The Lonely Hearts Club [Paperback]

Radclyffe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2008

Take three friends, add two ex-lovers and several new ones, then mix with more secrets than any of them know--and the result is a recipe for explosive rivalries and incendiary romance.

Candace Lory is a high-power commodities trader and swinging playgirl who meets her match when she hooks up with older, butch corporate attorney, Parker Jones, an associate of Candace's ex-lover, Liz Ramsey. Parker is as much a swinger as Candace but try as they might, the two can't seem to stop repeating their one night stand.
Brenda Beal writes best-selling erotic romance novels under a pseudonym even her closest friends don't know. One of the only members of "the group" who didn't sleep with every available woman during college, Bren would rather fantasize about a perfect lover than have one, especially if she's obedient and willing to do anything Bren orders. A surprise birthday "trip" and a dashing, dark-eyed submissive transforms Bren's fantasies into reality and her dark secrets into delicious pleasures.

Attorney Liz Ramsey thought she had everything--a devoted partner, a challenging job, and plans for a family in the making. Unfortunately, as soon as the test strip turned blue, her lover Julia got cold feet and left her. Now pregnant, Liz bumps into, literally, young surgeon Riley Danvers during an appointment at the University Hospital. Conversation leads to coffee, but despite Riley's charms, courtship is not part of Liz's plans.

Product Details

• Paperback: 229 pages
• Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (February 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602820058
• ISBN-13: 978-1602820050
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #659,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Radclyffe, a retired surgeon and full time author-publisher, has published over thirty-five novels as well as dozens of short stories, has edited numerous anthologies, and, writing as L. L. Raand, has authored a paranormal romance series, The Midnight Hunters. She is a eight time Lambda Literary Award finalist in romance, mystery and erotica--winning in both romance (Distant Shores, Silent Thunder) and erotica (Erotic Interludes 2: Stolen Moments edited with Stacia Seaman and In Deep Waters 2: Cruising the Strip written with Karin Kallmaker). A member of the Saints and Sinners Literary Hall of Fame, she is also a 2010 RWA/FF&P Prism Award Winner for Secrets in the Stone, an Independent Publisher's award winner (IPPY), an Alice B. Readers' award Winner, and a finalist for the Benjamin Franklin award, the ForeWord Review Book of the Year award, and the 2010 Heart of Excellence Readers' Choice award. She is also the president of Bold Strokes Books, one of the world's largest independent LGBT publishing companies.

She states, "I began reading lesbian fiction at the age of twelve when I found a copy of Ann Bannon's Beebo Brinker. That book and others like it convinced me that I was not alone, that there were other women who felt like I did. Our literature provides support and validation and very often, a lifeline, for members of our community throughout the world. I am proud and honored to be able to publish the many fine authors at Bold Strokes Books and to contribute in some small way to the words that the celebrate LGBTQ experience."

You can visit Radclyffe at http://www.facebook.com/Radclyffe.BSB?ref=ts

Or buy her books direct from the publisher at www.boldstrokesbooks.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book!, February 17, 2008

By 

Cheri Crystal (Eastern United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lonely Hearts Club (Paperback)

Think Friends, Sex in the City, and The L-Word, with Radclyffe's signature touches, for an engaging, uplifting and truly sexy character-driven emotional adventure. The Lonely Hearts Club explores the hearts and minds of six professional women, all different, all sexy, and all complicated, and all searching for true love, even if they think they're better off single. Whether a playgirl, a person who prefers her fantasies, or a practical and loyal woman embarking on motherhood, everyone needs companionship, love, trust, and lust. Radclyffe succeeds in showing how different our sexuality can be - and how valid despite those differences.

Liz Ramsey is a thirty-five-year-old mal-practice attorney on top of her game when life altering changes throws her for a loop. Her best friends, Marilyn Monroe-esque Candace Lory, a commodities trader who gets around and Brenda Beal, a thirty-year-old quietly sensitive care-taker, who enjoys the fantasy of love perhaps more than the reality, remain the constant by which she lives her life. "For nine years [Liz, Candace and Bren had] shared secrets, heartbreaks, the joy of new beginnings and the pain of breaking up. They had forged something that went beyond friendship and created a family in a far more intimate way than anything Liz shared with most of her blood relatives" (page 19). But even a `family of choice' can have secrets and still maintain a healthy, loving, nurturing, and protective relationship.

Add Dr. Reilly Danvers, an orthopedic surgeon, who is "melt-in-your-mouth hot," and feeds off the tension of her profession so that she's too tired to worry about her life outside the hospital, Parker Playgirl Jones, a sexy corporate attorney and Julia, Liz's ex among other surprise guests, and you have an ensemble of compelling characters, intriguing complications amidst soul-searching, tying up loose ends, and making way for fulfilling futures. Gay or straight, most women would agree that these are the key ingredients to a happier life.

Readers who aren't afraid to explore their sensual and sexual side and think about their needs and desires will want to read The Lonely Hearts Club because there's always something to learn. Between the witty and often funny, charming and meaningful dialogue, cliff-hanger scene endings, the hints of deep dark secrets along the way, and characters you'll love, it is no surprise that The Lonely Hearts Club will leave you lonely no more. Every gesture, look, sigh, and thought moves the plot along with just enough hints to maintain suspense. Each character has a unique descriptor. How Radclyffe keeps track of all these women is a wonder. Radclyffe empowers woman and being a lesbian is not a pre-requisite for reading her work. Happily married and single straight women who enjoy romance, exploring sexual desire, living vicariously through characters who etch themselves in your heart and mind, and who long for stimulating circumstances between multi-faceted characters, will not want to miss The Lonely Hearts Club.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite up to Radclyffe's high standards, March 21, 2008

By 

constantread "constantread" (NM) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Lonely Hearts Club (Paperback)

Let me begin by saying I did enjoy this book. Radclyffe always spins a good tale. However, I felt it wasn't as thorough as many of her books. I really like the three friends and am fascinated by how Radclyffe reveals Bren's secret to her friends. I like that Candace is beginning to change. and I truly like Liz and Reilly. I'm sure that being a little cryptic about how Bren and Candace work out their romances leaves room for another book about these women. That will give us some more information about Liz and Reilly as well. And I will read it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Something to be Desired, November 19, 2008

By 

A. Nelson (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lonely Hearts Club (Paperback)

Radclyffe does a wonderful job of introducing and personalizing her characters in this fun, passion-filled romance. Readers are guaranteed to identify with these lonely women as they mend broken hearts and explore secret desires. While enjoyable, the sex and intimacy in this novel left something to be desired. I'm anxiously awaiting a Radclyffee romance that can rival or surpass Shadowland's intensity.