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Christabel
Deeper than the city streets, the subways, even the dry riverbeds that no longer flow, are the roots of a tree that remembers love and tragedy...
Financier Dina Rowland's assignment is to make fashion designer Leo Goranson a lot of money. But the more she knows of him, the more repugnant his personal life is to her. Not the least inconsequential is his unbreakable hold on his greatest supermodel Christabel. One touch and the power--and responsibility--of Dina's long-hidden heritage threatens to crumble the careful plans she has made for her life.
Christa knows there is no escaping her tormentor, but she has a plan to deny him what he ultimately wants from her. The past can't be changed. Having long accepted her fate she is unprepared for the wild feelings that Dina's eyes arouse in her. There is passion, certainly, but also the rarest feeling of all to hope.
Financier Dina Rowland's assignment is to make fashion designer Leo Goranson a lot of money. But the more she knows of him, the more repugnant his personal life is to her. Not the least inconsequential is his unbreakable hold on his greatest supermodel Christabel. One touch and the power--and responsibility--of Dina's long-hidden heritage threatens to crumble the careful plans she has made for her life.
Christa knows there is no escaping her tormentor, but she has a plan to deny him what he ultimately wants from her. The past can't be changed. Having long accepted her fate she is unprepared for the wild feelings that Dina's eyes arouse in her. There is passion, certainly, but also the rarest feeling of all to hope.
196 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
19 people are currently reading
254 people want to read
About the author
Karin Kallmaker
81 books708 followersKarin Kallmaker has been exclusively devoted to lesbian fiction since the publication of her first novel in 1989. As an author published by the storied Naiad Press, she worked with Barbara Grier and Donna McBride, and has been fortunate to be mentored by a number of editors, including Katherine V. Forrest.
In addition to multiple Lambda Literary Awards, she has been featured as a Stonewall Library and Archives Distinguished Author. Other accolades include the Ann Bannon Popular Choice and other awards for her writing, as well as the selection as a Trailblazer by the Golden Crown Literary Society. She is best known for novels such as Painted Moon, Simply the Best, Touchwood, The Kiss that Counted and Captain of Industry.
The California native is the mother of two and lives with her wife in the Bay Area. You can catch her blogs at Romance and Chocolate: https://kallmaker.com/blog/. Find her on social media by searching for "Kallmaker" - there's only one.
In addition to multiple Lambda Literary Awards, she has been featured as a Stonewall Library and Archives Distinguished Author. Other accolades include the Ann Bannon Popular Choice and other awards for her writing, as well as the selection as a Trailblazer by the Golden Crown Literary Society. She is best known for novels such as Painted Moon, Simply the Best, Touchwood, The Kiss that Counted and Captain of Industry.
The California native is the mother of two and lives with her wife in the Bay Area. You can catch her blogs at Romance and Chocolate: https://kallmaker.com/blog/. Find her on social media by searching for "Kallmaker" - there's only one.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
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August 11, 2018I have no clue how to rate this one, so I'm not going to.
It's excellent—very well plotted and written, full of passion and offering an interesting and compelling interpretation of Coleridge's poem.
On the other hand, while I respect the book tremendously, I don't think it was for me. It stressed me out so much that I didn't enjoy reading chunks of it. The epilogue made up for a lot of that and left me happy, but overall I doubt I'll read this one again. If you like darker reads than me, you'll probably enjoy the hell out of this one.
It's excellent—very well plotted and written, full of passion and offering an interesting and compelling interpretation of Coleridge's poem.
On the other hand, while I respect the book tremendously, I don't think it was for me. It stressed me out so much that I didn't enjoy reading chunks of it. The epilogue made up for a lot of that and left me happy, but overall I doubt I'll read this one again. If you like darker reads than me, you'll probably enjoy the hell out of this one.
October 15, 2020
This is more of a two and a half stars, but I thought I'd round up. It's an enjoyable book--very suspenseful even when all that's happening at first is two women meeting each other. And the characters are all very interesting, with the two (four?) leads being likeable.
My issues with it:
-The whole thing with Dina being magic because she's descended from mixed-race Manhattan-Norwegian ancestors is pretty skeevy. The magic/spiritual aspects of this book in general seemed pretty skeevy to me (I suppose part of it probably draws from real Native American mythology, but I always kind of side-eye magical Native Americans in books by white authors).
-Puritans descending into burning everyone they dislike also feels kind of stereotypical. Not that there were no witch hunts in America, but the Salem witch trials weren't exactly a common phenomenon.
-It's really unclear even at the end whether Dina and Christabel are reincarnations of OG Christabel and Rahdonee or just descendants or what.
So this is kind of the rare book where I would like it better if magic were left out of it and it were just about Christabel wanting to escape an abusive relationship. Unfortunately that would eliminate maybe 70% of the book, so... oh well?
My issues with it:
-The whole thing with Dina being magic because she's descended from mixed-race Manhattan-Norwegian ancestors is pretty skeevy. The magic/spiritual aspects of this book in general seemed pretty skeevy to me (I suppose part of it probably draws from real Native American mythology, but I always kind of side-eye magical Native Americans in books by white authors).
-Puritans descending into burning everyone they dislike also feels kind of stereotypical. Not that there were no witch hunts in America, but the Salem witch trials weren't exactly a common phenomenon.
-It's really unclear even at the end whether Dina and Christabel are reincarnations of OG Christabel and Rahdonee or just descendants or what.
So this is kind of the rare book where I would like it better if magic were left out of it and it were just about Christabel wanting to escape an abusive relationship. Unfortunately that would eliminate maybe 70% of the book, so... oh well?
August 14, 2018
This review is done after I read the book some time ago. Christabel is a rather good book, and the story was rather readable for most parts. The relationship between the main characters was done very decently but at many times, the story was heavy-going because the relationship and all the problems do span different life times.
The connection between Christabel and Dina was handled quite well with all its complexities. Leo Goranson was a real piece of work and his characterisation was spot on because I really hated him, so kudos to the author for that.
Overall, this story was rather heavy-going for me and I generally don't mind that but the way the whole story was done was just not my cup of tea. It did make me want to quit reading at many points in the story but pressed on.
The connection between Christabel and Dina was handled quite well with all its complexities. Leo Goranson was a real piece of work and his characterisation was spot on because I really hated him, so kudos to the author for that.
Overall, this story was rather heavy-going for me and I generally don't mind that but the way the whole story was done was just not my cup of tea. It did make me want to quit reading at many points in the story but pressed on.
January 13, 2019
I really enjoyed this book and noticed it had mixed reviews. Most of the negative ones were from people who didn't read the description, OR were confused by the format of the story. The story consists of four separate timelines within the same plot, but the four characters merge into two, because it is the story of love over several lifetimes. I loved it and will read this book again!
I really enjoyed each character individually as well as all together, and the ending surprised me, which is somewhat unusual for this genre. Really sweet, really engaging! I recommend it!
I really enjoyed each character individually as well as all together, and the ending surprised me, which is somewhat unusual for this genre. Really sweet, really engaging! I recommend it!
November 2, 2016
I can't quite get my head around Karin Kallmaker.
Lesbian fiction is a genre I read a lot of, hence my familiarity with KK's work. But she is just so hard to predict! I wish the quality of her work had continuity. Sometimes I find myself amazed, giving 4/5 stars, and other times... meh. 2 stars, at best.
This read for me was just all over the place. Even though there were moments when I genuinely found myself interested, you'd expect that from any read, right? Regardless, these moments were overshadowed by the amount of times I found myself wishing the end was near, bored out of my mind.
The two protagonists are supposed to be long-lost soulmates for all eternity, in every life possible, even if reincarnated, blah blah blah etc. Yet I STILL wasn't convinced. I just didn't feel the chemistry. I read it, sure. But I just didn't feel it.
KK is very hit and miss.
This read was a 2 (maybe 2.5), but I know she's got some quality 4/5 star material published. This book won't put me off reading her other material.
Lesbian fiction is a genre I read a lot of, hence my familiarity with KK's work. But she is just so hard to predict! I wish the quality of her work had continuity. Sometimes I find myself amazed, giving 4/5 stars, and other times... meh. 2 stars, at best.
This read for me was just all over the place. Even though there were moments when I genuinely found myself interested, you'd expect that from any read, right? Regardless, these moments were overshadowed by the amount of times I found myself wishing the end was near, bored out of my mind.
The two protagonists are supposed to be long-lost soulmates for all eternity, in every life possible, even if reincarnated, blah blah blah etc. Yet I STILL wasn't convinced. I just didn't feel the chemistry. I read it, sure. But I just didn't feel it.
KK is very hit and miss.
This read was a 2 (maybe 2.5), but I know she's got some quality 4/5 star material published. This book won't put me off reading her other material.
January 6, 2011
My favorite KK story except the mermaid story in the Once Upon A Dyke anthology. Blame it on my darker leanings, but I think Kallmaker is at her best in her darker, more atmospheric stories. Fun. :)
June 27, 2017
My wife was ragging on me the other night. Why, she asked, do you continue reading a book you hate? She had been listening to me go on (and on) about how poor the writing was, how unbelievable the characters were, how overwrought the plotting was, etc., and she was asking a reasonable question. Why did I continue reading the damned thing?
I think some of it is a feeling that lesbian fiction should be taken seriously, should be read. Some of it was that in sixth grade, you only got a summer reading certificate based on all the books you actually finished reading. Some of it was that, as abysmal as this genre-lesbian-romance-fantasy was, I wanted to see how it all turned out.
So call me a compulsive reader, but any way you look at it, this book exemplifies pretty much everything you need to know about Bad Lesbian Fiction. Naiad Press worked hard, under editor Katherine V. Forrest, to perfect the genre, and this book is the fruit of those efforts. Congrats, KVF, your schlock lives on!
There are well-written, well-plotted, moving, excellent lesbian novels out there. This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, one of them. My advice: Escape while you still can. Do not read this dreck. Have a nice day.
I think some of it is a feeling that lesbian fiction should be taken seriously, should be read. Some of it was that in sixth grade, you only got a summer reading certificate based on all the books you actually finished reading. Some of it was that, as abysmal as this genre-lesbian-romance-fantasy was, I wanted to see how it all turned out.
So call me a compulsive reader, but any way you look at it, this book exemplifies pretty much everything you need to know about Bad Lesbian Fiction. Naiad Press worked hard, under editor Katherine V. Forrest, to perfect the genre, and this book is the fruit of those efforts. Congrats, KVF, your schlock lives on!
There are well-written, well-plotted, moving, excellent lesbian novels out there. This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, one of them. My advice: Escape while you still can. Do not read this dreck. Have a nice day.
November 24, 2023
3 stars. Very interesting read but I can’t say that I loved it. The plot is unique if not a bit convoluted but the romance between Christa and Dina was nice. I wasn’t crazy about the writing style which is odd since Kallmaker is one of my favorites but something about it here was just really clunky and awkward. I liked the way it ended and the epilogue was good but overall this was not a favorite from this author for me but it wasn’t terrible.
July 9, 2018
A nice enough love story with intertwined fantasy. I really enjoyed the first third of the book. I thought the build between Christabel and Dina was intense and intriguing. Aside from that, nothing ever seemed to go anywhere. The love story at heart is nice but I only found myself caring about one of the timelines and everything else seemed lazy. Lovely ending though.
January 17, 2018
Good book
This was a really interesting read. I like the flashes to the past of the two women and how they were woven in the story.
This was a really interesting read. I like the flashes to the past of the two women and how they were woven in the story.
August 17, 2019
a little confusing as each chapter is the voice of a different character or time period.
July 1, 2022
I found this book intriguing. I love the "magic" mystical plot. The premise is amazingly unique. I thoroughly enjoyed the 2MCs, and hated the evil. I gave it 5 stars because it mesmerized me.
April 16, 2018
What can I say about Christabel except that it is very different than what I've experienced/read in the supernatural genre (and I've read quite a few of those). And it's by Karin Kallmaker (penned under Laura Adams previously). So, guaranteed emotionally-gripping storytelling & poetic, lyrical writing, as usual, regardless of the genre.
The story is about love transcending time & space. When 2 people are destined to be together, there's no amount of magic or spell or curse that will ever break that bond even through many lifetimes over.
Dina & Christabel's unceasing connection and love throughout the ages are so tragically agonising but so devastatingly romantic and infinitely timeless! The feeling's so strong from the spellbinding words used throughout the pages, it's enough to eat you alive - emotionally - when you reach the final page & thereafter. Phew! What an intense ride before finally arriving at the eagerly-awaited Happily. Ever. After! Fck Yeh! Adrenaline spills over!
Christabel is a fairy tale for grown ups, essentially. What a thoroughly satisfying read!
The story is about love transcending time & space. When 2 people are destined to be together, there's no amount of magic or spell or curse that will ever break that bond even through many lifetimes over.
Dina & Christabel's unceasing connection and love throughout the ages are so tragically agonising but so devastatingly romantic and infinitely timeless! The feeling's so strong from the spellbinding words used throughout the pages, it's enough to eat you alive - emotionally - when you reach the final page & thereafter. Phew! What an intense ride before finally arriving at the eagerly-awaited Happily. Ever. After! Fck Yeh! Adrenaline spills over!
Christabel is a fairy tale for grown ups, essentially. What a thoroughly satisfying read!
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September 13, 2009Sitting on my dresser, waiting for attention.
July 26, 2013
I much prefer the gothic romances/supernatural elements to the crime/cop romances. This one is well-written and beautifully woven together.
February 29, 2016
I just didn't get it ... or at the very least I didn't get it enough for it to be a classic. It jumped around a lot and I didn't feel like it had continuity.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews