Strange Bedfellows (Strange Bedfellows, #1) in Mostly Sapphic

Sep 01, 2011 8bits rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is an awesome book. Before reading the book, the synopsis piqued my curiosity. I expected romance (fluff) with a twist on the whole ex-gay part (possibly comedy). I mean, who wouldn’t want to see someone like that outed? As for the “secret” on the prostitute, I guessed that she’s from another well known, wealthy family, possibly also anti-gay. Well, I got the romance part right.

What I found, was a book that pulled me in from the first page. It was complex and intriguing. The characters hav ...more

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Sep 23, 2011 T.T. Thomas rated it really liked it

Shelves: glbt

At first, I thought this was going to be a parody---religious fundamentalist reparative therapy woman hires a prostitute to assist with Outing herself. Strange bedfellows indeed! But in the reliably competent hands of author Q. Kelly, the initial disbelief I felt at the pairing became progressively intriguing by their compelling chemistry. I'll leave it to others to dissect the storyline, but, for the most part, I'd say the plot becomes more realistic with each developing twist. The characters, At first, I thought this was going to be a parody---religious fundamentalist reparative therapy woman hires a prostitute to assist with Outing herself. Strange bedfellows indeed! But in the reliably competent hands of author Q. Kelly, the initial disbelief I felt at the pairing became progressively intriguing by their compelling chemistry. I'll leave it to others to dissect the storyline, but, for the most part, I'd say the plot becomes more realistic with each developing twist. The characters, drawn beautifully as they thrust and parry, as it were, try valiantly to keep their interactions "strictly business." They typically meet in a Howard Johnson suite...and the old orange and turquoise décor of that venerable chain from my own young adult years is a humorous reminder that all kinds of assignations took place at HOJOs over the years. Perfect venue for this story!

Kelly's command of believable dialog, interior and exterior, gave this story an interesting and complex texture varied to accommodate the point-of-view of the character speaking. Her transitions between interior and exterior dialog were smooth and unobtrusive and seemed to come at points where one would think, "Oh dear! What's the response to this going to be?"

Although the characters are drawn together by cold hard cash in search of a worthy recipient, I thought the secondary story of the two main women's simpatico over their personal histories involving a lost child was a bit forced, and too coincidental to be fully believable. But, once one accepted that as the characters' "soul mate" connection, the secondary stories were good. The character of the young girl, estranged daughter of one of the main characters, was wonderfully drawn. Perfect tempo, perfect teenage use of language and perfect mindset of said teen. I can't help but think Kelly has a secondary, or parallel, career offshoot in the world of YA, especially GLBT YA.

The formatting was perfect, the book is readable on multiple formats, and the cover was perfect for the novel. There was only that one earlier mentioned bit of plot manipulation, but even that does not keep this from being a very good read. Although that one item kept the book from being a full-on five star, for me, I can also say Kelly's efforts are edging deliciously close to that fifth star, and in so doing, upping the anticipation ante for her next book. ...more

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Sep 11, 2011 MEC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-read-and-re-read

Definitely not the book I was expecting - and that's a good thing. I expected this to be a fluffy bit of erotica and was very pleasantly surprised to find a thought-provoking story with well developed characters.

Based on the blurb, Q Kelly could have taken the easy way out and painted some well-worn stereotypical characters. Instead, she created two complex women, each with their own private pain, who come together in a rather unlikely situation. There was no black or white in the book - with t ...more

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Sep 12, 2011 Terry Baker rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Frances Dourne, the daughter of a pastor had been sent to boot camp to turn her ‘straight’ for professing her love for her best friend. During the year she was there, she was beaten and abused. When she finally left the camp, she had convinced herself she was ‘cured’ and straight. She eventually married and had a child, Marissa.

Frances became the president of Gay Is A Choice. An organization that maintains they can show gay people how to become straight.. What better example could they possibly Frances Dourne, the daughter of a pastor had been sent to boot camp to turn her ‘straight’ for professing her love for her best friend. During the year she was there, she was beaten and abused. When she finally left the camp, she had convinced herself she was ‘cured’ and straight. She eventually married and had a child, Marissa.

Frances became the president of Gay Is A Choice. An organization that maintains they can show gay people how to become straight.. What better example could they possibly have, other than Frances herself? Frances is now at a crossroads in her life. She has decided that she cannot go on living her life as lie any longer. She cannot keep on denying she is gay.. She is aware of how much pain, suffering and damage both herself and GIC have put gay people through. Heaven knows, she’s suffered enough herself. She has made up her mind, she is going to publicly come out.

Elena Elise is a high class prostitute. She is hired by Frances, when Frances becomes disillusioned with her work, her own beliefs and the beliefs of GIC. Frances wants Elena to help her with her coming out plan.

Although the arrangement between Frances and Elena is strictly business, it doesn’t take long for them to both realize they are feeling more for each other than they should do. Will either woman allow herself to deviate from their arrangement?

When I first started reading this book, my first thoughts were ‘how can a homophobic head of an anti gay organization and a prostitute possibly have anything in common’? As I read on, it became apparent that this book was going to go far deeper and become more complex than I had expected.

Both women have one huge factor in common, they have both lost children. Frances lost her daughter when her gay ex husband kidnapped her ten years earlier. Elena lost her son when he had drowned three years earlier.

As the story progressed, I began to feel the pain that both women had suffered in their lives. The dislike I felt in the beginning for these characters, quickly turned around to sympathy and understanding for them both.

An extremely well written story with interesting characters. A real page turner and a pure delight to read. I read this book entirely in one sitting as I couldn’t wait to see how Q Kelly managed to wrap the story up. But she did and brilliantly too. I’m looking forward to Q Kelly’s next book.

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Sep 06, 2011 Ginny Gerth added it · review of another edition

I enjoyed the book. With the current climate of this country, it really lends itself
some credibility. There was only one sentence that made me re-read it, but I got over
it, figuring it was a typo. I liked the characters and how they inter-acted with each
other. Neither one really knowing what to do with each other. Deep down I mean. What
made them tick.

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Sep 02, 2011 Darlene rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: text-to-speech-enabled, lgbt, lesbian, kindle, adult, kindle-books-i-own, booklending, lending-enabled, romance

I had a hard time getting into this book. I didn't like the main characters very much. I love the concepts the author presents, though. I think the problem for me was that I read it in a couple of sittings and lost my place and got confused over who was who. I don't want that to reflect on the author. I did find the book much more interesting the second half. ...more

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