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Building Character
Fen Marshal believes in living her life exactly as she pleases. She's a writer and a womanizer who has her fun and walks away before anyone has a chance to want more from her. It's not part of her plan to fall victim to obsessive lust, and as for love, well that just never enters the equation.
But Ruby is the woman is the woman of Fen's dreams - literally. Fen finds herself attracted and obsessed - besotted - with a particularly delicious character from one of her own noir fiction novels.
It's an obsession that brings Ruby to life - somehow, who cares how? Fen doesn't. Fen just wants to love this creature she's manifested through the pure strength of her imagination.
There's only one problem. Ruby is not a nice character.
Yes, she's beautiful. But she's also ruthless, possesses no heart or soul and doesn't bleed.
She may just be the worst mistake Fen's ever made.
But Ruby is the woman is the woman of Fen's dreams - literally. Fen finds herself attracted and obsessed - besotted - with a particularly delicious character from one of her own noir fiction novels.
It's an obsession that brings Ruby to life - somehow, who cares how? Fen doesn't. Fen just wants to love this creature she's manifested through the pure strength of her imagination.
There's only one problem. Ruby is not a nice character.
Yes, she's beautiful. But she's also ruthless, possesses no heart or soul and doesn't bleed.
She may just be the worst mistake Fen's ever made.
- GenresLesbian
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
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158 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 2, 2012
Successful author, Fen Marshall, lives her life for number one, herself. Fen is a womanizer, a love them and leave them type. Everything must be on her own terms and heaven help anyone who tries to get close to Fen in any way, she won’t let them at any price. However, Fen comes unstuck when she falls head over heels in lust with Ruby.
Ruby is the woman of Fen’s imagination, of her dreams. Fen is totally obsessed and besotted with Ruby. The only trouble is........Ruby is a character right from the pages of one of Fen’s noir fiction novels.
Ruby has been brought to life, in the flesh by Fen’s obsession. How could that happen? Don’t even ask, but it does. Fen decides she doesn’t care, as long as she can have Ruby.
Entangled amongst the Fen/Ruby liaison is stalker Marissa. Marissa had set her sights on Fen, only to find Fen is not interested. So she sets about stalking her. But Marissa doesn’t bargain on Ruby. Ruby will never let go of what is hers. And Fen is most definitely hers. Who wins? Ruby or Marissa?
Unfortunately for Fen, Ruby is not nice. Not in the least. There is something cold and calculating about her. But has Fen realized this too late?
Ruby may be voluptuous and gorgeous, but she has no heart and soul, no blood either for that matter. Has Fen just made a huge error of judgement in creating Ruby? If she has, how on earth does she get rid of her without harming herself?
When I opened this book, I had no idea what to expect. The synopsis seemed strange, yet attracted me to the book. From the very first page, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to put this book down.
Fen herself, isn’t a very nice person. Yet I was drawn to her character. There was just something about her that intrigued me. Ruby seems to be somehow a part of Fen’s inner self. As the story progresses, Fen begins to see what she’s created in Ruby and tries to rid herself of her. But Fen is being sucked dry by Ruby. It begins to look as though to get rid of Ruby, Fen will end up destroying herself. Maybe.
This book is certainly different from any other I’ve read. It is a page turner from the first page through to the last. The book is full of twists and turns throughout. All the characters interact well together and are essential to moving the story forward to a dramatic conclusion. Plus there are some very passionate sex scenes, always a bonus. Kate Genet has proved herself time and again to be an excellent storyteller. This book is one of her best ever.
Just one negative point I’d make, the book could do with another thorough edit. Having said this, the typos didn’t spoil the story in any way. This is a definite re-read for me.
Ruby is the woman of Fen’s imagination, of her dreams. Fen is totally obsessed and besotted with Ruby. The only trouble is........Ruby is a character right from the pages of one of Fen’s noir fiction novels.
Ruby has been brought to life, in the flesh by Fen’s obsession. How could that happen? Don’t even ask, but it does. Fen decides she doesn’t care, as long as she can have Ruby.
Entangled amongst the Fen/Ruby liaison is stalker Marissa. Marissa had set her sights on Fen, only to find Fen is not interested. So she sets about stalking her. But Marissa doesn’t bargain on Ruby. Ruby will never let go of what is hers. And Fen is most definitely hers. Who wins? Ruby or Marissa?
Unfortunately for Fen, Ruby is not nice. Not in the least. There is something cold and calculating about her. But has Fen realized this too late?
Ruby may be voluptuous and gorgeous, but she has no heart and soul, no blood either for that matter. Has Fen just made a huge error of judgement in creating Ruby? If she has, how on earth does she get rid of her without harming herself?
When I opened this book, I had no idea what to expect. The synopsis seemed strange, yet attracted me to the book. From the very first page, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to put this book down.
Fen herself, isn’t a very nice person. Yet I was drawn to her character. There was just something about her that intrigued me. Ruby seems to be somehow a part of Fen’s inner self. As the story progresses, Fen begins to see what she’s created in Ruby and tries to rid herself of her. But Fen is being sucked dry by Ruby. It begins to look as though to get rid of Ruby, Fen will end up destroying herself. Maybe.
This book is certainly different from any other I’ve read. It is a page turner from the first page through to the last. The book is full of twists and turns throughout. All the characters interact well together and are essential to moving the story forward to a dramatic conclusion. Plus there are some very passionate sex scenes, always a bonus. Kate Genet has proved herself time and again to be an excellent storyteller. This book is one of her best ever.
Just one negative point I’d make, the book could do with another thorough edit. Having said this, the typos didn’t spoil the story in any way. This is a definite re-read for me.
August 10, 2012
This book just wasn't for me, and i struggled to finish it. I've loved everything else from Kate Genet and the story of a reclusive writer and her strong imagination sounded appealing. But it didn't live up to my expectations for the 2 reasons listed below.
1. Spending a lot of time with people you don't like.
The main character, Fen, is a reclusive selfish author. We don't get to see any redeeming qualities, we dont get to like her, which is a shame, i tend to like recluses. She unknowingly, through strong imagination and desire, brings one of her book's characters to life. That brings our other main character into the picture, Ruby. Ruby is ruthless and rather evil. So we spend a good deal of time with two characters that aren't really likable. Sure, they have a lot of sex, but there isn't an ounce of romance in this book. I agree that there is a good moral beneath this story, but it was a long painful way to get there. Others liked this book, so keep in mind this is just my opinion. you might like a book about sex between two shallow people and it's consequences. I didn't.
2. Inconsistent writing style and poor editing.
The thing that bugged me the most though, was the poor editing. That usually isn't a problem in her other books, so it caught me off guard. a lot of typos like 'one' instead of 'on', and 'her' instead of 'here', also things that spell-check would have caught, like the fact that 'flied' isn't a word. those are small things, but i was really bogged down by the long sentences containing sentences (within parenthesis) or - hyphens -. The odd thing is how it varied, there would be chapters in a row that were clear and flowed well, then it was as if Ruby took over and started writing. An editor would have helped here.
The plot alone would have gotten an 'ok' from me, if it weren't compounded by the 'ok' editing. Together though, they made this book less than ok for me.
1. Spending a lot of time with people you don't like.
The main character, Fen, is a reclusive selfish author. We don't get to see any redeeming qualities, we dont get to like her, which is a shame, i tend to like recluses. She unknowingly, through strong imagination and desire, brings one of her book's characters to life. That brings our other main character into the picture, Ruby. Ruby is ruthless and rather evil. So we spend a good deal of time with two characters that aren't really likable. Sure, they have a lot of sex, but there isn't an ounce of romance in this book. I agree that there is a good moral beneath this story, but it was a long painful way to get there. Others liked this book, so keep in mind this is just my opinion. you might like a book about sex between two shallow people and it's consequences. I didn't.
2. Inconsistent writing style and poor editing.
The thing that bugged me the most though, was the poor editing. That usually isn't a problem in her other books, so it caught me off guard. a lot of typos like 'one' instead of 'on', and 'her' instead of 'here', also things that spell-check would have caught, like the fact that 'flied' isn't a word. those are small things, but i was really bogged down by the long sentences containing sentences (within parenthesis) or - hyphens -. The odd thing is how it varied, there would be chapters in a row that were clear and flowed well, then it was as if Ruby took over and started writing. An editor would have helped here.
The plot alone would have gotten an 'ok' from me, if it weren't compounded by the 'ok' editing. Together though, they made this book less than ok for me.
October 25, 2017
Wow! That wasn't what I expected at all. It was like Fight Club except for the lesbians, the writer and no fighting... actually, not fight club at all. Fen has so many unlikeable traits that I'm not sure why I liked her but I found I did. Great read.
September 11, 2013
In Building Character by Kate Genet, Fen Marshal is a successful author and a bit of an eccentric recluse who interacts with people solely at her own convenience. In her current work she creates a character that mesmerizes her to such a degree that the creation steps out from her mind and into the physical world - just as Fen has envisioned her: blonde, buxom, sexy, ruthless, and wild. Ruby, the manifested, starts out as a wonderful sex partner for Fen, but Ruby is not content to simply be a toy and soon starts to exert control over the relationship. What begins as a wonderful sex fantasy soon begins to slide towards horror as Ruby interacts and seeks to control Fen's world.
I really like the premise of the novel and had hoped that the story would be promising. Mm… well… I think that the story could have been really good, but I feel like the author published with little to no editing. Indeed, the text is competent, but filled with spelling errors and the writing is uneven. The story is told from the point-of-view of various characters, some of whom are fairly one dimensional. So, whereas the narration might flesh out the character, instead you end with a lot of repetition. Overall, I feel that the potential that was dangling from the limb of the tree of Wow, while visible, remains unplucked.
There is a lot of explicit sex in this novel - vivid descriptions of intimate interactions. Heck! That’s one of the reasons why I chose to read the novel. Once again, the scenes were done competently - the scenes often advanced an understanding of a character. Frankly though, I found some scenes to be a little boring. Okay… Sex is not always magical, but it sure as hell should be when you are reading about it. I’m still trying to understand what ingredients are required to make it magical. Detailed flow diagrams of each physical touch from arousal to release, however, does not seem to work. On the other hand, I found that sex scenes which included a power struggle of some sort to be more effective - a sprinkling of D/s always adds a little flavor. More generally, I think perhaps, it is necessary for there to be a moment of discovery during the arousal in order for the reader to connect.
I believe that I would consider reading more stories by Kate Genet, but I may need a solid, creative, unique premise to inspire me.
I really like the premise of the novel and had hoped that the story would be promising. Mm… well… I think that the story could have been really good, but I feel like the author published with little to no editing. Indeed, the text is competent, but filled with spelling errors and the writing is uneven. The story is told from the point-of-view of various characters, some of whom are fairly one dimensional. So, whereas the narration might flesh out the character, instead you end with a lot of repetition. Overall, I feel that the potential that was dangling from the limb of the tree of Wow, while visible, remains unplucked.
There is a lot of explicit sex in this novel - vivid descriptions of intimate interactions. Heck! That’s one of the reasons why I chose to read the novel. Once again, the scenes were done competently - the scenes often advanced an understanding of a character. Frankly though, I found some scenes to be a little boring. Okay… Sex is not always magical, but it sure as hell should be when you are reading about it. I’m still trying to understand what ingredients are required to make it magical. Detailed flow diagrams of each physical touch from arousal to release, however, does not seem to work. On the other hand, I found that sex scenes which included a power struggle of some sort to be more effective - a sprinkling of D/s always adds a little flavor. More generally, I think perhaps, it is necessary for there to be a moment of discovery during the arousal in order for the reader to connect.
I believe that I would consider reading more stories by Kate Genet, but I may need a solid, creative, unique premise to inspire me.
November 9, 2013
This was great fun to read - a clever, sexy, scary, funny, suspenseful noir novel. Terrific setup, having a figment of the imagination (an incredible femme fatale) become real.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews