Dead and Blonde by Jean Marcy

Dead and Blonde by Jean Marcy
New Victoria Publishers, 1998

Overview: After their brief but torrid love affair in Cemetery Murders, things have cooled off somewhat between private investigator Meg Darcy and police detective and Norwegian Ice Queen Sarah Lindstrom. Or so Meg thinks until a late night call from Lindstrom; someone has brutally murdered Lindstrom's ex-lover in Lindstrom's bed. Who would dare murder someone right in a cop's house? And maybe more importantly, why was Viv staying with Lindstrom in the first place? As the murder investigation throws Meg back with the woman who drives her mad, she must find a way to balance her conflicting feelings while tracking down a dangerous killer who might be out to murder them both.

My Reaction: While an overall decent mystery, Dead and Blonde did not quite live up to the precedent set in Cemetery Murders. I think it had a lot to do with the slightly less coherent plot and Meg constantly hashing and rehashing her relationship with Lindstrom. Having just lived through a very traumatic experience, both our protagonists are understandably on edge, but not in a way that seemed to move the story along; much of the book felt bogged-down with Meg's internal conflicts and intense sexual frustration, at the risk of eclipsing the mystery. And while relationships and sexual frustration are fun in small doses, the mystery really should be the heart of the story. Dead and Blonde is not Ghost Motel bad (thank God), but it's not rip-roarin' fun either. I'll probably read the next in the series, since it won a Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Mystery in 2001, but don't feel like you're missing much unless you want to see how Meg and Lindstrom's story progresses.

Meg Darcy Mysteries
Cemetery Murders, 1997
Dead and Blonde, 1998
Mommy Deadest, 2000
A Cold Case of Murder, 2003

Dance of Knives by Donna McMahon

Dance of Knives by Donna McMahon

A Tor Book, 2001.

Overview: In 2108, Klale, which she tells us rhymes with "daily," is a young woman who has run away from the Fisher's Guild to start a new life in Vancouver's Downtown, an island full of "Guildless" people who have neither the duties or protection of citizenship. She finds the KlonDyke, a strip club/bar whose name raised my hopes way too high, and proceeds to be a glowing beacon of naïveté to her newfound friend Toni, the "'Dyke's" bartender with a secret past. She also takes the risk of trusting Blade, a "tool": he was sold as a child to be neurologically twisted into a  blackmailer's slave. Since he is strong enough to kill anyone easily, and also, due to his "training," liable to go berserk under certain circumstances, this is a greater risk than most people would take! While a gang war is in the offing (spoiler--there seem to be more gangsters/corrupt police in the bar than lesbians), most of the book revolves around learning more about the mysterious pasts of Blade and Toni.

My reaction:

I have to say this upfront: one lesbian sex scene, with no real lesbian romance, with one participant  described as “lean[ing] het” by her partner afterwards PLUS more page-time devoted to (disturbing, in my opinion) hetero sex, and the only front-and-center (i.e., plot-driving) weird-but-probably-qualifies-as-romance romance being hetero, does not "lesbian" novel make. (To be fair to whoever tagged it as such on NoveList, there was a lesbian relationship in the backstory, and a supporting character was nominally in a lesbian relationship, but her partner is such a minor character I forgot it for a minute.) Additional disclaimer: I was really rubbed the wrong way by the description of Klale's introduction to Bracken, who self-identifies herself as a "hermy." While Klale initially reads her as a young woman, when she catches a glimpse of what's underneath some sequined panties, she immediately thinks, "She was a he. Well...maybe," and then launches into an analysis of Bracken's body, and "she/he" and "his or her"s for a couple of pages despite a pretty femme presentation. Ultimately, Bracken says either she or he is fine, but then Klale settles on she because Bracken has larger breasts than her! Ugh, moving on.

All that said, as you might have surmised from the overview, I found Klale really too stupid to be interesting. Thankfully, Toni's story is much more compelling, and is delved into over the course of many blissfully Klale-free pages. 

I have to admit that some of Klale's stupidity paid off in a few situations, but it was hard for me to root for her regardless. 

I idly wondered more than once if a lot of my annoyance with Klale had to do with her name; while her legal name is Margaret, she chose Klale because it apparently means "blue" in Chinook, and was a joke about her hair. I still think my original, pre-pronunciation guide pronunciation is more apt: Klale rhymes with "flail." 

Besides these quarrels, I have to say that McMahon is a better writer technically speaking than many of my "meh" books. I just had a hard time with the inconsistent level of world-building (lots of vocabulary didn't entirely distract me from wanting a few more details about what Klale had run from), some creepy sex (let's just say I'm not into seeing anyone get it on with someone who is a mental age of 12), and Klale. 

 

Wolfsbane Winter by Jane Fletcher

Wolfsbane Winter by Jane Fletcher
Bold Strokes Books, 2010.

Overview: In the land of Galvonia, we meet Deryn, a female mercenary (a.k.a. an Iron Wolf) who has serious attachment issues due to her tragic past, and Alana, a member of the demon-spawn nobility with a semi-legitimate fear of starting a romantic relationship with a commoner. (Yes, I’m serious—demon-spawn.) Deryn and Alana’s paths cross about 100 pages into the 254 page book, and the rest of the book details their struggles to maintain their defenses in the face of extreme sexual attraction.

My reaction: While this was definitely as ridiculous as I was expecting a paperback romance to be, it was a quick and enjoyable read. There were plot points that pushed my ability to suspend my disbelief to the limit, demon-spawn politics fell into the unfortunate category of “Too-fleshed-out-to-be-forgotten-yet-too-spare-to-be-anything-more-than-semi-annoying-and/or-tantalizing.” I guess that I got a kick out of seeing how little the nobility’s antics affected commoners, but that made the slimy king’s counselor’s machinations pretty irrelevant. The sex scenes are kind of absurd and remarkably scarce, considering that the first sentence of the blurb on the back cover is “The Iron Wolf mercenaries who guard travelers on the Misery Trail are notorious for their quick and casual sex lives.” However, they’re perfect for a good read-aloud/laugh, and I will give Fletcher credit—I actually wanted Deryn and Alana together, and genuinely rooted for them through my laughter. 

Beautiful Journey by Kenna White

Beautiful Journey by Kenna White

Bella Books, 2008

Overview: World War two is in full swing and Kit Anderson has moved from her Kansas hometown to England to fly as part of the Women's Air Transport Auxiliary. Though she is fearless in the air, braving enemy fire and severe weather, can she find the courage to face her feelings for feisty British school teacher Emily Mills?

My Reaction: I wanted this book to be good, but unfortunately it just wasn't. While I appreciated the history lesson - I would be interested to read more about the Air Transport Auxiliary - the story and characters were one dimensional and even the the action sequences lacked any sense of excitement. Most notable, perhaps, was the quite inventive use of vagina metaphors during a couple of laugh-out-loud sex scenes. "Honey path?" Is that a thing? 

On top of the questionable writing, the ending was just silly; a classic romance trope in which the one of the heroine's friends dies, making her realize she doesn't want to lose her relationship, but with a bizarre sequence involving spanking. If you like WWII history or airplanes, this books has some fun detail to offer, but if you just want a romance, I'd skip it.

Note: For more information about female pilots in WWII, try this list of recommended books from the British Air Transport Auxiliary website. The site is run by former ATA pilots - I definitely recommend checking it out!

Sticky Fingers by Morgan Hunt

Sticky Fingers by Morgan Hunt

Alyson Books, 2007

Overview: When Tess Camillo finds a rattlesnake in her bedroom, she knows it isn't there by accident, especially after another San Diego-area lesbian dies mysteriously of snake bites only a few days later. Convinced that others may be in danger, Tess begins to investigate the case, despite her own better judgment and that of those around her.

My Reaction: Sticky Fingers is one of those books that is just okay - not engrossing, not off-putting, not the inspiration for any particular emotional response. It has good qualities, including a discussion of breast cancer (the author is a survivor), a fast-paced mystery and a mostly likable lead sleuth. The writing is okay, and got better as the book progressed. If the whole thing contained REALLY BAD similes such as "the snake's tail vibrated like a cicada with Parkinson's" (2), I probably would have put it down. If you want a quick read requiring little investment of emotion or time (it took me less that four hours), you could do a lot worse. I will likely read the other two in the series, since they are also short, to see if they get any better (the third book won a 2009 Indie Excellence Award, for what it's worth).

Tess Camillo Mysteries

Sticky Fingers, 2007

Fool on the Hill, 2008

Blinded by the Light, 2009

Honeyed Words by J.A. Pitts (2nd book in the Sarah Beauhall series)

Honeyed Words by J.A. Pitts

Tor Books, 2011. 

Overview: At the beginning of Honeyed Words, Sarah and her friends are only a few months removed from the traumatic battle with a dragon and his minions, and are struggling to forgive themselves and each other for the deaths of their comrades. When an acquaintance is kidnapped by dwarves, Sarah is alerted to the unrest in Vancouver, the former domain of the dragon she slew. While she assesses the new threats to the safety of her circle, Sarah must also find a way to reconcile with friends and enemies alike. 

My reaction: I was really disappointed in this one overall. While the first one had some plot holes, the story was generally moving fast enough for me to not really care; Honeyed Words moved about as fast as molasses until at least halfway in. Part of that was because of  excessive summarization of Black Blade Blues, but I also couldn't really get invested in the kidnapping arc. I didn't miss it when it got dropped (well, as in Sarah wasn't actively trying to rescue him) for most of the book in favor of focusing on a more interesting new character's problems, and the unlikely alliances that Sarah forges to help her. Like Sarah, I was relieved when there was something for her to do about the situation. Unfortunately, that took a little too long for it to be as rewarding as Black Blade Blues.

I wanted to finish the next book, Forged in Fire, to balance out this review, since the 58 pages I've read so far are much better, but I didn't have the time. I hope that it maintains its fast pace, since I'll feel better about sticking with Honeyed Words if there is a payoff in Forged.

(I was tempted by the end to give this a "decent," but I think that's more a reflection on the relative quality of its companions than on its own merits.)

The Annunciate by Severna Park

The Annunciate by Severna Park

Avon Books, 1999. 

Overview: In The Annunciate, the reader is thrown into the worlds, plural, of ThreeSys, a system of three suns and their planets. "Propagats," which are some sort of bioform, are the basis for a class system. The Meshed, of which our protagonist, Eve, is a member, have a one-time injection so they can access all the knowledge about their physical environment AND create a personalized virtual environment in which to spend time and use for self defense. The Jacked are able to access the Mesh with the help of a port in their wrist, and the unlucky Jackless can't access it at all. While the Meshed were nearly wiped out for being elitist douchecanoes, the few remaining survivors addicted a gigantic percentage of the Jacked and Jackless to Staze, a drug that sends people to a pretty and calm virtual environment for  12 hours a day, and conveniently makes them dependent on the few Meshed they didn't massacre. Add to that a bit of mythology that is basically Genesis with spaceships and no God, and you've got the beginnings of an interstellar trip.

