Customer Reviews

Turning the Page

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Great book by newcomer Georgia Beers. The characters of Melanie and Taylor are fully realized and compelling enough to cause me to read this in one sitting. I liked that the story took place over a period of time--and after some angst and indecision, especially on the part of Taylor.

MJ Lowe has written a thorough review below, and I don't want to repeat her already insightful comments. I'll just add two points: 1) the writing style is excellent in a very well edited book; and 2) it's great to see sexy but realistic love scenes.

I highly recommend this one. It rates right up there with TROPICAL STORM by Melissa Good, NONE SO BLIND by LJ Maas, and MIRRORS by Marianne K Martin.

Melanie Larson, a 33 year old Marketing executive has decided it's time to make changes in her life. Little does she know what the next four weeks will bring! After several very successful years with "corporate America," Melanie's company has been purchased by a larger company and the executive offices are moving from Chicago to Seattle. Rather than move West, Melanie has decided to accept a severance package and to take some time off. Melanie Larson needs to decide who she is and what she wants from life. At the behest of her uncle, she finds herself checking in on her rather footloose cousin, Samantha.

Recently divorced, Sammi has all but abandoned the small bookstore that her father purchased a couple of years prior to help "stabilize" her marriage. Melanie finds Sammi residing in a charming little carriage house behind an old farm house, outside of Rochester, New York.

Minutes after arriving in Rochester, Mel meets Taylor Rhodes, an attractive lesbian (outed in introduction by Sam) in her late 20s who lives in the main house next to Sam's cottage. Taylor moved back into her parents' home several months ago, after the sudden death of her mother, in order to look after her father, Benjamin Rhodes. In the last few months, Ben has begun to live his life again and he finds Melanie to be a very attractive woman. The trouble is, so does Taylor.

(...)

Beers captures pictures of a lesbian community in a city of approximately 200,000 people in the urban northeastern US circa the turn of the 21st century in realistic, humorous and insightful ways. She details the problem such cities have with maintaining a women's bar, the "gay gentrification" that is common in many historic neighborhoods, and the role of softball in the lives of many a lesbian. Further she pays tribute to the TV show, Xena Warrior Princess and the lesbian community's role in the show's fandom and success. Beers does this via "Xenite" Taylor and eventual convert (puns intended) Melanie who names her bookstore, "The Quill is Mightier" after an episode in the show. To have a story that records a bit of the whole Xena phenomena without actually being a fanfiction or "uber" story is really quite interesting. As part of Melanie's "Lesbianism 101" process, Beers also provides a little tribute to Katherine Forrest's "Curious Wine" perhaps THE classic lesbian romance novel (certainly in my top five).

Turning the Page is a charming contemporary romance written with wit, compassion, and eros. The characters are interesting. Melanie's coming out is well handled (...). The politics are relatively mild and the angst is limited to a required level. (...) -- Reading Turning the Page is a delightful way to spend a quiet weekend. Hopefully Ms. Beers will gift us with other such pleasures.

Well, what can I say? This is a delightful lesbian romance featuring likeable and believable characters, easily recognisable life situations with which the reader can empathise (unlike the melodrama of so much genre fiction) and a sense of real and honest emotional experiences that allow the reader to become fully involved in the action right from the start.

Georgia Beers has a real gift for producing vivid but not overwritten descriptive prose, and a wicked sense of humour that permeates the entire novel. Her light and deft touch made me really care about what happened to her protagonists, and I finished the book within the course of a day. My only disappointment was that it didn't go on for longer than 250 pages. :-)

This is a lovely piece of work and I sincerely hope that we'll be seeing more books from this very talented author.

When Melanie Larson gives up her successful career, she finds a rare opportunity to examine her life, and doesn't like what she sees-financial prosperity at the expense of personal fulfillment. Not sure what she expects to accomplish, Melanie takes up the challenge of going to Rochester and helping her whimsical cousin revive a failing bookstore. But the cousin is more interested in a jaunt across Canada than attending to the business. Alone in a new place, Melanie strikes up a friendship with Benjamin Rhodes, only to find herself strangely attracted to Benjamin's daughter, Taylor.

Assaulted by frightening new feelings, Melanie must come to terms with her attraction to Taylor, and ultimately find her way through a maze of conflicting emotions and entangled relationships.

Beers weaves a wonderful tale of love, passion, and the fear that inevitably haunts every woman's heart.

This is a terrific novel if you are looking for an upbeat romance with delightful characters, without a ton of hang-ups, great humor and writing that flows so nicely that a reader wishes the story would go on for another 100 pages.

The main characters are truly engaging. The story begins with 30-something Melanie realizing she has achieved many of her careers goals without having personal satisfaction. She makes a move that brings her to a new town with new friends and a business of her own. The beauty of the story is the journey she takes, the people she meets and the decisions she makes.

If you like well written romance you will love this book. The reader gets an in depth feeling for both main characters and while the story has some nice turns the characters say and do the things that are always in character.

I am looking forward to her next novel `Too Close to Touch' due in July 2006.


From the publisher's website - Melanie Larson is an attractive, extremely successful business executive who shocks herself by resigning from her job when her company merges with another and relocates. While trying to decide what to do with her life next and at the urging of her uncle, Melanie heads to Rochester, New York, to stay temporarily with her cousin Samantha. She hopes to use her business savvy in an attempt to help Sam sort out the financial woes of her small bookstore. During her stay, Melanie meets and becomes close to the family that owns the property on which Samantha lives, the charming Benjamin Rhodes, a distinguished, successful businessman, as well as his beautiful and intriguing daughter Taylor. Surprised by what and how she feels for each of them,

Melanie is soon forced to face the facts and re-examine what's really important to her in life, career and love

Ok, we're talking romance here, so the story is a little far-fetched. That doesn't stop it from being a great fantasy! I thoroughly enjoyed Beers' "Thy Neighbor's Wife" and hoped "Turning the Page" would meet he same standards. I certainly wasn't disappointed!

Samantha is a good-for-nothing spoiled brat. When her bookstore starts to go under, her father asks recently-unemployed cousin Melanie Larson to step in and help out. When Melanie shows up at Sam's place, she meets the charming Taylor Rhodes and her father Benjamin. Both of them are determined to win Melanie's heart. Melanie has never considered a lesbian relationship and goes out with Ben a few times. However, her thoughts are consistently brought back to Taylor, the woman who has sparked new emotions and feelings Melanie never dreamed possible.

This book is consistent with Beers' quality work. It is well edited and easy to read. This reader was drawn in to the story and finished the book in one night. Highly recommended addition to your bookshelf (after you read it a few times, of course).

I considered giving this book 4 stars, as 3 seemed a little harsh. The book was entertaining (I read it all in one evening, unable to put it down), and the chemistry between the two main characters was hot. However, compared to other lesbian romance novels, including others by Georgia Beers, this novel just wasn't quite of the same quality.

First of all, of the reviews I've read for this novel, a couple have mentioned that this was a well edited novel. However, I found quite a few errors throughout that actually became quite distracting. The biggest issue was the amount of times when dialogue wasn't in separate paragraphs, making it clear who was speaking.

Warning: some spoilers follow.

Secondly, while the characters had chemistry, and the novel was entertaining, the plot was unrealistic with over-the-top characters. I felt like the subplot of father and daughter competing for the same woman could have (and should have) been left out.

My final issue with the novel, was that it became too gay. It almost felt like it started preaching about how to be a lesbian. You might be a lesbian if you play softball, watch Xena, or are interested in feminism. Change that, you ARE a lesbian if you play softball, watch Xena, or are interested in feminism. No coming out story is complete without the gay community cliches.

The cliched, overdone, homophobia came out of nowhere. Melanie's cousin had no problem having a gay neighbor, even flirting with her for fun, but then turns around and calls her a predatory dyke. No coming out story is complete without some sort of homophobia.

Melanie realizes pretty much immediately that she's physically attracted to Taylor, stating at the start that she's had sex-dreams about women, but then later is made to sound like she's totally caught off guard by the idea that she might be a lesbian. It was made to sound like the idea had never crossed her mind. No coming out story is complete without the character panicking about her newly discovered sexual orientation.

If you're looking for a fun read, this novel won't disappoint. However, if you're looking for higher quality writing, I'd recommend any of Georgia Beers' other novels. Unlike her other books, this one was forgettable, and most likely won't be read twice.

I loved this book! Melanie and Taylor captured my interest right from the beginning, and held it the entire way through, as I read it from cover to cover in one sitting.
Beers has a way with her words that allow you to slip out of time and into the story. Her descriptions, language and the development of the characters are all top form.
I loved Beers choice of characters for Taylors 'competition'... different to say the least. The way she handled Melanies struggles with her feelings was excellent and the whole story was very realistic and believable.
I eagerly await her next novel, especially if it were to be a sequel to this one. This is definitely one I consider worth hanging onto to read again in the future.

I was planning to read only a few chapters but didn't put down the book till I finished it 1 am. The characters and the story was very easy to relate to. I love Georgia's writing style. It had the right mixture of drama, romance, and suspense. I wish she had another book that I could read.

This is a good quick read that kept me turning the pages. I didn't care for the father and daughter courting the same woman. I couldn't help feeling, as I was reading, that no matter who "got the girl", future family holiday dinners couldn't help but be exceedingly uncomfortable! But, overall, enjoyable light reading.