What do you think?
Rate this book
Touchwood #1
Touchwood - 30th Anniversary Edition
Twenty-nine-year-old Rayann Germaine, betrayed by her lover, flees in grief and rage. She meets book store owner Louisa Thatcher, a woman many years her senior, who offers shelter and work... and soon, passion, and a loving place in her life.
But Rayann encounters challenges to this new love—from friends who question its wisdom, from her mother who disapproves of this liaison with a woman her own contemporary, from Louisa's son who learns for the first time his mother's true sexuality.
And there are profound differences between Rayann and Louisa themselves, two women who come from dramatically different places in the spectrum of age and life experience. Their only common ground seems to be the searing attraction that they both try to deny...
Originally published by Naiad Press 1991. Second Bella Books edition 2012.
But Rayann encounters challenges to this new love—from friends who question its wisdom, from her mother who disapproves of this liaison with a woman her own contemporary, from Louisa's son who learns for the first time his mother's true sexuality.
And there are profound differences between Rayann and Louisa themselves, two women who come from dramatically different places in the spectrum of age and life experience. Their only common ground seems to be the searing attraction that they both try to deny...
Originally published by Naiad Press 1991. Second Bella Books edition 2012.
278 pages, Paperback
First published April 10, 1990
30 people are currently reading
1211 people want to read
About the author
Karin Kallmaker
81 books711 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
October 16, 2014
My, my. What a beautiful book. I now understand why Touchwood is a favourite for many readers. I stepped so deeply into this story I feel like I have spent the afternoon in Louisa and Rayann's bookstore. The May-December romance is met with the appropriate amount of fear and challenges but what impressed me the most about Touchwood was hearing about the challenges lesbians faced in their personal and professional lives in the twentieth century.
Kallmaker does a masterful job of educating and reminding the reader that the acceptance and privileges available to same sex couples today is something previous generations could only dream would come true. She effectively discusses how labels like butch and femme do not reflect today's sexual fluidity and that individuals should be allowed to express themselves however they feel comfortable.
A book that was impossible to put down. I'm so glad I had a day off to enjoy the read.
Kallmaker does a masterful job of educating and reminding the reader that the acceptance and privileges available to same sex couples today is something previous generations could only dream would come true. She effectively discusses how labels like butch and femme do not reflect today's sexual fluidity and that individuals should be allowed to express themselves however they feel comfortable.
A book that was impossible to put down. I'm so glad I had a day off to enjoy the read.
September 25, 2021
What can I say? It’s a classic. And I’ve read it a couple of times!
In Karin Kallmaker’s words:
The year is 1990. The first President of the United States to utter the word “lesbian” won’t run for that office for another year. The right to marry wasn’t a high priority on anyone’s list. What was? A silent government while gay men died by the thousands. Being excluded from your loved one’s care even with powers of attorney. The real risk of becoming an outcast to your family, fired from jobs, dishonorably discharged from the military without regard to your service record, or being stalked, harassed, and beaten to death while attackers claimed panic made them do it.
Yet nearly 700 bookstores run by women for women—mostly lesbians—spanned the United States alone. Inside those walls the world was very different.
That’s the world that incubated this story and this writer. A defiant, subversive, determined, and clever culture existed, rich in everything but money.
[...]
This 30th Anniversary Edition has several restored scenes and passages. These scenes were cut [...] at the last minute to reduce the page count. [...] Now those scenes are back.
I also got a chance to change a character’s name back to what I wanted: Marilys, not Marilyn. [...] I liked it because Marilys was one kind of old-fashioned girl—the classic femme kind.
And, very importantly, a 30-year old typo was corrected. Perhaps more than one.
In Karin Kallmaker’s words:
The year is 1990. The first President of the United States to utter the word “lesbian” won’t run for that office for another year. The right to marry wasn’t a high priority on anyone’s list. What was? A silent government while gay men died by the thousands. Being excluded from your loved one’s care even with powers of attorney. The real risk of becoming an outcast to your family, fired from jobs, dishonorably discharged from the military without regard to your service record, or being stalked, harassed, and beaten to death while attackers claimed panic made them do it.
Yet nearly 700 bookstores run by women for women—mostly lesbians—spanned the United States alone. Inside those walls the world was very different.
That’s the world that incubated this story and this writer. A defiant, subversive, determined, and clever culture existed, rich in everything but money.
[...]
This 30th Anniversary Edition has several restored scenes and passages. These scenes were cut [...] at the last minute to reduce the page count. [...] Now those scenes are back.
I also got a chance to change a character’s name back to what I wanted: Marilys, not Marilyn. [...] I liked it because Marilys was one kind of old-fashioned girl—the classic femme kind.
And, very importantly, a 30-year old typo was corrected. Perhaps more than one.
March 31, 2022
This is the 30th-anniversary edition of this novel. Touchwood was originally published in 1991 by the now extinct Naiad Press and later released as a second edition in 2021 by Bella Books. To say that a sapphic book has been published so many years ago is an accomplishment on its own (there were few books available back then), but to read it now and find it is still current is what classics are made from.
When Rayann Germaine was cheated on by her lover, she finds herself homeless and unemployed. She is offered a place to live and a job by bookshop owner Louisa Thatcher who is 25 years her senior. Both women feel an undeniable attraction but they are very different in age and life experiences.
This is an age-gap, opposite-attracts romance set in San Francisco in the early 1990s. For those of us who came out around that time, we know that it was hard enough. However, this story manages to highlight the difficulties and at the same time leave a positive message. Maybe because it’s set in one of the hotspots of LGBT rights and a very liberal part of the US. I gather that if it was set in the deep south, it would have been a very different story.
This second edition added some scenes that were deleted in the original version because of printing costs. Ms. Kallmaker tells the background story surrounding the first and second editions of this novel in her notes and she also describes the hardships of being gay in the past. Unfortunately, these notes, present at the beginning of the ebook version, are missing in the audiobook. I really recommend you to read them, it’s a great tribute to the people who fought for gay rights so we can now enjoy the freedom to express who we are.
Back to the plot, as both mains came out at different times, it shows the contrasting experiences and how they affected each woman’s approach to relationships. I loved how Ms. Kallmaker describes the strict notion of butch/femme roles within the lesbian community in the 1950s and 60s and how these stereotypes start to blur a few decades after. It gives a good historical perspective of what it was like to be a lesbian for those generations and how luckily things have changed for most of us.
The romance itself is sweet and the chemistry between the mains is good. This is Karin Kallmaker’s second novel and considering that she has now written more than thirty, the characters’ chemistry isn’t as strong as in her later works but it’s still fine.
This novel has a sequel called Watermark which was written nine years later. The author suggests on her website that readers should allow a lapse of time between the two novels. Watermark hasn’t been released on audiobook yet.
Angela Dawe is the narrator and is the perfect choice to do this novel justice. As usual, her performance is full of emotion and elevates the story to its full potential. Highly recommended for all lovers of age gap romances. 4.5 stars.
Length: 7 hours, 48 minutes
Available in Scribd
When Rayann Germaine was cheated on by her lover, she finds herself homeless and unemployed. She is offered a place to live and a job by bookshop owner Louisa Thatcher who is 25 years her senior. Both women feel an undeniable attraction but they are very different in age and life experiences.
This is an age-gap, opposite-attracts romance set in San Francisco in the early 1990s. For those of us who came out around that time, we know that it was hard enough. However, this story manages to highlight the difficulties and at the same time leave a positive message. Maybe because it’s set in one of the hotspots of LGBT rights and a very liberal part of the US. I gather that if it was set in the deep south, it would have been a very different story.
This second edition added some scenes that were deleted in the original version because of printing costs. Ms. Kallmaker tells the background story surrounding the first and second editions of this novel in her notes and she also describes the hardships of being gay in the past. Unfortunately, these notes, present at the beginning of the ebook version, are missing in the audiobook. I really recommend you to read them, it’s a great tribute to the people who fought for gay rights so we can now enjoy the freedom to express who we are.
Back to the plot, as both mains came out at different times, it shows the contrasting experiences and how they affected each woman’s approach to relationships. I loved how Ms. Kallmaker describes the strict notion of butch/femme roles within the lesbian community in the 1950s and 60s and how these stereotypes start to blur a few decades after. It gives a good historical perspective of what it was like to be a lesbian for those generations and how luckily things have changed for most of us.
The romance itself is sweet and the chemistry between the mains is good. This is Karin Kallmaker’s second novel and considering that she has now written more than thirty, the characters’ chemistry isn’t as strong as in her later works but it’s still fine.
This novel has a sequel called Watermark which was written nine years later. The author suggests on her website that readers should allow a lapse of time between the two novels. Watermark hasn’t been released on audiobook yet.
Angela Dawe is the narrator and is the perfect choice to do this novel justice. As usual, her performance is full of emotion and elevates the story to its full potential. Highly recommended for all lovers of age gap romances. 4.5 stars.
Length: 7 hours, 48 minutes
Available in Scribd
August 6, 2023
Decided to reread this one. It’s a 27 year age gap! The characters are 29 and 56. That was a lot to overcome for me. Like, the older character has a son that is older than the main character!
Other than that, this was a pleasant read considering it was released in 1991. It definitely made me interested in reading Kallmaker’s other romances.
Other than that, this was a pleasant read considering it was released in 1991. It definitely made me interested in reading Kallmaker’s other romances.
April 12, 2023
I've read this book multiple times over the years. Always seems "new" each time. An age-gap romance with Rayann and Louise that touches the heart and was considered a break-through book at the time.
This is one of my all time favorites that I highly recommend to anyone interested in sapphic fiction.
This is one of my all time favorites that I highly recommend to anyone interested in sapphic fiction.
December 18, 2021
Ohhhh the nostalgia I felt listening to this wonderful classic! When I was a very young lesbian, the only way to find lesfic was by traveling to one of the gay and lesbian bookstores sprinkled throughout the United States. There wasn't the opportunity to go on Goodreads to read a review to determine if a book might be something you were interested in or order one on Amazon. In my case, I would drive four hours to enjoy a weekend in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and couldn't wait to peruse the bookshelves of my favorite gay and lesbian bookstore to stock up on books that would have to sustain me until my next trip. The only thing to go by was the description on the back of the book or perhaps a recommendation of a bookshop employee. Each book was a unique treasure of representation that so rarely existed outside of those books.
One of the books I picked up then was Touchwood. It was my first experience with an age gap romance - and a significant one at that. At the time I was younger than Rayann so related to it from her perspective. Thirty years later, it's very interesting to revisit it more from the eyes of Louisa.
It really is a blast from the past in so many ways. Back when the hot new computer was a MacIntosh (not a Mac), that used floppy disks. When you could run a bookstore without a computer. Rayann, at age 29, is a lover of classic movies and refers to them often. Many young readers may not recognize those references unless they love classics themselves. Back when society was beginning to change for the better for gays and lesbians, but for those in Louisa's age group, theirs was a much different experience and spilled over into their current lives.
I say this so people will know what to expect and I hope younger lesbians will give this a read. In this case, listen. It's our "herstory." A snapshot of life in 1991. It reminds some of us and teaches others what it was like for those that came before us.
For those that didn't buy the 30th edition novel, I suggest you do because Karin's introductory thoughts looking back on the work are insightful. Additionally, there are restored scenes and passages that were cut from the original.
This verrrrry slow burn romance is honest, beautiful and yes - sexy.
As for the narration - wow. What a dream to have Angela Dawe narrate this book! When I heard her deep, nearly sultry Louisa voice, I almost slid off my chair. And I was THRILLED to hear her interpretation of a significant secondary character, Zoraida, who is Hispanic. One of the things that drives me insane is when there is a character in a novel who is Hispanic and the narrator can't pronounce the words that they speak in Spanish. Considering it's the second most commonly used language in the United States, you would think a narrator could work on getting that right. Dawe absolutely nails it. Every time I think I can't possibly admire her skills more than I do, she blows me away yet again. As the greatest ones do, she elevates the experience of this already wonderful book.
Is this book dated? Yes. Should that stop you from listening to it? No. It's a snapshot in time of those that came before us whose sacrifices and actions resulted in the freedoms and rights we have now. These stories matter. And as romances go, it's so very affecting and thought-provoking.
One of the books I picked up then was Touchwood. It was my first experience with an age gap romance - and a significant one at that. At the time I was younger than Rayann so related to it from her perspective. Thirty years later, it's very interesting to revisit it more from the eyes of Louisa.
It really is a blast from the past in so many ways. Back when the hot new computer was a MacIntosh (not a Mac), that used floppy disks. When you could run a bookstore without a computer. Rayann, at age 29, is a lover of classic movies and refers to them often. Many young readers may not recognize those references unless they love classics themselves. Back when society was beginning to change for the better for gays and lesbians, but for those in Louisa's age group, theirs was a much different experience and spilled over into their current lives.
I say this so people will know what to expect and I hope younger lesbians will give this a read. In this case, listen. It's our "herstory." A snapshot of life in 1991. It reminds some of us and teaches others what it was like for those that came before us.
For those that didn't buy the 30th edition novel, I suggest you do because Karin's introductory thoughts looking back on the work are insightful. Additionally, there are restored scenes and passages that were cut from the original.
This verrrrry slow burn romance is honest, beautiful and yes - sexy.
As for the narration - wow. What a dream to have Angela Dawe narrate this book! When I heard her deep, nearly sultry Louisa voice, I almost slid off my chair. And I was THRILLED to hear her interpretation of a significant secondary character, Zoraida, who is Hispanic. One of the things that drives me insane is when there is a character in a novel who is Hispanic and the narrator can't pronounce the words that they speak in Spanish. Considering it's the second most commonly used language in the United States, you would think a narrator could work on getting that right. Dawe absolutely nails it. Every time I think I can't possibly admire her skills more than I do, she blows me away yet again. As the greatest ones do, she elevates the experience of this already wonderful book.
Is this book dated? Yes. Should that stop you from listening to it? No. It's a snapshot in time of those that came before us whose sacrifices and actions resulted in the freedoms and rights we have now. These stories matter. And as romances go, it's so very affecting and thought-provoking.
April 27, 2022
I recently read the 30th anniversary version of this book. This is often regarded as a classic in lesbian literature, and I hadn't read it before so I decided to give it a go when I saw the anniversary edition avaliable. Plus I've enjoyed several of Kallmaker's books from the 21st century too.
Touchwood follows Rayann Germaine after recently finding her lover of many years cheating on her, she runs from that relationship without much plan and finds herself working and living with Louisa Thatcher- who owns a small bookshop in San Francisco. Over months of living and working together, Rayann finds herself falling for Louisa, but Louisa has her hangups about a relationship as she isn't out to her son.
I really enjoyed this book. There are a lot of emotions displayed about a great number of issues, ranging from angst over the two main characters' wanting to be together, Louisa's fear over her son, Rayann having issues with her own mother, and more. As someone who reads for emotion and character this book was a fun experience.
Seeing this book set in the 90s was really interesting as well. It's not really a period piece per say as it was written for its time, but reading it in 2022 feels like a really well constructed period piece. And I've come to enjoy that time period quite a bit. So I really liked seeing lesbian culture in the 90s displayed. I found it really interesting how there were a lot of references to butch/femme relationships being the norm in the 50s, still very butch/femm in the 90s but lessening, and compared to a lack of rules and norms for today. And nothing at all against butch femme relationships (I'm in one lol) but seeing those norms displayed against todays lesbian culture was interesting to me.
Reading this book in a lot of ways reminds me of Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden. Really groundbreaking books for their time, and absolutely paved the way for future lesbian books. When I reread Annie last year I could think of many YA books that I enjoyed more, but when that book came out in the 80s it was groundbreaking. And Even though Touchwood came out in 1990, I see it in a similar light. Reading it in 2022 I can objectively think of some age gap romances I've enjoyed more, but I wonder where the genre of lesfic would be if this book didn't come out when it did or be as good as it was. 5/5 legacy score.
Touchwood follows Rayann Germaine after recently finding her lover of many years cheating on her, she runs from that relationship without much plan and finds herself working and living with Louisa Thatcher- who owns a small bookshop in San Francisco. Over months of living and working together, Rayann finds herself falling for Louisa, but Louisa has her hangups about a relationship as she isn't out to her son.
I really enjoyed this book. There are a lot of emotions displayed about a great number of issues, ranging from angst over the two main characters' wanting to be together, Louisa's fear over her son, Rayann having issues with her own mother, and more. As someone who reads for emotion and character this book was a fun experience.
Seeing this book set in the 90s was really interesting as well. It's not really a period piece per say as it was written for its time, but reading it in 2022 feels like a really well constructed period piece. And I've come to enjoy that time period quite a bit. So I really liked seeing lesbian culture in the 90s displayed. I found it really interesting how there were a lot of references to butch/femme relationships being the norm in the 50s, still very butch/femm in the 90s but lessening, and compared to a lack of rules and norms for today. And nothing at all against butch femme relationships (I'm in one lol) but seeing those norms displayed against todays lesbian culture was interesting to me.
Reading this book in a lot of ways reminds me of Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden. Really groundbreaking books for their time, and absolutely paved the way for future lesbian books. When I reread Annie last year I could think of many YA books that I enjoyed more, but when that book came out in the 80s it was groundbreaking. And Even though Touchwood came out in 1990, I see it in a similar light. Reading it in 2022 I can objectively think of some age gap romances I've enjoyed more, but I wonder where the genre of lesfic would be if this book didn't come out when it did or be as good as it was. 5/5 legacy score.
December 5, 2014
I've come to the same conclusion as Bib, this is "An enjoyable May-December lesbian romance."
Rayann, a 30-something wood sculptor, is viciously betrayed by her girlfriend. She runs away and finds refuge in the upper apartment of a woman who runs a small bookstore. The woman is old enough to be her mother, but Rayann feels strangely attracted to her. Is she just on the rebound? Is she just starved for intimacy? Or is it something more? Trouble is, how does Rayann find out? Not only is the age gap huge, the woman may not even be a lesbian.
Most of the book is seen from Rayann's point of view, so our perception of her landlady Louisa is seen only through her eyes.
This book is very well written, but because of all the stuff I listed above I didn't really get into the characters and their relationship. It is quite highly rated though, so maybe it's just me. There is an interesting discussion of butch/femme dynamics and roles in the 70s lesbian community and how people tried or struggled to fit into it, sometimes against their nature. The intimate scenes are very well done and I loved the bookstore that served as the setting of the book. It was almost like a character. :)
4 stars
Rayann, a 30-something wood sculptor, is viciously betrayed by her girlfriend. She runs away and finds refuge in the upper apartment of a woman who runs a small bookstore. The woman is old enough to be her mother, but Rayann feels strangely attracted to her. Is she just on the rebound? Is she just starved for intimacy? Or is it something more? Trouble is, how does Rayann find out? Not only is the age gap huge, the woman may not even be a lesbian.
Most of the book is seen from Rayann's point of view, so our perception of her landlady Louisa is seen only through her eyes.
This book is very well written, but because of all the stuff I listed above I didn't really get into the characters and their relationship. It is quite highly rated though, so maybe it's just me. There is an interesting discussion of butch/femme dynamics and roles in the 70s lesbian community and how people tried or struggled to fit into it, sometimes against their nature. The intimate scenes are very well done and I loved the bookstore that served as the setting of the book. It was almost like a character. :)
4 stars
August 15, 2014
May and December have never been so lovely. Beautiful, extremely moving and just plain wonderful, Touchwood is the kind of story that is both deep and mature and makes you wish you could find someone like Louisa in real life.
It can be a bit frustrating at times when Louisa and Rayann fail to effectively communicate with each other, especially in the beginning, but it's also 100% believable.
As a complete softie for May/December romances, I love the dynamics between the two main characters and how much each woman cares for the other. Even the love scenes are nicer and more touching than in most lesfic: "You have my heart and just about every inch of my body.” Rayann smiled slightly. “I think the little toe on my left foot is the only part of me you haven’t left an indelible impression on.”
It can be a bit frustrating at times when Louisa and Rayann fail to effectively communicate with each other, especially in the beginning, but it's also 100% believable.
As a complete softie for May/December romances, I love the dynamics between the two main characters and how much each woman cares for the other. Even the love scenes are nicer and more touching than in most lesfic: "You have my heart and just about every inch of my body.” Rayann smiled slightly. “I think the little toe on my left foot is the only part of me you haven’t left an indelible impression on.”
May 14, 2022
I am utterly in love with Louisa. So, hearing her voiced by Angela Dawe??? Perfection.
Kallmaker wrote Touchwood to include critiques of lesbian culture and notions of gender and sexual identity. For that reason, this book has stood the test of time better than some other “classic” lesfic, in my opinion.
Fantastic story 5 stars
Kallmaker wrote Touchwood to include critiques of lesbian culture and notions of gender and sexual identity. For that reason, this book has stood the test of time better than some other “classic” lesfic, in my opinion.
Fantastic story 5 stars
April 6, 2025
This can’t be happening. But it is, it is. She’s loving you, like this, giving you what you’ve wanted, what you’ve dreamed about almost since the day you met.REREAD 2025. I loved this just as much as I did the first time. Perhaps a teensy bit more? This is a book where like... I see its flaws, I see the things that I would have changed or I would have liked to be written in a different way, or I would have liked to be more fleshed out. But still, it's somehow perfect to me. Louisa is one of my biggest fictional crushes ever, ugh. I feel like I'm right there, in step with Rayann, as she falls for her. The depiction of desire, the slow journey to love, the side characters, the 90s setting and everything that meant for being queer and out, or queer and closeted... I loved everything about this. It's way up there with my favourite age gap romances, and it makes me want to read more lesbian fiction from the 90s. There's something about it... I don't know. Listened to the audiobook as read by Angela Dawe, and her voice is everything to me, and is so perfect for the characters. I just... loved this. Obviously isn't for everyone, because of the huge age gap, but the girlies who get it, get it.
--
But the memory burns.
I've read a few of this author's books and I've always known that I had the potential to really love one of them. I wasn't expecting it to be one of her first published books? God, this was so so so lovely. A taboo age-gap romance that shouldn't work, but it does, and the author convinces me that it does. Usually I only get the feeling of a sweeping, epic romance in fantasy or other speculative romance, but this couple made me feel like the earth was moving, even in a contemporary. (Also side note, I had to wonder about what to label this as. I mean, it's not exactly contemporary; it takes place in 1991. But it feels very weird to label a book as historical when it was written and takes place after I was born? LOL. And I mean, it was contemporary in the year that it was written, so that seems to fit best, I guess.) I was absolutely swept away by the story and their love, and my heart just feels so full.
Rayann is devastated when she finds her girlfriend cheating on her. She immediately moves out of their house, and eventually finds a room to rent at a bookstore. Her new landlady and boss, Louisa, is a kind and alluring older woman, and Rayann starts slowly and inexorably falling in love. There are a few reasons why this struck such a chord with me. This particular slice of history was so interesting to read about, especially from the perspective of a 29 year old, who herself has to contend with the perspectives of a 56 year old. It's a period in which queer rights have come a long way from Louisa's youth, where women like Rayann feel free to be a little more open in certain spaces, but it's still miles away from total acceptance. I also got a kick out of the descriptions of various tools and technologies and practices of the time. Like the way Louisa and Rayann met. I'm sure services like that still exist today, but definitely not in such a casual way.
“I don’t need charity.”
“I can’t afford charity. All I have to give is love.”
But I did adore their meeting; from the first moment, there was so much chemistry. The author perfectly described that inescapable pull Rayann felt for Louisa, even though she knew how different they were, the many obstacles that would stand in their way. I loved that she actually tried to get over her, made connections with other women that weren't just surface level. (Zoraida was amazing; I wish she had her own romance.) But what she felt for Louisa was deeper, and the fact that she actually tried to get over her, idk, it just made it feel even more meaningful and inevitable when they finally did succumb. I always say that a good single POV romance can be even better than dual-POV, and this was one of those cases. (Though I did love getting that short story from Louisa's perspective near the end.) Rayann is so sweetly smitten, and every scene where they worked together, got closer, and Rayann is absolutely tormented by her longing... ugh. One of the best explorations of desire I've ever read. Really simple language, but really moving. Seeing Louisa through her eyes made ME fall in love too. And there's never any doubt that Louisa's feelings are returned.
The conflicts were just the right tone, not too overdone, but appropriate for their situation. It was the type of family drama that felt apt. I also really liked the discussions about butch/femme roles, how they really work for some lesbians, and don't for others. This had a great cast of side characters (Greta and Hazel's story made me tear up!!), and even though the book mostly takes place in contained spaces, the world felt very real, very rich. And I don't think I can gush enough about the romance, how swoony and wonderful it was.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Angela Dawe, as usual, she blew me away. That voice for Louisa... I'm swooning. Her acting is always perfect, never overdone or exaggerated, and even in moments where there aren't tone markers, her voices and emotions for the characters always perfectly match what I imagine for them. This was just so excellent; it has me really excited to read more Kallmaker. I'm kind of sad that I didn't manage to write this review right after I finished, Judged on its own, this was an instant favourite; I had such a visceral reaction to it. A romance that I'll be thinking about for a long time to come.
“I didn’t know it could be so…quiet.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” Rayann sighed. “Quiet and loud at the same time.
October 28, 2022
I loved it when I read it and I was over the moon with Angela Dawe narrating it. The story holds a special place in my heart because it was the first age gap romance I read. Rayann and Louisa had the same 27 year gap that wife and I had. Their story is just as powerful today as it was back then. If you haven’t read it then you really need to.
March 18, 2009
I love Karin's writing style. TOUCHWOOD is a sample of the depth of her characters - and of course some spice.
March 11, 2016
Fantastic read.
Understand now why this book is in so many people's top 10.
Understand now why this book is in so many people's top 10.
December 15, 2025
3.5⭐️ I listened to this audio book narrated by Angela Dawes. I liked the narration. It’s definitely dated but good to read and understand what life was like for queer women back in the 1950s and 1960s.
September 7, 2016
This is the very first lesbian fiction book I read when I was coming out. It felt like home!
January 15, 2023
This story originally written in 1991 gives me the reality that in that time it was very difficult to be who you want to be. The story got to me.
July 1, 2025
4.5⭐️
My thoughts are a little all over the place but I thoroughly enjoyed this.
My thoughts are a little all over the place but I thoroughly enjoyed this.
February 2, 2022
• Touchwood
• Karin Kallmaker
• 30 year Anniversary
��� Audio – Angela Dawe
• MC Rayann Germaine & Louisa
• Age-Gap
Classic love story. Rayann is devastated when she discovers her
girlfriend is having an affair, in the very home they share. Rayann is devastated and runs to her mom’s house. Unfortunately, Rayann’s mom is not the warm and accepting type.
After picking up her belongings from her ex’s house, Rayann decides that she would rather go to a woman’s shelter than go back to her mom’s house.
Lousia, a woman in her 50’s, stops by the shelter to drop off a flyer for a room she has for rent. She runs into Rayann. (I love when two people meet at the right time) Rayann was losing hope with her current situation. Louisa gave her hope when she offered her a place to live and a part time job at the book shop she owned.
Rayann and Louisa get to know each other, as Rayann helps her redo her book shop. Feelings start to develop for the pair. Louisa introduces Rayann to her grandson and son.
Rayann is a kind soul who wants love and understanding.
Louisa is apprehensive due to having to hide who she really was in her past.
A very beautiful side story in this book, was Hazel and Greta. A wonderful older couple who would visit the book shop. Rayann got to know these two lovely ladies and their story. They were not able to be openly gay, and had to pose as sisters due to the harsh discrimination at the time. I feel this opened Rayanns eyes to the things that Louisa had to go through. It helped her understand Lousia on a deeper level.
This story really shines a light on how hard times were for all LGBTQ 🏳️🌈 plus
Community. And how much progress has been made. Love Wins! It is inspirational and should push us to keep progressing.
This is a beautiful love story you don’t want to miss.
The author did a amazing job showing you how times have change and love can conquer all.
Narrator Angela Dawe is simply amazing!!
• Karin Kallmaker
• 30 year Anniversary
��� Audio – Angela Dawe
• MC Rayann Germaine & Louisa
• Age-Gap
Classic love story. Rayann is devastated when she discovers her
girlfriend is having an affair, in the very home they share. Rayann is devastated and runs to her mom’s house. Unfortunately, Rayann’s mom is not the warm and accepting type.
After picking up her belongings from her ex’s house, Rayann decides that she would rather go to a woman’s shelter than go back to her mom’s house.
Lousia, a woman in her 50’s, stops by the shelter to drop off a flyer for a room she has for rent. She runs into Rayann. (I love when two people meet at the right time) Rayann was losing hope with her current situation. Louisa gave her hope when she offered her a place to live and a part time job at the book shop she owned.
Rayann and Louisa get to know each other, as Rayann helps her redo her book shop. Feelings start to develop for the pair. Louisa introduces Rayann to her grandson and son.
Rayann is a kind soul who wants love and understanding.
Louisa is apprehensive due to having to hide who she really was in her past.
A very beautiful side story in this book, was Hazel and Greta. A wonderful older couple who would visit the book shop. Rayann got to know these two lovely ladies and their story. They were not able to be openly gay, and had to pose as sisters due to the harsh discrimination at the time. I feel this opened Rayanns eyes to the things that Louisa had to go through. It helped her understand Lousia on a deeper level.
This story really shines a light on how hard times were for all LGBTQ 🏳️🌈 plus
Community. And how much progress has been made. Love Wins! It is inspirational and should push us to keep progressing.
This is a beautiful love story you don’t want to miss.
The author did a amazing job showing you how times have change and love can conquer all.
Narrator Angela Dawe is simply amazing!!
April 25, 2023
5⭐️🎧
#CW//sexually explicit scenes
I absolutely adored this book!
Of course, I loved watching the relationship between Rayann and Louisa develop and deepen, but more than that, I love the glimpse into lesbian reality of the mid-1900s. Louisa shows us the deep suffering that homophobia causes and shows us a bit of how that homophobia is internalized. At one point, she is trying to explain herself and says "I was in two closets". What she means is she had to be one person in the world where she raised a son and made a living, but she had to be a different person in the world with her's and Christine's, her partner, friends ... and neither person was who she really was. She spent so much time hiding, she nearly lost herself.
For me, 5 star books are books that are important, that everyone should read. This is one. Read this for the beautiful story and how these characters overcome the odds stacked against them, but also read it for the knowledge of how having the world hate you can completely lock you away from true happiness and from self-love. Read it to understand what lesbians (and gay men) have endured and to understand why so many gays are absolutely adamant that they will never go back in the closet.
#CW//sexually explicit scenes
I absolutely adored this book!
Of course, I loved watching the relationship between Rayann and Louisa develop and deepen, but more than that, I love the glimpse into lesbian reality of the mid-1900s. Louisa shows us the deep suffering that homophobia causes and shows us a bit of how that homophobia is internalized. At one point, she is trying to explain herself and says "I was in two closets". What she means is she had to be one person in the world where she raised a son and made a living, but she had to be a different person in the world with her's and Christine's, her partner, friends ... and neither person was who she really was. She spent so much time hiding, she nearly lost herself.
For me, 5 star books are books that are important, that everyone should read. This is one. Read this for the beautiful story and how these characters overcome the odds stacked against them, but also read it for the knowledge of how having the world hate you can completely lock you away from true happiness and from self-love. Read it to understand what lesbians (and gay men) have endured and to understand why so many gays are absolutely adamant that they will never go back in the closet.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2024
I’ve read this three times and love it so much. It is my favorite age-gap story. It is well-written, sensitive, sensual and thoroughly covers all the issues that the two must face. On the one hand, the older partner has faced many more years of homophonic attitudes and most likely had to hide the truth from many factions. The younger partner grew up with more liberal attitudes towards her sexuality and didn’t have to be concerned with the same burdens.
March 3, 2022
5 Huge stars for the audiobook narrated by Angela Dawe.
Beautifully written age gap love story set in a book store in the eighties. Pushed every nostalgic button I have, and was really everything I want in a good lesbian romance. Indulge and enjoy!
Beautifully written age gap love story set in a book store in the eighties. Pushed every nostalgic button I have, and was really everything I want in a good lesbian romance. Indulge and enjoy!
January 3, 2015
My favorite Karin Kallmaker book so far.
December 22, 2021
Wonderful book. I love anything by Karin Kallmaker.
September 21, 2017
https://inkmarksonemptydreams.com/201...
Search
It’s been a long time since I have read a book written by Karin Kallmaker (last one was “Love by the numbers” which also, was a beautiful read), I have almost forgotten how her writing “feels” like and how the characters she creates come to life and amaze souls in a different way than any other writer does.
When you start reading, you get distracted by the characters and especially by Rayann’s despair after her break-up with her girlfriend, Michelle, whom has cheated on her and Rayann found out that they were having sex on her bed and her sheets, yet she reminds herself that she left a beautiful career to become sort of a lesbian housewife, entertained by Michelle, Rayann is a wood carver.
Rayann and her mother, Ann Germaine had a difficult relationship especially since her father died, her mother tried to push forward her dreams through Rayann and wanted her to become a commercial graphician, yet after she met Michelle, Rayann and her mother have lost all hope as Rayann gave up her dreams. And now, she lost everything, her love, Michelle, her dreams, and she just wanted to get away from Michelle and didn’t wanted to go home to her mother’s house. She travelled by tram and train until she found a shelter for women and none could really help but one woman whom wanted nothing and none, but to pay some dues from her youth when she wasn’t able to fight for the women’s rights, pains or lesbianism for the sake of her son, Teddy, so that she could hold onto him and never lose him nor his love and attachment, not even for Christina, her love, that was Louisa.
Louisa’s love was gone now, along with Christina dead and Teddy having afamily, she only had her bookstore and her friend Danny, hiding her own self from her son and from the world, no lesbian book had any place in her bookstore, but some old Renee Vivien poetry hidden somewhere back the shelves.
Rayann took the challenge and agreed to work in Louisa’s bookstore in order to pay for the rent and food, yet she has never expected herself to fall in love with Louise, a woman twice her age, who could actually be her mother. Louisa amazed her in a way none else ever did : her silence, her knowing glance, her hands – Louisa’s hands were her wildest dream, everything about Louisa bewildered her and attracted her even more, evermore, her dark eyes, her beautiful body, her skin, her dark hair with gray strands and combs, she became infatuated and so life goes on until one beautiful night when Louisa made real love to Rayann, the sensation and the reality of it never left her, yet Louisa never wanted to influence Rayann’s life, not being able to take her own decisions for loving a woman half her age. So, Rayann, unexperienced and left, somewhow, in the air, filled her spare time with Zoraida, a beautiful latin lover lesbian butch, yet she was not Louisa.
I loved the way this novel was set, as we see the action through Rayann’s eyes, loving an elder woman to the edges of fading like a rare flower into an unknown land from nowhere, calling a love that would last into her heart forever.
I have to confess that, I was in love with Louisa, and I wished I could find her sight of the story, the way her heart skipped a beat whenever Rayann was around, what she had found in Rayann, why did she let Rayann go off with Zoraida, I wanted to know so much more about Louisa, yet I was pleased in imaging it by myself, which was more fun and even more inspiring, maybe it was a writer’s trick.
Those moments when Louisa had treated Rayann as a child, as a friend, anything else but her lover, were most entertaining, as the reader knew it was the way Louisa’s experience with her son knew best, knew more of youth, yet knew nothing of Rayann’s love and addiction, nothing like her son’s, Teddy’s, but everything her heart wanted to hear and fell, and that her mind sent away.
I loved how Rayann grew up, evolved by leaving Zoraida and she knew that none would ever love her as Louisa would. And after some time and even more struggling to keep away her lust and passion for Luisa, giving into work and her passion for commercial marketing, she set herself somehow on the second place. And when she could not take it anymore and confessed to Louisa she believed she and Danny were lovers and died of jealousy, she could see the struggle that went through Louisa, not wanting to lose Rayann’s love, and not wanting to lose her son’s love, as Danny told Rayann, just made it all clear now and Rayyan knew she was desperately and deeply in love with Louisa.
Rayann’s relationship with her mother improved somehow as Ann met Louisa nad found her amazing, and Rayann met Jim her mother’s fiancée, yet when her mother found out Louisa was her lover, her daughter’s lover, that was her age, was the turning point, yet Louisa was on the edge of her wisdom and found a way to settle things down, yet she had to tell Teddy just how much she loved Rayann and how many decades she has been hiding her lesbian love for Christina and now, she wanted all transparent for Rayann.
And she does it, all right, yet it takes some time for her son to swallow the deep gulp, yet he will and they will be a big happy family at Ann Germaine and Jim’s wedding in Greece.
I loved Louisa’s story : she hid her lesbian desires and her love for Christina, just for Teddy’s sake, her son’s love valued gold in times when in America being lesbian was a drill, 50’s and 60’s when she didn’t dare to take action , but maybe getting arrested for some lesbian thoughts, yet nothing of lesbian liberalism, afraid that the social services could take Teddy away from her.
Now, she sees through Teddy and Rayann, nothing alike but their age, yet her son was still a boy needing his mother, while Rayann was a young woman, much more adult than her age showed, who loved her and believed in her love and their freedom to love each other forever.
And so, they did. I loved this novel so much, one of the few lesbian novels about a younger and an older woman who deeply fall in love with each other, despite their age difference, their experience and their love for baseball.
Louisa’s strength, her sensitiveness and her sweetness conquered my senses and made me want her just as much as Rayann must have wanted her, adored her, loved her.
I am in awe, no quotes, thank you, Karin Kallmaker.
Search
It’s been a long time since I have read a book written by Karin Kallmaker (last one was “Love by the numbers” which also, was a beautiful read), I have almost forgotten how her writing “feels” like and how the characters she creates come to life and amaze souls in a different way than any other writer does.
When you start reading, you get distracted by the characters and especially by Rayann’s despair after her break-up with her girlfriend, Michelle, whom has cheated on her and Rayann found out that they were having sex on her bed and her sheets, yet she reminds herself that she left a beautiful career to become sort of a lesbian housewife, entertained by Michelle, Rayann is a wood carver.
Rayann and her mother, Ann Germaine had a difficult relationship especially since her father died, her mother tried to push forward her dreams through Rayann and wanted her to become a commercial graphician, yet after she met Michelle, Rayann and her mother have lost all hope as Rayann gave up her dreams. And now, she lost everything, her love, Michelle, her dreams, and she just wanted to get away from Michelle and didn’t wanted to go home to her mother’s house. She travelled by tram and train until she found a shelter for women and none could really help but one woman whom wanted nothing and none, but to pay some dues from her youth when she wasn’t able to fight for the women’s rights, pains or lesbianism for the sake of her son, Teddy, so that she could hold onto him and never lose him nor his love and attachment, not even for Christina, her love, that was Louisa.
Louisa’s love was gone now, along with Christina dead and Teddy having afamily, she only had her bookstore and her friend Danny, hiding her own self from her son and from the world, no lesbian book had any place in her bookstore, but some old Renee Vivien poetry hidden somewhere back the shelves.
Rayann took the challenge and agreed to work in Louisa’s bookstore in order to pay for the rent and food, yet she has never expected herself to fall in love with Louise, a woman twice her age, who could actually be her mother. Louisa amazed her in a way none else ever did : her silence, her knowing glance, her hands – Louisa’s hands were her wildest dream, everything about Louisa bewildered her and attracted her even more, evermore, her dark eyes, her beautiful body, her skin, her dark hair with gray strands and combs, she became infatuated and so life goes on until one beautiful night when Louisa made real love to Rayann, the sensation and the reality of it never left her, yet Louisa never wanted to influence Rayann’s life, not being able to take her own decisions for loving a woman half her age. So, Rayann, unexperienced and left, somewhow, in the air, filled her spare time with Zoraida, a beautiful latin lover lesbian butch, yet she was not Louisa.
I loved the way this novel was set, as we see the action through Rayann’s eyes, loving an elder woman to the edges of fading like a rare flower into an unknown land from nowhere, calling a love that would last into her heart forever.
I have to confess that, I was in love with Louisa, and I wished I could find her sight of the story, the way her heart skipped a beat whenever Rayann was around, what she had found in Rayann, why did she let Rayann go off with Zoraida, I wanted to know so much more about Louisa, yet I was pleased in imaging it by myself, which was more fun and even more inspiring, maybe it was a writer’s trick.
Those moments when Louisa had treated Rayann as a child, as a friend, anything else but her lover, were most entertaining, as the reader knew it was the way Louisa’s experience with her son knew best, knew more of youth, yet knew nothing of Rayann’s love and addiction, nothing like her son’s, Teddy’s, but everything her heart wanted to hear and fell, and that her mind sent away.
I loved how Rayann grew up, evolved by leaving Zoraida and she knew that none would ever love her as Louisa would. And after some time and even more struggling to keep away her lust and passion for Luisa, giving into work and her passion for commercial marketing, she set herself somehow on the second place. And when she could not take it anymore and confessed to Louisa she believed she and Danny were lovers and died of jealousy, she could see the struggle that went through Louisa, not wanting to lose Rayann’s love, and not wanting to lose her son’s love, as Danny told Rayann, just made it all clear now and Rayyan knew she was desperately and deeply in love with Louisa.
Rayann’s relationship with her mother improved somehow as Ann met Louisa nad found her amazing, and Rayann met Jim her mother’s fiancée, yet when her mother found out Louisa was her lover, her daughter’s lover, that was her age, was the turning point, yet Louisa was on the edge of her wisdom and found a way to settle things down, yet she had to tell Teddy just how much she loved Rayann and how many decades she has been hiding her lesbian love for Christina and now, she wanted all transparent for Rayann.
And she does it, all right, yet it takes some time for her son to swallow the deep gulp, yet he will and they will be a big happy family at Ann Germaine and Jim’s wedding in Greece.
I loved Louisa’s story : she hid her lesbian desires and her love for Christina, just for Teddy’s sake, her son’s love valued gold in times when in America being lesbian was a drill, 50’s and 60’s when she didn’t dare to take action , but maybe getting arrested for some lesbian thoughts, yet nothing of lesbian liberalism, afraid that the social services could take Teddy away from her.
Now, she sees through Teddy and Rayann, nothing alike but their age, yet her son was still a boy needing his mother, while Rayann was a young woman, much more adult than her age showed, who loved her and believed in her love and their freedom to love each other forever.
And so, they did. I loved this novel so much, one of the few lesbian novels about a younger and an older woman who deeply fall in love with each other, despite their age difference, their experience and their love for baseball.
Louisa’s strength, her sensitiveness and her sweetness conquered my senses and made me want her just as much as Rayann must have wanted her, adored her, loved her.
I am in awe, no quotes, thank you, Karin Kallmaker.
May 20, 2024
I bought this in December of 2021, it's been sitting on my TBR pile since (yes, it's that long). What a gem this is! Its a classic!
A beautiful May/December love story. Rayann at 29 catches her girlfriend of 3 years cheating on her and leaves, not knowing where she'll end up. When she's offered to share an apartment with low rent if she'll also help in the downstairs bookstore owned by Louisa 54. Louisa is in the closet, being from another generation. This is the story of their coming together and falling in love. A FAVORITE! Worthy of more than 5 stars!!
A beautiful May/December love story. Rayann at 29 catches her girlfriend of 3 years cheating on her and leaves, not knowing where she'll end up. When she's offered to share an apartment with low rent if she'll also help in the downstairs bookstore owned by Louisa 54. Louisa is in the closet, being from another generation. This is the story of their coming together and falling in love. A FAVORITE! Worthy of more than 5 stars!!
September 6, 2024
Wow.
I now know why this is considered a classic.
We follow thirty year old Rayann, who catches her lover cheating and – looking for a place to start anew – finds herself in a bookshop Ignoring the fact that Louisa is old enough to be her mother, Rayann can’t help but fall for her.
I really liked how the age difference was handled (is it such a common thing in w/w romances or am I just picking these books up by chance? This is my fourth book this year that includes a lesbian romance with quite an age difference). It isn’t just ignored or romanticized. It is posed as a defining element of the relationship, an obstacle, actually, that needed maturity on both sides to overcome the problems of being of two different generation.
I also liked the general generational conflicts: a generation that still knows what it is like to fear being arrested for being themselves clashes with a generation that can live much more openly and cannot understand how one can deny oneself their own identity.
Further the conflict between being out and proud and protesting or quiet, scared and trying to conform as much as possible, to the point of not being true to oneself anymore.
And finally having not only the scrutinization and prejudice of the heteros, but also being typecasted by other lesbians in the community, believing you could only be femme or butch – nothing in between.
The book gave me a wonderful insight into the lesbian community in the early 90s and also gave me a wonderful love story to root for.
I like how the relationship of Rayanne and her mother and Luisa and her son was portrayed: difficult but hopeful. Of course, this isn’t how it’s always going to be, but this was really heartwarming, giving the characters a new way to define what “family” means to them, even if they at first thought, they could never have one while staying true to themselves.
One thing I didn’t like was one of the initial conflicts:
So generally: this was a nice romance story.
Also: always love me a bookstore setting!
I now know why this is considered a classic.
We follow thirty year old Rayann, who catches her lover cheating and – looking for a place to start anew – finds herself in a bookshop Ignoring the fact that Louisa is old enough to be her mother, Rayann can’t help but fall for her.
I really liked how the age difference was handled (is it such a common thing in w/w romances or am I just picking these books up by chance? This is my fourth book this year that includes a lesbian romance with quite an age difference). It isn’t just ignored or romanticized. It is posed as a defining element of the relationship, an obstacle, actually, that needed maturity on both sides to overcome the problems of being of two different generation.
I also liked the general generational conflicts: a generation that still knows what it is like to fear being arrested for being themselves clashes with a generation that can live much more openly and cannot understand how one can deny oneself their own identity.
Further the conflict between being out and proud and protesting or quiet, scared and trying to conform as much as possible, to the point of not being true to oneself anymore.
And finally having not only the scrutinization and prejudice of the heteros, but also being typecasted by other lesbians in the community, believing you could only be femme or butch – nothing in between.
The book gave me a wonderful insight into the lesbian community in the early 90s and also gave me a wonderful love story to root for.
I like how the relationship of Rayanne and her mother and Luisa and her son was portrayed: difficult but hopeful. Of course, this isn’t how it’s always going to be, but this was really heartwarming, giving the characters a new way to define what “family” means to them, even if they at first thought, they could never have one while staying true to themselves.
One thing I didn’t like was one of the initial conflicts:
So generally: this was a nice romance story.
Also: always love me a bookstore setting!
March 13, 2025
3/12/25
I really enjoyed this second listen to this classic piece of lesbian fiction. We've come a long way. I hope we don't get shoved back down in this, our current political and social climate.
9/13/22
This listen was a step back in time for me; back to a time when I was freshly out and proud and coming to terms with everything that meant for my life. I remember making the same assumptions about (and having the same frustrations with) the older generation of lesbians I came into contact with as Rayann did with Louisa. I too had to be educated as to why they made the life choices they did and learn to respect and appreciate the way their lives made things easier for my generation.
I also remember the joy of finding reflections of myself in the tiny amount of reading material with lesbian characters I could find and treasuring those establishments that carried the books, so the bookstore in this story held as much allure and nostalgia for me as the rest of the story did.
Angela Dawe narrating was an extra treat and leant the story more of an emotional punch than I would have gotten from reading the eBook. She does an excellent job of supplying the tone and expressiveness the author intended in each character’s dialog and I am sure makes a couple of the characters (Rayann’s mom and Dani) more palatable and three dimensional than my reading would have and takes one character’s (Zoraida) sexiness to the stratosphere.
Overall, a very enjoyable listen and something I could see myself returning to from time to time. And this audiobook cover - just lovely and perfect for the story.
I really enjoyed this second listen to this classic piece of lesbian fiction. We've come a long way. I hope we don't get shoved back down in this, our current political and social climate.
9/13/22
This listen was a step back in time for me; back to a time when I was freshly out and proud and coming to terms with everything that meant for my life. I remember making the same assumptions about (and having the same frustrations with) the older generation of lesbians I came into contact with as Rayann did with Louisa. I too had to be educated as to why they made the life choices they did and learn to respect and appreciate the way their lives made things easier for my generation.
I also remember the joy of finding reflections of myself in the tiny amount of reading material with lesbian characters I could find and treasuring those establishments that carried the books, so the bookstore in this story held as much allure and nostalgia for me as the rest of the story did.
Angela Dawe narrating was an extra treat and leant the story more of an emotional punch than I would have gotten from reading the eBook. She does an excellent job of supplying the tone and expressiveness the author intended in each character’s dialog and I am sure makes a couple of the characters (Rayann’s mom and Dani) more palatable and three dimensional than my reading would have and takes one character’s (Zoraida) sexiness to the stratosphere.
Overall, a very enjoyable listen and something I could see myself returning to from time to time. And this audiobook cover - just lovely and perfect for the story.
March 15, 2020
Reading this book gave me the same feeling as watching the movie Carol. It's old, beautiful and easy-going, and quite educational too since the older woman was an activist back in her days.
But I have to say the slow-burn romance was only lukewarm. I didn't buy Rayann's romantic feeling toward Louisa since it read more like a physical attraction, plus the narration kept repeating how the two women had almost nothing in common. I also found Louisa very reserved and not as interesting as Rayann's narrative voice suggested. What bothered me was
There was another character who was introduced as a foil to Louisa, and her relationship with Rayann was much better and hotter.
But I have to say the slow-burn romance was only lukewarm. I didn't buy Rayann's romantic feeling toward Louisa since it read more like a physical attraction, plus the narration kept repeating how the two women had almost nothing in common. I also found Louisa very reserved and not as interesting as Rayann's narrative voice suggested. What bothered me was
There was another character who was introduced as a foil to Louisa, and her relationship with Rayann was much better and hotter.
February 20, 2013
An enjoyable May-December lesbian romance.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews