Q. Kelly

Any time a new Q. Kelly novel comes out I am ecstatic. Her books are extremely well-written, very engaging and often have characters that are either likable or at least easy to identify with as to where they are at in life. So I was both surprised and disappointed to find myself not liking Woman Unleashed one bit.

For me, the big problem is the main character, Melody Thomas. She is not just unsympathetic and hard to like, she's (quite frankly) a horrible person. Any mother who would move in show more on her daughter's girlfriend (an equally yucky character) is not someone you can root for...if this were a physical book and not a Kindle I would have thrown it across the room in exasperation.

Melody is smug and selfishly justifies her way out of any situation she thinks might hurt another person (though she rarely hesitates for more than a second as to whether she is in the wrong or not.) Joy (her daughter's girlfriend) is all too ready to jump into bed with her at a second's notice. Only poor Patricia (Melody's daughter) seems to have any scruples and she's too quiet and meek to really care about at all.

Infidelity has always been a very hot button issue for me so perhaps that's where all of my dislike for this book is coming from, no matter how things may turn out in the end. show less

It's absolutely wonderful when you have a favorite author who writes well AND frequently. What a nice bounce to my week to discover Q. Kelly has a brand new collection of stories out. Even though her previous book, Woman Unleashed, completely unnerved me, it by no means made me want to stop reading her. Just like her other anthologies, The Green Pill, One Hour and Other Lesbian Stories is very solid, delivering thoughtful, emotional reads that completely sweep you in and have you wanting show more more when it's time to say goodbye.

Having quite the knack for tackling things with her own unique voice, Q. Kelly takes on delicate subjects in "The Green Pill" (the changing of one's sexuality in one downing of a pill) and "One Hour" (school shootings and teacher/student relationships) and more than does them justice. "Stay In," light-hearted and funny, is downright adorable and "Tommie," one of the sweetest things ever. I liked "The Night They Drank Wine," but for me it doesn't have the pleasant butterfly punches all the other titles have.

I never stop being amazed at how consistently good Ms. Kelly remains as a writer and how she never once abandons quality for a quick publication. "One Hour," in particular, is one of her best ever, as touching and as special as "The Old Woman," a devastatingly beautiful selection from an earlier collection. I can't wait for what comes next!:) show less

Oof. 2.5ish stars for me. I wanted this to be goofy and fun and kinda bonkers, like reality tv can be, but unfortunately it is just kinda shallow and boring. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and I didn’t care about the relationship. We just didn’t get to see much genuine interaction. At least for my personal taste. Bummer because the concept is actually fun.

(Also, the biphobia near the ending rlly rubbed me the wrong way. I get being pissed about being lied to, but the way show more everyone reacted to Lucy figuring herself out in her own time was shitty). show less

I've always found Q. Kelly's unusual pairings to be intriguingly entertaining. So even if I didn't like the book summary too much, I wanted to see how far the author would push the moral boundaries. She's always skirted the edge without ever going over. So I'm expecting her to pull it off again.

Everything went normally at first. I was even sold on the 'lust at first sight' bit. The two protagonists sizzle and burn and I actually found myself rooting for them. But about midway through the show more book, everything started going downhill. From that point on, it became a very dark tale. The sudden switch in gears was jarring. It almost started reading like a psychological thriller. Except that it wasn't thrilling but shocking.

Most of the book is told from the point of view of Melody Thomas, the 60 year old protagonist. I get that the author tried to show her as being trapped in a loveless marriage. And for the first half of the book, I truly sympathized with her. But like I said, things happened. Lesbian love unleashed the woman ...and the woman unleashed was a psychopath!

This isn't vintage Q. Kelly. She, of the impossible pairings and love against-all-odds. So fans used to her usual fare and expecting the same will be shocked. There is raw, hot sex but I can't equate it with romance. And while the pairings both live up to Kelly's reputation for the bizarre, the rest of the book just does not do it for me. show less