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The Last Time I Saw Her
At seventeen Lane Hudson had her heart broken by the first woman she ever loved. Fifteen years later Alison Bickford is back and they’re working the same music festival in rural Georgia. Her feelings are complicated and regrets weigh her down. When the line between past and present, memory and reality starts to blur, Lane knows the spark hasn’t died.
She only has twelve days to win back Alison’s heart. That is if she can gather the courage to try.
She only has twelve days to win back Alison’s heart. That is if she can gather the courage to try.
266 pages, Paperback
Published June 12, 2018
About the author
Kathleen Knowles
56 books20 followersKathleen Knowles grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but has lived in San Francisco for more than thirty years. She finds the city’s combination of history, natural beauty, and multicultural diversity inspiring and endlessly fascinating.
Other than writing, she loves music of all kinds, walking, bicycling, and stamp collecting. LGBT history and politics have commanded her attention for many years, starting with her first Pride march in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1978. She and her partner were married in July, 2008, and live atop one of San Francisco’s many hills with their three pets. She works as a health and safety specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.
She has written short stories, essays, and fan fiction. Awake Unto Me is her first published work. (from the publisher's website)
Other than writing, she loves music of all kinds, walking, bicycling, and stamp collecting. LGBT history and politics have commanded her attention for many years, starting with her first Pride march in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1978. She and her partner were married in July, 2008, and live atop one of San Francisco’s many hills with their three pets. She works as a health and safety specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.
She has written short stories, essays, and fan fiction. Awake Unto Me is her first published work. (from the publisher's website)
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 26, 2018
I have to put this in the strictly just okay category. This is my third book I have read by Knowles and unfortunately all three have been 3 stars each. I think the problem is I just don’t really click with her writing style. I’m a character driven reader while I think Knowles is more of a plot driven writer. Although to be honest I had issues with both in this book.
Lane spends her free time volunteering for lesbian festivals in the late 80’s. The newest one is in Georgia where Lane will be in charge of security. When she noticed the name of one of the festival’s nurses is Alison, she immediately wonders if it is her childhood first love. Sure enough it is the Alison of her past. Can Lane and Alison rekindle their love or is there too much baggage from their past?
I enjoyed the week long setting of the lesbian festival. I thought there was going to be a lot of fun maybe even humorous occurrences that would happen when Lane was on duty. Unfortunately, that wasn’t really the case. Everything was pretty minor and didn’t bring the fun or excitement I was hoping for. I thought it was a missed opportunity.
I had a lot of trouble connect to either main character. I didn’t dislike them I just didn’t honestly care that much. Lane especially came off as very immature. I did not feel like she was a woman in her 30’s at all. 21 maybe and the story would have worked much better.
When it came to the romance I did not feel any chemistry or real connection. I didn’t understand why Lane loved Allison so much. I am not a fan of flashbacks, but this was the kind of story that needed them. There only were a few, but they didn’t really focus on the connection. I needed to know their history to understand their supposed love.
Parts of the story were pleasant, but it never really worked for me. This book wasn’t bad but there was nothing that moved me. Sometimes we just don’t click with certain authors, so to be fair this may be that last review I do of Knowles’ books for a while.
An ARC was given to me by BSB, for a honest review.
Lane spends her free time volunteering for lesbian festivals in the late 80’s. The newest one is in Georgia where Lane will be in charge of security. When she noticed the name of one of the festival’s nurses is Alison, she immediately wonders if it is her childhood first love. Sure enough it is the Alison of her past. Can Lane and Alison rekindle their love or is there too much baggage from their past?
I enjoyed the week long setting of the lesbian festival. I thought there was going to be a lot of fun maybe even humorous occurrences that would happen when Lane was on duty. Unfortunately, that wasn’t really the case. Everything was pretty minor and didn’t bring the fun or excitement I was hoping for. I thought it was a missed opportunity.
I had a lot of trouble connect to either main character. I didn’t dislike them I just didn’t honestly care that much. Lane especially came off as very immature. I did not feel like she was a woman in her 30’s at all. 21 maybe and the story would have worked much better.
When it came to the romance I did not feel any chemistry or real connection. I didn’t understand why Lane loved Allison so much. I am not a fan of flashbacks, but this was the kind of story that needed them. There only were a few, but they didn’t really focus on the connection. I needed to know their history to understand their supposed love.
Parts of the story were pleasant, but it never really worked for me. This book wasn’t bad but there was nothing that moved me. Sometimes we just don’t click with certain authors, so to be fair this may be that last review I do of Knowles’ books for a while.
An ARC was given to me by BSB, for a honest review.
May 16, 2018
Set in 1987 at women’s music and comedy festival in Georgia, Lane Hudson is part of the safety and security team, a position she’s held at a few festivals before this one. When she sees Alison’s name on the list it is with mixed feelings that she hopes it is, in fact, the Alison who broke her heart 15 years earlier at camp. It is her, her first love and the one she never stopped thinking about.
This is a fairly easy going read but not as dynamic as I’d hoped and I felt melancholic most of the way through (but that might just be me). The story is written from Lane’s point of view in first person but I found it didn’t really open her up as a character. She’s been in love with Alison for well over 15 years but I wasn’t entirely sure why. What she loves about Alison doesn’t come to the fore in either the present or in the flashbacks (and there aren’t many). Alison is the object of her affection but there is lack of conversation between them about who they are now, what they’ve done and both of them gloss over their previous relationships.
The setting of a women’s festival and the era had a lot of potential but I didn’t get a strong sense of 1987 in fashion or attitudes. It was mentioned that women could express their relationships in public at the festival but not in their everyday lives but a little more exploration would have been nice. Essentially, this could have been set in any year from then to now.
Towards the end one gets a much better gauge of both Alison and Lane through lots of dialogue and engagement with each other. I’m sorry more of the book wasn’t like this but overall it was a reasonable read.
Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.
This is a fairly easy going read but not as dynamic as I’d hoped and I felt melancholic most of the way through (but that might just be me). The story is written from Lane’s point of view in first person but I found it didn’t really open her up as a character. She’s been in love with Alison for well over 15 years but I wasn’t entirely sure why. What she loves about Alison doesn’t come to the fore in either the present or in the flashbacks (and there aren’t many). Alison is the object of her affection but there is lack of conversation between them about who they are now, what they’ve done and both of them gloss over their previous relationships.
The setting of a women’s festival and the era had a lot of potential but I didn’t get a strong sense of 1987 in fashion or attitudes. It was mentioned that women could express their relationships in public at the festival but not in their everyday lives but a little more exploration would have been nice. Essentially, this could have been set in any year from then to now.
Towards the end one gets a much better gauge of both Alison and Lane through lots of dialogue and engagement with each other. I’m sorry more of the book wasn’t like this but overall it was a reasonable read.
Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.
June 12, 2018
I really rooted for this book to be good, based on synopsis, but unfortunately somehow, for me, it did not deliver... I couldn’t connect to Lane or Allison, and it kind of lacked in chemistry between them. The plot was ok, but I didn’t feel the depth of the characters, and it’s a dealbreaker to me because of that.
May 28, 2018
Interesting setting with a storyline that fell flat. First of all, I enjoyed the women's music festival concept. Second, I like the idea of reconnecting with women from festival-to-festival. Third, some of the personalities and issues being dealt with were on point and interesting. On the other hand, neither Lane or Alison were very interesting to me. With the story told from Lane's point of view, did not help this reader appreciate what was taking place. I only finished it because I value finishing what I started and in this case, it was a challenge.
ARC provided by Bold Strokes Books, Inc. via NetGalley
ARC provided by Bold Strokes Books, Inc. via NetGalley
July 12, 2018
Oh my god. I stay off Goodreads for a few weeks and the entire interface is upside down. Now that I've gotten this out of my system...
What a weird book! All I wanted was a non complicated book to help me decompress after the traumatic final exams. This was so not uncomplicated.
I love the plots where characters get second chances. Like I'm all for it, if two people get a redo in life. So normally I would have liked this book. But...
I'm not sure what it was that had me at my wit's end with this book. Its probably all the sleepless nights I've had over the last few weeks. I could not follow the flashbacks! Even though there was a continuity (sort of) I found it difficult to keep up with the flashbacks.
And then there's the description about the music festival. So, so, verbose. I am not someone with a prolonged attention span. I found myself having to bring my focus back on the book whenever there was something about the festival being discussed.
The story itself wasn't bad perse. The characters are kinda likable, and once you put together all the flashbacks together you end up sympathising with them. But the path to that sympathy is so convoluted.
I would have liked this book if it was a tad stingy with the description of the music festival. But eh it's alright. It wasn't that bad either. I'd say this is a one time read, just to you know experience what a music festival feels like.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
What a weird book! All I wanted was a non complicated book to help me decompress after the traumatic final exams. This was so not uncomplicated.
I love the plots where characters get second chances. Like I'm all for it, if two people get a redo in life. So normally I would have liked this book. But...
I'm not sure what it was that had me at my wit's end with this book. Its probably all the sleepless nights I've had over the last few weeks. I could not follow the flashbacks! Even though there was a continuity (sort of) I found it difficult to keep up with the flashbacks.
And then there's the description about the music festival. So, so, verbose. I am not someone with a prolonged attention span. I found myself having to bring my focus back on the book whenever there was something about the festival being discussed.
The story itself wasn't bad perse. The characters are kinda likable, and once you put together all the flashbacks together you end up sympathising with them. But the path to that sympathy is so convoluted.
I would have liked this book if it was a tad stingy with the description of the music festival. But eh it's alright. It wasn't that bad either. I'd say this is a one time read, just to you know experience what a music festival feels like.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
June 11, 2018
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I couldn’t get into this one, it was almost a DNF. Not because it’s badly written, but just because I found it a bit of a slog. It’s the first I’ve read by this author, and didn’t make me want to try another. I didn’t like either main character, found the setting boring (I had thought the music festival setting would be a fun backdrop, but not so much) and honestly found the time period (80’s for the present, late 60s early 70s for the flashbacks) a bit off putting. Not sure why, it just didn’t gel for some reason. The flashbacks also added nothing to the story that couldn’t have been covered by the character’s thoughts or through discussion and were therefore unnecessary. Might also have helped if it wasn’t told in first person, but I doubt having Alison’s perspective would have made me like her more. 2 stars.
I couldn’t get into this one, it was almost a DNF. Not because it’s badly written, but just because I found it a bit of a slog. It’s the first I’ve read by this author, and didn’t make me want to try another. I didn’t like either main character, found the setting boring (I had thought the music festival setting would be a fun backdrop, but not so much) and honestly found the time period (80’s for the present, late 60s early 70s for the flashbacks) a bit off putting. Not sure why, it just didn’t gel for some reason. The flashbacks also added nothing to the story that couldn’t have been covered by the character’s thoughts or through discussion and were therefore unnecessary. Might also have helped if it wasn’t told in first person, but I doubt having Alison’s perspective would have made me like her more. 2 stars.
June 29, 2018
I had to struggle to finish this. The writing style was a little difficult. The flashbacks odd. It was just ok for me.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 30, 2018
Sadly I can’t think of a single good thing to say about this book. The writing was tedious with way too many boring details about how a festival works. The main characters were annoying. Nicknaming someone Miss Tits and using that name endlessly for half the book was offensive. By the time I’d read up to the dated goddess ritual I was losing the will to live. But then for yet another dire moment there was probably the worst line I have ever read in a lesbian romance. “She was sweet but I tasted a faint undertaste of garlic”. In what way is that romantic?! Total mood killer.
May 23, 2018
*I received an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.*
I would give this book 0 stars if I could. I really did not like this book from beginning to end. This book was all in first person in Lane's point of view. Lane is working security at a lesbian musical festival, where she is working with her old love from Girl Scout camp, Allison. Lane just seems to be still be in love with Allison, even after a long period of time. She wonders if Allison feels any feelings for her and she starts to try and find out.
There are a couple reasons I did not enjoy this book. One, I did not like Lane's point of view. She seemed like an obsessed, childish puppy the entire time. She tried convince Allison to love her, it seems more sad than sweet to me. Two, it was poorly written. There were points where I couldn't remember all the characters in the book. That could have just been my lack of interest, but still. The whole book was not written well and I found a couple typos in the book as I read. Three, They talked about Lane and Allison at Girl Scout Camp a lot. They only seemed to vaguely explain their relationship from then. I thought, going into this book, that there would be true flashbacks to their time together then. There were very few flashbacks and they more just explained what happened back then. Four, and maybe the most important, there was no character development and no attachment to any of the characters. It seemed more like Lane seemed less adult and interesting as the book went on. The whole book took place over ten days and it wasn't even an interesting ten days.
I would literally read anything again before reading this book. I would read many other much much better novels before this one. This is not a good book I would recommend to anyone.
I would give this book 0 stars if I could. I really did not like this book from beginning to end. This book was all in first person in Lane's point of view. Lane is working security at a lesbian musical festival, where she is working with her old love from Girl Scout camp, Allison. Lane just seems to be still be in love with Allison, even after a long period of time. She wonders if Allison feels any feelings for her and she starts to try and find out.
There are a couple reasons I did not enjoy this book. One, I did not like Lane's point of view. She seemed like an obsessed, childish puppy the entire time. She tried convince Allison to love her, it seems more sad than sweet to me. Two, it was poorly written. There were points where I couldn't remember all the characters in the book. That could have just been my lack of interest, but still. The whole book was not written well and I found a couple typos in the book as I read. Three, They talked about Lane and Allison at Girl Scout Camp a lot. They only seemed to vaguely explain their relationship from then. I thought, going into this book, that there would be true flashbacks to their time together then. There were very few flashbacks and they more just explained what happened back then. Four, and maybe the most important, there was no character development and no attachment to any of the characters. It seemed more like Lane seemed less adult and interesting as the book went on. The whole book took place over ten days and it wasn't even an interesting ten days.
I would literally read anything again before reading this book. I would read many other much much better novels before this one. This is not a good book I would recommend to anyone.
June 12, 2018
Oh goodness, where to start with this? Sometimes books just aren’t your cup of tea, and this is one of those times.
This of the story of one woman, Lane, reconnecting with her first love, Allison, at a lesbian music festival in the 80s. It’s told entirely in Lane’s first-person POV, but despite that, I never really clicked with either woman. I also felt the connection and chemistry between the two was lacking, and for the life of me I don’t understand why Lane was so desparately in love with Allison, despite the flashbacks and endless rehashings of what happened in girl scout camp 15 years prior. It honestly made Lane feel more like she was still stuck in teenager-mode in her relationship with Allison, and it wasn’t a pretty thing. I think their relationship was better established at the end of the book, but it felt like too little too late. Honestly, the whole thing was a bit of a slog for me, with a very slow pace. I did like the music festival setting (that, and the fact that it was set in the 80s, was what made me pick up the book), but it felt underutilized.
Overall, I’m really struggling to find anything positive to say about the book, so I’ll leave it there. I’ll give it two stars as I thought it picked up towards the end, and I liked learning about the music festival.
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This of the story of one woman, Lane, reconnecting with her first love, Allison, at a lesbian music festival in the 80s. It’s told entirely in Lane’s first-person POV, but despite that, I never really clicked with either woman. I also felt the connection and chemistry between the two was lacking, and for the life of me I don’t understand why Lane was so desparately in love with Allison, despite the flashbacks and endless rehashings of what happened in girl scout camp 15 years prior. It honestly made Lane feel more like she was still stuck in teenager-mode in her relationship with Allison, and it wasn’t a pretty thing. I think their relationship was better established at the end of the book, but it felt like too little too late. Honestly, the whole thing was a bit of a slog for me, with a very slow pace. I did like the music festival setting (that, and the fact that it was set in the 80s, was what made me pick up the book), but it felt underutilized.
Overall, I’m really struggling to find anything positive to say about the book, so I’ll leave it there. I’ll give it two stars as I thought it picked up towards the end, and I liked learning about the music festival.
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
June 3, 2018
This book was well written. I had to keep in mind the time periods it was set in while reading it due tothe labels used. I think it accurately portrayed what being a lesbian in the 1980's was like. The interaction between the characters seemed forced but again I believe this was done intentionally to add to the overall mood. I think there were quite a few sterotypes in this book and that was a bit off putting but as I said in the 1980's some people were fitting those just to fit in. Overall it was a well written and edited book.
June 11, 2018
I need to start by telling you I hate giving a bad review. Having said that, Ms Knowles give us a story about two women who while in their teen went their separate ways. They never forgot the other. When Lane Hudson goes to work at a music festival in Georgia she is finally able to try making thing right with Alison Bickford. Should and could have been a great story but unfortunately she fall short. We have some flashbacks telling us just what happened but even these are slow and boring. Sorry to say but this wasn’t the story I’d hoped for.
eARC via NetGalley
eARC via NetGalley
July 24, 2018
ARC received from Netgalley for an honest review.
This book felt very flat to me. The plot was okay, nothing special but not terrible. But the writing was very clunky and there was no chemistry between any of the characters. Also some things in the text jarred me (eg continually calling a character "Miss Tits", broad generalisations of what "dykes" are like). Overall not completely terrible but would not recommend.
This book felt very flat to me. The plot was okay, nothing special but not terrible. But the writing was very clunky and there was no chemistry between any of the characters. Also some things in the text jarred me (eg continually calling a character "Miss Tits", broad generalisations of what "dykes" are like). Overall not completely terrible but would not recommend.
September 10, 2018
Not my favorite of this author's books. The voice of the narrator seemed rather repetitive to me. I enjoyed the details about the behind the scenes of the women's festival, that brought back some fun memories for me; in fact that was really only reason I finished it. The idea of reuniting with a lost love/first love is very sweet, and the setting of the festival was very appealing, but for the most part, the story telling fell a little flat.
June 11, 2018
A storyline that covers the music festivals of the 1980's with main leads Lane and Alison who meet as teenagers in the 60's/70's and re-connect in the 80's. The author does a wonderful job describing the women's music festival settings but I found the plot too long and quite slow. It pains me to only rate this book 2.5 stars.
I rec'd an ARC from NetGalley/Bold Strokes Book for review.
I rec'd an ARC from NetGalley/Bold Strokes Book for review.
June 18, 2018
I was really excited about this book as I love stories about ex lovers reconnecting/giving each other a second chance. Unfortunately I couldn't connect with the characters, the plot was moving very slow and was too boring for me with all these descriptions so I ended not caring if these two would end up together or not.
July 10, 2018
I struggled to put in the book, but once started, it was a pleasure. This return in the 80s is interesting, because homosexuality was not lived in the same way. In addition I preferred the second part of the book more rhythmic than the first. Interesting characters, I had more trouble with Alison, I did not find very friendly at first. A very well written book, and you have to read it.
August 7, 2018
This story is a unique one due to the author understanding and being part of the LGBT community. The characters are dynamic and realistic within the community.
First loves are always the hardest to get over. But what happens when you get a second chance to prove yourself as an adult. Will the main characters face their past and move forward or let it prevent a friendship?
First loves are always the hardest to get over. But what happens when you get a second chance to prove yourself as an adult. Will the main characters face their past and move forward or let it prevent a friendship?
June 30, 2018
Netgally Review:
This story was easy to read and interesting enough for me to finish in one sitting. Something about summer camp meets music festival was just not my favorite romance aesthetic. If you are into those things, this is the book for you!
This story was easy to read and interesting enough for me to finish in one sitting. Something about summer camp meets music festival was just not my favorite romance aesthetic. If you are into those things, this is the book for you!
June 12, 2018
This story is about two women reconnecting at a women’s music festival. I like the premise behind the story, and the whole festival atmosphere. I got quite into it. The main characters had some promise, but their personalities and issues made it difficult to really like them. The writing is tight and flows well, as I’d expect.
I did like this book, but as much as I enjoyed much about it, I can’t say I loved it.
I did like this book, but as much as I enjoyed much about it, I can’t say I loved it.
August 5, 2018
Thankyou to NetGalley, Flame Tree Press and Kathleen Knowles for the opportunity to read and review a copy of The Last Time I Saw Her.
From the description of the storyline, I thought that this book would be an interesting read. Unfortunately, it was anything but. I struggled to finish this book. I found the pace very slow and did not hold my interest.
Sorry, but this book did nothing for me.
From the description of the storyline, I thought that this book would be an interesting read. Unfortunately, it was anything but. I struggled to finish this book. I found the pace very slow and did not hold my interest.
Sorry, but this book did nothing for me.
Read
September 9, 2018This book was not for me. It moved too slowly, I did not find the characters interesting and the festival was not fun. Too much technical info on running the festival and not enough fun experiences.
September 9, 2018
I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I thought this would have more references to the 1980s considering it was supposed to happen during that time, but alas, that was not the case. This is not what my main problem was with the book. The main characters in the book, while they were fine alone, together there was no spark between them. There was plenty telling there was, I didn't read much into the fact there was.
If you are into women's music festivals, this may be the book for you, but romance novels, this is not it.
I thought this would have more references to the 1980s considering it was supposed to happen during that time, but alas, that was not the case. This is not what my main problem was with the book. The main characters in the book, while they were fine alone, together there was no spark between them. There was plenty telling there was, I didn't read much into the fact there was.
If you are into women's music festivals, this may be the book for you, but romance novels, this is not it.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews