhibits compassion well beyond her years when dealing with Devon, and Devon is struck by her caring, but also by her beauty.

In addition to mourning her loss, Devon has several other issues with which she must contend. First there’s Mike Reynolds, her fellow high school journalist. As he mentors her in her new position as girls’ sports editor, she must cope with his obvious and growing attraction for her. Once a relationship starts to blossom between Rebecca and Devon, there’s the jealousy of the star basketball player, Jessie Crowler, to deal with. Finally, Devon has to make a decision about coming out to her best friend, Gail Marsters. Then there’s the whole race thing. (But it’s not what you might think.)

Character development is strong in this story. The two main characters are flawed, yet we want them to succeed, to grow up, to realize their fullest potential, and to support each other in their budding relationship. Devon’s journalist mentor is typically awkward, but we can’t help but hope he’s willing to be “just friends” if Devon rejects him. Jessie Crowler, bad girl of the high school set, is someone we may have known in our own experiences—and tried to avoid.

In this 2010 Golden Crown Literary Society Award nominee, Clanton conveys a wealth of meaning with short sentences, appealing to short attention spans of some young adults without lessening of the reading experience. The story is one that can be enjoyed by young and old alike. We’ve all been there, experiencing the emotions of dealing with being gay, of deciding who to tell and who not to tell, of managing relationships, and dealing with everyday life as a teenager. If you know one, give them a copy of this book. If you don’t, enjoy it yourself!
_____
Reviewed by Anna Furtado


Title: Renegade
Author: Cheyne Curry
ISBN: 13) 978-1-933729-47-0; 10) 1-933720-47-6
Publisher: P.D. Publishing, Inc.
Available From: Barnes and Noble, www.barnesandnoble.com; www.amazon.com
Price: $21.99 - Pages: 318
Genre: Western/Romance












Trace Sheridan is a dirty cop who decides to go straight, but there is a crime family after her, so she decides to risk trying out the time travel machine that a friend has been working on. That is how she finds herself in the old West in 1879 and involved with Rachel Young. Rachel is trying to hold out on her ranch against the most powerful family in Sagebrush, the Cranes. The Cranes run the town and Ben Crane is determined to force Rachel to marry him. Trace decides to work on the ranch to try and help Rachel and she begins to stir up the town against the Cranes. The Cranes have literally never met anyone like Trace and neither has Rachel. Eventually the women establish a partnership to bring down the Cranes, but it ends up meaning much more.

Cheyne Curry has created a very enjoyable book that reads quickly. Once you get past the implausibility of time travel, the story takes on a real tone of the old West. Trace Sheridan becomes a likeable character as she tries to help Rachel and in doing so, redeems herself for her past life. The historic aspects of the book are accurate enough to pass for the truth. Unlike some lesbian novels, Trace and Rachel don't present themselves as two women having a relationship in front of the whole town and expect the local people to accept that in a time when they would more likely be hung or run out of town. Trace plays her part as a man and maintains that image in an accurate manner. The fact that Rachel is willing to help her maintain the charade when she discovers the truth adds reality to the situation.

Renegade is a rousing story of the Old West where the villains are truly bad, the damsel is in distress and the hero is a square-jawed straight shooter, except that he's a woman. It combines adventure with romance to provide an enjoyable book.
_____
Reviewed by Lynne Pierce


Title: Seeking Sara Summers
Author: Susan Gabriel
ISBN: 978-0-615-22207-3
Publisher: Wild Lily Arts
Available From: http://www.susangabriel.com; Barnes and Noble,
www.barnesandnoble.com; www.amazon.com
Price: $19.95 - Pages: 195
Genre: Romance












Seeking Sara Summers is an intelligent story about a woman who has to overcome a number of serious obstacles to discover who she truly is.

Sara Summers didn't set out to have an unusual life. She married her high school boyfriend Grady, became a teacher and had three children. She has good friends and is well-thought-of in her profession and her community, so she assumed her life was going just fine. Breast cancer changed all of that. As happens, the threat of death has caused her to reassess her life, especially now that the cancer has returned. She finds herself in a twenty-five-year marriage that isn't working and her career is no longer satisfying. She hasn't told her family about the cancer and she needs to make some decisions about treatment, but she can't focus on those issues.

When she reconnects with a childhood friend Julia David, Sara decides to go to Italy and visit her. This may be the only chance she has to take her dream vacation. She and Julia always had a special relationship and as they tour the Italian countryside, Sara discovers things about herself that she never realized. Life is never simple though and despite the fact that she knows where her heart lies, Sara returns to her family to fight the cancer and try to make that situation work. The question is whether that will be enough now that she has a deeper understanding of herself.

Sara's story is easy to understand. She's spent her whole life doing what was expected of her and now she knows it's not what she really wanted. If she is to die, she doesn't want to do it with the knowledge that she just existed. Sara discovers a chance for real happiness with Julia, but it flies in the face of everything she's been taught is proper by society. She finds herself in a battle between her heart, her spirit and her head and even when she feels instinctively that it isn't right, she's drawn to the safe decision. How many people have found themselves in a similar position turning from what feels true to do what conformity dictates? This isn't like many novels where decisions are easily made. Sara thinks and struggles her way through what she is experiencing in every aspect of her life trying to finally discover who she truly is and what she wants.

Seeking Sara Summers is written in just the right tone. The emotional scenes aren't overwrought and the interactions between Sara, Grady and Julia feel very real. The language of the book is almost as beautiful as the scenery of the Italian countryside it's set against. This is a rich book, well worth reading. The reader will come away wishing that Sara had realized so much earlier what she wanted, but understanding her choices completely. Many women will be able to identify with her experience.
_____
Reviewed by Lynne Pierce


Title: Stranded
Author: Blayne Cooper
ISBN: 978-1-883523-92-3
Publisher: Spinsters Ink, www.spinstersink.com
Available at: Bella Books, www.bellabooks.com
Price: $14.95
Pages: 260
Genre: Adventure/Romance












Rachel Michaels has a very successful morning radio talk show with her ex-husband, but she's not satisfied with the job. Taking a job as the broadcaster for Denver's new professional women's soccer team seems like a good idea until she's told she has to fly to Venezuela to do a story on the hot new recruit Miranda Gutierrez. Her traveling companion will be Nora Butler, the team assistant director, and Rachel is sure Nora has a personal relationship with the team's owner.

Things go well meeting Miranda and her family until the three women discover plans have been made for them to go to a remote area for a bonding experience. On the way there an accident leaves them stranded in the jungle and no one knows where they are. Rachel, Nora and Miranda learn to depend on each other as they trek through the jungle and fight for their lives. Rachel also discovers she has feelings for Nora who seems to blow hot and cold towards her. Fighting to survive and fighting to understand Nora make for very stressful days for Rachel.

Stranded is an adventure story that keeps the tension high and the danger ever present. When Nora falls sick on their trip through the jungle, the reader can sense the concern the other women have for her safety. The romance between Rachel and Nora is entertaining, but it's the beauty of the Venezuelan wilderness that really stars in this book. The personality clashes are interesting to observe, especially as Miranda changes from a rather self-centered teenager to someone who realizes she has to respond to the needs of others. The reader will sense that she's going to be an even better soccer player because of what she has experienced with these two women. The drama comes out of Rachel and Nora trying to figure out exactly what their relationship is going to be and that's not resolved until the very end of the book.

Blayne Cooper has written several books and shows her experience in crafting this story. She develops the characters gradually and leaves enough surprises to keep the reader wondering what is going to happen. The dialogue is handled well and balanced with the narrative sections. Cooper tells an engaging story and keeps the reader turning the pages. You can't ask for anything better in a book.
_____
Reviewed by Lynne Pierce


Title: The Seduction of Moxie
Author: Collette Moody
ISBN: 10: 1-60282-114-3; 13: 978-1-60282-114-9
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Available at: Bold Strokes Books, www.boldstrokesbooks.com
Price: $16.95
Pages: 242
Genre: Romance












The Seduction of Moxie is set in 1931, in a world that teeters between the wild days of the 1920s and the weariness of the Great Depression. Violet London is an actress preparing to leave for Hollywood and her friends take her out for one last night on the town in New York City. This is when she meets and is captivated by Moxie Valette, an attractive singer in a speakeasy. After a night of hard partying and even harder drinking, Violet leaves for California, but she is determined to find a way for Moxie and her to be together.

Eventually, Violet returns for Moxie, enticing her to move to Hollywood with the offer of a movie career. A train trip west gives them a chance to reconnect and they enter the movie community with the promise of bright futures for both of them. Hollywood has its own wild side, but is it wild enough to accept starlets who are revealed as lesbians? Is the relationship between Violet and Moxie strong enough to sustain them or will the lure of fame be more than they can resist?

Moody certainly captures the spirit of the age when people visited speakeasies and violated the Prohibition laws with little regard for the consequences. The life of the "beautiful people" was fast paced, pleasure based and mostly irresponsible. The fact that most of the characters in this book don't realize they're balanced on the precipice of disaster speaks to their shallow natures. That is part of the problem with this book. If it had been set in 1927 the mood would have been perfect, but it takes place in 1931. That's two years after the stock market crash, yet none of the characters make any reference to it or seem to be having any financial problems. They seem to live in a vacuum totally disconnected from the rest of the world. The other problem with the book is the dialogue. Flapper-type women were very open, but the words that spew out of these characters' mouths just don't fit. The profanity and explicit sexual talk that they use might be common in some places today, but it certainly wouldn't have been in the 1930s, especially out in the public. These characters don't seem to have any kind of censor on what they say and they most certainly would have in that period.

One unusual addition to the book is an appendix with recipes for cocktails, many of which are featured in the story.

The Seduction of Moxie is a patterned romance with interesting characters. Enough famous names and details are scattered through it to give the story a period tone. Some work could still be done on making it more authentic, but that probably won't get in the way of the casual reader. If you're looking for a fun romance to pass the time, this one fits the bill. If you hope to learn some accurate history, be careful what you take away from it. If you have a problem with profanity and explicit sexual references, this book may make you uncomfortable.
_____
Reviewed by Lynne Pierce


Title: The Ties that Bind – A K.C. Fontero Mystery
Author: Andi Marquette
ISBN-10: 193505323X - ISBN-13: 978-1935053231
Publisher: Regal Crest Enterprises (Quest Books)
Available From: Allied Crest Editions, www.rcedirect.com
Price: $17.95
Pages: 264
Genre: Mystery/Lesbian












This is the third K.C. Fontero mystery and one that’s centered around the Farmington area and Shiprock, AZ. K.C. is still the ever cerebral, ever impulsive researcher who can’t let a lead go to save her life. Her attitude is “just one more look” or “just one more question” that always seems to bring her to the brink of trouble. In this Golden Crown Literary Society Award winning novel, K.C. ends up in a struggle against the forces of native American spirituality, as well as fighting against her own nature to be researcher first and compassionate partner second.

When a white man is found dead on a reservation road miles from town, K.C. is fascinated by the story and thinks she may be able to use it as an example for one of her sociology classes at University of New Mexico. As she begins to delve into the mystery, her partner, Sage, discovers that there is a connection between this man and her long estranged father. Sage’s brother, River, has received a letter from their father informing them that there is trouble in the natural gas drilling company where he’s employed and he’s concerned for his life, linking the events.

In order for Sage and River to make some sense of their family history, and for K.C. to satisfy her insatiable desire for the truth, the group strikes out from Albuquerque to the Navajo reservation to try to get to the bottom of things. What they discover is a tangled web of native culture, underhanded dealings of the energy industry, and a relationship between Sage and K.C. that needs to be tended with kid gloves.

In The Ties That Bind, Marquette has given us a complex plot with interesting characters, most notable, Ms. Fontero, the amateur sleuth. Although as is typical for mysteries, there are no sex scenes between the two main characters, the story drips with sensuality between Sage and K.C., which shades the story with a romantic veil throughout and adds to the “bad” tension in a good way. Fans of Marquette’s Fontero series won’t want to miss this one. New readers will delight in the discovery of this mystery writer’s talents.
_____
Reviewed by Anna Furtado


Title: Two Weeks in August
Author: Nat Burns
ISBN 978-1-59493-173-4
Publisher: Bella Books, www.bellabooks.com
Available From: Bella Books, www.bellabooks.com
Price: 14.95
Pages: 208
Genre: Romance












Two Weeks in August takes the reader to lovely Chincoteague Island on the Delaware Peninsula. Nina Christie has inherited her beloved grandfather's home. She arrives on the island to learn that it will be two more weeks until the renovations on the house are completed. Making the best of things, Nina rents a cabin at a resort run by a woman the locals call 'Hazy'.

Burns describes an idyllic place complete with wild ponies, white sand, and lovely water views. She also describes the delicate approach and retreat of Nina and Hazy as their chemistry draws them together even as their past hurts urge each woman to turn and run.

Two Weeks in August is a lovely book to curl up with on a cold winter's day.
_____
Reviewed by RLynne


Title: Unbearable Losses
Author: Jennifer Jordan
ISBN: 1-883523-68-0
Publisher: Spinsters Ink
Available: Bella Books, www.bellabooks.com
Price: $14.95
Pages: 223
Genre: Mystery












Unbearable Losses is Jennifer Jordan's fourth novel in the Kristin Ashe series. It opens at Christmastime in Denver. Kristin has two cases in front of her. She has been hired by two elderly sisters to find out who has been stealing their cherished yard decorations. The other case is more troubling; Lori Parks is the owner and director of an upscale daycare center. She has been finding troubling notes at the center, and wants to know who is sending them. Deeply closeted, Lori is unwilling to see the notes as threats, and is less than revealing about her background and enemies.

Jennifer Jordan has given her readers a tightly written story, filled with menace and foreboding. With Kristin's sidekick Fran Green involved, it's also a tale filled with very funny "read aloud" moments. Unbearable Losses is a great read which will keep reader's puzzled until the exciting conclusion.
_____
Reviewed by RLynne


Title: Veritas
Author: Anne Laughlin
ISBN-13: 978-1-60282-124-8
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books, www.boldstrokesbooks.com
Available from: Bold Strokes Books, www.boldstrokesbooks.com
Price: $16.95
Pages: 225
Genre: Romantic Intrigue












Anne Laughlin has given her readers a great first novel. Set in a small Midwestern town on a college campus, Laughlin skillfully draws the characters of both the town and the college, without using stereotypes. Her protagonist, Beth Ellis, is one of the deans at Grafton College. Opposite Beth is Sally Sullivan, a former Chicago homicide detective, now the town's chief of police. Beth and Sally are thrown together by the murder of the president of Grafton College.

What follows is a joyful read full of wit, drama, and some very hot sex. Laughlin tells her story from both the college point of view and the point of view of the police, with fine attention given to the small town police procedure. She also does a great job of showing the multitude of issues and egos at the college. Veritas is a great, page turner of a first novel.
_____
Reviewed by RLynne


Title: Worth Every Step
Author: KG MacGregor
ISBN 978-1-59493-142-0
Publisher: Bella Books, www.bellabooks.com
Available from: Bella Books, www.bellabooks.com
Price: $14.95
Pages: 229
Genre: Adventure/Romance












MacGregor has given her fans an exciting armchair adventure. Worth Every Step is filled with details that could only be known by someone who has actually climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. From what the trail is like, to details on altitude sickness, to the food that is served, MacGregor shares the real life adventure she had in 2001. Her facts are cleverly woven into the fictional story of two women who meet while making the climb of a lifetime. Both Mary Kate Sasser and Addison Falk are fighting plans which others have made for their future. Everyone in Mary Kate's small Southern town expects her to come to her senses and marry her longtime boyfriend. Now that she has her MBA, Addison's father wants her to move to London and join him in his investment firm.

Mary Kate and Addison were tent mates on the trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro. As they faced the extreme cold, the grit, and bathing in glacial fed streams, the two women share their life stories and their frustrations and fears at letting down their families. As their friendship grows, so does the sexual tension between them.

Worth Every Step is a great read filled with adventure, romance, and some sizzling between the sheets. It is definitely a read worth every page.
_____
Reviewed by RLynne

Our Reviewers
and
Bios of Authors

Our Reviewers

Cheri Crystal
Cheri Crystal reviews lesbian fiction when she's not busy spending time with her family, working in healthcare, and writing her own lesbian adventures and erotic romances. She enjoys all types of intellectual and physical activities and considers herself lucky that she can immerse herself in the literary community at every spare opportunity. Cheri has many published stories in anthologies and online with www.loveyoudivine.com .

She's written two novels and is working on a third that she hopes to one day publish. Her first solo anthology, Attractions of the Heart, will be launched in Provincetown during Women's Week. It has her brimming with excitement, pride and joy.

Cheri's Website: http://www.chericrystal.com
Contact her at cherilynn5@verizon.net


Anna Furtado
Anna is a Book Reviewer for Just About Write, The East Bay Voice, and The L-Word Literature section; and Author of The Heart's Desire Book One of The Briarcrest Chronicles, a 2005 GCLS Goldie Award Finalist, and The Heart's Strength, Book Two of The Briarcrest Chronicles,

Anna's Web site: http://www.annafurtado.com
Contact her at annaf@annafurtado.com.


Lynne Pierce
Lynne Pierce is a life-long resident of Virginia who has spent the last thirty-two years trying to convince high school students that history is relevant to their lives and leading them through the process of learning to think for themselves about issues. Her main hobby since the age of five has been reading and she has spent the last ten years consuming every work of lesbian fiction that she can get her hands on. Lynne's reviews also can be read at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/
lesfic_unbound and Amazon.com.

You can reach Lynne at Sage320@aol.com.

Tracey Richardson
Tracey Richardson is the author of the romance novels No Rules of Engagement, Side Order of Love, the Golden Crown Literary Society finalist The Candidate, and the upcoming Blind Bet. She also works as a daily newspaper editor. Visit www.traceyrichardson.net

RLynne
RLynne lives in the high desert of California, next to Joshua Tree National Park, with her partner of 24 years, and various four-footed friends. A semi-retired educator, she’s been reviewing books since 1992. Her reviews have appeared in various gay rags, including Mega-Scene, The Lesbian Teachers Network, Lesbian Connection, and others.

Contact her at Cjspecialties@aol.com.


Author Bios

Kim Baldwin-Xenia Alexiou
Kim Baldwin has published six stand alone novels in addition to her Elite Operatives collaborative writing with Xenia Alexiou. Four of her books have been finalists for Golden Crown Literary Society Awards. She has also written for six BSB anthologies. Kim lives in the north woods of Michigan.

Xenia Alexiou is Greek and she lives in Europe. She enjoys traveling all over the globe and photographing the places she visits and the people she meets. She has been inspired by her travels to write, and to include some of the places she has visited in her writing. Missing Lynx is her third novel.


Nat Burns
Nat Burns retired from a publishing career in Virginia. She lives in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas with her partner, Carol. Nat enjoys writing, laughing, and enjoying their three cats.


Julie Cannon
Julie Cannon is a native of Phoenix where she lives with her partner and their two children. She is the author of five romances published by Bold Strokes Books and has more in the works. She also has stories in several short story anthologies. Her website is at www.juliecannon.com.


Barbara L. Clanton
Barbara L. Clanton is a native New Yorker who left those "New York , minutes" for the slower-paced palm-tree-filled life in Orlando, Florida. She currently teaches mathematics at a college preparatory school in the Orlando area. When she’s not teaching, playing softball, tiling her floors, or evicting possums from the engine block of her RV, “Dr. Barb” plays bass guitar in a local band called The Flounders with her partner who plays the drums. Her ultimate dream is to one day snowbird between upstate New York and central Florida.


Blayne Cooper
Blayne Cooper is the author or co-author of a variety of fiction works ranging from mystery/ romance to outrageous parody. While she enjoys the challenge of working in multiple genres, it’s writing about the humor found in everyday life that gives her the most pleasure. Besides writing, Cooper enjoys travel and reading.


