Chance by Grace Lennox (Jennifer Fulton)

Publisher:         Bold Strokes Books

Should a writer only write about things that she knows or has experienced?  That is a question that is frequently discussed, with varying opinions.  The answer is not necessarily, but, if a writer is going to venture into an area that is unknown, the reader might have to expect a book that is thin in some places.  Such is the case with Chance by Grace Lennox.  What is confusing is to read other reviews and wonder if the reviewers are really discussing this book or if they are writing about the author because they know that Lennox is really an alter ego for Jennifer Fulton.  Even the synopsis on the Bold Strokes Books web site doesn't really indicate the direction that this book takes.  The blurb on the back of the book does get closer to the story.

Chantelle (Chance) Delaney is a young lady with issues in her life.  Her job in a lesbian bookstore is a dead end, her romantic life is dormant and she's the adopted daughter of hippies who have doted on her, but she has questions about her birth mother.  Her life doesn't seem to be heading anywhere and she needs to change that.  Everything seems to spring into Chance's life as a surprise.  She leaves the bookstore to go into dog grooming, for which she has no training, but no one seems to mind.  Through that she stumbles into a job in the all woman rock band Virgin Blessing where she becomes the lead singer despite the fact that she really can't sing.  And, of course, they end up with a No. 1 song thanks to a woman Chance met in another very strange situation.  She agreed to help a gay friend fool his family into thinking that they were getting married, only to have the friend and his cousin use her for a different agenda.  Chance has a night of exhilarating sex with the cousin Layla, convinced that she has found The One, only to be betrayed the next morning and dumped by Layla, who later turns out to be a major song writer.  If there aren't enough threads in this to perplex you yet, Chance then plunges into the world of a rock star with access to easy women, easy drugs and a startling romance at the end.  And the discovery of Chance's natural mother and the situation involving her birth tops everything off.

Chance is not a badly written book.  Jennifer Fulton doesn't write badly.  There do seem to be gaps in the story though.  It's as if there was a framework and the story needed to be gone through one more time and more details added, with story lines tied together better.  The story is a readable one, but not one that draws you back to the book with an intense interest to find out what is going to happen next.  Whether or not this is because Lennox (Fulton) wrote about a lifestyle and industry she is not very familiar with would make an interesting conversation.

 

Dark Dreamer by Jennifer Fulton

Publisher:           Bold Strokes Books

If you are a fan of Jennifer Fulton and think you know what to expect because you have read her other books, be forewarned. Dark Dreamer is very different from her earlier work. 

Rowe Devlin is a best-selling writer who has developed a total block, the consequence of which is that her last two books have been complete flops. Her private life has not fared much better as she has bounced from one unsuccessful relationship to another. In desperation she retreats to an old Victorian house in Maine called Dark Cottage. If she cannot find the idea for a new book, at least she can hide from her fans and her publisher. 

Unfortunately, the peace and quiet she hopes will provide inspiration is short-lived when it becomes apparent that Dark Cottage is haunted by a spirit that will not leave Rowe alone. To add to her misery, her neighbors Phoebe and Cara Temple, who are identical twins, provide more distraction when Rowe finds that she is romantically drawn to each one. At one point in the story there is a real perception that Rowe may give in to her confusion and be involved with both sisters.

The Temples have a secret too. Phoebe, who was injured in an accident years before, has been left with psychic powers, which the sisters use to help solve crimes. Cara is the outgoing twin who functions well in the regular world and acts as the facilitator/manager for Phoebe, who would rather stay in her quiet home, cook and ignore the rest of the world. At first the sisters are able to keep their service quiet, working only with a single FBI agent who helps to keep them out of the limelight. Eventually though, Phoebe's talents draw the attention of the CIA and the Office of Homeland Security and the sisters find themselves unwilling recruits in the war on terrorism. And, with all of this going on, the sisters are also trying to help Rowe solve a gruesome murder that happened many years ago and produced spirits who are making it impossible for her to enjoy Dark Cottage.

If you have the impression that there are a lot of story lines, you would be correct. This is a more complex book than many of Fulton's fans are used to. There is also a darkness, a brooding feeling of evil, that is new to Fulton. Dark Dreamer is the first of a new series that Fulton is embarking on and it's obvious that she's experimenting with some new writing, perhaps drawing on the old Gothic mystery format for inspiration. It will be up to her readers to decide if they will embrace this new approach like they have her earlier romantic novels.

Dark Garden by Jennifer Fulton

Publisher:                 Bold Strokes Books

Mason Cavender and Vienna Blake find themselves locked in a Hatfield and McCoy feud that has ravaged their families for generations.  Though the two families originally started out as partners and intermarried, Mason now finds herself struggling as the last of the Cavenders to save what little they have left and Vienna is poised to deliver the death blow that the Blakes have desired for so long.  Vienna has held back however because of the impossible attraction she and Mason have felt for each other since they were young.  Though they have tried to establish a relationship several times in the past, family animosity always got in the way.  This feud definitely has overtones of Romeo and Juliet mixed in with it.  The two women desire each other, but don’t trust each other.  The problem is they can’t seem to be happy without each other.  Both families are haunted by secrets from the past.  Secrets that might stand between any happiness Mason and Vienna can share if they aren’t dealt with.

Jennifer Fulton writes a very convincing romance.  Her characters are attractive, dynamic and dominate the pages.  Although the reader knows they will work out their problems and find a way to be together, the battle between them and the inner working of the family dynamics keep the story interesting.  The puzzling part is why this is tagged as paranormal.  There are hints of an ancestor’s ghost and one of her dogs that prowl one of the estates, but they play a minor part in the story.  Paranormal fans who are expecting an otherworldly presence that affects the progression of the plot will be disappointed.  The secrets the families hide play a huge part in what happens, but they’re hardly paranormal.  The book would have been just as satisfying to read without the slight references to ghosts, which are more distracting than anything.  There are also some plot lines that seem to be unresolved, especially one involving shocking behavior by one of Vienna’s cousins, and the ending seems abrupt.  The romance carries the book though.

Dark Garden is a typical Fulton romance, nothing surprising, but a good story.  It has a somewhat dark tone to it that gives it a Gothic feeling which should appeal to those fans, but it provides entertaining reading for anyone.  Fulton is normally a solid writer and this book reflects that.

More than Paradise by Jennifer Fulton

Publisher:                Bold Strokes Books


Jennifer Fulton has written an adventure romance that is topical, fast paced and lushly descriptive. The most intriguing aspect of the story is the amount of research that was obviously done into the world of what were once called mercenaries, but now travel under the umbrella of "private security firms."

Dr. Charlotte Lascelles has been offered the adventure of her life. A pharmaceutical company has hired her to join an expedition going to the Foja Mountains of New Guinea to hunt for new plants and animals that could hold the secrets to solving many illnesses. Charlotte's life in the US is sterile by any calculations. She has her friends, but an experience with an abusive partner as taught her to wall most of her emotions behind of façade of cool professionalism. She's ready for a little excitement with the chance of making an important discovery. Unfortunately, she finds herself sharing a tent with Ash Evans, former military officer, soldier of fortune and womanizer par excellence. Charlotte has seen Ash in action and she represents everything she finds unappealing in a woman, except that she is so appealing. Ash is hoping to make enough off of this job to finally retire to her plantation and she certainly isn't looking for a relationship, but she can't seem to keep her mind off of Charlotte and has serious doubts about them spending so much time together. As they work through what is developing between them, the story follows them through steamy bars into steamy jungles and finally into steamy passion. People who like romantic adventure will find plenty of it in this book.

The story in More Than Paradise follows a predictable development for lesbian fiction - women meet, women have conflict, women deal with whether or not they will be able to overcome the conflict. What makes this book worth reading more than some others is everything else in the story. Fulton has done a remarkable job of explaining the shadowy world of private security companies and how they are playing a role in world events, from Blackwater Security in Iraq to the part these companies have played in numerous civil wars and suppressions of native people in Asia, Africa and Latin America. She has also captured the struggle that is going on between environmentalists, developers and governments in the battle over preservation v. economic interests. Then there is the issue of disappearing rainforests and the race to discover what they hold before they disappear. Fulton doesn't harp on these issues, but reveals just enough to make the reader want to go to other sources to find out more about what is going on. 

One of her most clever devices is a character named Bruce the Roo who sounds very much like a Steve Irvin-type character gone slightly mad from waging his crusade for the environment and indigenous people. The scenery is ultimately what sells the book though. Fulton's description of the jungle with its vegetation and animal life is intense and paints such a vivid picture that you can practically smell the orchids and feel the mist coming off of the waterfalls. It's a perfect setting for a story of a woman who is slightly untamed herself and the other woman who definitely needs to release her inhibitions and learn to live.

Fulton has published a number of books under various pen names. This is one of her best.