Kim Baldwin

I give this novel five stars because it has everything I want in a lesbian romance: far-off places, deadly peril, multiple avalanches, mountain climbing, and people dying. The two protagonists were realistic and sympathetic, and there was nothing contrived standing in the way of their relationship, just that fact that they were in mortal danger trapped on a train in an avalanche. I need to read more of this sort of adventure story and less of the ones where a woman moves back to her show more hometown, etc.

My one complaint is that all the survivors on the train had some sort of description (and most of them had names) except for “the two Japanese couples.” show less

Wow.

The book is mainly about Hudson, an AP reporter, one who is very good at her job and very well respected as well. And Steffi, a Librarian from Washington State.

They both like winter sports, Hudson likes Extreme Skiing, and Steffi climbs with a group of her friends including Kris with who she works and Kris' partner Fin.

The story starts pretty methodically for almost the first half of the novel. I wouldn't say it was a slow start, because I was pulled right into the story, but it was a show more leisurely start. We got to know all the characters, which made sense because without getting me to care or not care about the characters the second part of the story wouldn't have been as impactful. And boy was it seriously impactful.

All the characters get on a train called the Bernina Express that winds itself through the Swiss Alps. The two groups meet Anna, a mother on a solo vacation, and Clay on the train. He's a guy who built the entire route, mountains, snow and all before he ever got on the the real thing. Of course there's the climbing group too, and the extreme skiing group, that includes a TV reporter named JT who for the most part seems to be the human antagonist in the story. Of course, the main antagonist in the novle is Nature.

The turn of the story happens high up in the Swiss Alps. It also turned this novel from a liesurly lesbian romance to --bamm-- a thriller. And it was an awesome thriller. Everything from the first incident to the last was amazingly written, and it was all so tightly written as well.

If I could only read on Lesbian Fiction book this year, I know it's only August, but this would be it. Just awesome, and amazing, and I wasn't even sure who was going to survive and who wasn't. A great, at least five star book.

I got this advanced galley through Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books. show less

That was. Wow.

It's the story of Isabel. Her friend Gillian enters her in a magazine contest and Isabel wins the grand prize, going to Paris, Rome, Cairo, and the Bahamas as well as getting a make over and being the Cover Girl. She's a cake decorator, very controlled and buttoned up, always with a plan or itinerary.

Then there's Kash. She's a world famous photographer who's also quite the play girl, and who gets drafted by her friend, the Publisher of the magazine to do the photos.

Of course, show more because this is a romance the two characters find that they're drawn to each other. But Kash's past and hang ups get in the way quite a bit.

It was an intense book. Is there such a thing as a sex thriller, because that's how it felt while reading it. Every chapter, every scene was like a thriller, but instead of action each of the words even were filled with sex. It was different and cool.

I also liked that it wasn't as straightforward a lesbian romance as some that I've read. Ihad a niggling of doubt at times over whether Kash and Isabel would end up together. And that made this a cool and different sort of novel. show less

This book was a mixed bag for me.

The main characters are Blayne and Alexi. Blayne is put into Witness Protection after she witnesses a mob murder and is willing to testify. (The mob doesn't want her to testify - aka want to kill her). That's where Alexi comes in, she's a recently former WITSEC Inspector (with an intense back story relating to the 'former' part of that title), who gets called in on a favor to protect Blayne. It's definitely a good thing she's there as the two of them go on a show more crazy journey from the US to Canada and beyond. It was a ride.

I do have to say that for most of the book (except for here and there) I mostly didn't like Alexi. Everything she did grated on my nerves. I did mostly like the Blayne character. All the things she was doing and not totally trusting Alexi made perfect sense to me, and then Alexi would poo poo Blayne and I would be come incensed. I think I was supposed to eventually like Alexi by the end, I just never did.

I did also really liked the secondary characters. Wish there had been more Claudia and Vox, they were awesome.

Overall I liked the story, the tension of the non-romantic chase was very nice, I just couldn't totally get on board with the romance party of the story. show less