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Chaps
Eden Metcalf wants nothing more than to flee from her troubled past and travel the open road, until she runs into rancher Brandi Cornwell. Eden is fleeing a past filled with blood and death that promises to forever haunt her. She travels aimlessly until the day her motorcycle breaks down in the middle of nowhere, southern Idaho, and in rides Brandi Cornwell.
Brandi Cornwell lives a simple life on her Idaho ranch. She works hard, struggles to make ends meet, and follows the Golden Rule. The only thing missing is a good woman to share the sunsets, and as much as she’d like that woman to be Eden, Brandi senses the turmoil within her, and buries her feelings, knowing that whatever Eden’s running from, it’s going to take her away from Idaho and from whatever chance they might have at love.
Brandi Cornwell lives a simple life on her Idaho ranch. She works hard, struggles to make ends meet, and follows the Golden Rule. The only thing missing is a good woman to share the sunsets, and as much as she’d like that woman to be Eden, Brandi senses the turmoil within her, and buries her feelings, knowing that whatever Eden’s running from, it’s going to take her away from Idaho and from whatever chance they might have at love.
225 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2009
7 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Jove Belle
30 books205 followersJove Belle was born and raised against a backdrop of orchards and potato fields. The youngest of four children, she was raised in a conservative, Christian home and began asking why at a very young age, much to the consternation of her mother and grandmother. At the customary age of eighteen, she fled southern Idaho in pursuit of broader minds and fewer traffic jams involving the local livestock. The road didn’t end in Portland, Oregon, but there were many confusing freeway interchanges that a girl from the sticks was ill-prepared to deal with. As a result, she has lived in the Portland metro area for over fifteen years and still can’t figure out how she manages to spend so much time in traffic when there’s not a stray sheep or cow in sight.
She lives with her partner of twelve years. Between them they share three children, two dogs, two cats, two mortgage payments, one sedan, and one requisite dyke pickup truck. One day she hopes to live in a house that doesn’t generate a never ending honey-do list.
Incidentally, she never stopped asking why, but did expand her arsenal of questions to include who, what, when, where and, most important of all, how. In those questions, a story is born.
She lives with her partner of twelve years. Between them they share three children, two dogs, two cats, two mortgage payments, one sedan, and one requisite dyke pickup truck. One day she hopes to live in a house that doesn’t generate a never ending honey-do list.
Incidentally, she never stopped asking why, but did expand her arsenal of questions to include who, what, when, where and, most important of all, how. In those questions, a story is born.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 27, 2016
Picture, if you would a young teenager living in a bad part of L.A. She doesn't know her father, and her mother spends her time looking down at the bottom of various alcohol bottles. Bought from the liquor store, as bars are too expansive. Said mother skips out every once in a while, until, when this young teenager is 16, the mother disappears for good. Dead? Alive? Unknown. The young teenager has an older brother named Gabriel. He's 19. In most other stories, Gabriel would have ended up stepping up and being a surrogate parent for his younger sister. At least for a few years. He might resent having to do so, to having his dreams pushed to the back-burner. But he would have done so.
Gabriel? He was so far down the heroin pathways by the time the mother poofed, that he was in no position to take care of himself, much less a younger sister. No, to a certain and limited extent, it was the sister who had to help the older brother. She didn't become a mother to him or anything grand like that, but tried to help him. And she did - extending his live another seven years.
Eden is around . . . oh, 23 or 24 when this book opens. Eden being the kid referenced above. She's not the typical 23/24 year old. Not by a long shot. No, she's someone with power. Someone who, during one exchange, noted that she didn't have to worry about anyone doing anything to her car. Despite the type of neighborhood they were in. Because no one would want to touch her car. Because in the seven or eight years she's worked for Luther Ward - the top drug guy on the West Coast, she's become a stone-cold killer. Luther's top enforcer.
Then, somewhere around six months before the start of this book, that brother of Eden's, Gabriel, died. Directly related to some stupid stuff he did near Luther/to Luther. The seeds of need, of escaping, were planted.
The book, though, specifically starts with Eden on her last mission for Luther. Moves through it, then moves to Eden on a motorcycle, zooming along . . . somewhwere, ends up in Idaho. And a specific ranch/farm/body of land attached to the Cornwell family.
When the book opened, Eden was in control of the point of view. But somewhere along the way Brandi Cornwell popped up with her point of view. At the start of her story, she's struggling mighily to try to save the family land. From the heavy debt placed upon it by her now dead father.
While making repairs on the land, Brandi spots a woman pushing a motorcycle up the road. Brandi mounts her horse and rides over. Cowgirl and biker meet (that's the image presented; Eden, though, only got the motorcycle just before leaving L.A.).
Brandi offers help. Eden accepts. They warily circle each other. With both knowing that Eden will leave once she is able to repair her motorcycle. Each 'wanting' the other Some heavy flirtation takes place.
Time on the farm advances. Relationships move along. The past comes back to haunt the present. To a large extent due to Eden's own fault.
The book was quite a good book. There are certain 'issues' a lot of lesbian fiction authors use to add points of conflict and the like to the story - miscommunication, misunderstandings, etc. - are not the bedrock to which the conflict is built in this story. No, I've already mentioned it - Eden plans to leave as soon as she can. Brandi isn't the type to have a fling in her own home - technically she isn't the type to have long-term relationships; instead preferring to hop into a bar every once in a while for some fumbling action; but she can't do that in her own home. With her own mother just down the hall. And so, most of the tension is based on that. On the short term nature of their temporary situation. In addition to certain cultural/class differences. A person from L.A. (or from just from a city) is going to have certain different life experiences from someone from a more rural area. Add in the part wherein one of the two was raised in the more standard sterotypical way, while the other was basically a gang-member . . . then you have built in differences (I immediately note that assumptions should not be made regarding how gang-members act in terms of how Eden acts; nor the part wherein Eden is fleeing her old life when she bumps into Brandi ).
That was a wad of words. I liked the slow-burn relationship. I liked both Brandi and Eden as people. And I liked the plot-line of the book. Eden did certain stupid but understandable things which, to a certain extent, needed to happen for a specific plot to move along, but - while stupid - the action wasn't unrealistic.
Long and short - I liked the book and the people involved. It was not the standard lesbian fiction storyline, which added to my enjoyment.
June 25 2016
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September 1, 2012I wrote it, so I'm biased...
October 24, 2016
This book is completely unrealistic. And that's why I loved it. Adored the main characters and the peripheral characters. It ended happily and that always makes me smile. Great job JB.
November 6, 2019
3.5 Stars. The set up and h characters worked really well for me here. The idea of an enforcer fleeing her past was original in this genre and I was wondering how it would wrap up. There were places certainly where things happened quickly, and a bit too easily, but it was original enough to be well worth a read.
February 27, 2011
Eden is a killer for a drug lord. She decides to quit and run, but you know he's going to find her. He's positively brutal and she's not much better, except when she's with Brandi, a rancher in Idaho, who helps Eden when her motorcycle breaks down. I had a hard time reconciling Eden's past and believing Brandi could let it go. But Belle makes a good case and I suppose I could see it. The book is too short to get into it in a thorough way. It was very unclear at the end, how Eden managed not to be arrested. We never saw how she got off.
August 23, 2019
I’ve read a handful of Jove Belle’s works and, though it sounds trite, my favorite is the one I happen to be reading at the moment. I suppose a charge of totally unrealistic, even impossible, could be applied to the premise of Chaps; elements of it challenge even the strongest willing suspension of disbelief. Some writers are capable of making the highly improbable seem real, and, while I’m sure Belle possesses that ability, that’s not what happens here. Instead, she creates a budding relationship between the two principals that is so compelling that we are willing to overlook the unlikelihood of the events as they play out. No mean feat, to be sure. I’m also reminded of the classic Buffy line, “Love makes you do the wacky.”
What makes this work, of course, is Belle’s gift at characterization. Eden and Brandi are both strong women, distinct enough that their particular strengths have the potential to support each other. Many of Belle’s protagonists are “bad girls,” in some respect, and Eden’s about as bad as it gets, enforcer for a ruthless LA drug lord. Even in the hard-boiled exposition, though, we sense that there may be something redeemable about her, given the right circumstances. Brandi is a complete contrast, growing up in an Idaho which is as far removed from the chaos of LA’s crime scene as you can imagine. But, as we’ve come to expect, opposites attract, and Chaps is no exception.
I like the slow way the relationship develops. Each time Eden and Brandi grow closer, one or the other backs off. The gradual journey toward intimacy (and love) is the impetus which moves the story along. The tension in the relationship is increased by the sense of impending doom in the form of the drug lord who is sure to be searching for Eden.
The two main supporting characters are indispensable to the story, and fully developed characters in their own right. Both Jaylynn, Brandi’s mother and Roger, a repair shop owner whom Eden helps with his books, dispense wise advice to Eden and Brandi as the two grow closer in fits and starts. A banker and fellow rancher appear briefly and add more complexity and tension to the plot. While the novel is centered on Eden and Brandi, as it should be, the colorful secondary characters create a welcome variety, as well as occasional comic relief.
