Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I liked "Love on Location" by this author more. But this book was one that will slip effortlessly in among the average quality of lesbian romances, and likely charm those who pick it up.
The writing and editing was a little loose for me to give the book really high marks. Beth flees to San Francisco to train for its half-marathon after the abrupt and painful end of a 3-year relationship in LA. There she spontaneously rents a room from a quirky cast of characters and removed from her old life begins an emotional recovery process. She meets Mary, whom everyone loves and who seems to love everyone, and they strike immediate sparks, but Beth is wary of being cheated on, and Mary has been shying away from serious relationships for years. Determined to keep it casual, they begin to train for the race together, furiously attempting to resist all impulses to take their relationship deeper.
The reader spends the vast majority of the book inside Beth's head and thoughts. I like a rich internal voice, so that was good.
Except Beth had a tendency to think one thing one scene, then think something in direct opposition in the next. She'd make a decision, then ponder contradictory thoughts without referencing that decision. Perhaps the author meant to portray the disorganized jumble of one's thoughts as their mind and body war with one another, but it would have meant more if the tenor of the thoughts and contradictions had changed as Beth recovered. Instead she hashed and rehashed the same thoughts over and over, and they began to manifest in confusing actions, and also to be boring. I kept thinking, "Didn't we already go over this...more than once?" This led to the character repeatedly creating her own drama. Not something I generally enjoy.
Thankfully we also got a bit from Mary's point of view, which was usually clearer, and helped express the confusion this reader was feeling at Beth's mixed signals. There were sweet and hot moments as their relationship stuttered along. And despite Beth's clothes unaccountable disappearing in one such hot scene, it wasn't too hard to overlook the frustrating moments as the author brought her novel to a decent close, wrapping up events in a satisfying manner.
I liked the additional psychology the author brought to this book, compared to "Love on Location." She also shook up her formula a touch, which isn't a bad thing. So far I'm a fan. Hopefully she tightens up the characterizations a bit in her next work, but I'm interested to see what she does next. It's a solid, quick read, and I expect the vast majority of those who take the time to read this book will be entertained enough to consider it time well-spent.
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