Fireside - Cate Culpepper

Description
Mac closed her eyes because that’s how one traditionally prepared for prayer, and she was in need of divine intervention. A hiccup of laughter almost bubbled out of her. What kind of merciful goddess would cast her, shirtless and prostrate before a roaring fire on a stormy night, subject to the tender ministrations of the straightest woman on the eastern seaboard?

Mac is a new therapist at Fireside, a domestic violence shelter in rural Virginia. Mac hopes to find answers here—answers for the women and children she works with, and to her own lifelong restlessness. Perhaps she’ll even learn the identity of the small ghost who’s been following her all her life.

Abby is the shelter’s doctor—irresistibly alluring, and straight as a stick. Mac and Abby, devoted to those they serve, discover equal passion for each other while fighting to protect all they love.
Fireside is a story of love, friendship, healing, and laying our ghosts to rest at last.

Review
A gentle tale that, apart from the lesbian element, is very formulaic and reminiscent of Mills & Boon novels of 20 years ago. The characters lack depth, especially Abby who turns from being straight to loving women without a second of self-doubt, angst, or introspection.


It's a book that is readable and all too easy to put down. It's probably worth 3 stars but loses one for having a ghost as a character. It's been done to death, doesn't add to the book, and requires that disbelief not be suspended, but hung by the neck until dead.

Battle Scars - Meghan O'Brien

Ray McKenna returns from the war in Iraq to find that she had attained unwanted celebrity status back home. As the only surviving American soldier of a well-publicized hostage crisis, she is the center of attention at a time when all she wants is solitude. Struggling to overcome the fear and anxiety that plague her, she relies on her psychiatric therapy dog Jagger to help her through the vicious symptoms of PTSD.

Veterinarian Dr. Carly Warner hasn't yet figured out how to open her heart to the possibility of falling in love again after the death of her longtime partner. When Ray McKenna walks into the North Coast Veterinary Clinic with Jagger, she and Carly begin a friendship that takes them both by surprise. Brought together by their shared love of dogs, Ray and Carly discover that they are both capable of moving forward, if only they are brave enough to try.

A beautifully engaging story with strong characterization and a moving plot that flows at a steady pace. Sex scenes are sparse but play out with a sensual eroticism that grips your attention. The romance has an emotional depth that makes you yearn for a happy ending. A thoroughly enjoyable book.

Blue Skies - Ali Vali

Commander Berkley Levine is content with her life as a Top Gun instructor in Fallon, Nevada, flying F-18s for the Navy and trying to get over the death of her sister. A change of government and a new equality initiative places Captain Aidan Sullivan at the helm of the Navy's newest carrier, the USS Jefferson. Her first mission could have serious international consequences if she fails. Aidan's orders are to destroy two sites housing the nuclear program of an unfriendly nation, and she can think of only one person she trusts enough to get the job done: her old lover Berkley.

Blue Skies will take you from Fallon, Nevada, to the Sea of Japan and beyond, as Berkley leads an elite group of pilots over enemy territory. As they embark on this adventure, Berkley and Aidan try to rediscover what they gave up for family, duty, and country.

A disappointing book from this otherwise good author. Her characters are well rounded, likeable and make fine role models for women in non traditional roles, but the book lets them down. The plot is fanciful, more cartoonesque than real, the factual errors far too numerous to ignore, and the editor must have been having a day off when this went to press.

Madam President - Blayne Cooper

It's the year 2020 and history has been made by Devlyn Marlowe, the first woman to win the U.S. Presidency. The writer she chooses to chronicle her term in office, Lauren Strayer, doesn’t want the job at first but changes her mind when she is promised editorial freedom.

Accepting it, she finds herself living in the Whitehouse with the First Family. Caught up in the frenzy of life at the White House, Lauren begins to unravel the complex woman that is the President and finds herself more intrigued by Devlyn with each passing day.

At times the book is amusing, the characters likeable, and the plot engaging. At others it is painfully slow and frustrating.

It’s worth reading, and I will pick up the sequel, but it’s not a ‘page-turner’ by any means.

Awakenings – Susan X Meagher

The first book in the I Found My Heart in San Francisco series throws together Jamie, a seemingly conventional straight woman with Ryan, a beautiful, sexually adventurous, and overtly out, lesbian.

Jamie, without the knowledge or support of her fiancé, enrols in a college course that gives the first clue that she is not as conventional as she seems; The Psychology of the Lesbian Experience. The course includes fieldwork and for that Jamie is paired with Ryan. As they spend more time together they quickly develop a friendship that evolves into something more.

As she learns more about the Lesbian Experience, Jamie also learns more about herself and comes to accept where her feelings truly lie.

A thoroughly enjoyable read that I want to give 5 stars but can’t. One essential plot unit hinges on whether a character has religious faith. Bizarrely contrived this weak device is used to move the plot in a particular direction. I don’t know whether the author was having a bad day or simply chose to preach to her readers. Less noticeable to many readers will be the scenes with Irish characters. While not quite cringe worthy, they are a poor caricature of the real thing.

Still, if you are not Irish, and you don’t mind being preached to – buy it. Second thoughts – buy it anyway. 

Branded Ann - Merry Shannon

Branded Ann is a ruthless, cold-blooded pirate who is feared even by her own crew. Violet is a widow, made so by Branded Ann who brutally attacked the ship she was on and killed her husband, who clutches her Bible and quotes scripture prolifically.

Neither woman is quite what she seems and their destinies are entwined as they meet and conquer obstacles to their growing attraction.

The story is fast paced with deceit, betrayal, loyalty, and lust all adding to the potent mix that keeps the reader engrossed. The tension between the characters, sexual and otherwise, makes for a gripping read and this is a book that should appeal outside the genre of lesbian fiction.

The ending may be predictable, but the journey there certainly is not.

Radclyffe, Above All Honor

Secret Service Agent Cameron Roberts is assigned to guard the daughter of the President of the United States, Blair Powell. Cameron is dedicated to her job, highly motivated, and determined but her protective duty is hampered by the First Daughter herself. As stubborn as she is beautiful, Blair is determined to flee the shackles of her protective detail. A battle of wills follows, complicated by the growing attraction the two have for each other.

A gripping story, combined with strong characterization make this a book that is difficult to put down.