Turning Point by Lara Zielinsky

Publisher:                 P. D. Publishing


Lara Zielinsky's work is familiar to many people who like to read online fan fiction. Now, she brings her first novel, Turning Point, to print. Fans of the program "Star Trek: Voyager" will see where she got much of her inspiration.

Turning Point is set in Hollywood and centers around the cast of a sci-fi series called "Time Trails." The show's long time star Brenna Lanigan has had a trying year because the producers brought a new character into the show to ramp up the sex appeal of the program. Cassidy Hyland admires Brenna for being a consummate professional and highly skilled actor, but she's spent the last year getting nothing but the cold shoulder from her co-star. All of that begins to change when Brenna uncharacteristically accepts an invitation to a birthday party for Cassidy's young son. The party gives both women a chance to show aspects of their personalities that have been hidden from each other.


From that tentative beginning comes a friendship based on shared experiences and emotions and before long Brenna and Cassidy find themselves being drawn into a deeper relationship that neither had anticipated. Meanwhile, they also have to deal with the stresses of the final season of their show, planning for the future and difficulties with the other people in their lives. Ultimately, the question becomes if the women can have very public careers and the type of love that they truly want.

For those who feel that plots of books are often rushed to completion without good character development, this book will be a welcome change. It spends considerable time letting the reader get to know the characters and study the development of their relationship. There are numerous and varied scenes showing them interacting with other characters and the reader can develop a sense of what is going on in these women's heads. 

Not only does the book contain more pages than the average lesbian novel, but it's printed in the larger size book and in a smaller than usual font, so there is a lot on each page. The font size is the biggest drawback to this book. It is one way to get more story in while not having to increase the number of pages, but for those who have difficulty with print size, this book may be beyond the limits of their toleration. 

Another distracting aspect is that, since it's based on people from a well-known TV show, the reader can't help but visualize Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan in the two main characters. That isn't necessarily a detriment to the story, but readers who like to conjure up images of characters for themselves may have a problem with this. On the whole this is a well written book and, though some scenes might have been eliminated to shorten the book, the story moves at a good pace and keeps the reader engrossed. It's a standard romance and worth the reading time.