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Alyssa and Vivian #1

A La Croisée des Chemins

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Rien n’aurait jamais dû réunir Vivian Silva, héritière d’un empire hôtelier dont la carrière de photographe décolle et Alyssa James, mère célibataire et barmaid dans un quartier sordide. Pourtant, un simple pneu crevé va créer une rencontre nocturne électrique. L’attirance entre les deux jeunes femmes s’impose comme une évidence. Alors qu’elles débutent une liaison passionnée, leurs styles de vie et leurs aspirations se heurtent violemment. Parviendront-elles à surmonter leurs différences pour arriver à s’aimer ?

571 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 23, 2017

22 people are currently reading
261 people want to read

About the author

Eija Jimenez

6 books84 followers
Eija Jimenez has been a writer since her elementary days where cardboard rocketships could fly to the moon. Still to this day, Eija avidly writes LGBTQ+ fiction, hoping to add to this ever-growing community and give representation to queer minorities.

She graduated from the University of Toronto in 2014 where she studied English and Psychology. She received her Honours Bachelor of Arts and tries to put four intensive years of schooling to good use through writing.

When she’s not crafting stories in her head, Eija can be found hurling axes (at bulleyes!), out for a hike, or jamming out in a good car-eoke session.

She lives in Toronto, Canada with her wife and their two dogs, Honey and Dijon.

If she could give one piece of advice to anyone, she would quote Max Erhmann's Desiderata: "You are a child of the universe. No less than the trees and the stars." No matter how small or insignificant you feel, the whole universe would be different without you.

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5 stars
111 (41%)
4 stars
97 (36%)
3 stars
48 (18%)
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7 (2%)
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2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
Profile Image for Farah.
767 reviews86 followers
November 10, 2018
Despite the repetitive 'the blonde', 'the brunette', 'the younger/older blonde', 'the younger/older brunette', 'the kid', the eye rollings and the smirks, this was a pretty feel good read... I was quite blown away.
Both hs were pretty headstrong, independent, and loved to push each others' patience buttons. What hiked up my enjoyment to this story was the immediate but natural connection Vivian made with Alyssa's son, Cameron. They formed a friendship immediately and admired one another greatly, while it took a bit longer for Alyssa and Vivian to make the adult version of such. Vivian appeared as a standoffish most of the time but never with Cameron and Alyssa did not let her past determined her future with her son, for such attributes, this hs will be placed in my favorite shelf.

Their struggles to form a relationship was caused by differences in socioeconomics and Vivian's mum who was obsessed with her daughter's success and status. Vivian's mum was a tough pill to swallow but thankfully Alyssa did not turn into mush whenever they got into arguments. Why do authors still want their grown-ass
characters be controlled by the parents?

The built-up to the romance was long and sometimes dragged but I never let go of my pom poms and stopped rooting for them as what they felt for each other was visible and strong, Cameron and most of their friends played strong roles in helping the hs worked out their differences/issues and let me breathe already.

There were more hits than misses, Helena Silva - Vivian's mum was a huge miss and should not have been given a strong role in the story, what a waste of papers. I'm happy to read this and looking forward to rereads.

Profile Image for Alexis.
510 reviews650 followers
December 12, 2017
Entertaining story but definitely more suited for SQ fans.

This story started off great and really had me hooked. I loved what a snob and how uptight Vivian was when she first met Alyssa. She had this great ice queen vibe going for her that slowly but surely started to melt while being around the single mom and her son Cameron. The one thing I will never understand however is how a grown woman that has everything going for her can be such a pushover when it comes to her mother, however controlling she may be.

Alyssa I found to be a very endearing character throughout the book. She comes off as strong, very independent and protective especially when it comes to Cameron. The author did a great job with a lot of the dialogue between her and Vivian in which Alyssa gets to be a total smartass.

One thing I didn't like was the way the author chose to handle something that Vivian did to Alyssa . I really didn't like how easy Vivian was let off of the hook for what she did because that type of behavior is totally unacceptable.

The story did drag a little here and there and I did skim a few pages but overall it was an interesting read with some very steamy moments between Vivian and Alyssa.

Overall rating is 3,75*
Profile Image for Anja.
179 reviews2 followers
January 27, 2018
This was a good book, nice main characters and nice bitchy side characters ;) two worlds collide and find a happy end. 3 and a half stars
Profile Image for Starsandsun18.
258 reviews1 follower
October 5, 2017
Nice! My first from the author and definitely not the last. I like her style of writing. Long but easy going. I both like Vivian and Lys. Another ice queen persona. :))
A lot of good characters.
Vivian’s mother is really annoying. But I like that they still both tried to gain her approval, especially Lys.
Cameron is also cute!


There’s a sequel right? I’ll adjust my rating if the sequel comes out. :p
Another great fanfic of Regina and Emma. :))
4.5
Profile Image for C.
737 reviews77 followers
August 12, 2017
An excellent read

I read Ms. Jimenez other book Letters and figured this is long and I'm sure worth it...and whadayano I was right. First of all a couple things did irk me like not really knowing their age until the end. Yes, i know thats dumb but I kept trying to firgure it out and itbwas distracting. Because we know how old Cameron is and thenwe know how long Lys was at Underground and when Vivian' dad passed away and for the life of me a+b×c was not giving me anyone's age. At the end you do find out they are 6 years apart so from my detective work they met when Lys was in her mid 20's. Now that I got that out of the way...
The story is a good one and long so well worth the money spent on it. The main characters are relatable. Lys growing up with nothing in bad situation and trying do right for her kid. And Vivian trying to be her own person with a controlling mother. Lots of obstacles but of course mainly mother. I do like how the story doesn't end with main conflict being resolved. Actually I like how the main conflict isn't really resolved but amicable for all parties.
The ending did feel like a ton was crammed in and could have easily been expanded into maybe another book but its a good ending.
I enjoyed it and will continue reading Ms. Jimenez's works
Profile Image for Olivia.
22 reviews
January 7, 2018
This was so painful to finish.

It started off well; cute kid (Cameron), sexy bartender/’entertainer’ (Lys) aka younger blonde woman, rich hotel heiress/photographer (Vivian Silva) aka brunette older woman or ‘younger Silva woman’, and the villainess bitch of a mother (Helena) of said brunette aka the ‘older Silva woman’ (I kid you not, this is how she is described multiple times).

HOW many times must the reader be reminded of which MC is the younger or older woman in a 6 year age gap? Apparently, all through the book. Till this day, I still struggle to comprehend who is older.

I agree with Arn re: the sex scenes....christ…I struggled. How can such initial steamy scenes be dragged so unnecessarily? This read could have used some much needed editing for such a simple premise.

Cute romance, just not worth so many pages. 3 sterren.
Profile Image for Cristina.
89 reviews38 followers
August 23, 2017
This is nice reading without too much action except for a classist mother, and sometimes an insecure character (Alyssa). The writing is good and all secondary characters help to make the story interesting. If you like romance stories, this is your book. The only complaint that I have is that the author repeats words like "older woman"and "blonde" too much.
Profile Image for Margaret.
353 reviews56 followers
October 10, 2017
Detailed score: 3.25

Barely disguised, barely edited swanqueen fanfic.

Starts off well but drifts about 1/3 of the way through and never really recovers. In need of a serious edit but still an entertaining enough story.
Profile Image for Arn.
400 reviews117 followers
November 15, 2017
Yet another new author with a really good first published book. I've no major problems with it, maybe it's a bit too long for what it is. Sex scenes are definitely unnecessarily long but otherwise it is a good story with compelling characters.

I always enjoy age gap and rich girl poor girl scenarios, the contrast between life experiences and social/economic standing usually produces interesting situations and drama. I guess it is kinda predictable if you've read similar stories but the characters are what makes this book stand out between all others.

The common tropes are included like snotty rich "princesses" and overbearing mother-in-laws and so on but this story is character driven and both leading ladies are well developed and stand on their own so the tropes are not that annoying.

Strippers or in this case exotic dancers are also a topic that catches my attention so bonus points for that.

I also enjoyed the message story sends - family over all. But I wouldn't speak to the mother-in-law ever again after what she did, that part wasn't resolved that well I think, it was glossed over.

