Customer Reviews

Chasing Lightning

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you like grand adventure with lots of passion, then don't pass up the chance to read "Chasing Lighting: The Amorous Adventures of Scarlett Faye Tucker," a new novel by Rachel York. Detailing the life and times of Scarlett Faye, from an early age as a precocious child forever working her Mama's last nerve, to later years discovering erotic encounters as a young woman in college and beyond, "Chasing Lightning" is a rousing tale you won't want to put down!

Scarlett Faye is every woman's dream  intelligent, sexy, and incredibly charming. From her humble roots in the sleepy little town of Dillinger, Pennsylvania, Scarlett learns one important lesson  love is a disease and if you get it, you get hurt or worse. Vowing to never let this evil befall her, she plans to leave Dillinger in search of the only things that matter in her mind: power, fame, and money. But nothing prepared Scarlett for the beautiful Gina Jamison, who walked into her life senior year. And from that moment on, Scarlett's world turned upside down.

The intensity of youth, coupled with an unknown future and forbidden love, push Scarlett and Gina towards unforgettable moments of passion and discovery the night of graduation. Three days later, Gina is gone, and Scarlett is devastated. Yearning to fill the gaping hole from Gina's departure, Scarlett's adventures begin.

Her first journey takes her to the Southwest, hooking up with a wise mentor Scarlett knew from back home. During the lightning storms in the desert, Scarlett befriends an eccentric artist named Maggie, who teaches her that love and attraction isn't always what it seems. But these lessons of life and love are lost on Scarlett, who is only interested in the here-and-now, the good-feeling stuff, and anything to make her not think of Gina.

From New Mexico, Scarlett heads back east to Charleston, West Virginia, and her first year in college and right smack dab into the arms of Sissy Langtree, a rich and snotty debutante. Her affair with Sissy is hot, passionate, and in Scarlett's mind  convenient. No strings, hot sex, and a beautiful woman  what more could one ask for? What she wasn't expecting was Sissy to fall in love, or for the Langtree parents to find out. Then all hell breaks loose in the quiet little college town.

With Sissy packed off to Switzerland, in an attempt to cure her "sickness," Scarlett transfers to another school, quiets down for a spell, working on her writing. But just a few months later, she receives a desperate note from Sissy, beseeching her to come to Europe. Scarlett packs her bags, and heads overseas. After a "shocking news" reunion with Sissy, Scarlett heads for her passion in Paris, Gina Jamison. The reunion between Scarlett and Gina will bring tears to your eyes, as you feel the passion between the two young women. Over the summer, they blossom and discover each other again, finding their souls in one another. Alas, the bond between the two is shattered when Scarlett discovers a secret about Gina she just can't live with, and in a fury of hurt and anger, leaves her beloved Gina heartbroken and shattered.

Scarlett's broken heart takes her into the arms of beautiful actress, Delores Sheridan, and one erotic escapade after another. With Delores, over time, Scarlett manages to achieve the big three: power, fame, and money. She's an acclaimed writer. She has a beautiful girlfriend, and all the trappings of fame. Everything she ever wanted in life  or is it?

The moment of truth finally comes for Scarlett in a peculiar way  spending the night locked up in jail and confronted by a dear friend who knows where her heart's been. Scarlett finally faces the truth  she does love Gina and wants her back. But will it be too late for her? For them? Has too much time passed to heal the rift? And will Gina even want her?

Rachel York has hit a home run with Chasing Lightning. From friendship, self-discovery, acceptance, and the true nature of love, she covers all the bases, showing what a complex set of rules we sometimes create for ourselves, and the havoc they can wreak. Chasing Lightning is this summer's hottest read  don't miss it!

I enjoyed Chasing Lightning but as with most lesbian novels I read I am still looking for a female "Tales of the City". So of course it wasn't long enough or allowed me to become intimately involved with each character over the course of 20 years of their lives! The good thing is I really wanted to get to know these characters! It was a great "take it to the beach" book because you could put it down and pick it back up with out having to read back to see what the last intense scene was. It was a great light fun read. Kind of like a lesbian ya ya....kind of.

Scarlett Faye is one of my favorite characters! I enjoyed this book because it's well-written, funny, and I cared about the characters. Well done. Have been looking for more by this author.

I read this book over the Christmas holiday of 2003. I loved the main character Scarlett, who is very similiar in personailty to her namesake from Gone with the Wind. The book follows Scarlett as she growns from a girl to a women. We follow her as she chases her dream of being a famous writer. I loved Scarlett's ambition, hutzhah (sp?) and fierceness. I didn't really feel that her relationship with the love of her life was persuasive enough for me to get into. Why did Scarlett love a woman who was hardly in her life for most of the book?? That's the reason why I'm only giving this book a 4 out of 5. I wish I would have gotten to know that mysterious love more so that their coming togehter would have been more heartfelt and real. I also would also have enjoyed a bit more love scenes.

I do look forward to reading more from Ms. York.

When I bought this book, I was a little daunted by its 400+ pages. Too many lesbian novels of that length drag and have useless filler. Not this book. I read it in two sittings and loved it. It is literate and well-written. I chuckled often at the humor.

Scarlett Fay Turner is a fascinating character from the time we meet her as a child to the the end of the book where she is finally becoming a woman. The views of her romance with Gina from high school on show us a deeply complicated and sometimes conflicted young adult.

It seems odd that she doesn't have any qualms about using Sissy and Delores, because in many ways she is a very moral person. What she does seems to slide off an almost Teflon moral surface. Even though I didn't like her using other women to move ahead, I liked her at all times.

This was a real page turner for me. Clustered around Scarlett are a variety of well-drawn women. Even the snitch from the dormitory held my attention. What a pisser! And she got what she deserved.

That York had the courage to include Scarlett's heterosexual experimentation was important. All to often writers create characters who live in a world without men. That's not reality. Many of us do experiment with men when we're young; so this is true to life (though most of us don't do threesomes with our ex-lovers and their current lovers.)

My heart broke for Gina and Scarlett when Scarlett's anger forces her to end the relationship. I did get vexed with her when she allowed her stubbornness to end communications. Unfortunately, that is too often a part of maturation.

York left me wanting more and to me that is the mark of a good writer.

Well let me tell you why I chose three stars for this novel. First of all I have been looking for lesbian novels and I found this one really interesting under the lesbian categories but sadly when I read it I found three different sexual encounters with men also so because of that I think it is not worth for us to read it unless you skip those pages: 34, 222-223, and 356. If the author did not include those encounters with men and that threesome in this book maybe it would have become one of the good ones. So in general is a good story tender and innocent at first and wild and sad at the end. It is well written and it involves you in a way that you actually want to know what is coming next.

The story of Scarlett Faye, from the time she was a child to a young adult, kept me entertained throughout the entire read. There were a number of times that I laughed out loud at the imagery the words conveyed; no easy task on the writer's part. It really is an amorous adventure on which Scalett Faye embarks; I hope the author considers a sequel.

...fascinated me so I bought a copy of Chasing Lightning. Though not quite as naughty and bawdy as the classic, Chasing Lightning didn’t disappoint. It’s quite a racy romp. At times I felt a bit like a voyeur peeking in on the travels and sexual adventures of one very interesting and pretty young woman. While undecidedly titillating, this novel also proves to be extremely touching. The protagonist’s travels and adventures are the backdrop for examining the human heart. Love, friendship, self-discovery, grace and redemption all figure in this terrific novel. It’s a great summer read. In fact, it’s a great read anytime. You can’t put it down. It moves like lightning...

Take one part Jackie Collins, mix in liberal portion of Judith Krantz, add a dollop of Sex in the City--and oh,yeah, baste heavily with Margaret Mitchell--and you've got Chasing Lightning.
For anyone who loves a good "airplane", beach, or "curl up on your sofa and munch bittersweet chocolate read", this book is for you!
It's a non-stop, partying, around the world romp that will leave you exhausted, speechless, and spent. What a ride!
Rachel you've done it again. Can't wait to see the flick!