Pariahs & Prodigals by Kelli Jae Baeli

Pariahs & Prodigals
by Kelli Jae Baeli
Pages: 291
Date: February 12 2015
Publisher: Lesbian Literati Press
Series: Rain Falls (3rd book)

Review
Rating: 2.0 out of 5.0
Read: June 16 to June 17 2015

hmms. This book was one person away from filling all of my LGBT tag. We have lesbian sex, gay sex, and bisexual sex pouring out of the book. Just no, as far as the reader knows, transgender sex. We even have sex between a man in a coma and a woman roughly the age of that man's mother.

I liked the first two books in this series. This one here feels like a let down, sadly. I liked following Tegan and India's story. This book here was more the story of Lincoln Fry, Kennedy Bell, Carla Bell, etc. etc. Everyone else, basically. The series moved from following the POV of Tegan and India to mostly following a bunch of other people. Including Napoleon Fry.

I did not wish to be in Leon Fry's head. Nor, for that matter, Lincoln's. Or anyone elses. Except for Tegan and India. I guess that is just what happens. Need something to write about, eh? mmphs.

I think my favorite character in the series had like 2% of the total work. Ok, maybe 20%. But still. I missed Tegan, I did. Ah well. I guess I should have paid closer attention to the fact that this series is called "Rain Falls" not "Tegan & India".

Rain Falls by Kelli Jae Baeli

Rain Falls
by Kelli Jae Baeli
Pages: 275
Date: January 16 2014
Publisher: Lesbian Literati Press
Series: Rain Falls (1st in series)

Review
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0
Read: June 15 2015

A gimp and a psychopath roll into a bar and . . .

Okay, one, I got somewhat tired of how often Tegan called herself a gimp, but that didn't really annoy me. Too much. Two, India Bell isn't actually a psychopath, she just has massive defensive walls around her emotions that just maker her appear to be emotionless. Wow this was a bad start, now I don't know where to go. heh.

Okay, story. India is a writer/book store owner/journalist/editor. Tegan is a successful lesbian romance author. India is hired by . . um . .. hmm. She's supposed to do a story about Tegan. Hired by India's publisher, I believe Brad Walker is the guy's name. But . . . I never did figure out where this "story" was supposed to go. On the publisher's website? On bathroom walls? Where? I didn't get the impression that Walker had a paper to go along with his book publishing business, so I overlooked that part when I read the book. Chalked it up to "it doesn't matter."

Tegan is happy with the idea of being interviewed. Figured it might help sales. Is horrified with the idea of India actually interviewing her in her crap dungeon, as she is very embarrassed at having to live in such a situation. So begs India to allow the interview to take place elsewhere. So, the interview takes place in India's cabin.

Meanwhile, the publisher also has made a "bet" with India. Write a romance novel. Sell at least 100 copies. Do so, be made highest paid editor at publishing company (that highest paid part got tossed in there at some point, then dropped almost immediately, I'm not sure if that's actually part of the bet).

A chance comment leads to India offering Tegan the chance to use her cabin to finish her most recent book. While India works on her own. India wants to do that because she figured she'd tap into Tegan's knowledge to help her write her romance novel. Tegan wants to do that because she lives in a dump and can't currently write because the really loud noises all around her at home.

By the way, ever think being a writer is the easy life? Getting paid to just put stuff on paper? Well, I never did, but . . um. Right. So, despite being a successful lesbian romance writer, Tegan lives in what she calls "The Dungeon." The basement in her mother's house. Driving a crap car. Living a crap live. With an abusive mother, one who steals her money and gives away Tegan's cats without telling Tegan where the cats went. The mother, being the massive bitch she is, probably actually ate them instead of gave them away (there is no indication that the mother ate the cats).

Tegan finishes her book. Goes home. Learns mother rented out her room/basement/dirt hole. Moved all her worldly possessions into garage. The garage that doesn't have a door. So anyone could come by and get it. Tegan sits in a chair crying. Receives call from India to see if she is "settling in". India gets odd responses from Tegan, who then hangs up abruptly on India. India's confused and worried. Drives by. Finds the crying Tegan. Learns of situation. Loads her into her car. Drives her to her cabin. Installs her in cabin.

At this point, India and Tegan are no more than possibly friends. If that. Though both seem to have vague feelings of arousal about the other. Though India's cat appears to love Tegan.

Meanwhile a guy named Napoleon bugs the hell out of India. Getting all up in her face. Ticketing her (Napoleon's a sherriff deputy), and otherwise harassing her. Stealing her clothing when she goes skinny dipping, etc. Napoleon is a massive jackass. Tegan and India must "deal" with this "outside tension" while also dealing with their developing sexual tension. With each other, that is, not with Napoleon. No one has sexual tension with or for Napoleon (to clarify, Napoleon desires to hump India, which is in and of itself sexual tension, I suppose, but India does not desire to be humped . . . again by Napoleon. Um, I guess there's a vague level of sexual tension there). Napoleon is a massive loser who would do the world a favor by dropping dead. He refuses to drop dead. No one is happy about this stubborn resistance from this reasonable demand.

Interesting book. Took a while to warm up to India. I kind of liked Tegan from the beginning, though the dive into self-pity, and gimpness was something of a hurdle to pass through.

Books like this apparently need someone like Napoleon around. Or some "outside tension" of some kind. Maybe a massive snowstorm. Maybe angry porcupines. Something. Still, I thought there was enough outside pressure already without needing Napoleon. The loser mother. The rotten financial situation Tegan finds herself in. The somewhat barely covering expenses (while also living in a paid off cabin that only requires paying taxes on) situation India is in. The bet with the publisher, etc.

Some of what Napoleon provided could have been provided by other means. It's an old cabin. Maybe the cat leaned against some window a little too hard and it popped out. And that's why the cat got out. India mentioned that the town was quite conservative. Maybe some random person could have made faces at India and Tegan (or something; didn't even need to be real disapproval, just appear to be to India). Causing India to make a big deal about kissing Tegan in public. Those two things were important enough to the story to keep somehow. The rest of the problems Napoleon added could just be swept away as not needed.

To be fair, I am not sure if the removal of Napoleon would push me to make this a five star book, but it would likely have allowed me to come closer to doing so. As it is, I probably would give the book somewhere between 4.25 and 4.65 stars. Which basically means nothing. Unless there were half stars. Then I'd rate this 4.5 stars.

The Scent of Jasmine by Lila Bruce

The Scent of Jasmine
by Lila Bruce
Pages: 55
Date: October 5 2014
Publisher: Author

Review
Rating: 2.0 out of 5.0
Read: June 12 2015

I'm vaguely surprised. This is my second story by Lila Bruce that I've read. The first one, Falling Slowly, I found to be cute and fun. This one . . .well. I kinda hated all the side characters. Heck, I even didn't particularly like the niece, and she's only 8 or something like that.

Not exactly sure what the difference is between the two stories would be. I mean, in both the two who 'hook up' play hard to get - to a certain extent. In Falling Slowly, the two women have two bad meetings, then a good third one. This time, the two have several rather good meetings, but Grace kept trying to avoid Jessica. Because of how good the meetings were.

Hmms. Maybe that's it. One story went from "I can't stand being in the same room with you because you are a rude bitch" to "that was a wrong impression of you that I developed, you are actually quite nice." While this one went from "my god you are so gorgeous . . NOOO I can't find you gorgeous! *flee*" to "I still find you gorgeous, I guess I can't fight my feelings any more."

That might give a wrong impression, the trying to fight feelings part. All four women started the story as lesbians and remained so by the end. Which is a plus. I'm so bloody tired of "oops, guess I was wrong all this time, I'm actually a lesbian" stories. So, as I said, that's a plus in both stories.

I mentioned I didn't like the side characters but I didn't mention the main. That's another difference between the two stories. I came to feel like I knew the two women in Falling Slowly. Here, I feel like I basically know nothing. Two women. One had a woman walk out on her shortly before marriage. And has a business doing decorations and stuff. Other just moved back to the small town. And apparently has a business. And has millions. That's basically all I know about both.

Winter Jacket by Eliza Lentzski

Winter Jacket
by Eliza Lentzski
Pages: 251
Date: May 15 2013
Publisher: Author
Series: Winter Jacket (1st in series)

Review
Rating: 3.0 out of 5.0
Read: June 12 2015

This probably wasn't the book for me to read. I was hesitant to begin with because it involved a teacher and student. That's not really my kind of thing. Then it was so bloody slow (ironically, I've seen reviews saying it's too fast, meh, can't displease everyone the same way. hehe)

Right, so below is what I wrote as I read it. I suggest not reading it. I kind of got a little annoyed and used words I shouldn't have.

I probably could have given this an extra 1/2 star if I could. Even a full extra star if the melodrama had been cut down a little bit.

ETA: I've added another star after thinking about it. The story is lingering in my mind. Description of the rest of the series is a little off-putting, though, so I'll probably still not continue.

This is one of the most bloody frustrating books I've read. Super slow paced. I kind of hate Elle. The woman who wants to not be alone, but appears to abhor the thought of actually dating anyone. Especially if that someone is gorgeous and into her. Especially if there is some age difference. Bloody frustrating fucking book.

Bloody frustrating. There's this one specific woman she is always fantasizing about. That specific woman keeps flirting with her. But Elle keeps pushing Hunter away.

Then there are these super weird moments. Like Hunter turns up soaking wet from rain. Elle allows her inside. Offers her a towel. And a shirt. Then makes some weird comment to herself that "the shirt might have been inappropriate enough" after dismissing the thought of offering pants and a shirt. What the fuck? Push her into the bathroom. Close door. Offer her towel and change of clothing. What the fuck is inappropriate to offer a drenched girl clothing to slip into? As it is, it looks like you want her to strip, towel off, and put on . . . just a shirt. And freezing. Since "usually kept my house a few degrees chillier than necessary in the fall to save on heating bills." So. Dripping wet. And you offer just a towel and a shirt because offering more would be inappropriate? What the fuck?

Elle really fucking annoys me. Of course Hunter then has to beg to have pants to go with the shirt. Because Elle's a fucking moron. And thought even offering as much as the shirt was inappropriate. Apparently it would be more appropriate, in Elle's mind, for Hunter to strip naked and have a towel as her only clothing. That or stand there in dripping wet clothing and slowly freeze to death. Yes. That's a lot more fucking appropriate than being given a change of clothing. hehehe. As it is, the shirt she did offer was so fucking thin that Hunter's breasts were quite obvious once she had changed into them. hehe. Elle, the prim and proper professor who keeps trying to push Hunter away, and for that matter all women (for whatever fucking stupid reason), accidentally gets Hunter to stand near her in borrowed clothing that is quite revealing. Because, as I've mentioned, Elle is a fucking moron.

This whole fucking book is frustrating. It's funny, to myself, in a way. Because I was ready to toss this book near the beginning. When it looked like Hunter and Elle fucked days away before the semester ended. Days away from it being okay for them to fuck. But it had just been a dream. Then, afterwards, all that fucking time, when Elle was free to peruse Hunter without any teacher-student issues getting in the way, and with Elle doing everything in her power to keep away. So . . . this has both. Icky inappropriate teacher-student interaction, which only after the fact turns out to be a dream, then stupid fucking moronic behavior by a fucking moron. Is that too many morons in the same sentence? I don't care. Elle is a fucking immature moron.

"It nearly stole my breath how natural and right our hands felt together when I knew everything about this was wrong." - As thought by Elle. When with Hunter. As I said, Elle's a fucking moron. It's just sooo wroooongggg. Fucking immature moron. Obsessively fixated on age differences.

Oh, and by the way? Do or do not. Don't hang in the middle. Really think it is wrong? Strongly express that, that you find the other gorgeous but the age thing is just too much for you. Don't fuck her while thinking it is wrong. Don't keep pushing her away then pulling her back in. Do or do not. Fucking moron and fucking tease.

Of course, to be fair, all the above was written with only 40% of the book read. Though the rest of the book didn't start off well. What with fucking Hunter, feeling weird about it, and at the first opportunity afterwards, heading off to have a talk with her, Elle's, ex-girlfriend. What the fuck?

This is a really fucking wordy book. hehe. Weirdly wordy in certain places, weirdly lacking in others (like describing every bloody thing around her, then just causally mentioning having had a conversation with her friends about Hunter, but not actually producing the conversation event for readers to, you know, experience).

"'Because speaking as someone whose heart you've recently trampled,' she unnecessarily added, 'it's a total bitch to not be on the same page as you.'" - well, at least the ex-girlfriend gives good advice.

You know, all this talk about age really ruined things for me. I mean, after a while, when they actually dated, it seemed like I was watching the interactions of a six foot tall 40 year old with a pretty smart 13 year old of roughly four feet flat. When in reality, they were nine years apart in age, and roughly the same height. Hell, they could wear each others clothing without too much problem. So, thanks. The book made a normal lovely relationship into one where I felt icky just reading about it. Thanks a fucking lot. (Probably doesn't help that, at times, Hunter kept asking for permission for certain things, like sitting down.)

"Her lips twisted. 'Next time you're not sure how I feel about something, just ask.'" - so says Hunter to Elle. Apparently, Elle's fucking moronic act continued. I mean, she was even given this advice by her ex-girlfriend. But had to have it given again by Hunter. Fucking moron.

"Her backpack was apparently a clown car." - page 130 of 242. hehe. Okay, if Elle doesn't fuck it all up, I might be able to stop with all the bashing. And just enjoy. I kinda doubt that's going to happen, but my hopes have been raised.

Hmm. And the scene wherein Hunter took control somewhere around the half-way point of the book was quite exciting.

Well. That didn't take long. Back to hating the book. Sure, like I didn't have problems before, why not bring in a really pushy ex by the name of Ruby? Sure sure, why the fuck not? And Elle keeps talking about how she's so dominate. Talking about herself, I mean. When the fuck is she ever dominate? Fuck. I'm reading a fucking soap opera.

Elle didn't want to decline going out with Ruby because she didn't want to explain to Hunter who Ruby was, specifically who she was in her life (ex-lover, not friend). Elle then, after Ruby leaves, explains who Ruby is, re: ex-lover. I give points for actually communicating, I deduct points for agreeing, even if reluctantly, to go to dinner with Ruby. So . . . meh.

I need to stop writing reviews while reading. Makes my reviews look like babbling. But . . whatever. So, I'm at 63% now. Let's see more fuck-ups, eh? Fucking hell. I really fucking need to stop reading soap opera books. Me not like.

hahaha (my sarcastic laugh). Yeah, I knew things would get fucked up yet again. The whole Ruby thing was stupid. But, meh.

hahaha times 2. Fucking hell. BDSM? Seriously? You have a young woman very very unsure of herself, her place in the world, and her place in a relationship and not really wanting anything to do with BDSM but she doesn't want to lose Elle. So . . . . let's go ahead and fuck things up more? No, I 'm not saying BDSM is fucked up, I'm saying this is fucked up. Pushing an insecure, whimpering, literally whimpering and confused and scared woman to do something. Seriously? (see, this is what happens when you write while reading. The BDSM part was in and out so quickly, and it didn't even matter, which is why I struck it out).

Too a certain extent, Elle and Hunter are horrible together. Why? Because Elle keeps tiptoeing around, Hunter keeps being confused by all that, and they are both too fucking . . . hmm. Elle has major hang-ups that cause her massive problems being with Hunter. Hunter is very insecure. Elle keeps reinforcing that, accidentally, because she doesn't to push Hunter too hard. So she keeps back. Thus reinforcing Hunter's insecurity. So, as I said, they are horrible together.

"I'd always thought relationships should be the easiest thing in your life." - that might be the dumbest thing I've ever read.

Falling Slowly by Lila Bruce

Falling Slowly
by Lila Bruce
Pages: 178
Date: November 12 2014
Publisher: Author

Review
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Read: June 11 2015

Quick cute story about two women meet twice and have bad interactions both times. Takes the third meeting before things turn good. Quinn's a scarred military veteran, and Allie's a co-owner of a chain of stores.

They meet the first time by chance. Amanda, Allie's cousin and business partner, set up an early morning meeting with Quinn's sister Rebekah(sp?). Amanda has a t-ball game she has to attend, and so Allie attends the meeting. Rebekah's car's dead, so Quinn drives her. Even so, it's only because Rebekah made an accidental comment that lead to dragging Quinn inside the store. To be stared at by Allie. Quinn does not like it when people stare at her, is self-conscious about her scarring.

The second time they meet is a "just in the neighborhood" type deal where both Amanda and Allie are near by looking to see if they'll open a new store nearby. And drop in on Rebekah at Quinn's house. As I said, two meetings, two bad interactions. Quinn and Allie yell at each other.

People normally do not get three chances to "come together". At least not if there is no real reason why the two would bump into each other. Especially if two of the three interactions end badly. And yet, these two have a third meeting. A second chance encounter (can't call the second meeting chance, since it was prearranged). Quinn stops by a food place. Eats. Spots Allie also there and eating. Spots homeless person confronting Allie. Watches as Allie starts to get flustered. Quinn steps in to help.

One thing leads to another, and Quinn flies Allie to a wedding rehearsal. And the story unfolds from there.

Was good. I liked it. Not 100% why I think it's a 4 star instead of 5 star story, but I do.