Just Like That [Paperback]

Karin Kallmaker (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Opposites attract in Karin Kallmaker’s seventeenth novel. Just Like That joins her impressive string of bestsellers, including the Lambda Literary award winning MAYBE NEXT TIME. Combined with her fantasy and science fiction novels written as Laura Adams, Karin has delighted and entertained lesbians worldwide.

From the Inside Flap

Caroline’s hand slipped to the back of Toni’s neck. "Kiss me again."

She was irresistible, even though Toni knew it was a mistake to kiss her then, to kiss her as they slowly made their way back to her rental car, to kiss her once they were locked inside.

"Toni." Caroline’s small moan ignited something inside Toni’s mouth and the kiss turned hotly passionate. "I’ve wanted you for so long."

Toni couldn’t say, "Me, too," because it wasn’t true. Instead she found a real truth, which was, "I know."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 283 pages
• Publisher: Bella Books (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594930252
• ISBN-13: 978-1594930256
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #873,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Excerpts from all my novels: www.kallmaker.com

At my website you can find my complete bibliography, descriptions, reviews and links to additional content, like podcasts and video.

Recent review from the Lesbian News by Teresa DeCrescenzo: "Warming Trend is... populated with a fine, credible cast of supporting characters... It's a good read, as we've come to expect from Kallmaker. The contrasting settings-Alaska and Florida-and the richly drawn characters make us want to connect with them, especially with Ani and Eve. Even the rather esoteric interest in ice rings true."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful, Fruity Romance! Decant and Enjoy!, November 19, 2005

By 

M. J. Lowe "www.mjlowe.info" (Denver, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Just Like That (Paperback)

"Everybody knows that a single woman with good money is in want of a wife (1)." English Lit majors and fans of Jane Austen will recognize this paraphrase from the opening of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Karin Kallmaker's latest romance, JUST LIKE THAT -- set in the wine country of Northern California -- is a very modern, decidedly lavender, adaptation of the Austen novel.

Syrah Ardani is 30, recently returned from years studying Oenology in France. The only daughter of the widowed Anthony Ardani, the owner of Ardani Vineyards, Syrah lives and breathes the vines like her father and is comfortably settling into life at home. Yet clearly something with the family business is... off.

Jane Lucas, Syrah's long time friend, struggling artist and former heart-breaker-butch, is about to fall hard for the new, very eligible dyke in the area, Missy Bingley. Initially Jane, who has decided to "settle down", appears to be on the calculating side about Missy with comments like, "... Definitely a dyke. And femme, so, hey, I'm thinking she needs a wife like me. I've got all the qualifications. I can fix stuff, dance, like to talk and think sex is really fun. My only strike against me is the money thing (3)."

However, Jane is thunderstruck when she meets Missy. Missy Bingley, forty-something, successful businesswoman retiring to rehabilitate her newly acquired historic Netherfield estate, appears equally smitten with Jane. Does love at first sight exist?

Before long, Syrah realizes that her gentle, intuitive, wine-knowledgeable father is the definition of naive with what has to be the antithesis of a head for business. While she was gone, he has incorporated the vineyards, over-extended his capital and been unable to cover his debt. The future of the Ardani Vineyards is in danger and the creditors have gone to court. An "axe man" is being sent to take stock of the situation.

Toni Blanchard is that "axe man." She is also very attractive. Syrah first sees a photograph of her from a Fortune magazine article and describes her thus: "Dark hair twisted at the neck and East Coast stylish, Toni Blanchard gazed out from the page with an expression Syrah could only describe as haughty. If the toes on her shoes had been any longer they'd have curled like some court jester's. Everything about her dripped wealth and superiority(12)."

An intelligent, thoughtful, skilled woman, Toni's job is to make difficult recommendations for companies that are in receivership, and she is well respected in her field. She is also the daughter of Anthony's old college friend. This connection encourages Anthony to believe that Toni will "fix" the situation. The vintner never seems to understand that Toni's role is to represent the court and creditors.

Toni arrives in the area emotionally shell-shocked. Her lover of several years, Mira, has dumped her for another woman, moved out and taken possession of funds that are not hers. Staying with her old friend Missy Bingley while reviewing the Ardani accounts, Toni begins to find some peace in the green hills of northern California.

She realizes that she had not been in love the last several years and that Mira's actions -- while unethical and unpleasant -- hurt her pride more than her heart. Still, Toni is jaded and that makes her doubt the sincerity of the woman who is courting Missy. Furthermore, falling in love is the last thing Toni needs right now; yet there is Syrah, a lovely, radiant, spirited earth goddess seeming to draw Toni to her.

Needless to say, several complications ensue. The future of the Ardani Vineyards hangs precariously. Both Toni and Syrah must deal with their preconceived notions of the other and their stubborn egos in order to have a chance at following their hearts. They must also contend with the nefarious manipulations of Mira and Caroline.

Indeed, Kallmaker has created a decidedly nasty nemesis in Lady Mira Wickham. Even after an unpleasant break up, Toni -- and this reader -- was surprised at how spiteful and meddlesome Mira could be. Missy's snarky nickname for Mira is "reech beech" and that seems mild by the end of the story. For that matter, Caroline, Missy's sister, runs a close second for the title.

Austen fans will recognize several familiar names in JUST LIKE THAT. Bennett, Netherfield, Jane, and Bingley are among the names and characters borrowed from Pride and Prejudice and some of the structure of the story is similar to Austen's. However, there should be no question in readers' minds but that Kallmaker has written a contemporary novel, with complex realistic characters set in an engaging region. She also provides interesting viniculture background. This is a lively romance with hot sex. The lead characters are sometimes frustratingly stubborn, yet this reader found them compelling and was curious to discover out how Kallmaker would solve the problems they faced.

Austen has been called the mother of the romance novel and there is a nice symmetry to Kallmaker, today's best-selling writer of lesbian romances, paying tribute to the roots of the genre with JUST LIKE THAT. She has given us a new look at prejudice and a different view of pride all painted with the dark purple of a fruity Shiraz. Kallmaker has bottled a wonderful year for her readers, JUST LIKE THAT. Decant and enjoy!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moonlight, Wine, and Romance, October 30, 2005

By 

Bett Norris (St. Petersburg, FL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Just Like That (Paperback)

And then there were 17 of them. Beginning with In Every Port in 1989, Kallmaker has created her own fiefdom, in which she reigns and labors. If you read lesbian romances and enjoy them, you'll not be disappointed with this latest Kallmaker effort. She has earned a Lambda literary award; she has honed her craft, and she is the queen of her genre. The latest issue from this prolific author, Just Like That, contains the trademark qualities expected from Kallmaker by now, and it does not disappoint.
There is humor, attention to detail in character and setting, and sex. Syrah Ardani has returned home to her family's vineyard in the Napa valley, a beautiful area lovingly and vividly described. One can almost see and feel the quality of the sun on the hillsides; and almost taste the wines, smell the air. Toni Blanchard has made a career and a fortune rescuing troubled corporations. These two meet, clash, and sparks of various kinds fly. This author's career has been made by paying homage to the classic romance genre, all the while enriching and sustaining it. Just Like That certainly falls into that category. Kallmaker is a master at holding our attention: it is a classic, romantic setting, a classic, romantic plot, and a classic Kallmaker entry. Relax, read, become swept away. That's what a romance novel is supposed to do for the reader. There are traditional sidekicks for comic relief, lovable fatherly and motherly characters, rich city versus noble country, honor found under strained circumstances, misunderstandings, emotions wildly out of control being denied for the sake of blind stubbornness, corporate coldness losing against the simplicity of the warmth of the land itself, amazingly hurtful and wrong things done for inconceivably cockeyed reasons.
It is very entertaining and enjoyable. The romance and the scenery, the tension between the principals, the palpable desire, all are more than one would need for a fine effort in a field Kallmaker has dominated for more than a decade.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kallmaker keeps on ticking..., November 30, 2005

By 

K. Johnson (Twin Cities, MN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Just Like That (Paperback)

The world of lesbian fiction will lose something special when Karin Kallmaker stops writing books. With her 17th book, 'Just Like That,' this author delivers yet another enjoyable story.

Syrah Ardani's father is a skilled winemaker with no head for business. He has mistakenly buried his vineyard in debt that her cannot repay. In walks Toni Blanchard, a woman hired by the investors to ensure they are paid. Toni has just been dumped by her immature, greedy long-term girlfriend, and immediately feels an attraction to the innocent Syrah. Knowing a personal relationship with the woman would be professionally inappropriate, Toni makes every attempt to avoid the daughter and work directly with the father. Syrah is enraged this woman has entered their lives and is convinced by an anonymous source that Toni is akin to evil incarnate. A solid supporting cast that includes both of their best friends rounds out this tale, giving the reader two romances in one.

This is an intelligent story for an intelligent reader. There are "good" and "bad" characters to give the book dimensionality. Kallmaker even does a nice job with the terminology regarding wine and with details regarding the growing of grapes for wine.

Of course it's pure formula, but that's part of why we read it. No lesbian's bookshelf is complete without this newest installment from Karin Kallmaker.