From Bella to Ylva

Reviews of all sorts of Lesbian (and Lesbian Adjacent) Fiction. And possibly some Non-Fiction.

[frombellatoylva]

Is Anyone Out There?

I don’t know if people are still coming here or not. Life has been. Life.

I have a new place that I’m posting my reviews. This will be old and new, Lesbian and non-Lesbian reviews. Eventually (hopefully) it will eventually be one place where all the reviews I’ve done are (I have over 2500, some in digital format, others not).

https://incurabletsundoku.wordpress.com

I would love it if those who come to this page go there instead. (C’mon, ya gotta admit it’s a cool title... :))

But, I’m also realistic. I’m not a big name, never have been, never will be. So. If these last two years have taught me anything it’s that, whatever will be -- will be, and there’s literally nothing that can be done about that.

[frombellatoylva]

Recipe for Love

Hannah is a smallish farm owner (her farm grows a lot of different stuff and even has orchards). Drew is the new head chef of the town's new 'farm to table' restaurant 'Fig'. Hannah has a contract with Fig (she grew up as friends with the owner of Fig) and when Drew gets sent during her interview to collect ingredients from the farm and is in her interview clothes Hannah assumes she's a fancy restaurant chef and so the two women get off on quite the wrong food (a dirty muddy one). But, cine Drew is the chef and Hannah the provider of veggies, they have to work together and so they start getting closer. Of course, there are a couple of big twists that happen during the book too. It would be a boring read with those in the story. I liked most of the characters from the beginning. Excpet for Hannah. I did slowly warm to her a bit more, but, at the beginning-- very n ot so much. I also sort of wish that there'd been more with Clare, Hannah's younger sister, she was such a vibrant character and I would love to know more about her and her burgeoning social media/marketing empire. It was an interesting and fun novel and I definitely liked the food stuff that was in it. Yum. I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books.

[frombellatoylva]

Love’s Portrait

This book pulled me in so amazingly fast I'm pretty sure I got reading whiplash. It was awesome (except for Evelyn, I would like to flatten her nose a couple of times in rapid succession, although, I think that that was the purpose of the character). It's the story of Molly and Georgina. Molly is an art curator who is passionate about her job and about diversifying the museum where she works for's collection. And when Georgina's father dies she is put in charge of a foundation that sometimes supports the museum. Also, she has to pack up her father's house, which is near the museum. She comes to a painting that is neither going to the museum with her father's other art, or willed to her, and so she enlist's Molly's help (through the entirely unpleasent director of the museum, Evelyn) to find out who painted the portrait of Georgina's ancestor and why. Needless to say, they get closer as they work together to solve the painting's mystery, but, they both have issues (of different sorts) and so the question is, can they overcome their pasts to enjoy their present and future? What was most impressive about this novel was the emotion throughout the book, the whole novel seemed to vibrate with all sorts of different emotions. Especially the stuff that was set in the 1800s, which I loved. It was an amazing book, complex and compelling. I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books.

[frombellatoylva]

Love on Lavender Lane

Okay. I have to get something out of the way before the review. I don't like Lavender. It's nothing personal against the pretty plant, but, the smell gives me a helluva headache. The book, on the other hand, did not give me a headache. It's about Paige and Kassidy. Paige is a corporate consultant. She comes into a business and sees ways to improve it. One of her clients gives her services as a birthday present (sort of) to his daughter. That's Kassidy. Kassidy owns a Lavender farm that is doing okay, but, not so okay that she's rolling in money. So, Paige and her very cute dog Dante travel to the farm and try to convince Kassidy to let Paige do her magic and make Kassidy's farm even better. Of course, at the same time the two women are getting closer personally as well, and that makes everything complicated. I liked a lot of the book and the story. I really liked Dante too. And I wish that we'd gotten to see just a bit more of Kipper. But, the end seemed a little rushed to me, and I felt like there were a couple of story threads that sorta got lost at the end too. Overall, though, it was a fun and fast read and I didn't have to smell lavender! I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books.

[frombellatoylva]

Returning Tides (Provincetown Tales #6)

Ash is back. The hurricane destroyed a lot of Provincetown and Ash's insurance company happens to insure quite a bit of the Cape and so not only do Ash and Allie meet again (they had a horrible break up in a previous book), but Reese pairs them together, making Allie the department liaison to Ash. That goes about as well as one would assume. But, they do start slowly working together. That is shot all to hell, though, when there's a sudden rash of break-ins and such. Someone in Provincetown is being stalked. And honestly I had no earthly idea who the target was for the longest time. And then there was one twist after another and it was most definitely quite the thriller as well as being a nice bunch of romance stories. I feel like this is a short review for a great book, but, it was a book filled with twists that I didn't see coming (and I've probably read way more thrillers than I should and generally see it all coming). It was a helluva ride and it's a bummer that to this point there's only one book left in the series.

[frombellatoylva]

Comrade Cowgirl

Laramie's brother just got hurt and the medical bills for her family are gonna be really big. She has just recently gotten a job offer to go to a small town in Russia though and help a Russian cattle ranch become better and be run better than it has been being run. Laramie doesn't speak Russian and for the most part the Russian ranch hands don't speak too much English and so a translator is brought in as well. Enter Ana. She has quite the past and was an interesting character (as was Laramie). They grow closer, but, they're both in Russia where (as the characters keep saying) being gay is illegal, and so their relationship may be dead on arrival before it has even started. At the beginning I had a thought about where the plot could go on one specific point, and I just cracked up with happiness when I turned out to be right. It was awesome. The characters were all so unique and cool too. From Shorty to Vlad, and everyone in between. My only real problem with the novel was that some of the ending just seemed too pat and too easy for the characters (from an 'everything works out like a perfect puzzle' point of view). I just wish that the end here had been a little messier. But, overall it was a fun read and something new that I don't think I've read yet (anything mostly set in Russia). I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books.

[frombellatoylva]

The Do-Over

Heh, so, it always seems like Beers takes a different look at a fic trope than I've ever thought about. It's nice. In this one, Bella is a therapist and teaching her first corporate class on conflict resolution. Easton has started a new job with her company in a new place and is sent with her fellow department heads to take the class from Bella. When Easton walks in we learn something else about Bella too. She knows Easton because when they were both in high school Easton and her friends made Bella's life a living hell. But at the same time Bella finds herself also being drawn to Easton. And Easton likes Bella right back, but doesn't seem to remember the hell she put Bella through. It was a fun read. During the past high school scenes were visceral for sure and as I said above, it was an interesting different look at the enemies to lovers trope. Another good and very readable Georgia Beers novels. I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books.

[frombellatoylva]

A Simple Favor (Movie)

Honestly, I simply went into this with one thought, (okay, three technically, but they all connect). Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick and some supposed lesbian action. I think that I'll watch some bad movies for all three of those reasons (it's a weakness). This was most definitely not bad, it was pretty interesting actually, and half the time I had no clue what in the world was going on. At its core it's a story about Emily and Stephanie. Emily is a rich, fasionable woman with a son, Nicky. Stephanie is a single Mom who has a vlog (do people still have vlogs?) and a son named Miles. She and Em get thrown together when their two boys become friends. They are different as differetn can be-- or are they? Once they start to become friends it gets even more super twisty when Emily goes missing. And then it's just a ride to the end (I will say I didn't 100% love the ending, maybe 80%, but I definitely liked how it ended compared to how it was going to end as seen in the extras). The first thing that comes to mind when I think on this movie is the amazing chemistry between the two female leads. Blake Lively (I think that the last thing I saw her in was Private Lives of Pippa Lee), and Anna Kendrick chemistry jumped off the screen and astounded me. The second thing that came to mind was the character of Emily's clothes. Holy crap. They were amazing, blew my mind out past Pluto. Awesome (and seeing the extra about the costume choice made it even better). It was a crazy movie and while (of course) I wish it had had more of certain things, it was a wild ride of a movie.

