Customer Reviews

Love in the Balance

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

At first the story seems a bit predictable--Kasey and Connie are immediately attracted and will eventually get together and fall in love-right. Not so fast! First they go through some wrenching personal stuff with Connie's Mom. Next they face their own fears and some baggage from the past. Then when they finally do get together they have to deal with all different forms of prejudice on the way to everlasting love. Including tragedy that rocks their world and the fairly closeted gay community in which they live. The story is well written. The characters feel real. It is sometimes sad and at other times laugh out loud funny. I am going to read all of her books now. Don't miss this book.

What a GREAT book! I keep saying that over & over. Ms. Martin's characters are so real, it could have been a story from my life. I have re-read the book twice and both times I have laughed and cried. There are only a few other books that have ever made me cry. The 2 main characters are both strong, independent women who have to make some major decisions about their lives. This book also centers around people that are very important to each of them. A MUST read. You will not want to put it down, so be prepared.

If only I could tell anyone that is purchasing Lesbian movies to not to waset their money and instead purchase some of the wonderful novels about women loving women. This was a great love story. It was good for someone like me that needs to feel like there are other women out there that might be in their 30's and questioning whether that have been following there heart and loving naturally.

Marrianne Martin at her best. The characters were very well defined. They were folks that you would love to me in the flesh. I was very moved about the "Angel Singing" to Connie's mother.

Can't wait for the next book and many, many more.

This novel fulfilled my admittedly high expectations after reading the author's other books (Legacy of Love and Under the Witness Tree). The main characters are fully developed and wonderfully human. I love how the author lets the reader see the motivations that lead the characters to take the path that they do. Toward the end of the novel a devastating event occurs to (not directly to the main characters) that impacts everyone including the reader. I totally loved both Connie and Kasey - two strong people that are happiest when together. I love how they interact as people with each other and those around them.

This was an utterly satisfying read that I have picked up and read more than once. I have recommended this novel to many friends.

Book Description
Accountant Connie Bradford feels her life is changing for the better. Riding high on the crest of a huge promotion, she has finally ended the unsatisfying relationship with her boyfriend. Everything is moving in logical trasition. Until she meets Kasey Hollander. . .Carpenter Kasey Hollander lives a life of work-centered exclusion. Owner of a successful renovation company she hires Connie to handle her books, and the two quickly hit it off. Since her ex-lover left her hurt and humiliated, Kasey has been determined to play it safe as far as relationships go -- and what could be safer than a platonic friendship with a straight woman?

Connie Bradford and Kasey Hollander feel like real people with real issues and real lives. Both women are dealing with frustrating problems--Connie with a selfish pig of a boyfriend, and Kasey with the memory of love betrayed. Neither one of them has any idea how important the other will become as they begin to lean on one another to face difficult times.

Marianne Martin has a wonderful way with characters, relationships, and with the smooth-moving plot. It's no wonder that she is one of the most popular lesbian romance novelists around. I highly recommend LOVE IN THE BALANCE as well as all of her other novels.

Love in the balance is so much more than a romance. Marianne Martin has created characters I wish I could visit on a regular basis. At times they made me laugh out loud, and other times they made me cry. I worried so much about them that I couldn't put the book down.

The story is real and exceptionally well-drawn. It is a reminder of how wonderful love is, and the courage that it takes to live it. Don't miss this one.

Love in the Balance by Marianne Martin is my all-time favorite lesbian romance. I can't even count how many times I have read it or parts of it. The book was in shameful condition, dog-eared and stained with coffee, when I handed it to the author at a signing; but I wanted it signed. Ms Martin graciously smiled and told me it was the biggest compliment she had ever received. All I can say is that it is a compliment well deserved.

I am in so many ways like Connie Bradford, Ms. Martin could have been fictionalizing my story. I appreciate having the lesbian who has lived as a straight woman most of her life portrayed without the typical stereotyping. I am not confused or weak; I am not going to leave my relationship for a man. I am strong and confident, and committed to a woman partner. I thank Ms. Martin for letting the world know that lesbians like me exist.

As she does in each of her books, Ms Martin develops her characters with compassion and sensitivity. They are strong characters, trying to overcome their own shortcomings, sometimes with anger, sometimes with humor, but always with conviction. The plot is wonderfully atypical of lesbian romance, ripping events right from the newspaper headlines and demanding that the characters deal with them. Each time I read this book I come away with renewed courage and love (of course the love scenes have nothing to do with the latter).

I won't review the story itself since that has been done in other reviews, but I will add that I believe this is a story that will touch most reader's hearts. I highly recommend it.

This book is poignant, intelligent, and destined to be a classic. Ms. Martin so skillfully taps the emotions of her characters that her readers share in their fear, their sorrow, and their happiness. I live in Michigan where two lesbians were murdered by their neighbor. I felt Sharon's anger; I too wanted to take that rifle and make sure justice was done. But, thankfully, the story did not dwell on that anger. Instead, it emphasized a story of love and courage.

This is the most compelling romance I have read in a long time. It is deep with the understanding of how strong and courageous our love can be. It made me remember how proud I am to be a lesbian.

Don't miss this wonderful book.

It took me a while to realize that this is a part of the larger community of "legacy of love". It fits in nicely. Though there is only Sharon left now for the next romance but who knows. I read the book on a long flght and I couldn't stop. Back home a checked how well it fitted with her first book set a few years later. It does! So there is hope for more. If you liked "legacy of love" go for this one too. It is a good read much better than the average naiad romance.