Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts

Monday, July 6, 2020

Time for a game - are you up for it? @CynthiaTerelst #DownUnder #SecondChanceRomance #Giveaway


 
By Cynthia Terelst (Guest Blogger)

Thank you, Lisabet, for allowing me to visit your blog to introduce my new book, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie.

In August last year, my daughter moved to a new town for work. She told me how, in this small town with just one short street of shops, there was a top pub and a bottom pub, and at bottom pub people remembered your name. You could go in only once every few months and they would still remember you.

I thought this was really interesting. I made a random post about it and one of my friends said it sounded like a puzzle. So I thought, why not write a book revolving around a scavenger hunt. But of course, that couldn’t be the whole premise of the book. So I created a second chance romance which was based around a fake, million dollar scavenger hunt. And then, because I like to deal with real life issues, I added a subplot about loss and how that has an effect on relationships.

You can’t have a scavenger hunt without places where to find the treasure. After I decided I would set the book in Sydney, Australia, I needed to figure out where the treasures were going to be hidden. Writing the clues to direct the players to those places was a challenge. It sounds easy. But, trust me, it’s not. You need to provide enough detail for them to get to the answer, but still be vague enough so they cannot guess straight away. To add to that, you need to take readers on a journey of discovery with the charcacters.

Today, I am going to share a set of clues with you from the book. The first reader to guess the correct destination will receive an eBook of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie. The book is set in Sydney, Australia so if you are playing along, direct your investigation there.

  • Nobody knows how many people died here.
  • It was the last place many people saw after arriving in Australia.
  • The grave diggers did not keep detailed records, and some bodies were buried in unmarked graves on a hillside, at the bottom of which was the water supply.
  • Visit the home of the gravediggers to find your first item. The only way to find it is in the dark.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Will one of the treasures they find be each other's heart?
It’s been five years since Tara walked out of Shepherd’s life without a word. Since then he’s spiralled through drugs, alcohol and empty relationships, with Tara on his mind the whole time. Now he wants to win her back, and what better way to do it than by creating a fake scavenger hunt? He knows she won’t be able to resist.
Tara’s lost enough loved ones and she didn’t want to see Shepherd added to that count. So, when she saw him high at graduation, she did the only thing she could – she walked away. When she’s teamed up with him for a million dollar scavenger hunt, the feelings reignite. For a second chance at love to work, she needs to be brave enough to open up to him, to tell him everything she withheld the first time around.
Shepherd didn’t realise how much winning would mean to Tara. He now needs to come up with $3 million for her foundation before the hunt is over. If he can’t he will need to tell her its all fake, and he doesn’t know if he can risk that.
Will secrets destroy them a second time around?

Excerpt

Tara

Shepherd and I sat on the couch side by side and watched The Martian while we ate dinner. The warmth from where our arms touched seeped through me. I should have moved away, but I didn’t want to. The spices from the tacos radiated off him. What would they taste like when mixed with the sweetness of him? My eyes were drawn to his lips, the curve of them. I could practically feel their softness.

Shepherd turned his face to mine. My eyes lingered for a moment as I imagined his soft breath brushing my face as he bent his head toward me. My breathing shallowed to the point that it was nearly non-existent, as if I were a starfish. I turned my face away and resumed watching the movie, making sure my hands kept to themselves and my thoughts remained on the man saving his own life on the screen. Matt Damon may have been the most attractive astronaut I’d ever seen, but he was nothing compared to Shepherd.

The movie ended and I sat there while the credits rolled. Our closeness suddenly made me feel like we were in a flux capacitor. Time—five years of it—had been starved, and now it was swallowing me whole. Everything about Shepherd felt like home. Everything. And if I allowed it to, this feeling wouldn’t just swallow me, it would become me.

I jerked away from him, my heart racing, my skin cold, while I broke into a sweat. I couldn’t allow this to happen. Shepherd was no longer my solace. He never truly was because he never knew my grief. My grief over my brother. The feelings of loss at my parent’s death.

No, Shepherd was not my solace. Not then. Not now.

Buy Link

The book is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited



About the Author


Cynthia Terelst is a project officer by day and a writer by night. She is a contemporary romance writer who likes to share a little bit of history, some Australian scenery and a whole lotta love. Cynthia does not shy away from difficult topics, as she feels that they should not be ignored.

She lives in Queensland, Australia, where the sun shines at least 283 days a year.

Social Media Links














Monday, April 13, 2020

New small town romance from Iris Blobel (@_iris_b) #Australia #FreeBook #AlintaBay

Series banner
Welcome to ALINTA BAY

I’m happy to share with you the second book in Iris Blobel’s series, which is set at the Great Ocean Road in Australia. 

If you love small town romance, be sure to get your copy today!


About Book Two




Confronted with the choice to care for his friend’s family on the other side of the world or to return to Alinta Bay to be with his own newfound family, how will Noah choose?

Following the death of his grandmother, Noah Fielding returns to Alinta Bay and the first thing — or person — he finds is the next-door neighbour in his nan’s bathroom — naked no less. Still jetlagged, he doesn’t hit it off with Molly at first. Yet, over the next few weeks, as his past uncovers itself bit by bit, she becomes is anchor, his friend, and his lover.

Molly Reid had the world at her feet, happily married with a young son … until a tragic car accident took everything away from her. With her heart broken, she moves to Alinta Bay to escape the memories of the past. Her peaceful existence, however, is interrupted after a heavy storm floods her house and she temporarily moves into her recently deceased neighbour’s house next door.

When Noah’s friend and partner goes missing during a routine flight, Noah returns to Alaska to help, but will he come back for Molly?

Add TELL IT TO MY HEART to your Goodreads TBR !


Get your copy of TELL IT TO MY HEART today!  


Book One in the Series




Sometimes one has to break rules in order to find happiness…
Widower Logan Hendrix is puzzled by the recent series of small crimes against his son’s new teacher. It’s a mystery to him, and he offers her his help. There’s an instant attraction, and Logan wants to take their parent/teacher relationship to a more personal level.

It doesn’t take Addison Ryker long to fall in love with Alinta Bay, the small town she’s moved to for her new teaching position at the local primary school. Her newfound haven is threatened, however, when her house is broken into and she is relying on the unbelievably stubborn but very sexy Logan for help. Although captivated by him, Addison worries her career could be compromised, because there are rules about dating a parent.

Add DEFYING RULES to your Goodreads TBR !

 
Get your copy of DEFYING RULES today!


FREE between 13 and 15 April!

 
Where to find Iris

/show/4067254.Iris_Blobel
 


Thursday, February 27, 2020

Have you had a fortunate life? #Romance #Giveaway #Australia @CynthiaTerelst

Cat's out of the bag cover

By Cynthia Terelst (Guest Blogger)

Hi everyone,

I’m Cynthia Terelst. I write contemporary romance with some heat. Thank you to Lisabet for inviting me to share a story with you today.

When I think about the question above, my first instinct is to say no. I don’t have riches or drive a fancy car or wear designer clothes. But living a fortunate life does not need to be about money. I’ve survived a suicide attempt, heartbreak, domestic violence, and mountains of debt. That to me is fortunate. Surviving, living, is fortunate.

And on top of that I have done many amazing things. My daughter and I travelled around Australia for three years with our cat and dog. There were many reasons we did this, but the most significant was the number of hours I worked and how I was missing watching her grow up. The trip had the desired effect; we are close, almost like sisters.

Some of the places and experiences mentioned in my first novel, The Cat’s out of the Bag, are from our travels. We did climb a fire tree like Evie and Jesse, but only made it to the first platform. My daughter’s ten-year-old legs were too short to make in the rest of the way. But when you think about it, climbing 30 metres (over 90 feet) up a tree using only steel pegs driven into the side of the tree, with no safety harness or netting is pretty impressive for anyone, let alone a ten-year-old. (Sorry, I can’t share a photo, but if you google Fire Tree Pemberton you will see what I’m talking about.)

