Monique S.'s Blog, page 18

Love it!

A Woman to Treasure by Ali Vali

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Dan Brown meets Jan Guillou meets Emma Nichols in this epic mystery/adventure/romance novel.

Ali Vali mixes historical knowledge and fiction with code hidden in riddles and the slowly growing sexual tension between two most unlikely candidates for a lasting romance. The mystery exchanges place with the building sexual tension between Eli and Yasmine and the growing threat to their treasure hunt in the background to keep you glued to the pages.

This novel has easily jumped into my top favourites list. I thank the amazing cover for drawing my attention, when I was rather looking for another lesbian romance in French.

If I had not started it so late into the night I would have finished it in a day.



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Exeptionnel!

Qui est Florence Vermeer ? by Kadyan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"Qui est Florence Vermeer?" Est un thriller exeptionnel, qui m’a tenu collé à mon canapé jusqu’au moment j’avais fini la lecture.

Les caractères sont très sympa et l’histoire est différent du plupart des livres de ce genre. On se sent suspendu sous tension comme les deux femmes. Le développement de leur attraction physique mutuelle est si charmant comme les dialogues sont ambigu et drôle.

Je n’ai pas lu beaucoup des romans lesbiennes en Français, mais ceci est certainement parmi les 5 meilleures à ce point, incluant la multitude des autres j’ai lu en Anglais.



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Thrillingly unusual

A Love to Stay For by Amy DeMeritt

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Finally a romance, that has two adult women, who are willing and able to face their attraction head on and neither runs away! Age gap? No problem. Difficult past? Lots of understanding and compassion. Other people’s opinion? Bugger that.

This book, on top of all that, has a brilliant plot with a really unexpected ramping up of the tension in the underlying storyline towards the end, that keeps you – were it a film – on the edge of your seat.

I much prefer that sort of drama to the always slightly artificial “I want you, but go away.” Or “I love you, but can’t deal with this, so I am running.” All of that gets rather old fast, if at least every second lesbian romance you read goes along those lines. It just makes thing so dreadfully predictable.

If you want a happy end you can go there straight and if you want tension you can use your imagination and create it on another plane as the relationship. This book does that to perfection.

Thank you, Amy DeMeritt, for a wonderful read!



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I very much like this book

I Think I Love You by Auriane Desombre

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

even though I must admit, that it had me puzzled for a while. Being German, first of all, I was confused about what teenage angst and the term angsty are even supposed to mean. Then I remembered, that German teens nowadays talk of their Handy. Are you wondering what they mean by that? They are speaking of their mobile phone.

Angst: according to Collins concise German dictionary means fear or fright. But is it used in the same meaning here? If it is then I have a generation problem, and our society has gone so far off the rails it is uncanny.

I was born in 1953 in Hamburg, Germany. My generation was rebellious. We had to deal with what was left of all those Nazis, that had taken the world on the brink of desater. There were still so many left of them as teachers, policemen, judges and politicians, that our “friends” the Americans and Brits had left in place, because of their irrational fear of communism.

So, yes. I was fifteen, when I got into my first physical fight with the police at a demonstration. We were furious about those people, who were still trying to spread their poison, trying to force their idea of obedience to a generation, who had driven the world into a war. I even threw Molotow cocktails one night into my school. We were fighting back!

Yes, I was also shy and had no idea how to deal with girls, having had to watch my drunk father hit and degrade my mother, nevertheless already knowing intuitively it was wrong and not only based on his alcohol fuelled aggression. It had been taught to him that women were less than men, first by his church and then by the Nazis.

Given that example I was, like most of my friends, confused and insecure towards girls, but that was changed, when I found there were girls and young women demonstrating, too. We had a common enemy. On a trip to London with a good friend, I met a girl, whose class was on the way back from a school trip England, while my friend and I had been on our own, thanks to the fact, that our parents had given up on trying to control us and lost hope, we’d ever fit into their ideas for our future. One thing neither of us or the others, including the girls, in the movement for the so-called student revolution were afraid, we just wanted a future we liked, not those relics of the Nazi era of our parents, who had either kept their heads down and their mouths shut or actively contributed to the nightmare.

That was defined being a teen for most of my generation in Germany. So, what is teenage angst?

What I read about in this book are the relationships between people, who define themselves by their social circle. In a time period, when all the energies of the time demand a development towards individuality, a new threat has arisen, that I learned to call the dictatorship of the mediocre. What you read here, when you do it with on open mind, are two people, who desperately fight for being accepted into a “herd”, while they are clearly gifted individuals, struggling, each in their own way and evidently feel crippled by what they perceive as social expectations, from their parents as well as their peers as well as society at large.

So to class this as a romantic comedy is as wrong as what the more awkward of the two main characters, Emma, tries to do in the book: try to find a label for herself that is acceptable by a society, that is a far removed from what could be individuality as humanity from gaining real conscious awareness of what life is. This a description of the sad fate of our young generations, who are nevertheless the future of our world. Or possibly not, if our economic system survives and at best mediocre products, like Microsoft software, become the world standard and greedy corporations enslave peoples lives.

Yes, this is a very good book, as it describes all of that in its own way and yes, it is a teenage lesbian romance as well, a very good one.

In a way it made me again more aware, of what most of my generation did wrong. We did not teach our teenage values enough. We let our children drown in consumerism instead of teaching individual creativity. I hope it is not too late.



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Writing at its best!

Those Who Wait by Haley Cass

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Those Who Wait is a much longer novel, than lesbian romances generally are, and I love it exactly for that reason. The characters are so much better described and their development makes so much more sense, when you can delve deeply into who they are and what made them.

Plus, here that applies not only to the main two, but to most of the side characters as well and also the family dynamics of both Charlotte’s and Sutton’s.

That gives the novel so much more depth, which is, why even the hottest intimate encounters are just part of the story, not driving it. Had it been that, I might not even have finished the book, but understanding the desperation of both, Charlotte and Sutton, the hot sex scenes were even for me, the reader, almost the same as for Charlotte and Sutton, a release of the tension.

This really is writing at its best and I will not go on gushing about it, otherwise there would be spoilers, and If there is something here, that I’d define as sacrilege, it were giving you spoilers!

If you like women loving women novels this is definitely a must read!




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refreshing and hopeful

Through the Roof by Natasha West

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


At last eight out of five stars for this one ;)

This is a very refreshing and uplifting book, especially at a time, when mainstream media scribblers, who have the insolence to call themselves journalists, and dimwit politicians worldwide insist on feeding people their C-narrative full of lies and scaremongering and so-called social media platforms censor anyone, who dares to have real information or just a different opinion!

The two heroines, Olivia and Holly, are two intelligent, bold and driven journalists, who are forced to stick with soft fluff and keep their research results about the people they “interview” to themselves to give a platform for voicing if not outright lies, so at least narratives, that circumvent the truth to deceive the public.

As the ratings tank for the morning show the two ladies co-host and the relationship between them changes, the producer decides to fire the senior one of them, causing the two of them to rebel and start producing real journalism and tear first and government minister and then a so-called influencer publicly apart on air.

From the resulting chaos finally emerges the program, after a change of the producer, with the two of them reconciled and new vigour as well as the return of their sharp and witty reporting. Brilliant!

On top of that is the romance between the two main ladies absolutely cute and very well written throughout, so in all it was a very satisfying read and I can only pray for more journalism as is described here to re-appear for all our benefit.



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An absolutely fabulous read!

Blue by Lise Gold

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Where do I start?

Perhaps it is best to start at the beginning. I knew even after only very few pages, that I was going to love this book. The more I read, the more I loved it, even though there was a short moment, when I asked myself, if there was going to be enough plot, as the sizzeling hot passion between the two ladies was almost overwhelming and I am not a real fan of romances, that really are nothing but erotica (not to say porn in really bad cases).

So far I have only read one author, Lise Gold, who can really pull it of and put in as many intimate scenes, as you find here, and still keep them becoming more and more love making than just passionate sex, while ramping up your interest in the plot at the same time. I have certainly gained a new favourite Author. Her writing is more than just entertaining, it simply is inspiring!

Even though I bought “The Scent of Rome” and “Living”, that I read on Kindle unlimited, as paperbacks for re-reads in future, I hesitated to buy “Blue” outright as a book from the start, and I now regret that decision. I really should have read it nicely wrapped up in my robe on the sofa rather than on the laptop screen with Kindle Cloud Reader. So I’ll order it tomorrow for a second reading. Thank you, Lise Gold, for another wonderful experience. I’ll not make that same mistake again with your next book.

