Leaving L.A. by Kate Christie

Leaving L.A. by Kate Christie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


There are very few authors who I've read everything they've published - at least if you don't start 'counting' until an author has published four or more works, otherwise there are a ton of authors I've read their one and only book (I suppose I could raise it to two or even three books published but still, seems low to be all excited about having read everything an author has published - 'I've read everything the author has published! I love them! What? Oh, they've published two books.') I mention this because this specific book was the last one that I had not yet read by this specific author.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I spotted people excitedly talking about a different book they'd read . . . and it is this author but under a different name - writing fanfiction. mmphs. Sooo . . . I haven't read everything by this author. bah. I don't care. mmphs. (should be noted I hurriedly grabbed a copy of that other book when I learned of it before someone gets the wrong idea).

So, this book. It's somewhat different than what I'd come to expect from Kate Christie. Her books seemed to be set in the relatively recent past (other than the Pride & Prejudice one; and the one set in WWII time), involve young and/or new adults and in some way involve athletes - likely ones who play soccer. One of the characters is athletic (always running) and is a college student but . . . they are also 34 (something like 33 to 34 over the course of this book). Also, this book is not set in the early 2000s or the 1980s. No, it's set roughly around when it was published (2011). People are using technology of the time (phones, computers, video-chatting, etc. etc.) and there's mention of both President Bush, and President Obama. Hmm. I should have just said 'Christie does not normally write contemporary romances involving adults, but this one is a contemporary romance involving adults'.

Well, as noted, one of the characters is around 33 to 34. She's a kindergarten teacher from Vermont. She had planned to go directly from college to grad school, but got interrupted by her mother getting then trying to beat, over five or so years, breast cancer. As the book starts, Eleanor Chapin, is in the process of receiving word from various grad schools on whether they have accepted her or not. In the mean time she is still working as a teacher, as already noted. Which is how she came into contact with the other main character in this book.

Tessa Flanagan's daughter, Layla, is in Eleanor's class. And really really loves her. And wants her mother to meet her teacher. So, she does. Tessa Flanagan is a mixed race woman, is important!, half-Irish descent and half-Filipino. She admits to that, but has otherwise mostly obscured her Chicago past for reasons that unfold in this book. As far as the reader needs to know going in - she's an A list actress who has recently (within the past year) retired from acting to spend time raising her daughter and setting up and then running a charity. I'd have said 'the relatively young age of 30-something' but many actresses find themselves 'replaced' and 'too old' when they reach their 30s so I can't say 'young age of' here.

I rather enjoyed this book. My main concern didn't really impact me as much as I figured it would when it came time for the two women to fall into a relationship. That concern being that Tessa had been paying Eleanor a massive amount of money, weekly, to be her child's nanny, when they both fell into bed together. I figured I'd feel icky about it - in a 'has Tessa accidentally turned Eleanor into a prostitute?'. But, didn't seem to be a problem to me, them, or in the story (I could have easily seen this come up as a plot point, a point of conflict - media learns of the amount of money being paid, and that the two are sleeping together - easily turned into huge scandal story - didn't happen).

sex Graphic. And I specifically recall liking one of the events described. Especially how it was written - both the joking nature, then pushing past that joking nature.

Rating: 4.78

August 26 2017



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