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Fireside
Three extraordinary women share friendship, heal old wounds, and discover love while defending their own.
223 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
6 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
Cate Culpepper
11 books52 followersCate Culpepper grew up in southern New Mexico, where she served as the state lesbian, before moving to the Pacific Northwest twenty-five years ago. She has won one Lambda Literary Society Award, three Golden Crown Literary Society Awards, one Lesbian Fiction Readers' Choice Award, and an Alice B. Toklas Award for her body of work.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 28, 2018
Ah yes. My first non-Tristaine novel from Culpepper. Brilliantly written. The core of this is centered around a domestic abuse shelter. And one thing I really found interesting was that she made the point a few times that domestic violence isn't always a het issue. It's a human issue. That was very well done without being preachy.
As a classic romance (nearly 10 years old), well I say classic because it's a feel good story to which the mess we have nowadays is rife with drama and crap. This was very well done. The blurb has Abby as uber straight, and she kinda was, but I thought she came off as initially bendy :)
The side arc of a little bit of paranormal originally I didn't see how it fit in. That definitely hit full closure although I thought Mac might have been a bit more forthcoming, but it's cool.
Loved it. Can't wait to see what else she wrote. I think I'm down to 3 more.
As a classic romance (nearly 10 years old), well I say classic because it's a feel good story to which the mess we have nowadays is rife with drama and crap. This was very well done. The blurb has Abby as uber straight, and she kinda was, but I thought she came off as initially bendy :)
The side arc of a little bit of paranormal originally I didn't see how it fit in. That definitely hit full closure although I thought Mac might have been a bit more forthcoming, but it's cool.
Loved it. Can't wait to see what else she wrote. I think I'm down to 3 more.
November 22, 2014
Fireside is an absolute charmer! It is sweet and romantic without being sappy and it has such genuine heart to it that you can't help but grow to adore the characters, both main and secondary. Another hugely appealing factor (which is often hard to find in romance novels) is how tastefully mannered the physical relationship is throughout the story. Here, the love scenes are actual love scenes and they are neither rampant nor rabid...just special and nice.
As one of the main characters, Abby, says in a very emotionally raw and tender scene: "First, I need you to know this about me. At this stage in my life, I couldn't possibly be sexual...I couldn't possibly make love to someone, Mac, unless I was in a committed relationship. It simply isn't in me. Perhaps it's some kind of odd British prudery. I don't know, but there you have it."
Cate Culpepper writes about women who deeply value relationships and take their time getting to know each other.
Mac is a restless spirit who has never stayed at one job for more than two years, while Abby has sealed herself off from love out of self-doubt of her own worthiness. Her strong work ethic comes from a good place but also because she "found a kind of insidious safety in her solitary life. Devoting all her energies to her work carried certain advantages."
The author captures scenes and people in a way that makes the fact you reach for a tissue while you happily cry seem perfectly natural. She reminds you that love really is special and that it's something worth waiting for. It makes me smile to think about reading more of her novels! :)
May 16, 2019
This was one of the first ebooks I bought. I think it was just published so it must have been in 2009. In that time it was a little more work to get an ebook and transfer it to an e-reader than it is now. And the e-reader was quite something else too. It was like a steam train so slow while the modern e-reader could be compared to an electric car, fast and sleek. Fireside in its old form was I think in pdf format which my steam engine e reader could handle as well prc. It was so slow that the last three sentences of my page were the same a the first three on the next page and it still was an art to change pages at the right time so that you could read on instead of waiting whole seconds for the next page.
But back to this book. I saw it mentioned somewhere and decided to buy it again to read it faster. I remembered likening this book. And I liked it again. It is well written and edited with a nice story and lovely characters. Though it is only nine years old it does feel a little outdated sometimes, but not much. I think that is mostly because of the way the book talks about the way lesbians relationships are treated and about the fact that there can be violence in these relationships too. This is still a very nice and warm-hearted book in 2019 and I can still recommend it. 4 fat stars
But back to this book. I saw it mentioned somewhere and decided to buy it again to read it faster. I remembered likening this book. And I liked it again. It is well written and edited with a nice story and lovely characters. Though it is only nine years old it does feel a little outdated sometimes, but not much. I think that is mostly because of the way the book talks about the way lesbians relationships are treated and about the fact that there can be violence in these relationships too. This is still a very nice and warm-hearted book in 2019 and I can still recommend it. 4 fat stars
July 13, 2018
This is more 3.5 rating for me. Nice... any distasteful incident were all external to the romance and though pretty idealistic was sweet.
May 20, 2022
A beautiful story about friendship, love and healing. I've already read two other books written by Cate Culpepper and I have to say that I really enjoy the way she wrote about women and their relationships, how she emphasizes their different strengths and the bonds that they create between themselves. The friendship that Mac, Abby and Cleo form was touching and the romance between Mac and Abby was sweet and respectful and satisfying.
I'm going to keep reading the rest of the books written by this amazing author.
I'm going to keep reading the rest of the books written by this amazing author.
May 10, 2019
I liked the main characters, but the supporting characters of Cleo and Danny really add life to the book. Domestic violence is never a good topic, but it’s addition to the book doesn’t distract from the family of choice that is being created.
March 22, 2021
Stars: solid 3 stars
Intro
Fireside resonates as a sweet, feel-good, mature romance with none of the bitter over-the-top-drama aftertaste. The setting is largely contained in a transition house for women and children who have been in domestic abuse cases. The shelter, aptly named Fireside, is where these women and children learn skills and obtain opportunities to integrate back into society as independent, self-sufficient people and serves as the backdrop for the main and secondary characters in the story.
Thoughts on Main Characters
A large part of the story revolves around Mac, Abby, and Cleo. A counselor, a doctor, and a legal attorney, each with a passion for social service. They were brought together in Fireside to help and nurture its residents. The focus of the story is watching them develop their relationship with each other and with residents at Fireside, it's incredibly heart warming. Each woman has their good sides, bad sides, strengths, weaknesses, and secrets - the last of which is interwoven carefully into the arc of the story, giving these characters a well-rounded feel. It took me a while to get the hang of their personalities but they were all likable.
The Romance
Speaking of feels, the romance between Mac and Abby is sweet though too idealistic for my taste. Similarly to how Culpepper treats the characters and their stories with a tender hand, so does the relationship develop: slowly, carefully, with plenty of open communication, like a mature romance should. It was a breath of fresh air that sets this romance a little higher up rating-wise, there wasn't any explosive arguments where each person are warring on disparate sides, or fumbling angrily through unnecessary miscommunication. It was a relief. Their problems were handled reasonably and well, a good takeaway for any reader. Additionally, Culpepper handles the physical intimacy of Mac and Abby's relationship with tact, nothing overly descriptive and much of it insinuated.
The.. Paranormal?
Lastly, there is a paranormal tag on this book. Yes, there is mention of paranormal activities with a ghost, I thought it was alright and I saw how it fit for the development of one character. Though I wish it could have been explained more. The explanation provided was on the cusp of being sufficient but I won't dare say anything further because it would be spoiler territory, I don't think I'm the only one who feels this way.
Overall
Fireside is a sweet, easy to read, wholesome novel when your days have been rough. So if you're feeling a bit battered, kick back, put on some light music, gather your favourite snacks, and open up Fireside. Bonus points: if you have an actual fireplace, really get into the feel of the story.
Intro
Fireside resonates as a sweet, feel-good, mature romance with none of the bitter over-the-top-drama aftertaste. The setting is largely contained in a transition house for women and children who have been in domestic abuse cases. The shelter, aptly named Fireside, is where these women and children learn skills and obtain opportunities to integrate back into society as independent, self-sufficient people and serves as the backdrop for the main and secondary characters in the story.
Thoughts on Main Characters
A large part of the story revolves around Mac, Abby, and Cleo. A counselor, a doctor, and a legal attorney, each with a passion for social service. They were brought together in Fireside to help and nurture its residents. The focus of the story is watching them develop their relationship with each other and with residents at Fireside, it's incredibly heart warming. Each woman has their good sides, bad sides, strengths, weaknesses, and secrets - the last of which is interwoven carefully into the arc of the story, giving these characters a well-rounded feel. It took me a while to get the hang of their personalities but they were all likable.
The Romance
Speaking of feels, the romance between Mac and Abby is sweet though too idealistic for my taste. Similarly to how Culpepper treats the characters and their stories with a tender hand, so does the relationship develop: slowly, carefully, with plenty of open communication, like a mature romance should. It was a breath of fresh air that sets this romance a little higher up rating-wise, there wasn't any explosive arguments where each person are warring on disparate sides, or fumbling angrily through unnecessary miscommunication. It was a relief. Their problems were handled reasonably and well, a good takeaway for any reader. Additionally, Culpepper handles the physical intimacy of Mac and Abby's relationship with tact, nothing overly descriptive and much of it insinuated.
The.. Paranormal?
Lastly, there is a paranormal tag on this book. Yes, there is mention of paranormal activities with a ghost, I thought it was alright and I saw how it fit for the development of one character. Though I wish it could have been explained more. The explanation provided was on the cusp of being sufficient but I won't dare say anything further because it would be spoiler territory, I don't think I'm the only one who feels this way.
Overall
Fireside is a sweet, easy to read, wholesome novel when your days have been rough. So if you're feeling a bit battered, kick back, put on some light music, gather your favourite snacks, and open up Fireside. Bonus points: if you have an actual fireplace, really get into the feel of the story.
June 20, 2022
What the doctor ordered. Simple
March 7, 2015
I hadn't read anything by Culpepper prior to this, but will go back and read her others now. This was a lovely story, with well thought out characters and the women's shelter was an interesting setting. I enjoyed not only the burgeoning love story between Mac and Abby but also the way the other relationships develop. The 'B' storyline with Mac was also intriguing and I enjoyed the pay-off from that as well.
November 29, 2014
I give a 3.5 rating. A well written touching book, just too short. Was the paranormal part really necessary?
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews