Two Souls

by Kathleen Knowles

Abigail Eliot is a brilliant naturalist whose entire life is dedicated to her work. When she meets an earnest doctor, Norah Stratton who’s new to San Francisco, they start an unlikely friendship. When the 1906 earthquake and fire strike, they’re both caught up in the event in very different ways. Will their tentative connection turn to a lasting love or will San Francisco’s great tragedy drive them apart?

Genres: Historical, Lesbian

240 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2016

About the author

Kathleen Knowles grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but has lived in San Francisco for more than thirty years. She finds the city’s combination of history, natural beauty, and multicultural diversity inspiring and endlessly fascinating.

Other than writing, she loves music of all kinds, walking, bicycling, and stamp collecting. LGBT history and politics have commanded her attention for many years, starting with her first Pride march in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1978. She and her partner were married in July, 2008, and live atop one of San Francisco’s many hills with their three pets. She works as a health and safety specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.

She has written short stories, essays, and fan fiction. Awake Unto Me is her first published work. (from the publisher's website)

Reviews

[Lex Kent · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just okay for me. This is the first book I have read by Knowles. While she writes well, her style didn't really appeal to me.
This book is about a group of people living together in San Fransisco around the time of the great earthquake. During this time many people had poorly made homes they didn't survive the quake. And the well built homes that did, many were destroyed in the fires afterwards. I can't imagine how horrible it must have been, and I thought Knowles seemed pretty knowledgeable about the aftermath that people went through.
I think the biggest problem I had with this book was not really connecting with the characters. I felt like everything I was imagining had a film over it. I could not quite break through it and truly feel for who I was reading about. Maybe it had to do with so many characters in this book, but I feel like it was more about how the style the book was written in.
I did enjoy the couple Abby and Nora the most, but even with them I felt a disconnect. I would have liked to really feel their connection more. I needed more chemistry or something.
While this book didn't really work for me, I believe Knowles is a talented enough writer that I will try some of her other books in the future.

An ARC was given to me from Bold Strokes Books, for a honest review.

[Endlesscribbles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book I have read by this author. The first being Warm November which I did really enjoy. But for some reason I found Two Souls very slow going. This book will find its audience and I will read Kathleen Knowles again in the future but it seems this just wasn't really book isn't for me.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I love historical fiction so this was nice on several levels. It was about the great San Francisco earthquake and fire. But it also was about the fringe groups that existed in that city even in the early 1900's.
I also was frustrated with this book. The relationship between Abby and Norah was just incredibly irritating in spots and way drawn out. The story really slowed down in the middle because of this. The secondary characters were interesting and all had their own back stories going which added a nice dimension to the book. Honestly, for me, it was what saved the book.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

This story has a lot going on. Within the first chapter the reader is introduced to -Norah, Esther, Beth, Abby/Abigail, Kerry, all of whom play significant parts throughout. And of course there are a slew of secondary characters as well. Via flashbacks, Norah’s ex, May, gets a lot of page time.

While the plot was interesting enough, I can’t say I ever really gelled with any of the characters, and I struggled to recall who was who a time or two. Norah is probably the most fleshed out, although much like Abby, I didn’t really understand her until near the end. Esther is one of the most unlikable characters I’ve ever endured, what Whit saw in her I have no clue.

Living in New Zealand, I’m well acquainted with the terror and aftermath of earthquakes, although thankfully not one as crippling as the San Fran quake, so I could relate to that part of the story.

Not long ago I read a similar story which blew me away, so as unfair as it might sound, I guess I expect a more compelling story.

Copy provided via NetGalley

[Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was talked into reading this by the cover/title as well as the limited blurb of a plot summary. It was only after that I realized I had read another title from this author previously and had been thoroughly underwhelmed. And here's another to add to the pile. Within the first few pages, an author has to make me really care about the characters to continue reading about them for the rest of the book. Once again, I didn't feel anything. The book focuses on several lesbians (all with professional jobs strangely enough for the time period--doctors, scientists, and a chef) in turn of the century San Francisco. It progressed in the beginning at a glacial pace, despite jumps in time that were jarring and confusing, i.e. the very next paragraph in a chapter would advance days? weeks? without warning. I was ultimately much too bored and disinterested to finish this one out.

ARC provide by NetGalley

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first novel I read by this author, having missed the train on her debut novel. However, with the plot, character summaries, and synopsis, I was thoroughly excited to read this second novel by Kathleen Knowles. However, I arrived at the end of the novel feeling a bit underwhelmed. There wasn't anything to, say, complain about in regards to the story or the book itself. It just lacked luster, and felt very slow-moving and anti-climatic in response to the surroundings and time period in which the novel took place. The story was a bit tame, and the arc between the main characters didn't flow well in my time spent reading this novel. However, I can see the talent of Knowles come through in the pages from descriptions and writing style, so I hope to read more by this author.

[Natasja Hellenthal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Two Souls by Kathleen Knowles! It was pure romance and I couldn't stop reading it as I wanted to find out what would happen next!

Great writing, highly recommended!

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I had some misgivings prior to reading this novel, specifically fear of disappointment in the plot after the enjoyment that I derived from the Kerry/Beth story arc but lacked for the other two volumes by this author. Still, the quality of the text, the detail that was rendered in describing the education/careers of the two women at a time when their accomplishments were tremendously rare and the symbiotic relationship that they developed in their love story contributed mightily to my satisfaction with the plot. While I understand the need to focus on the experience and later, recovery of earth quake affected San Francisco, I would appreciate later historical introspection by Ms. Knowles -particularly during the time of suffrage. I believe that she would have a unique perspective on the battle for rights by women who had been denied them on multiple levels. Overall, though, I liked "Two Souls."