[frombellatoylva]

Winds of Fortune (Provincetown Tales #5)

Provincetown, oh how I've missed you. (Okay, not really, I'm weirdly reading these pretty much one after another with some Lisa Yee DC Super Hero High in between). This time it's Nita, Tory's 'new' Doctor at the clinic and Deo, a contractor in town and Pia's cousin. Both Deo and Nita have baggage that has to do with their families and are both very skittish when it comes to relationships (for slightly different reasons). Oh, and then add in Aliie and this book is quite a twisty mess sometimes. Also, Reese and Tory have a story that has to do with the aftermath of Reese going to war in the middle east. And then there's the end. Holy crap. I've only been through what happened to everyone at the end a couple of times, but, just thinking about how it would be at the very tip of the Cape in Provincetown, and then reading how Radclyffe described it gives me the super shudders. Yeesh. I think this was nearly my favorite book of the series yet. And I can't wait to read Returning Tides.

[frombellatoylva]

Storms of Change (Provincetown Tales #4)

Like previous books this takes the world of the previous three books and layers some more on top of the already in motion lives of lesbians in Provincetown, MA. This time it's the story of Rica and Carter. Rica is a State police Detective who happens to be undercover trying to get close to Rica and take down her father. So, awkward? In all seriousness, Carter finds herself falling in actual love with Rica. Meanwhile Rica is doing the same with Carter, but has her own problems, both interanally and externally. Meanwhile there's more with Reese, Reggie, and Tory. The Marine stuff comes to a head of sorts(or the start of the end of the Marine stuff). and there's war in the middle east. That stuff was almost like a thriller sort of feel since we only got one side of everything for most of that story. It was much more intense than I thought it would be too. It was a nice addition to the series I liked where it took the story and I look foward to where the story goes in book five.

[frombellatoylva]

Distant Shores, Silent Thunder (Provincetown Tales #3)

More with the Radclyffe created characters of Provincetown Massachusetts. There's lots more with Reese and Tory (and their newest addition), as well as some more with Bri, Allie and Caroline. And a new story with KT (yep, Tory's former KT) and a Physical/Occupational therapist named Pia. KT comes to work at Tory's clinic and that brings some tension. And she's just been through some horrible horrible stuff, and has to see Pia in professional capacity. But, can they be more too? There's also a case that Reese, Allie, and Bri (and Nelson) are on. This time the case of drug parties and those who go to them, and those who sell drugs at them. Also, Bri is trying to go for her black belt. As usual, even though there are a lot of things going on, it all weaves pretty well together, both telling a compelling story as well as setting up the next one too. I wasn't totally psyched when I read the name KT in the text, but, I have to say that for the most part the journey with her during the book was pretty goo, and I didn't hate her as much by the end of the novel.

[frombellatoylva]

Beyond the Breakwater (Provincetown Town Tales #2)

More with Tory and Reese is what most of this novel was about. Their relationship is continuing, and they've decided to have a child. Of course, as Reese is the protective sort, that sends her to another level of protectiveness. Oh, and add to that the fact that she too has quite the hard novel storywise in this one (yikes, scary). And then there's the Brianna stories. She is becoming a Sheriff officer like her father (awkward) and Reese. And that also means becoming a part of the Provincetown Sheriff's department. Oh, and then there was her personal life story too. Holy crap that was twisty and turney to the max. There were some other new characters introduced like Aliie, a fellow student of Bri's, and Ashley, a PI that's working on the mini-mystery that appears in the story. And then there was the KT stuff. At first I was definitely in the triple ugh camp about KT, but she sort grew on my just a teeny little bit by the end of the story. As did Kate and Jean, although I liked them a lot more by the end. And, I'm also interested to see what happens next with Reese's father and their relationship.

[frombellatoylva]

Safe Harbor (Provincetown Tales #1)

I've read one of the books towards the end of this series, and so I thought that I'd actually read the series in the proper order too. It starts with Reese, a new Deputy Sheriff in Provincetown. She meets Tory, the only Doctor in town, soon after the novel starts. They have an interesting start to their relationship and there was also a lot of back and forth after they slowly got closer to one another. There's also the character of Bri. The Sheriff's (and Reese's boss) daughter. That was intense. There was sort of a mystery there, as well as a bunch of punks who were possibly gay bashing. There were lots of stories that were woven together so well to make an awesome tapestry that was this novel. And I am so glad that there are more books in this series.

[frombellatoylva]

Major Surgery

I was given this ARC by the publisher in exchange for an Honest Review. I know that this wasn't exactly a Holby City story. And, actually, I quite liked the characters in this story much much more than a lot of the characters that I've seen in the clips of Holby City. But, still, I definitely pictured that hospital while I read this book. As I said, though, this novel is so much better than what happened on the show. Cassie is a former Army Major and her entrance into the story was one of my favorite parts of the novel. She's a Trauma Surgeon and up for Head of Trauma. Veronica is the head of AMU and a general surgeon, although at the start of the novel she feels like she's more a pure administrative person every day. Then Cassie enters the scene and both their lives are changed so much as they get closer and closer. Oh, and then there's a doozy of a subplot. Who's trying to take down Cassie and why. That one kept me guessing just enough to make it enjoyable too. There was a bit more American bashing here and there than I like to see (Actually, pretty much all ERs and EDs in the United States can't just turn down a person in distress and that's why so many of the city ones are in such dire financial straits because they do serve you no matter if you have insurance or not). Thankfully, that sort of thing was just thrown in there by the characters here and there and wasn't a constant thing the characters were harping on. It was a fun book, and a thoroughly enjoyable read.

[frombellatoylva]

Without Pretense

This starts in Tanglewood. Amazing. I mean, it's the perfect way to start for the book, but, just, personally, I loved the descriptions of Tanglewood and that it started there in the first place. Nerdy fun! The novel isn't technically about Tanglewood though, but, Ava and Bianca. Ava is a world class violinist. Her manger has hired a writer to write Ava's bio (but didn't tell Ava). Bianca is that writer. Except, that's not the first time that they meet in the book (which was awesome, loved that part/scene). It's bumpy at the beginning and then they seem to go all in with each other really fast, and then it's even bumpier for the two of them near the end too. It was definitely a ride of a story. I liked most of the characters (glad we didn't have to see much of Hank and I wish there'd been more of Lara) I did also feel like at a couple of places in the book I missed some story connective tissue or something, and I had to go back and read a couple of passages again to make sure I hadn't inadvertently skimmed paragraphs or something (I hadn't). It was a fun story though, and a fast read too. And I really really loved the violin parts (I remember playing a 1/16th, a 1/8th, and a quarter-sized violin in my youth. And then graduating to the full size and being so damn proud, so, that hit a chord). I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books.

[frombellatoylva]

Listen

Lily is a former music prodigy who didn't have a great time at the end of her childhood spanning career and got as far as she could away from music in adulthood, becoming an actuary. She meets Hope first, ironically, through Hope's music, Claire de Lune, specifically. Hope is the founder and force for The Leading Note, an organization that gives free music lessons and music therapy sessions to kids in the city of Chicago. The problem with them meeting is that while Lily falls easily for Hope, it's much harder for her to reestablish her relationship with music. I liked how the relationship between the two women was approached. It was very nuanced and the ebb and flow felt very real. But, my favorite part of the book was definitely the music. A lot of the classical stuff I knew and could hear in my head when it was mentioned. (I do really really wish that I knew what Lily's composition was supposed to sound like). It was a fun read, and I even wish we'd had more time with the two women and their lives post novel. I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books.

[frombellatoylva]

A Chapter on Love

Jannika is the manager of a local book store in New Hampshire. She supposedly has a special ability to match readers with the perfect books. But, she's not great with pairing herself with women. Lee was a camp counselor of Jannika's 18 years previous and when Lee moves to New Hampshire from Maine they meet again when Lee is brought to the bookstore to participate in a book group. They're both older and single. Although they do both also have baggage because of previous relationships and both are still healing. They're reunited and slowly start falling for each other. Not quite continuing from when they were at camp, because thankfully nothing happened between the twenty-four-year-old and the 17-year-old in the past. I do wish that we'd had more of Lee and Jannika's time at summer camp. There was one time when we went back to that time instead of just hearing about it in a third-hand way, and if they'd actually 'gone' to the past a little more it would have been awesome. It was a fun book. Lots of library talk and tons of good New Hampshire/Maine stuff too! I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books.