My reaction: First thing I did when I finished the book was drop it (lightly!) to the ground and say, "That was weird!" While it was largely an enjoyable read, I grew frustrated with the fact that my disbelief had not been completely suspended. I couldn't figure out why just anyone couldn't find a syringe and shoot themselves up with propagats, and while it was eventually hinted that that wouldn't work, I didn't see why it wouldn't. Maybe I missed something. Anyway, I also couldn't get super invested in the liaison between Eve and the Jacked, Staze-addicted Naverdi. That was particularly disappointing, since Eve is recalling sex they had in the first line of the book.  Sadly, that was not foreshadowing for lots of sex, or even a real romantic relationship--any chance of that was poisoned by Naverdi's addiction. There is some pretty interesting virtual world collision that goes on, and I also enjoyed how the mythology played out in the struggle for survival on "Paradise," a planet that was the analogue of the Garden of Eden in Park's version, but I couldn't quite give it a "decent"  since I couldn't stop questioning some of the fundamentals of the story. (Come on, Eve, you're 21--maybe be a little more repentant that you're partially responsible for addicting all those people to a really bad drug?) 

Nora and Liz by Nancy Garden

Nora and Liz by Nancy Garden

Bella Books, 2002

Overview: Nora is reasonably happy with her quiet life in rural Rhode Island, until city girl Liz shows up at her front door with a flat tire and she begins to see the possibilities outside her limited country existence.

My Reaction: I had high hopes for this book, since it's by the famed Nancy Garden, author of Annie on My Mind, one of the most influential (and frequently banned) LGBT young adult novels written in the 20th century. Nora and Liz is Garden's first adult romance, and for me, it fell flat. Before I go into the many issues I had with it, I'll admit that the sappy part of me enjoyed rooting for Liz and Nora to live happily ever after. If you want a sweet, gentle romance (the kind of gentle where the lovebirds take hands, walk up the stairs, and close the bedroom door behind them), I think you'll enjoy this book, despite its flaws.

The critical part of me had difficultly suspending enough disbelief to get into the story. I found Nora especially hard to understand. She is nearly forty, lives in a house with no electricity, running water or phone, and doesn't even drive because her misogynistic dad doesn't think women are capable. Maybe I could understand her lack of rebellion if she lived in isolation, but she is surrounded by women who drive, and has never once thought to question her father's judgement until Liz comes along. I am all for the transformative power of love, but I have a hard time believing that a forty-year-old woman doesn't have the ovaries to stand up to her ageing father for probably twenty years, then suddenly gets the nerve to completely change her life over the course of one summer. Actually, I had a hard time believing that either character was forty - they just didn't seem mature enough. I often felt they had the over-emotional quality found in so many young adult novels that I identified with so well as a teenager, but that now seems a like a little too much to handle. Garden IS primarily a YA author, after all, and I think it shows.

I had a hard time deciding which rating to give Nora and Liz , since my reactions to it were so mixed. I decided on a "meh," not because it's poorly written on a technical level, but because I couldn't identify with the characters. Yes, I wanted them to be happy, but I couldn't see myself in them, and isn't that what reading a romance should be all about?

To Play the Fool by Laurie R. King

To Play the Fool by Laurie R. King
St. Martin's Press, 1995.

Overview: Police Inspector Kate Martinelli is working in the field again after six months of pushing papers while she focused her attention on Lee, her partner, who was shot and paralyzed from the waist down when the trap for the serial killer Kate was pursuing went wrong. When she and Inspector Alonzo Hawkin are put on the case to discover who murdered a homeless man, they quickly discover that an eccentric "Holy Fool" might be connected. Unfortunately for Martinelli and Hawkin, the Fool only speaks in quotations from the Bible, Shakespeare, and other classics. That complication slows down the investigation, and is a mystery in itself.

My reaction: While I have gotten hooked on King's Sherlock Homes and Mary Russell series, this Martinelli book, like its predecessor (reviewed here), is not nearly as well-written as those. The plot of this one is much more tolerable to me--one unpleasant grown man is murdered versus a number of innocent little girls--but I felt that the book got mired down in constant analysis of the Fool's speech, and lacked the action of A Grave Talent. I also thought that the ending was somewhat anticlimactic, but I honestly wasn't expecting a thrilling conclusion after a couple hundred pages of frustration. (I'll give King that--I was definitely as frustrated as the detectives!) Unless you're already a Laurie R. King fiend and interested in seeing how her career developed, I'm sad to say that I'd give these a pass.