Cheyne Curry
Cheyne Curry was born on Labor Day in a small town in Vermont to a mother of Irish/Scottish/French descent and a father of English and Algonquin heritage. She was raised in Albany, NY, and at seventeen, began touring with a production of “Jesus Christ Superstar.” After working in regional theater in Rochester, New York, and at various odd jobs she enlisted in the US Army and became a Military Police officer. After leaving the military Cheyne held a number of positions related to law enforcement and similar areas. She now lives in Ohio with her partner and their assorted animals. Readers can follow Cheyne’s adventures at cheynecurry.blogspot.com.


Susan Gabriel
Susan Gabriel grew up in the South and began to focus on the arts while she was in high school. Her careers have included teacher, professional musician, marriage and family therapist, and a part-time job cutting out and cooking gourmet dog biscuits.

She is a founder of the Women's Center in Charleston, South Carolina, and has written professional articles and book reviews for various publications and newspapers. In 1994 she turned to writing poetry and fiction as well as painting.

Once her daughters were grown, she lived in Colorado for three years with her partner and then moved to North Carolina. Gabriel enjoys reading, attending Broadway plays, traveling to Tuscany, wandering in the woods, visiting her daughters and playing with her dogs and cats. She can be reached at http://www.susangabriel.com.


Jennifer Jordan
Jennifer Jordan's Commitment to Die was a Lambda Award Finalist. Readers may visit her web site at JenniferLJordan.com.


Anne Laughlin
Anne Laughlin has published short stories in Erotic Interludes 4, and Erotic Interludes 5: Road Games. Her short stories have also appeared in Best Lesbian Romance, (Cleis Press) and Best Lesbian Erotica 2009, (Alyson). Anne was named a Lambda Literary Foundation Emerging Writer in 2008.

Anne lives in Chicago with her partner, Linda, and their four footed family.


KG MacGregor
KG MacGregor has a doctoral degree in journalism and mass communications. She has had careers in both education and market research.

MacGregor was a Goldie Award finalist with Just This Once. Her sixth Bella novel, Out of Love won the 2008 Lambda Literary Award for Women's Romance, and the 2008 Goldie Award for Lesbian Romance.


Andi Marquette
Andi Marquette was born in Albuquerque and grew up in Colorado. She completed a master's in anthropology/ archaeology in 1990 then returned to New Mexico in 1992 to do yet more graduate work (this time in history) and consign herself to being a chile addict.

In 1993 she fell into editing and has been obsessed with words ever since. She completed her doctorate and kept working as an editor in academic publishing until 2004 at which point she then got a wild hair and ventured east of the Mississippi and lived in Nashville for a bit, but her western roots pulled her back to Colorado, where she currently keeps busy as a freelance writer and editor.


Colette Moody
Collette Moody lives in Southeastern Virginia with her partner of more than ten years. She is a fan of classic movies, witty banter, politics and women with sexy brains. Her first novel was a pirate tale, The Sublime and Spirited Voyage of Original Sin for Bold Strokes Books. Moody's web site is at http://members.cox.net/colette_moody and her email is at colette_moody@cox.net.


Jocelyn Powers
Jocelyn Powers is a native of Missouri and a graduate of the art school at Washington University in St. Louis. She worked in advertising as a film and video producer, then turned to health care where she has had a career in emergency medicine for over a decade. Powers still dabbles in the visual arts and is an accomplished freelance digital video editor. She lives in St. Louis and shares her home with her dog. Powers is an avid skier and loves to be outside.


J.M. Redmann
J.M. Redmann has written five novels featuring New Orleans private detective Michele ‘Micky’ Knight. Her third book, Intersection of Law and Desire won a Lambda Literary Award, as well as being an Editor’s Choice of the San Francisco Chronicle and featured on NPR’s Fresh Air.
Lost Daughters and Deaths of Jocasta were also nominated for Lambda Literary Awards. Her books have been translated into German, Spanish, Dutch and Norwegian.

Redmann has also had short stories published and currently lives in New Orleans. Her next book, Water Mark, is due from Bold Strokes Books in 2010. She can be reached at jmredmann@aol.com.


Kenna White
After living in various places across the US, Kenna White now lives in Southern Missouri where she enjoys writing, making doll house miniatures, and life's simpler pleasures. She and her long-time partner Ann love to travel and White's novels often reflect places they have visited. Comfortable Distance is her seventh novel. Her next novel is Yours For The Asking.