Party
Wall by Cheyenne Blue
Ylva
Publishing, 2017
Freya,
the proprietor of the New Age boutique “A Woman’s Spirit”,
aspires to elevate herself and her customers above the level of base
sexual desire. Convinced that she no longer needs the physical
connection she shared with her deceased partner Sarah, she lives a
spare, disciplined life, spending her days teaching yoga, selling
candles, crystals, herbs and tea, and offering advice to her straight
best friend Carly.
When
Lily moves to Freya’s small town from the big city and opens “A
Woman’s Pleasure” next door, the stage is set for major conflict.
It’s not just that Freya disapproves of the sort of merchandise
Lily’s shop purveys—lingerie, spicy books and sex toys. The Cuban
woman’s lush curves, colorful clothing, rowdy music, and sexual
openness disturb, offend and anger Freya. However, nothing can alter
the fact that Freya and Lily live side by side, with only a thin wall
separating the flats above their respective stores where they reside.
Lily
makes it clear that she wants Freya for a friend, and maybe more. But
Freya’s not ready to allow another lover to tarnish Sarah’s
memory, especially someone as exuberant and bold as her neighbor.
I
love Cheyenne Blue’s erotica. Party Wall is the fourth
romance by Ms. Blue that I’ve read and reviewed, and in my opinion,
the best. She does an impressive job evoking the complex, shifting
emotional dynamics between Freya and Lily, shaping two full-fleshed,
believable characters. She also writes exquisite passages that
capture the unwelcome desire Freya experiences, despite her attempts
to suppress this. Meanwhile, Lily tries with mixed success not to
push herself on Freya, who has made it clear she’s not interested
in having Lily as a lover.
There’s
a lot of sexual tension in this book, even though there’s no actual
sexual activity until the very end. In one of my favorite scenes,
Lily and Freya are both consoling Carly, after she has left her
cheating husband. The three of them sleep in Lily’s large bed, with
Carly in the middle for comfort. Despite the summer humidity, Freya
dons flannel pajamas, to hide herself from Lily’s eyes, then is so
uncomfortable she’s unable to sleep . The heat she feels is more
than just the effects of the temperature.
Party
Wall has the inevitability of romance. We know that Lily and
Freya will ultimately get together, but up until very late in the
novel, it’s hard to imagine how. That’s meant as a compliment!
My
one criticism of the book has to do with its treatment of men. Man,
actually. There’s only one significant male character in the book,
Carly’s husband Andy, and unfortunately, he’s an utter bastard.
Not only does he cheat on his wife with his secretary, he also breaks
into Lily’s apartment, insults, threatens and ultimately attacks
both Lily and Freya, and tries to force Carly to come back home with
him. He’s violent and abusive, to the point that one wonders why
someone like Carly ever married him.
I
know, of course, that there are men like Andy out there, men who
think they own “their” women, who believe that they’re
justified in using physical force to take what is “belongs to
them”. However, in this case, I think the author could have
achieved her goals without making the character so extreme. As it
stands, Andy’s character feeds the oft-voiced popular opinion that
lesbians are “hostile to men”. I really worry that some people
will dismiss Ms. Blue’s book with this sort of criticism.
Overall,
though, Party Wall is a delightful book. If you’re a fan of
lesbian romance, I recommend it highly.
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