Lexxi is Reading BL

*I received this book from NetGalley in return for a fair review.*

Ask a Queer Chick: A Guide to Sex, Love, and Life for Girls Who Dig Girls
by Lindsay King-Miller
Pages: 256
Date: February 2 2016
Publisher: Plume
Series: N/A

Review
Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0
Read: January 23 to January 26 2016

My first book by this author. This is not my first LGBT nonfiction that I’ve read, but it is the first that I’ve read that is about current events. Well, no, I read that book about . . . okay, let me rephrase. This is the first LGBT nonfiction book about that appears to have been written from the millennial generation perspective.

I’m not actually sure if the book is from that perspective, especially since the author information is empty on GoodReads, but it certainly appeared to be from a millennial generation perspective.

Right so: a) No, I’ve never read the online version of ‘Ask a Queer Chick’ advice column; b) I’ve forgotten what b is; c) b might have been: this is a nonfiction book, I do not have a ‘set’ way to review nonfiction books, nor have a method to rate nonfiction books. I shall now stumble through some thoughts and hopefully they will be helpful to others.

There are certain reoccurring formatting errors that pop up in this book. I assume that this is because I’m reading an uncorrected proof, or an ARC, or whatever words work here, and therefore do not, in any way, add or subtract ‘points’ because of those errors. Many of which involve words running together. As in I’meatingsomecheesenow. I do not hold the author or book accountable for these specific issues.

This book is a nonfiction work written by the advice columnist at The Hairpin who writes a column, as you might suspect, called ‘Ask a Queer Chick’. The column is for, well anyone I suppose, who has questions regarding the queer women (which, and this is stressed, includes those women who are, in one shape or form, transgender (which is how discussions about penis-in-vagina got into the book, I assume); it is stressed, also, though that the author of the book is not an expert on transgender issues). The author herself is, and she has called herself several things over the years, a bisexual queer married woman. I suppose it may be of importance, since I noted the bisexual part, to note that she is married to a woman.

The book, like the column, is basically for anyone. Specifically designed for bi/queer/lesbian women, but there’s a chapter for ‘friends of/adjacent/family/etc’ who wish to learn more about what they should know.

The book is not set up in a question and answer format, but in a more narrative form – written based on questions the author had received (and, presumably, answered), plus conversations she has had with transgender people.

The book is quite informative. While it might drag near the end, and be oddly fixated on certain issues, it still was quite informative and actually quite fun to read.

The book opens with, well, let me just follow the table of contents and include some of my own words under the headings:

Introduction: How Do You Know You’re a Queer Chick?
- This book is for everyone. Though specifically geared for those who are girls who like girls. Girls includes those who might have been born in a body designated differently than they, the person inhabiting the body, believe it should have been designated. As long as they like girls. Trans-issues, though, are not a subject the author is an authority on.

Chapter 1: Coming Out
- An interesting examination of when to come out, how to come out, various methods (one-on-one; social media; hand written letters; etc.); and how bisexual women will routinely have to keep coming out over and over again, to the same people.

Chapter 2: Of Mullets and Motorcycles: Your Guide to the Subculture
- While getting a ‘lesbian’ haircut is something like a rite of passage (and getting the shortest haircut you can force yourself to get at least once in your life), get the hair that ‘works’ for you instead of stressing about whether or not ‘your hair’ is ‘queer enough’.

Chapter 3: Don’t Stare at Her Rack Too Much, and Other Advice on Dating
- Be aware that people are people. They are individuals. If you see someone who looks like they have modeled themselves on the most stereotypical representation of butch women that does not mean that they themselves are stereotypes. Maybe the woman you are looking at, regardless of how they look, likes to cook, doesn’t like to cook, likes to work on car engines, likes to ride Harleys, likes . . . etc. People are people. Don’t assume.

Chapter 4: But What Can Two Girls Do?: Your Guide to Queer Sex.
- Lots and lots of stuff. Including fisting. There’s a graphic description of how to fist another woman included in this book, free of charge.
- Most importantly, though, don’t ‘assume’ that what you see in porn is what two ‘real’ queer women do with each other, nor assume that just because something like scissoring can start fist-fights in bars, that there aren’t, in fact, some real queer women who just love to engage in scissoring.
- Do what you like. Communication is super important.

Chapter 5: A Queer Chick’s Guide to Heartbreak
- Hmms. What do I recall? Everyone will have their heart broken at some point in their lives, don’t hide yourself away fearing this issue.

Chapter 6: Bi Any Means Necessary: Notes on Non-Monosexuality
- Bisexuality (or whichever word you choose, pansexual, etc.) is real. It is not a privilege (i.e., there’s a believe that bisexual people have the privilege, the bisexual privilege, of being able to ‘chose’ to be with a person of the opposite gender and therefore ‘pretend’ to be ‘normal’. This is not actually a privilege, and is in fact something of a burden. Bisexuality is real. Just because that, sometimes, might result in a man and a woman dating, does not mean that the person who is bisexual is not still queer/a member/part of LGBTIA. That’s what the B in LGBTIA stands for. Bisexual.

Chapter 7: I’m Not Gay, but My Sister Is: Advice for Straight People
- Here are some terms to use, mostly in general. If the person who you are speaking with has told you the terms they like to be referred to as, then use those terms with them. If you over hear them using terms which are and/or can be slurs or the like, don’t use them yourself.
- If you suspect someone is queer, do not confront them. Let them tell you when they wish to tell you.
- If you see/over hear someone making slurs, or the like, being bigoted, stand up for queer people. Don’t let them get away with it. If it is someone you cannot ‘cut from your life’ then just let them know that what they are saying isn’t ‘okay’ with you, and redirect conversation elsewhere.
- The A in LGBTIA does not stand for Alley. Despite the previous point, it isn’t your fight. You can help, but you are in no position to say/argue/demand that someone that actually is LGBTIA follow what you have learned. A, by the way, stands for asexual (it also stands for other things, but in this specific instance, the author says it stands for Asexual, not alley).
- Oh, and, the LGBTIA person is not obligated to teach you stuff. Do your own research.

Chapter 8: Haters Gonna Hate: Dealing with Discrimination
- Regardless of what you might wish, or how the world currently is ‘evolving’ (not a word actually used in the book, I don’t think), some people are just incapable of ‘accepting’. They are going to hate. You, the LGBTIA person, are not obligated to teach them.

Chapter 9: If You Liked It, Then You Should Have Put a Ring on It: Marriage
- Marriage is very important. There are, if I recall the number right . . I can’t, okay, there’s some organization that said that there are something like 116 legal benefits for two people getting married.
- Despite the win in the Supreme Court, there are still states wherein two queer people cannot currently marry, legally. Though, because of the Supreme Court, their marriage elsewhere has to be respected.
- Marriage equality is/was/and will be important, but it’s not the only thing out there that needs to be addressed. Nor is it really that important, it’s importance is kind of minor, compared to other issues. (This is one of the times, of several, wherein the author kind of got fixated on certain things. One moment marriage is super important, the next it is/was of minor importance; now it’s back to being super important; yo-yo; main point, though, was that there are more issues out there that need to be addressed, like the statistically large number of health, education, and other issues that queer people face).

Chapter 10: It’s Not Good Enough Until It’s Amazing
- Don’t settle

This is an interesting and informative book. There were certain points where I felt like the millennial point of view is more important than my own (see: terms to be used and comments made on how older people need to inform themselves about what words now mean inside the community). But those were just passing thoughts.

I’d recommend the book to others, inside and outside the LGBTIA community, especially if they happen to be a queer woman and/or know one; and or wish to date one.

I’ll end with my favorite quote from the book:
'The first rule of Bi Club is that you can talk about Bi Club all you want, because most people won't believe it's real anyway.'

January 26 2016

*I received this book from NetGalley in return for a fair review.*

Wonder City Stories
by Jude McLaughlin
Pages: 299
Published Date: November 29 2015
Publisher: Self
Series: Wonder City Stories

Review
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Read: January 24 2016

My first book by this author.

This is one of those books that I randomly ran across, wasn’t sure exactly what it was about, but it looked interesting enough, so I tried it. I mention that because by the 1/3rd mark, or maybe half way mark, I still wasn’t sure what exactly I was reading. A slice of life/coming of age/ending years/mixture of this and that. What I did find, though, that it wasn’t a Romance (capital R romance), though there are/were romances that occurred within the pages.

Characters
Before I dive into the many and varied cast of characters, I’d like to point out two things: (1) this book is a ensemble type of story, a cast of various characters, with no one character being the main (though one has a greater impact on the plot than others); (2) take a look at the cover, you see four people on it – there are, in fact, four point of views in this book (Megan Amazon, Nereid, Suzanne, Ira). Though those four points of view are not the only important people, or even the most important people in the book; they just happen to be the ‘point of view’ that some of the story leaks through.

The character that acts something like a domino effect, or her appearance in the city acts like . . . I’ve lost this already. Heh.

Megan Amazon is the first point of view encountered in the book, and the one that leads to much else that occurs. She’s just short of 8 feet tall, by about ½ inch, though she’s referred to at various times as being a 9 footer. The book opens with her just arriving in Wonder City with her huge backpack and her vague plans to get away from her ex, and intermix with other paras. Her first move, upon arrival, is to go up to one of the two tallest buildings in the city and leap off.

Well her story ended quickly, then there’s . . . heh, no, this be a Superhero Prose novel. Her leap off the building was neither a suicide attempt, nor take off for someone who can fly. Because she can’t fly. She’s something of a plummeter, though (at the top the people up there are asked if they are jumpers or flyers; she says she’s a jumper, later says she is more of a plummeter).

While falling she spots a woman nonchalantly walking right in Megan’s arrival zone. Megan starts screaming. Eventually, Megan impacts the ground. First she’s happy to determine that there does not appear to be anyone under her (though she’s not sure how that occurred). Second she’s happy that she isn’t injured. In certain pain, but not injured. That woman? That would be Nereid.

Before moving on – Megan Amazon is the daughter of ‘The Amazon’ (yes that comes up a lot in the book), is roughly 8 feet tall, is invulnerable (not indestructible; she kind of gets injured a lot), is something of a player and is pansexual (at one point she noted that she liked men, women, AI’s, cyborgs, aliens . . . ). Has an undergraduate degree in Psychology. Her age, if given it flew over my head, is not stated. I’d say that she’s roughly 23 to 26 years of age. Is, because that also plays a minor part in the story, biracial (though she doesn’t know who her father is, so doesn’t know what mix she is).

I’d do a ‘through Megan we meet’ type of paragraph, but she kind of meets everyone so it’s kind of a difficult paragraph.

Nereid is a young woman who is both attending college and is a member of a superhero team. She’s somewhere between 19 and 23, I assume. Like Megan, Nereid is also ‘Spandex Spawn’. That’s a term that comes up in the book for someone who is the off-spring of superheroes. Unlike Megan, Nereid followed her parents into the ‘Spandex set’. She’s a member of the Young Cosmics. A group that appears to be known in the superhero community, rightly or not, as a ‘Queer’ group (oh, and the group that is filled with spandex spawn). They are also a bunch of assholes, dicks, and bullies, with some exceptions including Nereid, so don’t take that ‘Queer’ thing as something like a badge of honor.

Nereid has the ability to teleport, but only if she believes her life is in danger. She kind of gets soaking wet when that occurs, when she teleports. Also she appears to have some ability to control water. Her sexual orientation, and yes it matters to the story, is somewhat up in the air. Apparently bisexual, though she has, up to this point (beginning of book), not exactly accepted the fact that she might actually like women. Nereid is also one of the four points of view.

Through Nereid the reader meets the other members of Young Cosmics, specifically and importantly the cyborg Citizen Pain (I think that’s his name), and Brainchild (Sophie).

Suzanne is the daughter-in-law of Ira, and the wife of Ira’s son Josh. Seemingly moments after Suzanne mentioned to Josh that she wanted a divorce, he slips into a coma. She’s been trapped next to his side for the last ten hellish years. She’s roughly . . . 35 to 45.

Ira is an older fella of roughly 70 to 80 years of age. He is a retired superhero who works at a local Y (I’ve forgotten what the letter are, YMPA? YPA? Basically a YMCA for paranormals). He pins for his missing wife, Tin Lizzie, though no one knows who that might be. Apparently there was this time loop type of situation that messed with things. Now he has two ex-wives and his love of his life, Tin Lizzie, no longer exists. Meanwhile his son is trapped in a coma. Oh, and he is somewhat blind, and because he has a certain invulnerability, his cataracts can’t be treated. Life is swell, eh?

Point of view characters are not the only ones who are important in this story. Many others appear, some more important than some of the point of view characters.

Simon Canis is the son of Professor Canis, superhero scientist type, and works in a coffee shop. Simon, his mother, and his siblings are something like werewolves, though that word is never used. More like shifters who can shift into wolf/puppy/dog like creatures on all fours. So Simon is also of the spandex spawn set. Though scoffs at the idea of . . . um . . . pulling on spandex himself? Something like that.

His friend, from before the start of the book, is Nereid. Once the action in the book gets going, he develops a new friendship with Megan Amazon. And later meets a much older lady whose name is something like Suzanne.

I do not know his age range. One thing is important in the story, to the overall plot, though I’m not sure how to note it. I’m not sure if it’s something that would be spoiler-y or not. Hmms. Simon, as Megan puts it, is queer. He is also a man who appears to like women. Though there’s at least one scene where he flirts with men. Also, some people, well at least one, have trouble using the he pronoun when referring to him.

Plot
Right. I almost did this in the character section then stopped myself. Okay then – Everything seems to occur because Megan Amazon happened to arrive in the city. Everything appears to be oddly interlinked. This book is like a fictional blueprint for the importance of networking.

Megan arrives in the city, goes up to the top of a high building, leaps off, lands almost on Nereid. Nereid, feeling guilty for being there, begs Megan to allow her to buy her coffee. Megan somewhat reluctantly agrees. At the coffee shop she meets another character of importance, one Simon Canis (I think that’s his last name). Simon and Megan will become friends/date. Simon is already friends with Nereid. Through Nereid, Megan gets directions to the Y. Immediately upon arrival at the Y she meets an older fella named Ira. Ira, when it comes up, directs Megan to a specific diner owned and operated by Flo and Ebbe (parents of Nereid, though that isn’t known to Megan at the time). When it comes up, Flo directs Megan towards her first job. Through that job she meets Tzemit(sp?) who she then introduces to Simon’s mother for a potential lab job. When things get mafia-like, Megan looks for another job. And another place to live. Simon directs Megan to a specific place to live (this actually occurred sometime before the new job issue came up). Through living there Megan meets the foreman of a construction company, Jack Hammer (where-upon she meets the CEO, Ultimate, who just happens to be the surrogate parent (that might not be the correct phrase) to Brainchild, who is on the same young heroes team Nereid is on (the link on the two is important). Um. My brain kind of froze over. Suzanne gets linked in through Simon (and Ira, what with being Ira’s daughter-in-law).

So, right. There is a lot of interlinking going on here. And I haven’t even linked in G and some others yet. Just know that there are others linked in.

So, the plot is basically: in an effort to get away from a really bad situation involving an abusive stalker ex, Megan heads to Wonder City. There are several reasons why she went there specifically. One, the one she tells others, involves how her mother used to live there. The one she tells still others, and kind of means more, is that it is something like therapy, to surround herself with other paras – who she kind of fears and distrusts.

While in Wonder City, Megan bumps into several other people who she does not actually interact with as much as I kind of expected. She first bumps into Nereid. Nereid is a member of a superhero team called Young Cosmics[sp?]. Her story, with that team, and somewhat in general (romance, life, etc), flows through her point of view.

Megan also bumps into Ira. Ira is a retired superhero with a son in a coma. His story, the story of an old fella in the last years of his life, is told through his point of view.

The fourth point of view is that of Suzanne. Her story, of being trapped in a ten year hellish existence next to a man she kind of hates, though is trapped in a coma, so she can’t extract herself without burning bridges she doesn’t want to burn, is told through her point of view.

Romance
This is not a romance book, though romance occurs in it. A certain amount. Some seen, some unseen but mentioned. When I went into the book thinking this might be a romance book, I suspected the two people who meet in the beginning of the book would have a much closer connection than they did. Nereid, though, is more of a stepping stone for Megan to meet others. They appear to end up as barely acquaintances.

Let’s see, there’s . . . well, I can’t even really say anything without going into spoiler territory, so let’s just say that there are people, they may or may not hook up, and stuff.

Scenery/Location
At times I had kind of a strong impression of this city and its surroundings, especially when architect G was showing Megan around the city. Both the ugly buildings, and her favorite part of the city. Mostly, though, I didn’t exactly have a huge strong impression of everything. Heck, there are times when people are in cars going to or from places and it’d take me a moment to realize that I knew where they were going/leaving (like, several times people head to a manor, or away from a manor, took me a moment to realize that they were talking about the place Megan lived).

Overall
I rather liked this book. A lot of moving pieces which took awhile to come together, but there actually was a rather interesting interlinked underlying plot-line that was going on. I’d probably rate it somewhere around 4.5 stars out of 5.0. There is nothing inherently ‘bad’ or wrong with it that I can point to; nor do I have a feeling that there is something I can’t point to. In a way, I think the biggest negative is also one of the biggest positives – how busy it is, how many people are weaving in and out of the story. Both a positive and a negative, that.

January 25 2016

*I received this book from NetGalley in return for a fair review.*

Switcheroo
by Aaron Elkins
Pages: 273
Date: February 16 2016
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: Gideon Oliver (18th in series)

Review

Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0
Read: January 21 to 22 2016

My 22nd solo author book by Aaron Elkins (not counting the six I read that he wrote with his wife). And 18th Gideon Oliver book.

Characters
I'll start off by noting something that troubled me at the beginning. Well, the beginning of the Gideon section. This is a series that began some time around 1982. There is a seemingly big point made about how Gideon Oliver is 42 in this book (or was it 43? one or the other). Reinforced when it is mentioned that his FBI buddy is only one year older. I have some vague idea that both were in that first book, but I could be mistaken.

Fellowship of Fear being that first book. That book appeared 34 years ago. Which means that Gideon Oliver would have been 8 years old in this first book. 8. Or at least the Gideon Oliver in Switcheroo would have been. The Gideon Olvier in that first book was not, in fact, 8.

It is true that there are series wherein the character might age during the run of the series, but at an altered rate. A rate wherein the character, over a 30 year period, might age about . . . oh, 5, 10 years. I understand that fact. There are also series where the character never ages. At all. It is just . . . I kind of wanted to enter this specific book with an older man, distinguished, respected, experienced.  By making him 42 instead of, say, 52 (which still wouldn't work with a series that has been out for 34 years, but still . . .), it kind of undercuts everything that came before.

I do not mean to harp on this specific issue.  It just . . . bugged me.  Somewhere along the way, though, I allowed myself to take the current series number, 18, divide it by half, and pretend that the series books are about 6 months apart chronologically. Meaning that only 9 years passed from first book to 18th book.  Meaning, that 42 might actually work.  With that out of the way, I moved past this age issue and continued.  (One last point, and probably the real reason I went so deep into this issue - I've been reading this series for 26 or so years.  To find a guy who was a huge number of years older than me when I started the series, and then find this same man appear in a book at roughly the same age as I am now  . . . to find myself in this situation, was kind of horrifying, truthfully).

Right.  Other than age, everyone who is a regular, Julie the wife, John the FBI friend, Gideon Oliver the skeleton detective, all operated within the parameters previously set for these series regulars.  Nice and comfortable, in its way.  No one grew over the course of the book, no one expanded.  Just . . . there.  Like a comfortable rock.

The others were detailed enough for their roles.  I kind of wonder what it might have been like if Elkins had written more stand alone novels, because some of these 'other' characters he created actually showed some rather neat deeper than expected characterization.  Well, at least the ones who were in the beginning of the book.

Mystery/plot
To start with - the book opens in 1940 with some characters wandering around the English Channel Island of Jersey. Stressing, mightily, over the fact that 'Winnie' has given up the islands to the Germans. Winnie being Churchill. The troops have been removed. The islands are left for the Germans to swoop in and take if they want. And they do want.

Apparently the idea of removing civilians hadn't really been a consideration. Until it was. But in a really hurried way. Announcement came, people had to decide basically immediately if they would leave the island. And one specific family found themselves in a tricky situation. One of the richest people on the island, a Howard Carlisle, if I recall correctly, felt it was his duty to stay his post. Until . . . he remembered his very sickly son. But he remembered too late. After efforts to get his family off the island after registration had closed, Carlisle turned to his brother-in-law. And made a deal. They'd swap kids. Skinner's kid was quite healthy, while his own was sickly. His own wouldn't last an occupation, while George, the Skinner kid, would. So swap.

Book then jumps five years later to 1945 when the Skinner family returned to Jersey island. Then time passed through several news articles, news articles mentioning some issues involving the Roddy Carlisle (that young sickly son) and George Skinner (and a third guy). Then mention of George's death. Then mention of Roddy's body being found. This being roughly 1964 or so.

Book then leaps forward to 2015 to Gideon Oliver and his wife Julie (and friend John) in Spain. As somewhat usual with these types of books, specifically meaning Oliver books, Gideon is at a conference. He is a student, though, and therefore very bored.

An old friend bumps into Gideon, they get to talking, and Rafe Carlisle invites Gideon to come to Jersey to look at some old bones. There is this murder mystery to be solved, a really old one. Gideon jumps at the chance.

And so, Gideon looks at some bones. Julie wanders the island playing tourist. John does . . . um . . . whatever it is John does (seemingly eat everything around him, since he is away from his wife).

The mystery is actually quite interesting. Difficult to mention completely without going into spoiler territory, but there are some things I can mention. In the 1960s, the Carlisle paving company was doing quite well. Then, suddenly, it was found out that some of this success was made through corruption. Plus, there's this embezzlement plot. Charges are going to be brought against two men. When, poof, one of the two men is dead. George Skinner. Suspicion turns to Roddy Carlisle and another man, a really smart fella with maths. Then, five years later, bones are found in the Carlisle tar pits. The police, at the time, decide that it's the two missing men.

This is the mystery Gideon is asked to look into. He goes into it after first noting that there might not be anything he can find out. He is just applying modern forensic science to some bones. Science that didn't exist in the '60s. As kind of expected, he finds more than he personally thought he would, and suddenly causes a chain of events to unfold and shock and aw all.

Overall

I'm rather glad I saw this book on NetGalley. While it is true that I have read every Gideon Oliver book Elkins has put out, and most of his other books as well, it is also true that I haven't exactly enjoyed many of the later Oliver books. And the most recent book I had read by Elkins, A Dangerous Talent, I only gave two stars to. Sure, that's not an Oliver book, but the last bunch of those I gave no more than 3 stars to.

So, again, I'm glad I saw this book on NetGalley. Because I probably would have figured I was done with Elkins. But I did see it on there. And so I took a chance on the book and am quite happy that I did. Because this is actually a rather good book. A four star (out of 5) book.

January 22 2016

*I received this book from NetGalley in return for a fair review.*

Totally Worth It by Maggie Cummings
Pages: 250
Date: 2015
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books

Series: Bay West (as stated in this first book published by the author)

Review Rating: 3.65 out of 5.0
Read: January 19 2015

This is the first book I've read by this author.

The last review I did I said something I have to say this time as well, ironically, or not, or the opposite reason. Fair warning, but I appear to be an outlier with this book. What with how I ended up, rating wise, at least, compared to everyone else who has read this book.

Characters

There are two main points of view plus moments when a third point of view pops up sparringly every once in a while.

Meg McTiernan worked for a specific company for a number of years as an administrative assistant while attending night classes to get a college degree. She then went off and got an MBA at Wharton business school. Paid for by her company. To which she returned as a business consultant.

The book opens with her moving into a special kind of community on Staton Island, in New York. Bay West, a lesbian community. At the same time she's relatively nervous about starting her new position at her old company. Also, she just broke up with her longish term girlfriend of several years (2? 3? I know there were 2 years that involved Meg knowing Becca wasn't really into her, but I forget if there were more years before that).

She's smart, hard charging, and eager to develop new friends, and explore relationship possibilities. Her old friends, baring one who lives far away (California), were actually Becca's friends, so naturally they are no longer hers. So she needs a new group. Especially since she's found that lesbian bars/meeting places are not like the movies. Go there by yourself/single, and there isn't a woman who will instantly pounce on you. Instead, you are something of a reject.

While moving in, that day and the next that is, Meg runs into two people of the Bay West Community. First is Lexi Russo, her next door neighbor. Lexi helps Meg figure out what keys are while Meg just kind of stares at her door. It's her first new home, that she owns, doesn't rent. She's in a kind of shock state. Lexi's nudge allows her to actually enter her place. Second, I believe the next day, is a meeting with Jesse Ducane. They have a friendly little meeting. Though for the life of me I can't exactly recall what all occurred during the meeting. Just that it was as super quick as her meeting with Lexi, and that afterwads Meg feels like a loser because her second opportunity to make a friend in Bay West ended with her missing her chance.

Lexi Russo lives in the townhouse next door to Meg McTiernan, and across the street from Jesse Ducane. Two things to note immediately - Meg has drooled, maybe literally, maybe not, over Jesse for years. She's just absolutely fascinated with her. So much so that Lexi's best friend, Sam, makes a joke at some point about how Lexi directed her career just so she could get a job at Jesse's work place. Which is the second thing to note, in a week or so, law student Lexi will be interning at Jesse's law office.

Hi, my name is Lexxi, I have a law degree. I live in New York. In he area the people in this book seem to go to for a good time, instead of staying in this magical land of lesbians, i.e., Brooklyn. I say all this so I can next say that I kind of don't like Lexi. The Lexi Russo of this book. Who lives on Staten Island.

Why do I feel this way? Many reasons. I'll just note that Lexi is a sweet good natured woman who lusts over a much older woman. No, that's not my problem. My problem is the combination of that plus her kind of causally accepting the advances of a woman who lusts over her. There's this Julie, see, who is a renter (there's a section of Bay West where the 'renters' live, literally, the rent, hence 'renters'; they tend to be closer to Lexi and Sam's age, so they tend to try to get wander near to them to get them to notice the two of them so they can join their parties). Sam and Lexi (and Meg, she's along too), meet up with a gaggle of renters (a gaggle is a thing, right?) at a bar in Brooklyn. You live in a lesbian mecca, but you go to Brooklyn to party. hmms. By the way, I've been to every bloody borough of NY except one. Staten Island. Because it's so bloody difficult to get to and from there. You basically have to do what the people in this book do - drive. It's one thing to decide to live in the most suburban of the boroughs, but to then drive into Brooklyn? Or Manhatten? Bypassing the massive subway and bus system . . . okay, I got all annoyed there, sorry.

Obviously I got annoyed. Let me back track. Lexi is a sweet young woman of 24 (I believe) who lusts over a woman of 36 (at one point there is a comment that Lexi is 24, another that Meg is 26, another that Lexi is 12 years younger than Jesse, and yet another that Meg and Jesse are "exactly" 9 years apart; my math skills cannot make this work). While lusting over this woman, Lexi joins that woman's law firm. Just to be closer to her (you know, closer than living across the street). At the same time there's this renter named Julie who gushes to Sam about how much she just lusts over that runner (I'm wording this wrong, I'm sure, point being Julie lusts after Lexi). Lexi is happy to get into a relationship with Julie. She's kind of a bitch about it though, by accident. Because she keeps fucking up their dates. Again I'm wording this badly, because it gives the wrong impression. Julie and Lexi date for a really long time. It's not one or two failed dates messed up by Lexi getting distracted by her lust over Jesse. It's . . .. Well, let me just stop and just say that there are moments I don't really like Lexi.

Jesse Ducane is a high powered lawyer with her own law firm. She's 36 years old. She lives across the street from both Lexi and Meg. There is at least two passages where her point of view comes to the forefront in this book.

Plot
Meg moves into her very first home that she owns heself. She initially meets two women in Bay West but so briefly that she isn't able to immediately make them her friends. She then spends the next, oh, many weeks very very busy at work, so much so that her townhouse is filled with boxes. She just doesn't have the time to unpack. Meanwhile she flirts with people.

Lexi dates Julie. Works, indirectly, then directly, for Jesse. Lusts after Jesse.

Lots of action at bars. And community parties. And . . . stuff. I'm being kind of rambling because I really don't know what to put here. It's a slice of life type plot inserted into a romance novel that has more than one point of view.

Romance
I spent the majority of this book thinking two things: (1) who the bloody hell is the couple in this book; (2) please don't let it be Lexi and Meg, please don't let it be Lexi and Meg.

The romance consisted of randomish hook-ups (deeper connections than that implies, but close enough for me to use that phrase) mixed with deep layers of miscommunciations.

Overall

On one level I enjoyed reading about a lesbian community in the same city I happen to live in. On another level I was somewhat frustrated trying to figure out where the romance was that I was supposd to be on the look-out for.

Despite some of the things I say along the way, I actually did like most of the people, at least those who had enough substance for me to get a handle on them. Even Lexi is likable. Just very immature.

In the end I'd give this book a rating of, say, exactly 3.65 out of 5.0 stars.

January 19 2016

 *I received this book from NetGalley in return for a fair review.*

Love on Tap by Karis Walsh

Pages: 240
Date: 2016
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Series: N/A

Review Rating: 4.45 out of 5.0

Read: January 18 to January 19 2016

My fourth book by this author. Fair warning, but I appear to be an outlier with this book. What with how I ended up, rating wise, at least, compared to everyone else who has read this book.

Characters
The book stars Tace Lomond (Stacy Lombard, her sister couldn’t make the s sound, so she became Tace), and Berit Katsaros. Tace is a clerk at a department store, and the supporter of her siblings. Berit is a field archaeologist. Both had mothers with gambling addictions. Both had overworked fathers. I’m not sure what Tace’s father actually did (or when he left the picture, if he did, I’m vaguely confused about that part), but both appear to be of relatively working class stock.

Tace and Berit had three major differences, though, that helped move them from their few similarities to help them onto diverging paths that lead to where they were in life when the book opens. Bluntly: siblings, work, supporters.

Tace had younger siblings that she had to help raise, and had to try to fit school work around paying work starting around the age of 13. Berit did not have to fit school work around paying work.

Tace basically had to grow up fast, and be semi-parent, semi-sister to her siblings, because her mother was gone and the father needed the help. Berit didn’t exactly have a great childhood, what with cowering in casinos waiting for her mother, but she didn’t have to try to help raise siblings.

Tace had no one to try to be there for her, to look up to, to say that she mattered. Berit had a grandfather who inspired her and helped her come to the realization of what she wanted to do with her life – become an archeologist.

It wasn’t all sunshine and happiness for Berit, of course. Other than her grandfather, her childhood was apparently crap. One major trait that made it to her current personality, though, is directly tied to the death of that grandfather. She can never believe in contentment, that it would last. Since her own grandfather died while she was feeling content with life, and before she had graduated high school. So she needs to constantly move around, moving from dig to dig, not putting down roots, because she can’t allow herself to do so.

I’m not sure it was ever sunshine and happiness for Tace. The mother walked out on the family when Tace was, I think, somewhere between 7 and 13. Ah, I think she was nine. I’ve same vague recollection that Tace is 7 years older than her younger brother, Kyle, and that he was 2 when the mother left. Making Tace 9. So Tace had to grow up fast, and take over some level of mother-figure for her siblings. Her childhood was cut short and her teenage years were not at all like the others around her. She worked and never gave a thought to college. All of which lead to her with a personality, when the book opens, of being quite down on herself – she’s doing what she needs to do to continue supporting her sister in college, and helping her brother who might be going the ‘drifting through life’ path of their mother. The down on herself part has to do with how she can’t allow herself to feel happiness, or attempt to go for her own goals. Plus, she’s quite intimidated by anyone with an ounce of education, or just anyone who happens to be a student at college. This developed both from her own family circumstances, and from growing up as a townie in a college town. And the almost constant harassment that came from being that.

Plot
The book opens with Tace living and working in her small college town, while Berit is off on a dig in Peru. We, the readers, see their story through their own eyes. As in, in other words, both are main points of view. Tace’s section opens with Tace working, and receiving word from her brother that he needs to see her at a specific location.

She goes. Finds an overgrown dumpy looking place. Finds Kyle, the brother, near a building that looks, at least the external parts, to not be in great shape. She wonders what mess she has to bail her brother out this time. Well, it turns out; Kyle won a brewery in a poker contest. Poker game. He entered because he needed money for gambling debts, but found that everyone else in the game was in somewhat similar circumstances. So, they had to gamble for things like deeds to breweries. Tace, reluctantly, agrees to give the monetary value of the place to her brother so he can use the money to pay off his debts. Meanwhile Tace will immediately contact a real estate agent and sell the place.

The agent sees no value in a failing beer brewery and suggests tearing everything down and selling the land. For much less than Tace gave her brother. Her only real option seems to be to build the business up so that she can get some money back out. So she goes about attempting to do so. Helps that there’s this ninja like guy on the property who introduces himself as the brewmaster, or something like that, and is, in fact, quite good at his job. Since the beer actually tastes great. All but the porter, at least.

Berit’s section opens with her in Peru. On a dig. I believe I mentioned that at some point. A new intern has arrived and she is showing him around. While examining some bones she realizes why this specific body had been buried in a different position than the others, she had died in childbirth. Realizing that the interns were in the area the woman was found and might mess up finding the baby skeleton, she, a male colleague, and the intern run. Suddenly the male colleague falls from crumbling ground and Berit lunges for him. Gets, then loses his hand, then follows him over.

Cut to – Berit is riding in a taxi through a small town. She’s annoyed, frustrated, and in pain. She’s going to spend a year teaching at a college, mostly to pass the time, and because she thinks it will be easy. Though she’s never attempted to teach in a classroom before. Just out on digs to small groups of interns. Taxi cab stops at a house. Berit stares at the front porch. And the stairs leading up to it. She hadn’t actually informed her landlady that she was in a wheelchair. Mostly because she doesn’t want to be in a wheelchair and really hoped she wouldn’t be by the time she arrived at the house.

Tace stares at the woman in the wheelchair, her new tenant. She needs the money from renting out her rooms. Which are up a steep staircase. A ramp can be put in for the front porch, but nothing will fix the internal stairs. So, obviously . . . she gives the wheelchair bound woman her own first floor bedroom and den to the professor, and moves up to the attic.

Berit attempts to figure out how to actually teach. Tace tries to figure out how to run a brewery. A friendship and connection develops immediately between the two.

Romance
Lots and lots of months pass, though, before anything like a romance begins. Depending on various definitions of romance. The touching and stuff, doesn’t begin for months and months, at least.

Despite their own hang-ups – Tace literally flees if she learns someone has an education (there is a scene in a bar where she’s having a grand old time with a woman, learns that that woman is a professor, and immediately, flees the building); while Berit fears being tied down. I don’t mean in a bondage type way, I mean in a – tied to one location/one woman way. I lost this paragraph. Let’s try again. Despite their hang-ups, the two women actually do seem to work well together. Relatively naturally. I mean, if they had meet and then immediately leapt into bed together, then got on really well, then I’d say that things weren’t meshing – stated personalities and actions; but that isn’t what happened.

Scenery/location
I had a good sense of the ‘outside town’ areas of Walla Walla Washington. The wheat fields, the wineries – all of which look the same – like they were lifted from Tuscany; and the brewery. I had a vague awareness of the layout of Tace’s house, and a vague feeling of the college, but no real handle on the store Tace worked in. Nor was my feeling for anything else inside the town that strong. Or, for that matter, exist at all, really. Beyond the vague sense that there was a college somewhere in there, a house, a department store . . . somewhere, and a bar.

Overall
Overall, I’m quite happy to have had the opportunity to read this book. I got a good solid sense of a struggling brewery, a quick look into the life of an archaeologist. Brief though that might have been – I mean the dig scenes. And something of a look at the life of a new professor.

An enjoyable experience. I have no idea why everyone else who has read this book on GoodReads seems to have hated the book (as of the time of writing this review - I had not actually read what they had written so that my own thoughts could be expressed un-disturbed). I was actually kind of reluctant to dive in because of what I had seen on here, ratings-wise. But I’ve read the author before, and the book looked interesting, so I dove in.

Oh, and for those who care about such things – yes there is sex scenes. Graphic sex scenes. Two or three.

I’d rate the book a good solid 4.45 out of 5.00 stars.

January 19 2016

Unfortunately, this is another occasion wherein it will be hard to write anything in this box because I've already continued the series, read the next book, and am currently working on the last book in the series. So.

I did write something as I went along; let me remind myself what got written:
"This is starting to annoy me. So. 72 year old man takes advantage of 18 year old woman. Woman now feels obligated to help keep man alive. Meanwhile feels obligated to pay all her mom's expenses because mom decided to fuck a fae. Yeah, this is annoying me."

Oh, right, that plot point. It comes and goes, this overwhelming need of Thierry's to take on the guilt and burdens of the world and place them upon her own shoulders. Taking upon herself the guilt and responsibility for the actions and consequences that developed when she, an 18 year old, 'slept' with a 72 year old man. The man she first meets when she was 13 and had, accidentally killed all of her best friends. Because she hadn't known she had power of any kind. And accidentally developed a glowing hand. Which her friends touched. And died from. So, this young 13 year old was faced with a father who had abandoned her before she was born, and the knowledge that she just killed her friends. When a super handsome dude showed up. An incubus. Oozing sexual attraction and lure.

Naturally she's to blame when they 'sleep' together 5 years later and 'something' happens to him which will have a deep impact on the rest of his life. Like, needing to feed off of her, and stuff (and only her). Did I mention that he was also her instructor at the Marshall's academy? And purposely used his incubus ooze during the final exam to try to keep her from passing? And almost succeeded? She's the only one that did, by the way. The rest got all caught by the lure, and stuff. He then became her trainer when she became a provisional Marshall. Her partner. Yeah, right, umms, I don't think she should be taking this 'burden' onto herself. The whole Shaw-Thierry link annoys me and vaguely nauseates me. But. *shrugs*

Then there’s the mother. Who, don’t’cha know, fucked a man. Consensually. So obviously it’s Thierry’s burden and fault that she, Thierry I mean, exists. And is alive. And therefore must feel obligated to pay all of her mother’s bills. And support her. Because, you know, she’s obviously guilty of . . . um . . forcing her mother . . to . . um . . have sex . . with a fae and . . um . . give birth to her. Um . . right.

This whole ‘taking the burdens of the world onto her back’ thing annoys the hell out of me.

Well, that must mean I hated the book, right? *looks* Yep, rating it 4.5 stars must mean, wait . . .. heh. I liked the book. All the ‘world building’ that you would expect to find in the first book actually did occur, just not in the first book. The author/someone really needs to go back and make that first story actually be a prequel. Rearrange the numbering. Have book one become 0.5, second book (this one here) become book 1, etc. Each book ends with an afterward about how the author wrote a trilogy and got talked into expanding it with a prequel. That’s nice and all, but she might have shot herself in the foot, so to speak. Because this really is an interesting story here, but the current first book in the series really doesn’t do justice as the entry point for the entire series.

An interesting enough story, I suppose. Seemed original enough, the characters and magical creatures, I mean. Solid enough mystery. I didn't realize this was a prequel, though, until I read the afterward. It's listed as the first book on GoodReads.

The interaction between Thierry and Shaw was kind of icky. Even if just look at it as two people, removing magic and stuff, it was icky. What with Shaw being first, Thierry's instructor at the Marshall school, then later her trainer when she is made a Marshall and is . . um . . trained on the job. So, even just having it as two humans, their erotic interaction is icky. Then you toss in that Shaw is an Incubus, with a sexual lure, which he uses a little more freely than you might hope and . . . eww.

Two things with the ending I disliked, well, three but I'll leave the third out. First is part of the story, second might have been out of the authors control. The story ends on something of a cliff-hanger, in that a Magistrate arrives and assigns Thierry and Shaw a case. They must leave now. So they do. And get on a plane. And are headed to Maine. And book ends. Whatever was going on there is not continued in this specific book, nor in the next (as far as I know, I've not completed the second book yet). It's just . . . left hanging. That might be easier to take, probably not, but maybe if I hadn't been at 80% of the book at that point. Or the file on my Kindle. As far as I could tell, I was about to enter a third arc in the book. Then . . book was over. Done. Completed. At 80%. Which is the second issue. The book ending at 80%. There's an afterward then something about the author, but everything after 86% isn't even connected to the Black Dog series, or to this specific author. It's a 'if you liked this book, maybe you'll like this snippet from a completely different series by a different author' thingie.