Belle’s actual writing, the mechanics of her craft, is, as I’ve come to expect, flawless. This complements the smoothly flowing narrative, avoiding the jarring interruptions which come from gaffes in grammar, syntax, etc. If I have one quibble, it’s that the ending is a little too pat. It seems to cry out for more detail about what happened when Eden returned to LA before eventually ending up back in Idaho to stay. To my mind, it would make the happily-ever-after more convincing. That's in no way a deal-breaker, however. Chaps is still an awesome reading experience.
Belle's novel is very professionally executed, with no distractions. Very well worth your time. Belle makes you fall in love with Eden and Brandi more easily than they do themselves. The main supporting cast, Jaylynn and Roger, provide a necessary sort of grounding for the two. Set aside the idea of verisimilitude for a couple of hours and just enjoy.
What makes this work, of course, is Belle’s gift at characterization. Eden and Brandi are both strong women, distinct enough that their particular strengths have the potential to support each other. Many of Belle’s protagonists are “bad girls,” in some respect, and Eden’s about as bad as it gets, enforcer for a ruthless LA drug lord. Even in the hard-boiled exposition, though, we sense that there may be something redeemable about her, given the right circumstances. Brandi is a complete contrast, growing up in an Idaho which is as far removed from the chaos of LA’s crime scene as you can imagine. But, as we’ve come to expect, opposites attract, and Chaps is no exception.
I like the slow way the relationship develops. Each time Eden and Brandi grow closer, one or the other backs off. The gradual journey toward intimacy (and love) is the impetus which moves the story along. The tension in the relationship is increased by the sense of impending doom in the form of the drug lord who is sure to be searching for Eden.
The two main supporting characters are indispensable to the story, and fully developed characters in their own right. Both Jaylynn, Brandi’s mother and Roger, a repair shop owner whom Eden helps with his books, dispense wise advice to Eden and Brandi as the two grow closer in fits and starts. A banker and fellow rancher appear briefly and add more complexity and tension to the plot. While the novel is centered on Eden and Brandi, as it should be, the colorful secondary characters create a welcome variety, as well as occasional comic relief.
Belle’s actual writing, the mechanics of her craft, is, as I’ve come to expect, flawless. This complements the smoothly flowing narrative, avoiding the jarring interruptions which come from gaffes in grammar, syntax, etc. If I have one quibble, it’s that the ending is a little too pat. It seems to cry out for more detail about what happened when Eden returned to LA before eventually ending up back in Idaho to stay. To my mind, it would make the happily-ever-after more convincing. That's in no way a deal-breaker, however. Chaps is still an awesome reading experience.
Belle's novel is very professionally executed, with no distractions. Very well worth your time. Belle makes you fall in love with Eden and Brandi more easily than they do themselves. The main supporting cast, Jaylynn and Roger, provide a necessary sort of grounding for the two. Set aside the idea of verisimilitude for a couple of hours and just enjoy.
July 21, 2023
Decent but no real conclusion
The story is a classic plot. Tired gunhand on the run, looking for peace. While it’s interesting, the plot has got some… large gaps that drive to distraction.
How did Eden manage to get 4.7 million dollars into her bank account from having it in cash?
What happened with the US attorneys?
The conclusion to the story wasn’t. It felt like a half hearted attempt to wrap it up in a bow, but it didn’t feel particularly satisfactory. Like getting a great meal at a restaurant but then the dessert was a flavor ice. Is it cold and sugary? Yes. But it doesn’t go well with the steak and lobster.
The story is a classic plot. Tired gunhand on the run, looking for peace. While it’s interesting, the plot has got some… large gaps that drive to distraction.
How did Eden manage to get 4.7 million dollars into her bank account from having it in cash?
What happened with the US attorneys?
The conclusion to the story wasn’t. It felt like a half hearted attempt to wrap it up in a bow, but it didn’t feel particularly satisfactory. Like getting a great meal at a restaurant but then the dessert was a flavor ice. Is it cold and sugary? Yes. But it doesn’t go well with the steak and lobster.
February 15, 2021
I'm more familiar with the author's erotic short stories, but this is a pretty good romance story.
October 6, 2013
Liked the whole anti-hero thing, but thought the ending too pat. Still would recommend it for the romance alone. I'm a sucker for romance.
September 27, 2012
Loved it!
July 25, 2016
Read in one sitting. Classic lesbian crap romance. Good two dollar purchase!
September 17, 2017
Very western like. Reminds me of Dirty Harry. Writing was clear and nice, plots made sense and the romance immediate but slow to act....The writer has a good way of holding her reader's interested.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews