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Glissando: A story of love, lust and jazz
Sharp-witted paralegal Ellie Greenberg has a dynamite career at a law firm in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Happily divorced, in the middle years of her life and keeping sexy ‘n’ sassy, she decompresses from the demands of her career by joining the jazz scene at a local college. The instant she sees the very-married new soloist, trumpet player Vincent Keyes, she’s speared directly in the heart by Cupid’s arrow. Unfortunately, Ellie has also walked straight into the romantic cross-hairs of ace lawyer Stan Feldman.
Ellie tries to gain her footing in the emotional tornado, where the ride is thrilling but ultimately unsustainable. She agonizes over choosing between the two men…or changing her life completely.
Ellie tries to gain her footing in the emotional tornado, where the ride is thrilling but ultimately unsustainable. She agonizes over choosing between the two men…or changing her life completely.
199 pages, Paperback
Published November 22, 2020
4 people want to read
About the author
Debbie Burke
13 books10 followersNOTE: There are TWO of us authors here named Debbie Burke. She's a thriller writer and I write about jazz. We've had a lot of fun with this and have interviewed one another on our blogs.
Anyway! I am an award-winner author of Death by Saxophone, Icarus Flies Home, Tasty Jazz Jams for Our Times[TM] Vol. 1, Vol. 2 and Vol. 3, Glissando – A Story of Love, Lust and Jazz, The Poconos in B Flat, Music in the Scriptures, Klezmer for the Joyful Soul and The Author's Little Red Guide to Editing, as well as a biography of my father, the mid-century painter, screenwriter and novelist Irving Schiffer with Knowing Irv: The Life and Art of Irving Schiffer.
I write about jazz because I love it. I play alto sax and am an avid jazz blogger (debbieburkeauthor.com). Born in Brooklyn, I have lived in six different states in the eastern half of the US but most of all, I love being near the ocean. When I'm not writing, I'm learning new licks on the sax.
I hope you enjoy my books! Coming soon, another mystery, this time a romantic mystery about when jazz collides with the classical music world.
Anyway! I am an award-winner author of Death by Saxophone, Icarus Flies Home, Tasty Jazz Jams for Our Times[TM] Vol. 1, Vol. 2 and Vol. 3, Glissando – A Story of Love, Lust and Jazz, The Poconos in B Flat, Music in the Scriptures, Klezmer for the Joyful Soul and The Author's Little Red Guide to Editing, as well as a biography of my father, the mid-century painter, screenwriter and novelist Irving Schiffer with Knowing Irv: The Life and Art of Irving Schiffer.
I write about jazz because I love it. I play alto sax and am an avid jazz blogger (debbieburkeauthor.com). Born in Brooklyn, I have lived in six different states in the eastern half of the US but most of all, I love being near the ocean. When I'm not writing, I'm learning new licks on the sax.
I hope you enjoy my books! Coming soon, another mystery, this time a romantic mystery about when jazz collides with the classical music world.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 10 reviews
February 1, 2020
Glissando, A Story of Love, Lust and Jazz, Debbie Burke
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews
Genre: Romance, Women's fiction.
Bah! Women's fiction. Its 2020, men write romance, men read romance. Outdated category.
So, I did see that Ellie was attracted to a married guy, but hoped there were going to be some mitigating circumstances...y'know, wife still, but divorce on the way, wife is a nasty woman, and there are reasons, valid reasons why they don't part. Sadly though Ellie decides before knowing anything about the wife that she wants Vince, and what she wants she gets. Having been in that situation herself and devastated by it, I just could not understand how she could do it to someone else.
The story starts where Ellie is maybe late twenties/ early thirties perhaps, then suddenly it shoots forward to where she's fifty-five, and meets Vince. I found that odd, not really knowing what happened in her life between then and now.
I also found that the writing style, very much an inner light into Ellie's constant thoughts, rather than dialogue based didn't work for me. I'm not a fan of stories told via inner monologues. That's me though, as always you may feel very differently about this book.
I'm not sure whether this is meant to be a stand alone of part of a sereis, certainly the very last line hints at a series, or more to come anyway, but there isn't any easy to find info. I won't be continuing anyway.
Stars: Two, just not one for me.
Arc via Netgalley and publishers
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews
Genre: Romance, Women's fiction.
Bah! Women's fiction. Its 2020, men write romance, men read romance. Outdated category.
So, I did see that Ellie was attracted to a married guy, but hoped there were going to be some mitigating circumstances...y'know, wife still, but divorce on the way, wife is a nasty woman, and there are reasons, valid reasons why they don't part. Sadly though Ellie decides before knowing anything about the wife that she wants Vince, and what she wants she gets. Having been in that situation herself and devastated by it, I just could not understand how she could do it to someone else.
The story starts where Ellie is maybe late twenties/ early thirties perhaps, then suddenly it shoots forward to where she's fifty-five, and meets Vince. I found that odd, not really knowing what happened in her life between then and now.
I also found that the writing style, very much an inner light into Ellie's constant thoughts, rather than dialogue based didn't work for me. I'm not a fan of stories told via inner monologues. That's me though, as always you may feel very differently about this book.
I'm not sure whether this is meant to be a stand alone of part of a sereis, certainly the very last line hints at a series, or more to come anyway, but there isn't any easy to find info. I won't be continuing anyway.
Stars: Two, just not one for me.
Arc via Netgalley and publishers
November 21, 2018
Glissando is a fun, quick read about the love life of likeable protagonist, Ellie Greenburg, a paralegal working in the prison system. Her apparently stable marriage comes to a halt after her husband has an affair and Ellie joins a local jazz band only to fall in love with Vince, a married band mate. This falling in love or lust with Vince does not end the way Ellie imagined.
The best thing about Glissando is the way it realistically deals with human interaction in love and at work – it is the small things between people that are most revealing about their real feelings about each other.
Glissando is also unique in showing a female in charge of her life, who makes good and bad choices and lives with the consequences when she finds herself alone in her fifties, ready to start attacking life again.
It is a perfect, heart-warming afternoon read along with a coffee and a muffin.
The best thing about Glissando is the way it realistically deals with human interaction in love and at work – it is the small things between people that are most revealing about their real feelings about each other.
Glissando is also unique in showing a female in charge of her life, who makes good and bad choices and lives with the consequences when she finds herself alone in her fifties, ready to start attacking life again.
It is a perfect, heart-warming afternoon read along with a coffee and a muffin.
April 30, 2019
Smart, sassy, sexy and dripping with wit and jazz and wit. A great read!
April 22, 2019
Glissando is a delightful book. Relatable to independent women that desire love in their life but in no way willing to settle. I love Debbie Burke's flow of writing. A great Sunday afternoon read.
June 6, 2022
Glissando by Debbie Burke is a compelling story of love, lust, and jazz revolving around Ellie Greenberg. At 23, Ellie is love-struck immediately when she meets Rudy. She marries him, but their matrimony is short-lived when he steps out on her. Now, In her mid-fifties, juggling an amiable social life and a flourishing career as a paralegal at Schneider & Snee, Ellie joins a community jazz band where she meets and falls hopelessly for musician and somewhat jazz legend Vince Keyes. To her dismay, he is married to a much younger woman. Ellie starts dating co-worker Stan while contemplating whether to pursue Vince or not.
Debbie Burke has a way with words. It is impressive how she comfortably switches from one story to another and still carries the reader along. Ellie’s love for jazz illuminates the pages. Her character is relatable and intelligent enough to know what she wants. The fallibility and realistic portrayal of Ellie’s character, not to talk of her quirky soliloquies, will constantly make you laugh.
The story is fascinating, even without a lot of drama. It is the story of a successful divorced woman that is trying to figure out her own love life in her fifties. It is realistic in the sense that sometimes people don’t know what they want and have to work out in their own minds what is important and what they really want. However, I feel that some of the chapters seem to have a monotonous sound with many filler scenes that held no significance to the development of the plot. Glissando is still a book worth reading as Ellie is a great character to read about and get to know.
We all love a woman who has a mind of her own. Readers with a knack for resilient female protagonists will find Glissando enjoyable. I particularly loved how Ellie retained her youthful sensuality and imagination, proving that middle-aged women can still have fun.
Debbie Burke has a way with words. It is impressive how she comfortably switches from one story to another and still carries the reader along. Ellie’s love for jazz illuminates the pages. Her character is relatable and intelligent enough to know what she wants. The fallibility and realistic portrayal of Ellie’s character, not to talk of her quirky soliloquies, will constantly make you laugh.
The story is fascinating, even without a lot of drama. It is the story of a successful divorced woman that is trying to figure out her own love life in her fifties. It is realistic in the sense that sometimes people don’t know what they want and have to work out in their own minds what is important and what they really want. However, I feel that some of the chapters seem to have a monotonous sound with many filler scenes that held no significance to the development of the plot. Glissando is still a book worth reading as Ellie is a great character to read about and get to know.
We all love a woman who has a mind of her own. Readers with a knack for resilient female protagonists will find Glissando enjoyable. I particularly loved how Ellie retained her youthful sensuality and imagination, proving that middle-aged women can still have fun.
January 26, 2020
Jazz is the background, backstory, and thematic soundtrack for this unusual and intriguing novel of a Catskills native, product of a non-practising Jewish household, who trains as a paralegal, happily marries a local correctional officer, then finds herself the wronged spouse and determines successfully to form her own life. Until--at age 55, she joins a university-community jazz band, a great artistic outlet and lots of fun. It's also the commencement of her own midlife crisis, as she finds herself stunningly enraptured by an accomplished trumpet player, her age. When it rains, it pours, and soon she is professionally and romantically involved with an attorney through her firm, while remaining starry-eyed over the jazz musician.
What impressed me the most in this character-driven novel is the protagonist's self-awareness, her acceptance of herself at various life stages, her willingness to grow. She is strong in the right sense: a strong, self-aware, independent woman (who loves dogs).
This story does include love, romance, lust, marriage. It's erotic but not Erotica. It's the story of a metaphorical "coming of age" and personal growth that lasts a lifetime.
What impressed me the most in this character-driven novel is the protagonist's self-awareness, her acceptance of herself at various life stages, her willingness to grow. She is strong in the right sense: a strong, self-aware, independent woman (who loves dogs).
This story does include love, romance, lust, marriage. It's erotic but not Erotica. It's the story of a metaphorical "coming of age" and personal growth that lasts a lifetime.
February 24, 2020
Ellie is divorced paralegal with verve and a passion for jazz. In midlife, she picks up the saxophone and joins the university jazz band. When she encounters Vince, an accomplished trumpeter, she experiences musical bliss in more ways than one. There’s just one snag: Vince is married, and to a much younger woman. Ellie is a compelling protagonist. She fantasizes about Vince, but she is also an independent woman who knows her mind. Set in the Catskills in upstate New York, the novel artfully blends jazz history and legal cases into the story of Ellie’s passionate awakening.
July 23, 2022
The writing was captivating but the story irked me and made me roll my eyes in frustration and annoyance.
October 15, 2020
This was a well-written book, easy to read, and it kept me interested throughout. The style was unique, in that the chapters were extremely short, which kept the plot moving forward, although at times it felt a bit choppy. The author created characters that were real, vivid, and relatable. Until...
About two-thirds of the way through the book, the personality of the protagonist was revealed to be repugnant. While up until that point I was "rooting for her", for the remainder of the book I found myself waiting for her either to see the light or get her just desserts. Unfortunately (for me) the ending was not the least bit satisfying.
For the sake of full disclosure, this is not at all in my typical wheelhouse of reading; I almost exclusively choose non-fiction. So kudos to the author for keeping me entertained and engaged. But in the end I did not like the character or the story arc, and found myself increasingly annoyed. But I don't read much fiction, so perhaps that was the author's goal. If so, she succeeded.
About two-thirds of the way through the book, the personality of the protagonist was revealed to be repugnant. While up until that point I was "rooting for her", for the remainder of the book I found myself waiting for her either to see the light or get her just desserts. Unfortunately (for me) the ending was not the least bit satisfying.
For the sake of full disclosure, this is not at all in my typical wheelhouse of reading; I almost exclusively choose non-fiction. So kudos to the author for keeping me entertained and engaged. But in the end I did not like the character or the story arc, and found myself increasingly annoyed. But I don't read much fiction, so perhaps that was the author's goal. If so, she succeeded.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 10 reviews