Customer Reviews

Embrace in Motion

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The last page of this book made me sigh -- I was so moved by the simplicity of their few words and the genuine love portrayed between them. It was refreshing to have the two main characters not tearing each other's clothes off every other page -- something I thought I'd never think! In fact, it was hot sex that got Sarah mistaking lust for Melissa for love and being so hurt she almost misses the real thing Leslie's offering right under her nose. I also liked that these women worked for a living, and their careers mattered to them. These women were the kind I'd like to work with or live next door to.

It's not the usual romance Kallmaker writes, and it's possibly not as intense as the rest in terms of "romance", but this one is the most realistic, day-to-day, down-to-earth romance she's written in my humble opinion.

I like all her books because, while they can be actual love stories, they talk about that kind of romance you dream of experiencing yourself but never quite do (or do you? hehe..). Instead, this is the kind of story you most likely have lived or can live.

I think this book has pretty good insights to social issues, politics, that make our lives extremelly complicated, when our lives could be very simple if we just followed our hearts a bit more often.

Read it, and kiss goodbye to "political correctness".

In my highly enjoyable journey through Karin Kallmaker's novels, I find myself surprised by each one. Just when I think I know what to expect from her work, Kallmaker takes me some place else.

In a romance novel I expect the sex to be great. Sometimes, however, the emphasis on fabulous sex disappoints me -- at least intellectually -- because it takes so much more for a relationship to survive. Some writers expect me to believe that there's a happy-ever-after between two women who don't even like each other much, or haven't stayed out of bed long enough to know the basics about each other.

That's never a problem with a Kallmaker novel and in Embrace in Motion she brings the message home with understated poignance. Sarah and Leslie find friendship based on their respect for each other and their differences, and sex isn't the be-all and end-all of the life they are beginning together.

I was touched to tears by the final pages. More vividly than with any erotic scene of hers I've read so far, Kallmaker had me longing to be one of her characters, just holding hands with the woman I loved, looking forward together into a future that promises every dream fulfilled.

In general, you can always count on Kallmaker to provide a solid plot and believable, likeable characters, but the characterizations in Embrace in Motion are especially well-crafted. Unlike all too many authors in this genre, Kallmaker doesn't skimp on pages -- she takes the time to flesh out both main and minor characters and to create a persuasive setting for them to play out their drama.

Scene by scene, Kallmaker deftly constructs two separate but overlapping relationships -- between Sarah and her lover, Melissa, and between Sarah and her boss Leslie. The rapid crescendo and subsequent disintegration of the lust-fogged mismatch with Melissa contrasts almost painfully with Sarah's gradually deepening friendship with Leslie, a woman of substance and depth. Fortunately, however, Kallmaker maintains a crucial authorial restraint that portrays Sarah as misdirected rather than pathologically masochistic in her choice of lovers.

Sarah's involvement with the younger Melissa provides all the erotic heat one could reasonably ask for in a romance novel, but the emotional impact of heart-felt love comes from the more mature Leslie and her wry resignation at falling in love with a woman just beyond her reach. If you've never read a Kallmaker romance novel, this is a great place to start!

Like many heroines in the early pages of a lesbian romance, Sarah takes one look at Melissa and falls into a state of red-hot lust. Chapter 1 of this book is steamy stuff!

A short time later, Sarah and Melissa are settling in together to start a new life. Most writers might have tossed in some sort of external pressure to hold my interest for the remaining 90% of the book. There are writers who just repeat that first 10% over and over (along with professions of love and "gosh, she's so beautiful" every other sentence) until I want to slit my wrists.

But Karin Kallmaker is one of the best writers we are lucky enough to have writing in the romance genre. After throughly satisfyiny my appetite for steamy sex, she tells a very real, romantic story of Sarah realizing that Ms. Right Now might not be Ms. Right after all.

This is a mature, engrossing story, with plenty of laughs and KK's signature grand wit. No car chases or evil-doers, just fun women I'd love to call my friends. I've read this book several times now and lent it out over an dover -- glad to see it back in print as my copy is starting to fray. Every time I finish I heave a huge sigh of pure satisfaction.

It's not her steamiest romance, or her most complex, or even her funniest. Like Goldilocks, all I can say is that it is JUST RIGHT.

Kallmaker's books all have steamy elements, and this one is no exception. The first chapter draws the reader in with an exquisite romp in the hay between strangers. The author throws humor into the mix because Melissa thinks Sarah is straight and believes she's initiating Sarah into the world of women. Little does she know...

Melissa is more mature and more grounded than Sarah. She leads a predictible life, but is lonely. Sarah is a "wanna be" writer who leeches off anyone she can, and is charming enough to pull it off. Only after Melissa is drawn into a "relationship" with Sarah, does she realize she's only really attracted to the sex. She doesn't know Sarah at all.

Sarah's writing talents are recognized by a backer and she receives a grant to work in California. Feeling guilty about the premise of their relationship, Melissa agrees to uproot herself and move to San Francisco with Sarah. While both women reestablish themselves in their new home and jobs, Melissa becomes more aware of herself and her true feelings torward Sarah. Eventually, they both do a little growing up.

This book wasn't exactly what I expected after reading the back cover and other Amazon reviews. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters have depth, but this story is mostly about Melissa learning to accept nothing less than she deserves. I love to read about women taking charge of their lives. This one's a keeper.

One of the most delightful books you will ever read.

Leslie and Sarah are truly wonderful characters. They are humorous, confident, down-to earth, capable women. They experience the same frustrations, hopes and dreams everyone does.

I was completely drawn into the relationship of Sarah and Melissa. Melissa had considerable appeal for Sarah. When they are together Melissa makes Sarah feel alive and loved. Sarah was smitten.

The ending is totally satisfying. A double bonus awaits the reader in the anthology `Frosting on the Cake' which contains two further stories. So this story doesn't have to end on the last page!

It's a Keeper!

My biggest quibble with this book is that it ended too abruptly. As is typical with this author, I was drawn in by the characters from the start. Sarah is a patent attorney, attending a convention, satisfied with her life, but searching just like anyone. She indulges in some uncharacteristic behavior, hooking up with Melissa in her hotel room before even knowing her name, but when their chemistry sizzles so intensely, and she finds out that Melissa is currently living near her home outside Seattle, it seems like kismet.

I like how this book is set up. Sarah's journey is compelling. Karin Kallmaker really knows how to structure a character so that their past informs their present. Sarah's past relationships affect her decisions now; her time as an Olympian affects how she thinks and what she thinks about; her education and experience as an attorney give her the confidence to make firm decisions and stick to them. She is really supportive of Melissa, and makes a conscious choice to be so despite her worries for the reality Melissa seems to inhabit. And as far as Melissa, I think the author had a bit of fun with her, giving her quite extremist views about things that we've all heard enough to know they're realistic, but also showing how narrowing our focus to that degree is an immature way to view the world.

And then there's Leslie. She and Sarah hardly hit it off, but once they come to an understanding there was a comfort there, a sense of fitting together that was a surprising contrast to the passion and conflict that had characterized Sarah's relationship with Melissa to that point. Sarah was grounded and honorable and genuine in her emotions and actions throughout, which was satisfying. The author uses the passage of time well to show a gradual progression as Leslie and Sarah grow together. I agree that the final scene with Leslie was extremely touching. I wanted more! The ending was almost jarring for me in its abruptness.

Fortunately Frosting on the Cake exists.

Delightful and thoughtful. I'll happily display this as 4 stars because much of it took place in Seattle/Washington, and it was a really satisfying book.

After I read Karin Kallmaker's short story "Hot Flash" drawn from the characters in this book, I have been trying to find a copy of it. I'm so glad all of Karin Kallmaker's stuff is back in print.

I was not disappointed! If you've ever wondered why great sex and great relationships are sometimes not the same thing, this book answers the question. Sarah is the kind of exceptional woman we all know and can never figure out why she's single. Sarah finding the right woman is a great story, and many parts of the book are very funny.

Kallmaker seems to be a nice woman, too. It shows in her work and her web site. I wrote and asked if she'd sign books I already own she was more than happy to. She has taken me all over the map with her wildly different stories and has never disappointed me! Too bad she's married. Did I just say that?