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Flatline
Christa Reeves, a paramedic, struggles with the hardships of life while doing what she does best; saving lives as a First Responder. Her journey has her crossing paths with an eager journalist, Alice Underwood. Alice has been given a chance to shine a light on the sacrifice of emergency workers that keep the city safe. When she works with Paramedic Reeves on her story, she doesn’t realize just how much they sacrifice or what its like to fall in love with a medic. The action unfolds, secrets are revealed, and somewhere along the road love blossoms.
266 pages, Paperback
Published January 17, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 25, 2019
This book was the August 2019's Sapphic Book Club read hosted by sapphicbookclub.
For me, this novel has a lot of potential and I was looking forward to reading it. It has an interesting story idea, a lot of badass heroic queer characters and works with both different romance plots and serious issues like loss and alcoholism.
And to be honest, it's always good to have 90% of the cast being ladies in uniforms.
But sadly it fell flat for me on the execution.
The first half kind of dragged on. While the life of the paramedics and the relationships between them and them gettig to know the reporter Alice are basic points that need to be established for the story, there was a lot of text that didn't do anything to further the plot.
And then, even tho there were a few things that I thought would have needed a bit more working on, the middle part gave more of an insight on how the whole book could have been regarding plot, pacing and development of the romance, which was nice and which I appreciated.
But then I have to say, I really disliked the last part of the book. I don't like being this negative, but I got really annoyed at the unnecessary drama and the unreasonable decisions the characters make (seemingly) only for the sake of giving the book a conflict to the end.
For me, this novel has a lot of potential and I was looking forward to reading it. It has an interesting story idea, a lot of badass heroic queer characters and works with both different romance plots and serious issues like loss and alcoholism.
And to be honest, it's always good to have 90% of the cast being ladies in uniforms.
But sadly it fell flat for me on the execution.
The first half kind of dragged on. While the life of the paramedics and the relationships between them and them gettig to know the reporter Alice are basic points that need to be established for the story, there was a lot of text that didn't do anything to further the plot.
And then, even tho there were a few things that I thought would have needed a bit more working on, the middle part gave more of an insight on how the whole book could have been regarding plot, pacing and development of the romance, which was nice and which I appreciated.
But then I have to say, I really disliked the last part of the book. I don't like being this negative, but I got really annoyed at the unnecessary drama and the unreasonable decisions the characters make (seemingly) only for the sake of giving the book a conflict to the end.
August 18, 2019
This is the Sapphic Book Club August book.
Summary: Flatline, for the most part, follows the developing romance between two women in the setting of a group of paramedics. Christa is a cynical, sarcastic, functional alcoholic who is devoted to her job as a paramedic who inevitably has a soft spot for the bopping, sugar-sweet, up-and-coming reporter, Alice. Christa suffers from unspoken trauma, and Alice endears herself by knowing when and how to ask the right questions.
Secondary plots happen in the background between Sam (Christa's non-binary partner at work) and Holly, who have a long history but are unable to be in a relationship because of their positions at work, and Lexi, a policewoman who lost her work partner and is dealing with the new dudebro she's been paired up with.
Positives: I'll preface this by saying that Flatline does not fall into the genres I read. Overall it was a charming little love story with drama sewn in. To look at things objectively, there are some who may enjoy this book for its characters, its setting, and its story. It is also important for me to note that while Alice was able to help Christa with her alcoholism, she did not become the miraculous the cure for it. That detail was appreciated.
Critiques: The first quarter of this book suffers from what I would call chessboard writing. "Pawn goes to G5. Rook does this. Knight does that" etc. It felt very stiff and was very difficult to read through. Although it loosens up after a certain point, because it is so hard to read in the first portion I sense a lot of people would put it down. The dialogue also comes and goes. Sometimes it's not believable as something someone would actually say. For example, Christa often punctuates her phrases with Alice by calling her "cutie." Repeatedly.
I also need to say that this story ends about 10 yards shy of the finish line. There were unresolved side stories, loose ends left untied, and it was the bare minimum to resolve literally everything that happened. I don't know if the author was hoping to bait for a sequel or if they felt like that was a good place to leave it, but... It was barely finished.
Overall it was an average read (3/5), something to entertain yourself for a few hours if you can get passed the first portion of stiff writing. The characters have their charm and you might find yourself hoping the best for them; however, you might never get to know unless there is a sequel.
Summary: Flatline, for the most part, follows the developing romance between two women in the setting of a group of paramedics. Christa is a cynical, sarcastic, functional alcoholic who is devoted to her job as a paramedic who inevitably has a soft spot for the bopping, sugar-sweet, up-and-coming reporter, Alice. Christa suffers from unspoken trauma, and Alice endears herself by knowing when and how to ask the right questions.
Secondary plots happen in the background between Sam (Christa's non-binary partner at work) and Holly, who have a long history but are unable to be in a relationship because of their positions at work, and Lexi, a policewoman who lost her work partner and is dealing with the new dudebro she's been paired up with.
Positives: I'll preface this by saying that Flatline does not fall into the genres I read. Overall it was a charming little love story with drama sewn in. To look at things objectively, there are some who may enjoy this book for its characters, its setting, and its story. It is also important for me to note that while Alice was able to help Christa with her alcoholism, she did not become the miraculous the cure for it. That detail was appreciated.
Critiques: The first quarter of this book suffers from what I would call chessboard writing. "Pawn goes to G5. Rook does this. Knight does that" etc. It felt very stiff and was very difficult to read through. Although it loosens up after a certain point, because it is so hard to read in the first portion I sense a lot of people would put it down. The dialogue also comes and goes. Sometimes it's not believable as something someone would actually say. For example, Christa often punctuates her phrases with Alice by calling her "cutie." Repeatedly.
I also need to say that this story ends about 10 yards shy of the finish line. There were unresolved side stories, loose ends left untied, and it was the bare minimum to resolve literally everything that happened. I don't know if the author was hoping to bait for a sequel or if they felt like that was a good place to leave it, but... It was barely finished.
Overall it was an average read (3/5), something to entertain yourself for a few hours if you can get passed the first portion of stiff writing. The characters have their charm and you might find yourself hoping the best for them; however, you might never get to know unless there is a sequel.
August 7, 2019
This is the Sapphic Book Club August book.
This was a quick, enjoyable romance book. The story follows a reporter who is doing an article on first responders, their jobs and how it effects their personal lives. I enjoyed the characters and the pretty dang accurate portrayal of the life of a first responder.
My biggest compliant is structure. It took the author about half the book to get into a good rhythm. I am not a fan of changes in POV in the middle of chapters, and found myself, more than once, having to re-read sections to figure out who was talking and about whom. The first half of the book felt more like an episode of 9-1-1 with the shifting between characters, but once the author got into the rhythm, it became easier to follow, but some characters got left to the wayside. It's not a bad thing some characters were sidelined, but it was weird giving them a POV only to drop it.
I enjoyed the ending but wished that there was maybe another chapter or two. There were a couple of subplots that either should have been lessened, and then resolved in a sequel. Or should have had a conclusion in this book. All in all, I enjoyed this book and would totally read a sequel or companion piece.
This was a quick, enjoyable romance book. The story follows a reporter who is doing an article on first responders, their jobs and how it effects their personal lives. I enjoyed the characters and the pretty dang accurate portrayal of the life of a first responder.
My biggest compliant is structure. It took the author about half the book to get into a good rhythm. I am not a fan of changes in POV in the middle of chapters, and found myself, more than once, having to re-read sections to figure out who was talking and about whom. The first half of the book felt more like an episode of 9-1-1 with the shifting between characters, but once the author got into the rhythm, it became easier to follow, but some characters got left to the wayside. It's not a bad thing some characters were sidelined, but it was weird giving them a POV only to drop it.
I enjoyed the ending but wished that there was maybe another chapter or two. There were a couple of subplots that either should have been lessened, and then resolved in a sequel. Or should have had a conclusion in this book. All in all, I enjoyed this book and would totally read a sequel or companion piece.
August 30, 2019
This book was the August 2019 Sapphicbookclub read hosted by sapphicbookclub
I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did.It's a sweet and inoffencive little romance with solid wlw and nb representation.However , it made me incredibly frustrated, gave me mixed feelings and left me feeling unsatisfied with the ending.
Parts of Flatline are enjoyable.It has a compelling female lead ensemble cast and handled the raw emotions well.I got invested in the characters journeys and was left wanting more.
Unfortunately, there's also negative things I have to ramble about.At the beginning of the book the structure felt sloppy.Switching the POV between different characters just made it hard to connect to them.Thankfully that improved and the changing POV became more focused as the book went on.To continue, there was also frustrating and drawn out drama at the end of the book that made me want to scream endlessly into the void.Do you know in romantic dramas where there's conflict that could be easily solved if the characters just talked to each other ? That happens here.But it's even more frustrating because it involves one of the main characters "disappearing" for two months.That felt unrealistic and unnecessary because it seemed unlikely that Christa would do that to Alice.She knows what it's like to lose someone.The ending also disappointed me because it felt too neat and rushed.It concludes in that classic romcom scenario of the two lovers reuniting.This was unsatisfying because the characters felt too complicated for a neat finalised ending.I would of liked to have seen how their relationship ended and for a conclusion to the will they or won't they B plot.
Overall I would recommend Flatline to people that are intrigued by the synopsis or that are looking for a relatively happy f/f romantic dramedy that doesn't deal with homophobia or end in tragedy.There's not enough of them.
I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did.It's a sweet and inoffencive little romance with solid wlw and nb representation.However , it made me incredibly frustrated, gave me mixed feelings and left me feeling unsatisfied with the ending.
Parts of Flatline are enjoyable.It has a compelling female lead ensemble cast and handled the raw emotions well.I got invested in the characters journeys and was left wanting more.
Unfortunately, there's also negative things I have to ramble about.At the beginning of the book the structure felt sloppy.Switching the POV between different characters just made it hard to connect to them.Thankfully that improved and the changing POV became more focused as the book went on.To continue, there was also frustrating and drawn out drama at the end of the book that made me want to scream endlessly into the void.Do you know in romantic dramas where there's conflict that could be easily solved if the characters just talked to each other ? That happens here.But it's even more frustrating because it involves one of the main characters "disappearing" for two months.That felt unrealistic and unnecessary because it seemed unlikely that Christa would do that to Alice.She knows what it's like to lose someone.The ending also disappointed me because it felt too neat and rushed.It concludes in that classic romcom scenario of the two lovers reuniting.This was unsatisfying because the characters felt too complicated for a neat finalised ending.I would of liked to have seen how their relationship ended and for a conclusion to the will they or won't they B plot.
Overall I would recommend Flatline to people that are intrigued by the synopsis or that are looking for a relatively happy f/f romantic dramedy that doesn't deal with homophobia or end in tragedy.There's not enough of them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2019
An enjoyable romantic drama featuring a hard-boiled paramedic and her found family, the team of first responders she has served with for the past several years. Our author did an outstanding job of getting this reader to care about these characters as together they experience life and love and loss in appropriate (and heartbreakingly relatable) measure. The book could well have gone on for several more chapters following its climax; after tragedy strikes within the team’s midst, several of interesting and poignant plot threads balled up tight as the author plowed headlong and hurriedly to the book’s conclusion. This reader looks forward to another lights-and-siren ride along with these characters, even if it means helping swab out the rig at shift’s end.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews