Keystone by Bridget Balentine

Keystone
by Bridget Balentine
Pages: 179
Date: February 28 2016
Publisher: Self
Series: Dreams and Dreamers (3rd in series)

Review
Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0
Read: March 21 to 22 2016

The third book in this series and third book I’ve read by this author.

It’s been a while since I read the first two parts of this series, so I’m just going to assume that the second book ended in a cliff-hanger – based on how this specific chapter in the story opened. Actually, let me just look at what I wrote for the previous book. Won’t take me two seconds. Be back in a jiffy.

Ah, hehe. I wondered what was up with the many occasions when Josie talked to herself inside of (). Reminded me a little too much like I was reading Jim Gaffigan, but without the humor. As in:

I really like cheese . . . (Is he going to spend the next hour talking about cheese? I came here to listen to humor! He better not talk about cheese for too long or I’ll I’ll . . leave! *both parts spoken by Gaffigan, second part spoken as if he was giving a very bad impression of attempting to do a fake woman’s voice)

At first I thought that () stuff was because Josie’s sections, at least in the first part, were flashback scenes. And I thought the () was ‘current’ comments she was making while the scenes unfolded. But that () continued in the second part when Josie’s scenes leapt to present day. – I say, getting back to my prior thought that I had been wondering about that () -> I see from my review of the last book that the prior book used heavy italics to convey flashbacks. Well, this time there isn’t heavy use of italics, which I’m happy about. The () was weird, but much more livable than heavy use of italics.

Okay, finally got to what I was looking for – yeah, the second part ended abruptly. As I kind of assumed. The second part ended with Sabrina about to go to a party hosted by her ‘semester abroad’ mentor/teacher but in a certain amount of distress because she just had a fight with the, literally, love of her life (or, in other words, the woman she has loved her whole life, even if the other never really noticed her). This third part opens with that still to be resolved.

Sabrina’s been kicked out by Josie, and must find some hotel room to inhabit until the party. And to change into. We read this from Sabrina’s point of view. Josie’s point of view? At least in the first part, she’s stuck in the past (and that’s one of the reasons I was really confused when the book opened, because the book doesn’t actually open with a continuation of the prior story, but opens in a flashback – Josie flashing back to her time living with her bitchy, alcoholic abusive mother).

Right, so. This is not a work that can be read on its own. I mean that both in terms of this specific book here, and probably, to a certain extent, to this series. It’s probably easier to ‘take’ if read all in a row. Wasn’t possible, for me, since the second part was read by me in November of 2015, and the third part didn’t come out until Feb 28 2016.

The story follows Sabrina in the present as she tries to get over the very brief and abruptly ending affair she had with the woman she has always fancied, Josie. While also having to put on a brave face and go mingle at that previously mentioned party hosted by Tobin, Sabrina’s ‘semester abroad’ teacher/mentor.

Meanwhile, Josie’s in the past reliving, or flashing back, to living with her dreadful horrible mother. And not being able to cut the ties. Not being able to get over her disappointment. Somewhat easier to ‘get/understand/accept’ when the reader adds to the ‘that’s my mother’ aspect the part where she had given her dying father the promise that she will attempt to watch over her mother.

Sabrina needs some time to collect her thoughts, but her sister, Lilly, keeps hammering her with texts. Apparently Lilly needs Sabrina to call their mother. So Sabrina does. And learns of an issue that Josie needs to address, and an issue better expressed face to face. So, Sabrina must face Josie. Only to find her looking horrible, and all the workers at Sass, Josie’s restaurant, giving Sabrina evil looks. Sabrina hurriedly conveys the message that she was tasked with delivering and flees.

Sabrina’s relationship appears to be over, but her career is just starting so she must go to the party. Which I express in this way, because Sabrina learns at the party that part of Josie’s ‘problems’ involves being forced out of her job – Josie has a rotten mother she has to deal with (that’s the issue that Sabrina had to give a message about, face to face), a broken relationship, and a wrecked career.

Sabrina figures out that she needs to be more of a friend than a disgruntled positional/former/future lover and goes to try to give comfort to Josie. I mention all of this story so I can finally get to the part wherein they decide, based on a suggestion by Sabrina, that the thing to do is to drive cross country from New York to Colorado so that Josie can both deal with the issue with her mother, and give herself time to address her problems with Sass the restaurant.

I believe that it might have been around here when the two points of view both shift into the present, for the most part. Though, it might also have been point wherein Sabrina kind of took over more of the book – with Josie’s sections being fewer and further in between.

Right, so, that isn’t the whole of the book by any means, but something of it. A relationship in turmoil, a career beginning/ending, etc. etc. Overall quite good story.

One thing to note, something of a warning I guess since some people care more about this issue that I normally do – there are certain . . . formatting issues? Something like that. Wherein words are missing. Letters are missing (as in, using pass when mean to use passed). 99% of the time I just let the issue flow past me, and do not add or subtract any ‘points’ because of the issue.
One example, though not the one I was going to use (the one I was going to use apparently is refusing to be found by me):

She heard the muffled sound of her mother talking other voices in the background and cringed because Josie definitely wasn’t going to be up for all the residents of Castle Rock to want to stop by and see her as though she were an exhibit on loan from a New York City Zoo

. (not the best example, but one that I can find, insert, and move on from).

March 22 2016