The read is as close to a spiritual experience, as doing what the main characters did in the story, as their experiences come very vividly to life. This really is romance at its best. I love the way travelling experiences about finding different cultures are thrown into the mix, as well as the very life like descriptions of the scenes and feelings of sailing along a coastline or across the sea, when no land is in sight any more. I grew up with boats and the North Sea, even violent Storms and winds that are strong enough to blow you off your feet. I can so understand the crew of the Barracuda and, naturally, Erin. Also, it was lovely to read, how Celia slowly found her sailor’s feet.

So, yes, this book spoke to me on so many levels, a lesbian romance, non sexual love between friends and a family of chosen people, rather than those you were saddled with through birth, all of that made it an absolutely fabulous read.



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One of the best

Maritima by Natalie Debrabandere

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is one of the rare books, which drew my interest with the title image alone. The summary added weight to the attraction, the setting, too.

As soon as the third main character got introduced I had only one regret: I would have so much enjoyed to read this book in French. Why? First of all Anais is one of those French women, who always were my fantasy of an ideal partner. Then of course because the action is in Provence, my second favourite region after Bittany. But I digress.

This tale is so real, you can't help rooting the not quite love triangle: dependable, wise and strong Ky, the motherly type, highly intelligent but struggling with her selfesteem Jessie, whose character development in the story is one of the best I have ever read and last but not least beautiful Anais, the most interesting of the three and next to Jessie the second lesbian in the nicely worked not quite love triangle.

As if that wasn't interesting enough in itself add an unusual plot and you have suddenly bypassed any and all tropes. Some might say it is an enemies to lovers story, but it actually isn't. Read again the scene they meet for the first time and you'll realise that the love is at first sight, but the reasons the two ladies do not let it happen are circumstantial on one hand and based on their respective past on the other. The way, these differences are resolved makes the book so good, so real! You simply have to read for yourself.

This book has wet my appetite fo other books by Natalie Debrandere for sure. If you love a good lesbian romance this is a must read.

Oh, by the way, I read it in one day, I simply could not put it down for longer than making a coffee and/or a sandwich.



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Out for pre-orders now.

Our Irish Expedition

out for pre orders, release 11th of May 2021.

Back from the war against the Homm, Odyssa, Circe, Thorgal and Helena have had to realise, that nine years have passed, since they went off with LaSaDa to fight in another world. Thorgal thus has reached 13 years of age and Helena is a young woman of 21. It is time, therefore, to unite the immortal half siblings Deidameia and Thorgal.

Things have changed considerably back on earth and so Odyssa sets out into the past again with Aphrodite, to check on her loved ones left behind after the war for Troy. After a visit to Demedea at Skyros, Aphrodite takes Odyssa to meet her daughter Sophia at the court of Queen Pyrrha and to find out how Patroklos fared growing up in Pyrrha’s realm with all his memories of his failures in the relationship with her.

Sophia decides to go back with Odyssa to Chyphre and the 21st century, to get to know Odyssa more and learn from her mother. At the stop on Lesbos, where Odyssa wants Kasu and Suha to meet Penthesilea and to pick up Deidameia, the daughter Penthesilea had with Ares, when Kasu and Suha meet Sophia it comes out, that Sophia is immortal like her mother, and Kasu’s markings sort of transfer, to mark Sophia as a royal princess and immortal.

Back at Chyphre Aphrodite appears again with someone in tow, Brigit, an Irish goddess, who is in need of help in the past, more precisely during the first Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. A new adventure begins.

Holiday at the lake.

Murder of the Month Club by Tegan Maher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


You know my favourite holiday destination? Keyhole Lake!

Whenever I feel lazy or not motivated to do anything at all, I take a holiday at Keyhole Lake to join Noelle, Shelby, Aunt Abby, Gabi, Rae, Hunter, Cody, Matt and all the rest of their wonderful friends to have a good laugh, lots of smiles and some suspense.

This one didn't disappoint at all (again) and made me crack up at puns like "sobriety impaired" and other bits in the sometimes outrageously funny dialogues. These stories really have it all, lovely characters, whether they are "living impaired" or not, evil villains, cranky little old ladies, nice hunks,
bratty kids, or teenagers struggling with threatening adulthood, a great setting and well plotted plots.

Thanks again, Tegan Maher, for nice relaxing and funny read.



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