Overall a great book by a new author, lots of those lately but I'm not complaining, keep 'em coming.
652 reviews8 followers
August 17, 2017
Delightful!

What a delightful story! Lays, Olivia, and Cameron were such sweet characters! The story line was cleverly done. Very good character development. The supporting characters were equally well done including Helena (Olivia's mother). All in all, a very well done story!
Profile Image for Tinything.
245 reviews
December 31, 2017
This is quite a good book. I really enjoy how the two main characters met at the start, plus with there stubborn and ... idk headstrong? personality, it was really entertaining. I really like both Vivian Lys. They are really funny. Cameron is really adorable and understanding. Eventhough he is young, he understand and support his mum. I really like him lots. And Helena, Vivian’s mum, she is annoying, well at least she doesnt really forbid Vivian to stay away from Lys. Typical rich people mum, cant blame her much. Well after the big thing happened. Idk if it just me, but the story seem to dragged.. idk. Well i really enjoy this book. Ohh and i like the title at the Epilogue. Hahaha it just made me laugh idk why.
Profile Image for Val.
412 reviews16 followers
August 9, 2017
Great story that is well written. The main characters are so incredibly different yet I loved them both. This is definitely not an action book but it was a page turner for me. And, of course, it's a long book with a fully developed storyline. Loved it!
Profile Image for Harrow.
318 reviews35 followers
January 20, 2020
Neither MCs actions made any sense to me, like its 3 in the morning someone gives you a place to wait, fixes up your car for you and you are angry at her because she should be nicer to you? And who goes halfway around town just to 'annoy' someone, i was embarrassed for her. The repetitive blonde/brunette thing was so irritating.
Profile Image for Heidi.
701 reviews32 followers
October 10, 2017
Becoming a family

I enjoyed the story and the characters. Cameron really makes the story work, without his character the story would be like many other lesbians with a child story. I dislike when authors refer to the blonde or the brunette or the younger or older woman. It was over done in this book, which was a bit of a disappointment.
Profile Image for Joudie.
111 reviews1 follower
March 31, 2019
Tw: physical abuse

Okay, we're sorely lacking ff romance novels so I forgave so many problems with this book and overall it wasnt bad.

Spoilers ahead.

Although I dont remember either of their ages mentioned, we do know that Vivian's older than Lys. And since Cam, Alyssa's son is 9, I'm gonna assume that Lys is at least 25 (assuming that she got pregnant when she was 16-- not mentioned in the book). And it was mentioned that Viv was about 6 years older than Lys making her 31.

However, if you look at the interactions between Vivian and her mother and her behaviour, you'd swear she's like... 12. Vivian, despite saying she loves her mother and Lys claiming that she could see the love, is terrified of her mother. Everything Vivian is wasn't accepted by her mother. Not her career, which Helena puts down every chance she gets, nor her sexuality which Helena insinuated that she was only going through a phase. So I'm not sure what Vivian was trying to do by pleasing her unpleasant mother, despite her still becoming a photographer and daring a woman. You might be asking yourself, well maybe bc she's scared of her mother cutting her off financially. Wrong! Even if her mother cuts her off, Vivian still had the money from her father to support her photography studies and shes making a ton of money since she got praised for her work. So I'm honestly so confused why she acts like a 12 year old instead of an independant adult who can support herself.

Moving on, there was one thing specifically that grated on my nerve. Throughout the relationship, Vivian had the upper hand. Not just financially but also emotionally. She would snap at Alyssa and Lys was just suppose to take it and apologize-- which she did, countless times. Those little instances were easy enough to forgive but when Vivian insinuated that Lys was a bad mother and slapped Lys, I snapped. Yes, it was shitty of Lys not to text Viv to let her know was in the hospital but Lys knew Vivian was more than capable of taking care of Cam so there was no need to worry them. No matter how pissed, that doesn't give her the right to put Lys down regarding her parenting skills and definitely doesn't give her the right to physically abuse Lys. And then to have everyone basically blame Lys for what happened and downplay that abuse was fucked up. Understandingly and predictably, I was livid.

And even after all the shit that Viv has put Lys through, Lys still ended up apologizing and explaining what happened. And this fucker didnt even accept her apology. Then Lys went on to say that she didnt "deserve" her, to which Vivian replied, "I’m not interested in your self-pity right now." I'm not making this shit up.

God, I really wanted to put this down but I needed to know if Vivian would ever apologize or face consequences for physically abusing her girlfriend. I was surprised but disappointed when she did apologize in an unsatisfactory scene.

Another thing, not once did they discuss the fact that Alyssa said I love you to Viv and Viv didnt say it back. If that were me I would definitely be wondering if I was more invested in the relationship than the other person but this was not even mentioned once.

Overall it wasn't a bad book but I'd definitely not read it again.
Profile Image for isa Simonet.
378 reviews12 followers
December 28, 2019
A very nice romance, a bit long for my taste. All the ingredients (discovery, first encounters, rips, guilt and forgiveness) are there to make a fabulous meeting between two women. Both characters are well described and there is a real chemistry in them. New York is not so well described so it could happen in any big American city. I really liked the interaction between Vivian and Lys, as well as all the characters in background. The choice of different places of work and meeting is interesting. The character of the little boy is very fair and cute. In short a nice surprise for a book by a French publisher, I assure you the book is in English ... To read absolutely!
Profile Image for Alealea.
648 reviews10 followers
March 21, 2021
I pushed to read it to the end and it does seems to pick after the middle but...
It's hard to believe in the romance at first. Hard to believe in any of the storyline of any of the main.
The poor girl is good-girl with bad luck cliché story.
The rich girl is rick-girl with awful too rich mom issues.

The only relationship that feels true are the one involving the boy and he's almost too mature and too good to be a true 8-years old kid.

That story was just not my cup of tea.
Profile Image for Nadine Stamminger.
122 reviews2 followers
November 2, 2017
I just finished the book...within two days. I guess that says how awesome it was. I already knew the fanfiction from this book and loved it but this book turned out very well. In some parts you still can imagin your beloved charackters but its also new, fresh and different. Im happy i bought my copy a few days ago and and already got my next book from Eija Jimenez to go on and discover her other work.
I always love books where different worlds colide and become an item. Here it is rich and a bit snobby upcoming photographer Vivian who meets Alyssa, an mother who works very hard at a bar to make a better living for herself and her son. Both meet in Alyssas neigbhorhood with Alyssa kind of "saving" Vivian. Both seam do dislike each other but something inside of them must click because they meet again and first form a bond that turns out into more.
There are a lot of situation when there status in live doesnt match but they figure it out and meet the other half way.

I absolutly can recoment this book, i enjoyed the read and the brilliant writing of Mrs Jimenez.
Profile Image for YN Lee.
13 reviews
January 18, 2020
The story flowed quite fast in the beginning as the two women fell for each other. This made their story line a little clichéd, but the story of their relationship progressed into something more substantial as the book progresses.
Profile Image for Brandy Wiederhold.
10 reviews
October 8, 2017
good book

I wish a series two of this book so that I could know what happens to them and I didn't like the way it ended.
1,149 reviews15 followers
October 10, 2017
I loved this book.

I loved Meet Me Halfway. A great story. The ups and downs of a rich girl/poor girl relationship will keep you turning the pages. Great characters.
542 reviews3 followers
May 1, 2021
Really enjoyable

A great story to get lost in and a wonderful combination of opposites weaving a beautiful love story. Great characters
Profile Image for Aris Duarte.
288 reviews3 followers
September 17, 2021
A Swan Queen fanfiction brought to life as a real life story and it remind me of good old days.

We first met our characters when Vivian gets lost following her best friend, ends up with a flat tired and her only choice is to get help from bar manager, Alyssa. They do not get along very well, but their relationship develops over time and after Cameron (Alyssa's son) and Alyssa crash into one of Vivian's photo sessions at Central Park.

If you read the original story, you'll love the book and if you are not familiar with the author's work as a fanfiction writer, I can definitely recommend her work, you won't get dissappointed.
Profile Image for pipsqueakreviews.
588 reviews505 followers
December 8, 2020
I have nothing but praises for this book. Well written, good chemistry between the main characters who have completely opposite backgrounds, personalities and upbringing. I love how this isn't a slow burn book, yet it wasn't rushed. I would have loved to see how Lys proposed though.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews

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