Buyer's Remose by Lori Lake

Publisher:          Regal Crest Enterprises

Buyer's Remorse introduces a new detective series by Lori Lake featuring Leona "Leo" Reese.  When Leo cannot pass her shooting qualification she is temporarily removed from her police duties and assigned as an investigator for the Department of Human Services.  Her first case involves a woman who is murdered at an assisted living facility.  Leo's job is to determine if the facility should be allowed to stay open, but her police training kicks in and instead she focuses on trying to solve the case.  As Leo tracks the clues, her private life is dissolving around her.  Her partner Daria is spending too many hours at her law firm, which is threatening their relationship, and Leo's vision problems turn out to have a frightening medical source.  Between tracking down the killer, trying to reconnect with Daria and making serious decisions about her health, Leo's plate is very full.

Lori Lake is no stranger to writing police stories.  Her earlier series proved that she knows the procedures.  Her experience in writing her previous books has made her adept at creating interesting characters, especially when they are flawed.  The book moves at a good pace, covers the issues and she is able to sustain the mystery almost to the end of the story.  Lake also knows how to handle a plot within the main plot as she examines the emotions that Eleanor Sinclair goes through after the murder of her long term partner.  Sometimes Eleanor's story is more interesting than the murder, but it never takes over the book.

Buyer's Remorse is easy to follow and fine for entertaining reading.  The reader will feel like she got her money's worth for this book.

My top 11 books for 2011.....so far

Lara Zielinsky asked me to make a list of the top 11 books I read in 2011 for the radio show we did and I never got through the entire list, so I thought I'd post it here.  There are two caveats:

• except for the top 4, the rest of the books probably could change positions easily.
• I haven't had a chance to read the latest books from Justine Saracen, Robbi McCoy, Ruth Perkinson or Amy Dawson Robertson.....YET.  I'd be willing to bet they would knock some books off of my list, but I'll have to see.

So, for what it's worth, here they are. 

1.  Shaken and Stirred by Joan Opyr tied with 
     Beyond Instinct by Lynn Ames and you couldn't
           find two books more different.
3.  The Indelible Heart by Marianne Martin
4.  After the Fall by Robin Summers
5.  The Wedding Party by Tracey Richardson
6.  Open Water by Pol Robinson
7.  Like Lovers Do by Lori Lake
8.  My Soldier Too by Bev Prescott
9.  The Girls Club by Sally Bellrose
10.  If the Wind Were a Woman by Kelly Sinclair
11.  Confined Spaces by Renee MacKenzie

Like Lovers Do by Lori Lake

Publisher:           Regal Crest Enterprises

It's been a while since Lori Lake had a new book, but she's returned with a very well written romance.  Lake is an experienced writer and she shows that in Like Lovers Do.

There is more to Kennie McClain than meets the eye.  The casual observer would see a woman who works security in an apartment building and does a little maintenance work in exchange for a small apartment.  What the tenants don't know is that Kennie owns the building.  Although she is friendly, she prefers to keep to herself as she mourns the death of her partner three years before.  Lily Gordon and Max Wallington change all of that.  Lily is a beautiful and famous painter who brings out feelings in Kennie that she wishes she did not have.  Kennie doesn't want to hurt anymore and Lily has a lover who is a real problem, especially because she is a police officer.  Max is a homeless teenager that Kennie saves from a beating in back of her building one day and then allows to move in with her.  For her good Samaritan deed, Kennie finds herself hosting a group of abandoned teenagers and in danger.  All of these new friends are going to open Kennie up to possibilities she had never considered.

Like Lovers Do on the surface is a routine romance.  Two women meet and struggle to have a relationship.  What raises this book above the crowd however is how the book is developed.  Lake is able to reveal a lot about her characters with a few words, so she has more room for a richer story.  Sometimes it's easy to read a book and feel that the characters are flat.  That does not happen here.  Kennie is a particularly appealing person.  Her motivations are easy to understand and her emotions totally realistic.  Her sadness over her partner's death and her sense of betrayal by Lily's behavior radiate off of the pages.  Max is vibrant, vulnerable and the kind of friend Kennie needs.  She opens Kennie up to introspection and a deeper understanding of what she can do for other people.  Lily is exasperating because she won't admit what is wrong with her girlfriend and their relationship, but the reader can relate to that because Lily knows just how hurtful her behavior is for Kennie, yet cannot seem to change it.  Many will recognize similar experiences.  The only character that remains a puzzle is Lily's girl friend PJ.  Even then she remains realistic because she alternates between someone the reader can dislike and admire.

There is another story in this book.  Many gay people find themselves building families of "choice."  In a sometimes hostile world where rejection by family and society is common, they choose who to be close to, share confidences with, join with at holidays and where to place their trust.  These groups may be only gay or a mixture of gay and straight, but their importance is that they supply the support and nurturing that do not come from blood relations.  Kennie creates her family from the people at the Allen Arms.  Lake shows how this dynamic works by contrasting those people with the behavior of Kennie's sister and brother.  The message comes out very clearly that love comes in many forms and not always from the places that most people would expect.

Like Lovers Do is an enjoyable book to read, with intriguing characters and an interesting story.  It's good to see Lori Lake return with such a well written book.

Snow Moon Rising by Lori Lake

Publisher:              Regal Crest Enterprises


WARNING - If you are interested in this book because you are looking for a lesbian romance to read, this is not the Lori Lake book for you. And, if you let that be the reason you don't read it, you will be the poorer for it. Lake has crafted an epic work that deals with one of the most tragic periods in recent times, yet there is a warmth to the story that keeps it from being heavy handed or depressing.

Mischka Gallo is a member of a Roma troupe that is traveling through Poland and Germany in the closing years of World War I when the story opens. The Roma are a despised minority that suffer from stereotypes and prejudice from people who call them "Gypsies." Inside the troupe however is a loving environment of family members and friends who care for each other deeply and live by the code of an ancient culture.

Into this stumbles Emil, a shell-shocked German soldier who has run from battle and wants nothing more than to put the killing behind him. As Emil is welcomed into the group he begins to learn how misunderstood these people are and he adopts this new lifestyle. Eventually, Emil introduces Mischka to his sister Pauline "Pippi" Stanek. Thus begins a friendship that will see the women through the rest of their lives. They know that they share a connection that isn't broken even when there are long separations.

Eventually, the world of the Roma is torn to pieces with the onset of World War II and the arrival of the perverted theories and practices of the Nazis. Mischka will end up in a forced labor camp as a prisoner where she is reunited with Pippi who has been ordered to report there as a supervisor. The women will struggle to survive and defeat the brutality of their captors in any way they can. The end of the war will find them separated again until they reunite years later in the US and discover that their relationship may be one of much more than friendship.
 
Lake has done a masterful job in creating the atmospheres of the different periods in the book. The life in the Roma camp is warm and funny, with strong friendships and passionate loves. Lake paints a terrific picture of Roma culture for anyone who is not familiar with it. The most wrenching scenes come when Mischka is captured by the Nazis, shipped in a crowded railroad car to the work camp and then experiences the events in the camp. For anyone who is not familiar with what happened in these places, the descriptions are harrowing and accurate. Lake's attention to detail makes this book rich with information. Yet the book is not heavy handed or depressing. There are sad scenes, but the warmth of the people and the strength of the relationship between Mischka and Pippi carries the reader past those.

This is not a "typical" lesbian novel. There are no passionate love scenes or women chasing after each other. There hasn't been a lot of talk about the book on the lesbian fiction sites and that's unfortunate. People are missing an excellent opportunity if they are skipping over this book. This is a story of family, friendship, tradition and the evil that humans can do to each other. While the reader enjoys a good story, there is also a great history lesson being taught. That's the best way to do it. 

Snow Moon Rising should be on everyone's must read list.