Kate Martinelli Series:

A Grave Talent, 1993

To Play the Fool, 1995

With Child, 1996

Night Work, 2000

The Art of Detection, 2006

You Can’t Run from Love by Kate Snowdon

You Can’t Run from Love by Kate Snowdon

Bella Books, 2013.

Overview: Jess Brewster, an attractive outdoorsy Scot, meets Rachel Cummings, a "gorgeous" American children's book illustrator, at the lodge she owns with her uncle, who raised her after her parents were killed in a car accident. Pining and palpable sexual tension ensues, with more than a splash of tragic backstory for both lovebirds. 

My reaction: This is the first romance reviewed on this blog, and after laughing and cringing my way through a few chapters of a Harlequin romance (the Lesbrarian had to read one for a class on adult genre fiction), it soars high over that low bar in terms of writing. I can't go so far as to praise the plot on its own merits, but on the whole it was an enjoyable and quick read. That said, I'd give the plot a B-. It's definitely a fun setting, mostly appealing protagonists, etc., but my goodness, some things just don't make sense. Your dying uncle wants you to be happy? MUST. NOT. GET. TOGETHER with someone who has an awesome (totally platonic) relationship with him (It's not like he's homophobic!). Instead, be unhappy because you're extremely horny for each other and won't do anything about it. Perfectly logical. That's the major thing  that drove me crazy, but it was pretty important to the plot. Also, when communication issues cropped up, I wanted to  yell, "Talk to each other!!" 

On the other hand, sex scenes get an A-. The "-" is for some giggle-inducing terminology (WHY must this not be the first book I've read in which a woman has "feasted" on another??! Blech) and some things that are slightly unrealistic (in my opinion) but still sexy. I've gotta say, Jess and Rachel are REALLY into each other, and that definitely carries it.

Strictly speaking, this falls into our "Meh" category, but I wouldn't want that to scare anyone off from a good afternoon read. It might be NSFW, though, depending on how susceptible you are to the genre!

The Other Side of Silence by Joan M. Drury

The Other Side of Silence by Joan M. Drury
Spinsters Ink, 1993. 

Overview: Tyler Jones, a lesbian feminist journalist, takes her dog to the park by her house one morning to find the body of an abusive man hidden in the bushes. Well, her dog finds it, but it is Tyler who stands to be charged with murder! Using her connections as a journalist, Tyler works to prove her innocence. A warning: there are multiple detailed descriptions of domestic violence. While there have been other books that I have contemplated tagging with a warning, domestic violence is so central to the plot and to the protagonist's work (she is compiling a book of survivors' stories that is periodically excerpted) that I felt I would be truly remiss if I didn't in this case.

My reaction:  I was pretty sure that I'd be able to rate this one a "decent" until the last few pages. I won't spoil the ending in case you still want to read it for fun (because while it really annoyed me, the heading was kind of entertaining anyway), but it was absurd enough that I'm shaking my head writing this review. I'm tempted to read the next book in the series to see just how Tyler managed to clear her name with the police (and no, it's not obvious to anyone who thinks about it for a second how she was going to prove the truth with any real evidence), but I'll probably pass. This one definitely takes the cake for both the Most Unsympathetic Murder Victim, Weirdest Domestic Violence Organization Acronym (W.I.N.K.), and Bizarre Mystery Solution, though.

Mistress of Dragons by Margaret Weis

Mistress of Dragons by Margaret Weis
Tor Books, 2003.

Overview: Mistress of Dragons tells the story of a High Priestess named Melisande (George R.R. Martin, did you rip this name off?), which, for the curious, is apparently derived from Old French and Old German, and originally meant "animal strength." Huh.  Melisande is gifted in dragon magic, which she and her fellow priestesses use to repel dragons that try to invade their kingdom. Draconas, a "walker"--a dragon with human form--and Braun, a dragon-shaped dragon, suspect that a renegade dragon has taken control of Melisande's kingdom, and cleverly enlist the help of a neighboring king to investigate.

My reaction: Overall, this was a decent read. There were some excellent plot twists, and I enjoyed that the cover art made Melisande's temple warrior lover, Bellona (which means "goddess of battle" and is derived from Latin), look similar to Xena, but for some reason I just didn't connect enough with it to be really motivated to read the rest of the trilogy. Maybe it was the heavy-handed exposition at the beginning, or my resentment over a rather yucky manipulation of the king and Melisande, and and even more disturbing/horrifying scene with an evil dragon...I can't really finger it as any one thing. Honestly, this was pretty close to decent because it did keep me reading and the plot twists both made sense and surprised me, but a couple of scenes and my general indifference to the next books downgrade it to "meh."

P.S.--I used the scholarly source thinkbabynames.com to research the name definitions. URLs are below:

http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Melisande

http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Bellona

The Always Anonymous Beast by Lauren Wright Douglas

The Always Anonymous Beast by Lauren Wright Douglas

The Naiad Press, 1987.

Overview: This book features a detective who is a biiiiiig fan of McDonald’s and other fast food joints. (Seriously, the number of times she goes to McDonald’s alone is impressive.) Caitlin Reece, said fast-food addict, also likes her .357 Smith and Wesson, women, and Shakespeare (the title is a Shakespeare reference). In The Always Anonymous Beast, she investigates the blackmail of a television broadcaster married to an insanely jealous husband and a lesbian professor who studies nonviolent resistance and conflict resolution. This book doesn’t strictly fit our mission statement, since the blackmailer is pretty homophobic and misogynistic, but I just had to reward the absurdity of this book with a review.

My reaction: This wasn’t the best mystery ever, and sadly most of my enjoyment from it came from laughing at the kind of over-the-top nature of the whole thing. You know how you don’t see characters doing necessary functions all the time in books? Well, here I felt like we saw a lot more: and damn, Caitlin’s into fast food! And alcohol. Nothing wrong with either of those things (except maybe alcohol when YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE PROTECTING MULTIPLE LIVES INCLUDING YOUR OWN??!!), but those tics, combined with the ridiculous interactions with the blackmailer, are part of the reason this is a “meh.” On the other hand, I have to give Douglas props for the most inventive murder I’ve read in a while. It’s a goody!

End of April by Penny Sumner

End of April by Penny Sumner.

The Naiad Press, 1992.

Overview: Archivist/private detective Victoria  “Tor” Cross returns to England after a stint in New York City, where she is drawn into a mystery involving threatening notes to her new lover, potentially illicit activities in the backroom of a controversial sex shop, and eventually a murder.

My reaction: This is definitely a light read, but by the time I got to the end I felt it was a bit too light. While I enjoyed the fact that nearly all the recurring characters were lesbians (including Tor’s awesome Oxford don of a great-aunt!) I was constantly wondering about threads that were apparently dropped, and sometimes got irritated by Tor’s inability to really focus on getting to the bottom of the threats to her new lover (unless it meant an excuse to not leave her alone for ten days, most hours of which were covered by her). Tor blames her inefficiency on lust multiple times, but while I was happy that she found an awesome new relationship, the fact remains that it’s a novel that relies on the vague feeling that there is a threat to the characters you still want to root for, and not on a really solid investigation/mystery. Even the conclusion was a bit unsatisfying! However, if you are looking for a light read (should take no more than a few hours), and don’t mind a host of shortcomings to read about a LESBIAN PRIVATE DETECTIVE in ENGLAND (full disclosure—I was mostly okay with that), then give it a shot! I think I’ll give the second book a fair shake in hopes that Tor will get her act together once she’s not investigating a threat to her new girlfriend!