Julie Blair

This is the story of Jac and Liz. Jac is a mysterious woman who's blind and very private for reasons we eventually learn. She literally gets run into by Liz, a jazz pianist whose wife Teri has recently-ish died. Both women are trying to move on with their lives and get their feet under them. One of the questions is, will their attraction to each other help this process or not.

Ironically I think that how I feel about this book is sorta how I feel about Jazz in general. There are kinds of Jazz and some performers that I really like, and other parts of Jazz and people that I don't.

The book was sorta the same. The beginning was very hard for me to get into, some of it seemed bumpy writing wise, and perhaps some of the difficulty is on me too. I'm much more of a classical/show tunes fan with a smattering of pop/jazz/ and other random stuff thrown in. So since Jazz isn't totally my thing some of the names, etc. went over my head (I do know who Ellington is, and later in the book it was cool to see Coltrane's name, he's my favorite Tenor Sax player for sure).

And yet, once the story got going and it started being more about the characters instead of about the jazz legends I did get swept up in it, and I started really liking it.

I also really, really liked the characters, they were really all well written. Like Liz's family, from her Dad to her Brother and sister. And Liz's band mates as well, and Jac's family, Peggy etc., too. Of course, then there was Max, Jac's guide dog. He was just awesome on every level.

Of course, now that I'm done with this novel I wish that there was one about Liz's sister Hannah and all that delightful messiness.

I got this advanced galley through Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.… (more)

This is an interesting book. It starts in 1991. Jamie is in Atlanta coming back from the Southern Women's Music Festival, which was a sort of last hurrah for her before she settles into her father's chiropractic practice and in his words 'grows up'. Then her flight home is cancelled and she cannot get another one until the next day. And she meets a lady with a southern accent, Carly, who's also going back to California, and having mixed feelings about it. Together they have a whirlwind one night stand that includes a Melissa Etheridge concert, dancing in a lesbian club, and sex. The next morning though, Carly leaves without a word, and neither woman thinks they'll ever see the other again.

Of course, that'd be a short book. And so, 20 years later, in 2011, Jamie and Carla (instead of Carly) meet again when Carla becomes Jamie's office manager. And it definitely gets interesting after that, especially because both women are going through some complicated stuff, Carla in her marriage to Mike, and Jamie in her almost ten year relationship with Sheryl.

It was a great story. My favorite part was the characters, they were awesome. I couldn't stand those that I was supposed to hate/not be able to stand, and those I was supposed to be rooting for, I was. I really liked Jamie's best friend Penni, and Penni's kid Travis was super cute too. I also really loved how all the characters were so connected even if they didn't all know it. It was done in a very organic way.

I got this advanced galley through Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.… (more)