music, books, love and kindness

Girls Just Don't Do That by Natalie Simone is a surprisingly good read that is particularly striking for handling domestic violence in a sincere and realistic manner, something not usually handled in lesfic.

Even though I found the story and characters interesting, my favorite part is what the author writes in her afterword:

I needed to address the issues that occur in our community that are kept secret. A lot of people still don’t believe that domestic violence occurs in lesbian relationships, or that women can have very meaningful relationships with each other. But the reality is that we meet, we fall in love, and we plan for the future, just like everyone else.


Curve magazine featured an article on the topic recently:

 http://www.curvemag-digital.com/curvemagazine/oct_14?pg=18#pg18


Another good title:


The cover to Fierce Overture does not do this wonderful story justice at all. I downloaded the title over a year ago when it was on sale for $1.24 and then forgot about it until after I had read other Gun Brooke titles and realized how much I liked their sincere and touching approach to life and love.

Fierce Overture has all my favorite romance novel themes: a May/December relationship, the realistic and troubling internal struggles of wondering "does she like me or does she not?" plus sweet and endearing meets cold and indifferent which, of course, is secretly hiding a heart of gold and protective instinct.

Both women are an interesting combination of contradictions. Noelle is a super-popular singer who has a reputation for being a party girl and diva when she's actually shy and caring. Helena, the icy CEO of the company that produces Noelle's albums, is (in stereotypical love story fashion) afraid to trust her own feelings or heart.

The dynamics between them is amazing and as unrealistic as it can sometimes be there are all-too-familiar real life sentences like this: "Noelle wondered how a person could radiate so much presence that a room seemed empty and cold once she left." Another passage, kind of heartbreaking, goes: "Helena was hot and cold, stubborn and compliant, kind and stern, and most of all, she was apparently less affected by Noelle than Noelle was by her."

Not every reader goes for the back-and-forth doubts and behaviors that go with two women being insecure in love. But those who either understand it or have experienced it in their own lives will gobble this up like candy.(