Ultimately, The Cat’s out of the Bag is a love story, with some Australian scenery. We watch Evie and Jesse’s relationship grow. It’s not always an easy path, just like any relationship. The book touches on tough subjects like domestic violence and trust. Rest assured, this is not a totally serious book, there are many places where you will laugh.

Giveaway - I would like to give an eBook of The Cat’s out of the Bag away to one lucky reader. Please tell us why you feel you have a fortunate life. The winner is selected randomly and is not based on the best story. We are all fortunate in some way and this is a good opportunity to appreciate that.

The Cat’s Out of the Bag

One van. Two hearts. Thousands of kilometres.

Jesse’s a self-made billionaire who yearns to get away from his empty life and the money-hungry parasites who inhabit it. The plan? Go to Australia, tell no one about his money and find himself. Instead of finding just himself, he finds Evie, who is everything anyone should aspire to be. Now, what he aspires to be, is hers. But to be hers, he needs to tell her everything.

Evie has left her past behind. She has rebuilt herself, and her life, into one of happiness. After she meets Jesse, while volunteering at a cat shelter, memories of her past filter back in. She is stronger now and wants to trust him. But after all she has been through, is trust even possible?

The quest to find a cat a forever home leads them to travel across the country together. Can the close quarters drive them to open up to each other? Or will it drive them apart?

Excerpt

Jesse

The wave petered out, and I paddled back to the line-up. Sitting, watching, waiting. The constant breeze in my ears and the sound of waves breaking relaxed me. Lulled by the gentle rise and fall of the swells, I thought about Evie.

She was one of the most complicated people I’d ever met. Whatever she had been through had made her strong and independent. But underneath, she was all doubt. I could see her trying to be brave, but that could change in an instant as her insecurities took over. I felt like it was a fight between Nick and me, and I didn’t even know the guy. I didn’t know how to beat a ghost. But I would. I would figure it out, and I would gain Evie’s trust, bit by bit.

Her. Me. That’s what I would strive for.

Buy Link


About the Author

Cynthia Terelst is a project officer by day and a writer by night. She is a contemporary romance writer who likes to share a little bit of history, some Australian scenery and a whole lotta love.
Cynthia does not shy away from difficult topics, as she feels that they should not be ignored.

She lives in Queensland, Australia, where the sun shines at least 283 days a year.

Social Media Links










Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Review Tuesday: A Heart This Big - #LesbianRomance #Australia #ReviewTuesday


A Heart This Big cover

A Heart This Big by Cheyenne Blue
Ylva Press, 2019

Nina and Leigh might as well live on different planets.

Nina spends her dusty days working at her farm on the edge of Sydney and caring for her twelve year old daughter Phoebe. Bequeathed to her by the grandparents who raised her, Banksia Farm is both a beloved haven and a heavy responsibility. Nina has opened the farm to local kids and adults, who come to visit, volunteer, meet the animals and enjoy an experience increasingly rare in their urbanized existence. She welcomes everyone, but especially those special children who most need patience, support and connection to the natural world.

Leigh is the youngest partner in a prestigious downtown Sydney law firm. A dedicated workaholic who chose the law so she could help people solve their problems, Leigh wears designer clothing, drives a BMW and lives in a pricey condo overlooking the harbor. Her social life is as meticulously ordered as her professional one; her dates with women in her own class usually involve fancy dinner and wine at an upscale restaurant, occasionally followed by empty sexual pleasure. Many nights, though, Leigh spends alone.

Nina’s and Leigh’s lives collide when a child has accident while riding at Banksia and his family sues Nina for damages. Nina barges into Leigh’s well-ordered existence, insisting that, as the best insurance litigator in the business, Leigh should take on her case pro bono. Against her better judgment, Leigh agrees, at least partly because she finds Nina both attractive and admirable.

Leigh’s first visit to Banksia is a bit of a disaster, but she soon becomes comfortable in the low-key, low-budget community that Nina has nurtured. Nina turns out to be equally drawn to her fashionable, intelligent legal counsel. However, the rules are quite clear; lawyers may not get emotionally or sexually involved with their clients.

Romance, ultimately, is about feeling good. I have to say that A Heart This Big left me with a warm glow. The story is, like many romances, fairly predictable (though Ms. Blue does throw in a twist or two), but the characters and the setting are what’s important in this novel. Both Nina and Leigh feel solid and real – Nina perhaps a bit more than Leigh, but that may be partly because Leigh’s world is so foreign to me. I believed in both their love and their pain. The minor characters are equally well-drawn – especially the sometimes surly and angst-ridden pre-teen Phoebe and Grizz, Leigh’s wise and idiosyncratic paralegal.

Meanwhile, Banksia Farm is portrayed in such loving detail that I think Ms. Blue must have a real life model. The contrast between Leigh’s rather sterile world and the fertile, messy farm environment comes through strongly. To Leigh’s credit, she doesn’t run away from the dirt, the physical labor, or the sometimes peculiar folk who frequent the farm. With gentle Nina’s guidance, she learns to love them.

One other aspect of this novel made me want to celebrate: the quiet, unspectacular acceptance of same-sex relationships by every one of the characters (even the villain). There are barriers to Nina’s and Leigh’s relationship, but sexual identity is not one of them. Nobody bats an eyelash when Leigh moves in with Nina. Totally comfortable, Phoebe gleefully introduces them as her “mums”. The story includes many straight people, including some warm-hearted male characters, which I appreciate. This is not a lesbians-only world, as is the case in some lesbian romance. But it’s a world where people are free to love whomever they choose – a world we’re hopefully getting closer to all the time.

Overall, I very much enjoyed A Heart This Big. It left me feeling as though I wanted to go out and hug someone.



Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Review Tuesday: Almost-Married Moni by Cheyenne Blue - #ReviewTuesday #MarriageEquality #LesbianRomance


Almost-Married Moni by Cheyenne Blue
Ylva Publishing, 2017

A simple Outback wedding. What could possibly go wrong?

Almost-Married Moni is a novella featuring the characters from Cheyenne Blue’s delightful Girl Meets Girl series: Never-Tied Nora, Not-So-Straight Sue and Fenced-In Felix. Moni, the title character and narrator, is the gutsy doctor from Texas who falls in love with Outback lawyer Sue in the second novel in the series. Now Moni and Sue live together with their housekeeper Mrs. T and their dog Ripper in the remote town of Mungabilly Creek, where Sue provides legal services and Moni runs a clinic. When Australia finally votes to allow same-sex marriage, Moni and Sue decide to officially tie the knot. However, their ideas about the wedding they want don’t necessarily agree with the notions held by their respective families. White dresses? In the red dust of an Outback summer?

Cheyenne Blue published this sweet romance to celebrate the long-awaited arrival of marriage equality in her adopted country. It’s a fine finale to her series. In fact, it feels like a reunion, since Sue and Moni plan to hold their wedding at Jayboro Station, the even more remote home of horse-loving Felix and Josie. Meanwhile, Nora and Geraldine from England (and the first book) are among the most honored guests.

The novella’s warmth and humor definitely feel like a celebration. There’s not much conflict, though of course things don’t go as planned, with Moni’s ex-girlfriend attending as a couple with Moni’s brother and Josie’s thoroughbred mare Flame throwing something of a spanner into the works. Love triumphs, though—as it should.

The author excels at evoking the stark appeal of the Outback landscape as well as the rough-and-ready character of its inhabitants. Any reader can tell that Ms. Blue connects deeply with her home. As is the case with many of her books, the countryside is almost a character in this tale.

Fans of Ms. Blue’s more explicit stories might be a bit disappointed to learn that there’s no erotic content at all in this book. That doesn’t mean the novella lacks heat. Desire as well as love binds all these couples together, but the expression of desire happens mostly off-stage.

Actually, I can see the wisdom in focusing on the emotional connections rather than the physical in this book honoring the institution of marriage. Lesbians and gays are often portrayed as hyper-sexual beings. I believe those notions stem mostly from fear of the unknown or a need to trivialize same-sex relationships as “just sex”. In contrast, the author shows us a couple totally committed to sharing their lives with one another, both the highs and the lows, for better or for worse, long after their wedding night.

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Conquering the Party Wall (#lesfic #eroticromance #opposites @IamCheyenneBlue)


By Cheyenne Blue (Guest Blogger)

Party walls are a necessary part of a lot of modern modern living, and it seems most people have a horror story to share about a neighbour from the other side of the dividing wall. Paper-thin interior walls are a bad match when your neighbour always seems to vacuum at 3.00am. Or your morning aerobics wakes your neighbour too early. Barking dogs, noisy sex, differing musical tastes, parties, and even the lark versus night owl can all lead to stress.

I’ve heard of great tales and long-friendships arising around the party wall too. In Melbourne, years ago, I ended up with half a dog thanks to the party wall. My neighbour had a Jack Russell terrier called Feedback (his owner worked in radio). The old terrace houses we lived in were rather decrepit, and when Feedback’s owner went off to his late afternoon shift, Feedback would climb a rather convenient loquat tree by jumping from branch to branch until he was level with the top of the fence. He’d then take a flying leap into my back yard and come trotting in through the open door for some late afternoon company after I’d returned from my nursing shift. He was unable to return to his side of the fence, but when he heard his owner come home, he’d bark at the party wall so that his owner knew where he was.

We shared Feedback for a couple of years: mornings with his official owner, afternoons with me. We ended up putting a doggie door in the party wall to make it easier for him.

My latest lesbian romance novel Party Wall is about two very different women with two very different attitudes to life, who have to live and work side-by-side separated by the flimsy wooden wall between their premises. Lily’s dream has been to run a sex shop and space where women can come and embrace the physical side of their lives in a positive and caring way. But she soon runs up against her neighbour, Freya, whose new-age store and yoga studio are the antithesis of Lily’s shop.

Or are they?

I hope you’ll decide to give Party Wall a go.


Blurb

From the moment Freya looks in the window of the brash, new sex shop in Grasstree Flat she knows it will be nothing but trouble. For a start, it will clash with her own New Age store right next door. And she’s right. Outgoing newcomer, Lily, begins to intrude on Freya’s well-ordered life. Freya’s friends, lifestyle, and even her cat are all affected by Lily’s magic touch. Even Freya’s yoga classes rub shoulders with Lily’s sexual-expression workshops. Lily stands for everything Freya has lost in life: playfulness, spontaneity, and delight in the physical. And sex. But does Lily have more in common with Freya than the wall that divides them?

A lesbian romance about crossing the lines that hold us back.

Excerpt

The sun reflected off the window, obscuring the view of the shop inside. Still, Freya was hyper aware of the products on display. She shuffled her feet and coughed, but didn’t move towards the door. In the window, she caught the reflection of Carly’s easy smile, as if she frequented sex toy stores all the time. Freya moved to one side. Now the sun slanted low, slicing through the glass. A mannequin wearing red-and-black, skimpy, lace underwear caught her attention.

Tasteless,” she muttered.

Carly glanced sideways at her. “I’ve seen worse in the chain stores in Mackay. I think it’s sexy. I’d wear it—if I were ten years younger and ten kilos lighter.”

Freya sniffed. “There is so much inherently wrong with that statement. What you wear shouldn’t be determined by an outside opinion of what looks good. Your self-worth isn’t dependent on another’s approval—”

Okay, okay.” Carly’s interruption was tempered with a smile. “I didn’t mean it quite like that.” She pointed to a discreet sign in the corner of the window. “‘A woman’s pleasure is in her own hands.’ Clever.”

Why don’t they just show a purple dildo and be done with it.” Freya took a tiny step towards the shop next door. Her shop.

Carly shrugged. “No doubt there’s some law against it. When did you last see more than lingerie and posters in a sex shop window?”

I’m not in the habit of looking.” Freya’s voice was riveted steel. “I’m surprised you are.”

I don’t often.” Carly grabbed Freya’s hand and pulled her back towards the window. “After all, we don’t get much chance living here, do we? The last sex shop I saw was in Brisbane when Andy and I went down for the rugby. But that wasn’t like this—it appeared to cater mostly to men. This one seems different.”

In Freya’s jaundiced opinion, that was like calling a spade a manual digging implement. “It’s all the same. Catering to the baser instincts of men. Objectifying women. Turning them into sex objects.”

Carly turned to face her, and Freya caught the little wrinkle between her eyes. Good. Maybe she was getting through to her friend. This shop was everything she found repellent. Its silver-and-purple paintwork shone garishly in the sun. The wide window showed only the paltry display and a backdrop of black-and-silver cloth blocking the rest of the shop from view. Probably a good thing. Who knew what was behind those folds and artfully arranged drapes? The mannequin was on the left, and the sign Carly had noticed was propped up on the other side. The middle was empty, a blank canvas for… Freya shuddered. What would end up there? She already knew she wouldn’t like it.

Her gaze moved right, to her own shop window. A Woman’s Spirit. She narrowed her eyes and saliva filled her mouth. Even the name of the next-door shop, A Woman’s Pleasure, was offensive, being so similar to her own. Her shop front was tasteful, painted the silver-green of gum leaves. Nothing stopped a passer-by seeing inside; indeed, the wide window drew the gaze inwards to the welcoming warmth of racks of books and tarot cards, to the stands of bright clothes, the shelves of crystals and pottery.

It’s great that there’s a tenant.” Carly rested her forehead on the glass and shaded her eyes, trying to peer inside. “It’s been a couple of months since Diane moved to the coast. It can’t have been good for your business, having a vacant shop next door.”

Freya snorted. “Better a vacant space than this. Diane’s organic produce shop and mine complemented each other—we got a lot of cross trade. I doubt there’ll be any now.”

You might be surprised.”

Unlikely. But it doesn’t matter. This shop won’t be here long. I’m surprised the council approved the permit.” Freya’s gaze shifted to the window, where the permit was taped to the glass. “Maybe I should check that they actually did.”

Carly huffed a breath. “I think you’ll be wasting your time. There’s no way the owner could get away with it in a town as small as Grasstree Flat.”

Freya shrugged. “Maybe that’s what they’re relying on.”

Honestly, Freya? Drop it. I’m sure it’s fine. Try and give the owner the benefit of the doubt. They’re new in town, it’s a new business. Surely it’s better for you and your shop if they make a success of it.” Amused exasperation tinged Carly’s voice.

In front of the two women, the black-and-silver backdrop twitched, saving Freya from answering. A hand appeared through the gap and placed down some stands, the sort that might support signage or photographs. The hand was tawny, with short, manicured nails. Two silver rings glinted on the fingers.

Carly nudged Freya. “See? A woman owns it.”

I gathered that already.” Freya pointed to the sign that was already nagging in her head, an irritant not to be forgotten, like a mozzie bite on a hot summer day. “I doubt a man would run a store called ‘A Woman’s Pleasure’.”

Not necessarily.”

The hand adjusted the position of the stands. A forearm extended through the curtain, then withdrew.

I’m going to ring the council.”

And say what?” Carly said in a neutral tone. “That you think the new owner is breaking some law you’re not aware of? The window is tasteful, Frey. I quite like it.”

It’s only remotely all right now because it’s mostly empty. You wait, that mannequin will only be the start.” Her fingers twitched with the urge to rant some more, but she controlled it. Deep breaths. A slow inhale, hold that breath, and then let the tension of the moment expel in the whoosh of air through her mouth. She would not let this shop get to her.

On Freya’s third exhale, the curtain dividing the window from the rest of the shop was pulled to one side. The owner of the hand came into view. The lighting behind her was dim, only enough to show a smooth-skinned arm, a full shoulder, and the curve of neck and breast. The woman wore a yellow singlet, and a bird’s wing of smooth dark hair hung down, obscuring her face. In the dimly lit shop, she was bronze and sunshine, her top standing out brightly against her dark skin, a beacon in the shadows.

The woman placed a handful of lingerie in the window. She piled it in a bunch, with no attempt at display. A froth of lace and bright colours mixed with the darker sheen of satin or silk, something smooth and luxurious. She reached behind her and brought out another sign, which she propped on the stand she’d placed earlier: Sensuous Reading for Women.

Dirty books. Porn.” Freya grasped Carly’s arm as a prelude to urging her away, into the safety of her shop.

The woman in the window straightened and saw them looking. She smiled hugely, her grin spontaneous and infectious under high cheekbones. Carly grinned in response, and Freya’s own lips twitched before she schooled her features back to disapproval. The woman gestured to them with a smile that obviously meant “come inside”.

Available from these places:

And from October 4 on the Amazons:

Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.com.au Amazon.ca

Cheyenne Blue is the author of four romantic lesbian novels with the fifth due out in June 2018. Her most recent release, Party Wall is now available from Ylva Publishing along with her Girl Meets Girl” series of interconnected novels.

She is the editor of Forbidden Fruit: stories of unwise lesbian desire and First: Sensual Lesbian Stories of New Beginning. Her short lesbian erotica is collected in three volumes of Blue Woman Stories. She lives in a small house with an enormous deck in a rural area of Queensland, Australia. Check her out at www.cheyenneblue.com on Facebook or Twitter.


Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Review Tuesday: Fenced-In Felix (@iamcheyenneblue #lesbian #ReviewTuesday #romance)

Fenced In Felix cover


Fenced-In Felix by Cheyenne Blue

Ylva Publishing, 2017

Felicity Jameson—Felix—is struggling to turn the land she inherited from her parents into a viable living. With horseback rides, camp sites and two new cabins that have drained her savings, she’s hoping to attract tourists seeking a genuine Outback experience to her sprawling Jayboro Station.

Building the business takes a huge amount of time and energy. Felix tells herself she doesn’t have room in her life for a relationship. When she encounters the flirtatious and curvy new barmaid at the town pub, though, she can’t help wishing things were otherwise.

Josie Beccari has spent years moving from town to town across Australia, picking up what work she can. Her job tending bar at the Commercial is just another gig, until she meets Felix. She’s strongly drawn to the rangy, independent owner of Jayboro Station. At the same time, she recognizes that Felix may be able to help her with a practical problem. She asks Felix to board her horse Flame, a retired thoroughbred no longer fit for racing.

Felix senses there’s something strange about this arrangement, but between her attraction to Josie and the money the woman is offering, she agrees to Josie’s plan. Although Felix is wary, the two women become friends. The more time she spends in Josie’s presence, the more Felix wants her as a lover, but she remains unsure that she can trust the mercurial, mop-headed drifter.

Fenced-In Felix is the third book in Cheyenne Blue’s Girl Meets Girl series. Felix appears as a minor character in the previous volume, Not-So-Straight Sue. She’s Sue’s first lesbian lover since her teenage years, when Sue decided she was straight. Seen through Sue’s eyes, Felix seems mature, sexy and self-assured.

In this novel, Felix comes across as younger, more insecure and more vulnerable. Almost all her energy is consumed by her work at Jayboro Station. Though she’s comfortable acknowledging her sexual preferences, she’s surprisingly skittish about relationships. Still, I felt I understood her motivations and her fears.

Josie is more of a cipher. One wonders what set her on her drifter’s path. I didn’t really get a sense of who she was, though I could see why Felix would find her attractive.

Like the other two novels in the series, Fenced-In Felix is a classic romance. Indeed, it’s almost a sweet romance. There’s a strong undercurrent of sensuality in the book, but the actual love scenes are far more abbreviated and understated than I’d normally expect from Cheyenne Blue. I guess she is writing for a different audience than in her Blue Woman series of erotic stories.

While the author may stint on the sex, she doesn’t hold back in describing the setting. Her love of the Outback shines in the luminous pictures she paints of the land’s harsh beauty.

I think I enjoyed this book more because I’d already read Never-Tied Nora and Not-So-Straight Sue. Nora, Sue, Geraldine and Moni all show up in this book, for a happy reunion. It was great fun seeing them again, and appreciating how their relationships had matured. At the same time, the two couples from the previous novels serve to throw Felix’s uncertainties into sharp relief.

If you are looking for well-written lesbian romance with a strong sense of place, I can recommend Fenced-In Felix.