Far from Home by Lorelie Brown

Far from Home
by Lorelie Brown
Pages: 208
Date: August 1 2016
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Publisher Book Link: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/far-from-home
Series: Belladonna Ink, (1st in series)

Review
Rating: 6.0 out of 5.0
Read: June 10 2016

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Riptide Publishing for an honest review.

To start off - I have one specific semi-major problem with the position I find myself in at this exact moment. And that's the part wherein it appears that all, after a quick check, of the other books published by this author, including those put out under another name, are all MF romances. I do not know what to do with myself now. heh-mmph.

Right, so. This is the first book I've read by this author under this or the other name I know they publish under (is on both bio of author and in book, Katie Porter).

This book here stars Rachel Fizel and Pari Sadashiv. Sadashiv is a native of India, and Fizel is a native of California, specifically the location they are currently in. San Sebastian California (my quick look at the other books by the author spotted San Sebastian appearing in at least one other book description).

The reader enters the action after a specific point. So how it came to pass that Rachel jokeningly, or otherwise, said something along the lines of 'I would marry you' to Pari is unclear. Looking and I see that the comment is literally the first thing in the book. By everything else that is revealed, it turns out that Sadashiv is legally in the USA on a specific type of work VISA, one tied to her current employer. But she wishes to become an independent contractor. Which she can't do under her current VISA, and going through immigration the 'normal way' has become a lot harder recently. So . . . she is open to the idea of marrying someone for a green card, and hopefully, for citizenship if whoever she marries and herself are able to stick together long enough.

One slight issue rears its head immediately. Rachel is not a lesbian. Which might be a small sign or point of contention when immigration investigates. That specific issue is pushed past.

Before you know it, Rachel and Pari are now living together. Going through the beginning motions of setting up their 'fake' marriage. They seem to get along well enough, so Pari decides to inform her parents via webcam. This leads to the mother announcing that she will be there shortly and will help with the wedding. The huge wedding of many guests.

One potential problem pops up fairly quickly after the mother arrives. Rachel, who - remember, is not a lesbian, has been having these rather lustful feelings for Pari. And Pari, for her part, keeps flirting with Rachel. That is not, specifically, the problem though. No, it's more the part wherein Rachel makes a move on Pari and Pari shuts her down. Arguing that they have to just remains friends, because they have 2 years to get through. If they tried to have a relationship - especially since Rachel, up to this point in her life, had not been a lesbian, then things might just fall apart.

Moving past doing a run down of the plot . . ..

I'd never heard of this author before. The subject matter - a variation of 'lesbian for you' or 'straight woman falls for lesbian woman' is one of those themes that I can rapidly grow tired off. The concept of a woman who is very much inside her own head, berating herself, measuring herself, taking very close eye on what she eats and how she interacts with the world is not one that I would think I would want anything to do with. Funny how everything unfolded then, eh?

No idea why, but my very first glimpse of this book caused two things to unfold within me - a strong desire to read this book, and the acknowledgement that this has certain things within it that could trigger annoyance in me. But from first glimpse of the book on Netgalley, to first glimpse of the actual text once I got the book, to the end of the book, I found myself in a happy kind of trance.

I loved every single moment of this book. At some point I thought to myself that I just want to be a fly on the wall, just . . . something. Watch them be together. I want to be able to watch them through the years of their lives, see them sitting on a beach, both in their seventies, just watching the sun set. I've no real idea why exactly I feel this way, but I rather enjoy both of the main characters, and, for that matter, Pari's mother.

Heck, I have a tendency to skim the erotic portions of books. Sometimes reading closely, sometimes barely reading, but mostly skimming. Here? I wanted to read each word. Feel it, caress it. Live it. So, obviously, I wasn't going to be skimming when graphic displays of an erotic nature occurred. And, quite frankly, I rather loved those sections of the book as well.

Well, I've just babbled, as I sometimes do, so I'll move on. If you, the reader of the review, take just one thing away from this review, it is this - this is a lovely book here. (oh, and I should probably have, at some point, noted that this is only the second book I've placed on my top rated shelf).

June 10 2016