Daughters

by Jo Brodie

Everything seems rosy in the garden for impish Goth, Hazel Fauld and her beloved girlfriend Annie. Their love grows ever deeper and families who were once sceptical about what they saw as puppy love come increasingly to believe that the two are made for each other. They dream of a future life together and in the meantime they dote on more than just each other, as Annie in particular falls for the Fauld's adorable, if willful new baby, Sofie. Schoolgirl drummer Hazel even gets to make a record with her Rock star mother, Debbie Stewart. But then fate drives the lovers apart. St. Ann's School for Girls suffers a serious crime wave. Hazel herself is faced with temptation and events in the Fauld family's own past return to haunt them. Can our two heroines survive a forced separation and bring about their very own happy ever after?  What is the mischief god Loki's role in all this? And will Mr. Tootlins' gearbox ever recover from Hazel's attempts to learn to drive.  As ever, life in Saltbury is bittersweet, funny, loving, but complicated.

Genres: Coming Of Age

Kindle Edition

Published April 14, 20

About the author

Whilst still missing darkest Wiltshire, Jo Brodie is now an accidental Mancunian, having never quite got round to leaving the city after studying at Manchester University. They write widely under various pen names, on topics that range from Roman and Victorian history to Rock music, and Jo has recently become a regular writer for feminist music Web site ‘Hera Says‘. Jo’s lesbian novels and shorter stories, which are collectively entitled ‘The Saltbury Chronicles’, centre on a diverse cast of characters from the mythical Wiltshire market town of Saltbury. They are love stories, but they are more than just escapism, often exploring serious LGBTQ, gender and other issues along the way. In private life, Jo is happily married with two cats. They play bass and guitar (very badly) and yearn to learn drums, if only the neighbours would understand!

The Saltbury books contain a character called Debbie Stewart, a true Rock guitar heroine. Debbie is not based on any particular real life guitarist. In fact Jo’s actual guitar heroine is a very different figure: Marissa Paternoster of the ‘Screaming Females’. Debbie, though, is who Jo wishes they could be – if only – and you can tell a lot about someone from who they would like to be.

Reviews

[Jo Brodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and lovable teenage Goth and Rock drummer, Hazel Fauld, narrates the third in the 'Saltbury Chronicles' series and we re-enter this world of bittersweet humor. As ever, Hazel is besotted with her beautiful girlfriend Annie, who in turn is fascinated by the antics of Hazel's adorable, but willful baby sister Sofie. Meanwhile, Hazel tries to learn to drive. She appears as a drummer on a solo album by her mother: Rock legend Debbie Stewart. Her staid old Aunty Connie turns out to have a dark secret, and the girls even make a trip to Hollywood after solving a crime wave at school. This is a character-rich world with a wealth of very different (often eccentric) people from thuggish if well meaning hockey captain Yvonne Wright, via gentle, day-dreaming Rosie Drymen, to promiscuous but lovable imp, Katie Ralstrick, near psychotic games teacher Carol Baxter, dangerously disturbed Lia Blantyre, formidable headmistress, Miss Stone and many many more. This is a love story, but it's an awful lot more too, where chiseled chins and heaving bosoms are definitely not much in evidence.

[Bigbear Woolliscroft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haze is growing up, and while Annie has to move to LA Haze finds live in Saltbury far from boring and discovers an awful lot about herself and including an unsuspected love for hockey (no the field type with the nice legs on display, not the icey type).
I really enjoyed this volume, it gave Haze and the other members of the coven a lot more depth and I think I am falling in love with Sophy.