2.5 rounded up

I'm a big fan of Robin Alexander's books but this one just didn't do it for me. I mean, I laughed a bunch during the first few chapters but after that, I could only muster a chuckle now and then.

There was so much restating of information between characters - many times the same characters sharing the same thing more than once or twice - and the same phrases "attractive and interesting" I think was one of them, that I found myself getting annoyed. And there were typos. Mostly there were several things that combined to make this not the experience I was hoping for.

Will I stop reading Alexander's books? Hell no! I love her sense of humor and not every book by an author I like will make me all warm and fuzzy inside. As a matter of fact, I've already got another of her books in mind. ( )

That was one of the most entertaining stories I've read in a long time. Robin Alexander has the talent to captivate you not only with good storytelling but also with humour. And this book was exactly what I needed: Something that amuses me and intrigues me at the same time. In Alexander, it turns out that I have found an author whose stories are balm for my soul.

I was wondering how best to explain the plot of the book. Honestly, the closest thing you can compare it to is a queer version of "Gilmore Girls" because it's also a generational story, and there are actually one or two parallels. (Well, at least for me) For example, the plot is fast-paced. Additionally, the interactions and dialogues are quirky and so witty. I often had to laugh because of the humorous and unconventional portrayal of the characters. Another similarity is that the action also takes place in a small town. As is often the case, rumours and speculations spread like wildfire.

But now to the characters, because there were a handful of them. The most important ones are Blaze Sonnier and Caleigh Breaux. Blaze has had little luck with dating or social interactions lately. After several catastrophic incidents, she's the talk of the town. And one day, her estranged mother shows up on her doorstep to make matters worse. In addition, her older sister Ronnie is going through early menopause and is therefore facing some personal changes. So it happens that she often seeks shelter and help from Blaze.

Caleigh changes jobs and moves to Falcon, Louisiana, to be near her grandparents. But her journey goes awry when she gets a flat tire en route and gets stuck on a remote road. That's when she meets Blaze, and they hit it off right away.

As you can see, a lot is going on, but I had the best time reading this book. It has very little angst, lovely main and secondary characters. It is fast-paced and, on top of that, very entertaining. Recommended! ( )

Caleigh dropped an armload of boxes onto the road. “I am that woman. Oh, my God! I am! I can’t change a tire! I have a ton of shoes! I don’t know how to work in an office, and this is proof!”

Roughly four months after my first read of this book, I’ve returned. I’d always planned on returning – it felt wrong that I’d rated the book so lowly, especially as I’d read it (and admitted to having read it) while ill. The kind of ill that caused pain when I laughed – and this is a rather humorous book – which I’ve found out again with my reread.

I’ve stated it before, but there’s just something about Alexander’s main characters that cause me to rather like them. There are exceptions here or there (I didn’t particularly like the main characters in, I think it was, ‘Pitifully Ugly’), but I, for the most part, rather enjoy my time spent with both of the main characters in Alexander books. The side characters tend to have personalities of their own – as in they tend to not be filters/ciphers, but I do not always particularly like them. The minor characters who had major level page time, in this specific book, tended to be fun to be with as well.

Right so – this is a humorous lesbian romance book with graphic depictions of a sexual nature (though many of their interactions tended to also include intrusions of a humorous nature) involving two women, at the main character level, in their mid to late thirties (37 and 39 – with ‘the short one’ (my words, not words used in the book, no this isn’t filled with that type of fanfiction wordage) being the older of the two – that being Caleigh).

Caleigh is new in the small town, though her grandparents live across the street from her house. She’s moved to this small town to finally ‘settle down’ – her old job consisted of a lot of traveling. The book opens with her on the side of the road attempting to deal with a flat tire – whereupon the other main character of the book, Blaze, rode up on her bike and helped. Even though one was suffering the pain of improper biking clothing*, and the other is suffering a kind of panic-attack kaboom – they have a good meeting.

‘*’ -

”Why do you look like you’ve been riding a horse non-stop for twenty-four hours?”

Before Caleigh can even express anything about the meeting with Blaze (not that she was going to – she doesn’t want to add to her grandparents desire to see her as ‘the baby’), Caleigh learns that her grandmother doesn’t like Blaze – and her grandmother has a tendency to like everyone.

Somehow or another, despite certain roadblocks (like the disliking grandmother), the two begin dating – though it keeps getting interrupted by family members (like the estranged mother, and the menopausing sister) and other stuff.

Great humorous book. Enjoyable. Even the minor characters are occasionally fun to spend time with.

[grandpa Dean to coworker] “You said a word we’re not allowed to say in mixed company, so I thought we could talk about local lesbians. Young ones, from the ages of around thirty to forty.”

Carey frowned. “You have never weirded me out till now.”

Rating: 5.5

April 22 2019 ( )

Robin's books always hit the spot when I want to read an angst free, romantic story. Blaze and Caleigh's journey boils down to "Hey, I like you, you like me, so let's see where this goes." The one thing I didn't like was that on several occasions, the dialogue jumped immediately from one topic to another.

Overall, this was an entertaining story. With the help of a severly menopausal sister, an estranged mom, and a few enemas, Balze and Caleigh's love is meant to last. ( )