Review- Daughters of Buxton by Kathryn Ewers Bundy

Daughters of Buxton

By Kathryn Ewers Bundy

June 4, 2012

Period Historical (1902)/Lesbian/romance

Pgs 288

“The Black Utopia” is what it was dubbed in the papers.

Buxton, Iowa was a coal mining town in 1902. Built by a visionary businessman, it was home to black, white, immigrant and native families. Peace and cooperation reigned.

Into this unusual mix came Lucinda Vanderberg, German immigrant daughter of the new century. She was independent, self-sufficient and full of ambition. The last thing she needed was love.

Soft-spoken Vanetta Washington, born to the sons of slavery, was plucked from the Virginia hills to make a home for her husband and children in the cold Midwestern mine country.

To Lou and Netta it seemed inevitable. They were drawn together by adversity and likeness of mind, and together they made a family. But not everyone in Buxton thought they should.

This book was a nice find for me. I’m still on an early 20th century reading kick and downloaded this book really without reading the blurb; I just hoped it would be a decent book. Daughters of Buxton turned out to be one of those books that wormed its way into my psyche and I couldn’t put it down. Even when I did have to put it down for RL chores and job, I couldn’t stop thinking about it and the characters.

I’ll be honest, I’ve written and re-written the review for this book many times. I even posted one for a few days. I really wanted to give this book justice since I loved it. I finally decided to take down the review and rework it again. Almost everything about this book affected me on some level. It’s so complex and covers a lot of interesting history and issues for the time it was set in. It made me think a lot, about life then and these characters’ lives. I struggled for a few weeks to whittle down the review to a decent amount but couldn’t. After leaving it up for a few days I realized I gave away too much of the story and it’s better for everyone to experience the depth of it for themselves. So… I’m trying again.

The first thing that grabbed me about this story was the detailed description of this world of a southern Iowa mining town and its inhabitants. The language, the tone, attitudes and expressions all felt so true to the time period. This town and characters came to life for me in such a rich and vivid way that I even felt that the author must have actually lived then and was relaying personal experiences.

Most especially I was drawn to Lucinda, the character that drives this story really. Lucinda is an independent minded young woman for her time who balks at the idea that as a woman she’s expected to marry and have babies. She wants none of it. Against her parent’s wishes she goes to nursing school in Chicago where she’s exposed to a more liberal society and ideas. She lands a job in Buxton, a newly created and fast growing mining town not too far from her home, as a nurse working for the mining company to tend to the miners and their families’ medical needs. She receives a better salary than most of the minors so she’s quite capable of taking care of herself.

She’s direct, honest and has a clear and strong sense of right and wrong. And she has no qualms about expressing herself when she feels people are not acting in an upright way or if she or someone she loves is being slighted.  She’s simple, wears plain, functional clothes and works hard. She also has a strong sense of community and family even if she’s moved away from home to have her life.

Vanetta was less defined for me, but I did get a good feel for who she is. She’s a miner’s wife and was brought from Virginia to be with her husband when the mining company decided it was better in the long run for the company if the miners could have their families with them. She’s a good, soft spoken woman who tends to her family and takes care of her husband who has become injured in the mine and has become an addict of pain killers and booze, all without complaint.

At first we only get few glimpses into Lou’s growing feelings for Vanetta. As she goes about her days tending to the sick in their homes, Lou starts finding excuses to visit Vanetta, knowing she’s having a hard time. She helped deliver Vanetta’s baby and has bonded with her. She doesn’t muse about her in a sexual or romantic way; she just knows she has a strong desire to be around her.

As for Vanetta, she mentions that she appreciates Lou helping her, being there during her difficult times, and that she enjoys Lou’s company. Lou is very protective of Vanetta and sort of takes care of her in her own way, which Vanetta responds positively to.

What I liked about this relationship beginning was that it didn’t build in the way of a typical romance, but still conveyed a deep, mutual, blossoming of love for each other---(to the point that I couldn’t wait for them to get together.) There were no sexual or flirty side glances or overt expressions, no, their growing attraction for each other happens in a very subtle and natural way without any questions about what they feel for each other being outside of what would be acceptable. And it always stays on a proper level on the surface and to some degree in how they act with each other, meaning, there’s never any assumption of anything more than a close friendship filled with respect for each other.

Also, I’d like to interject that I found it refreshing that when Lou reflects on or tells Vanetta how beautiful she is, it’s never with the usual adjectives used often in books with interracial couples. She never describes her in terms of her skin color, nor does she fetishize her. She’s simply beautiful, period.

When they finally acknowledge that what’s going on is more than just a friendship, they easily slip into it without any angst or discussion that they shouldn’t feel or act upon what they feel. I liked that they seem to be innocently in love and in their own little world for the first years together, conspiratorially oblivious to any social stigma around their love.

Of course things don’t stay innocent for them. They are a lesbian and interracial couple living in the era of Jim Crow laws. Even though this little racially diverse town and close by towns in Iowa at the time didn’t suffer the extent of racism the south did, it still wasn’t a cozy love fest between races either.

Both women and their kids try to find their place in society as a couple, a family and as individuals. Of course this leads to many conflicts with some locals and family, especially in the case of Lou whose family lives close enough to hear the gossip. Both racism and homophobia get equal time in any negativity coming their way, however, the really nasty stuff is about them being lesbians. I felt the author neither skirted the realities of racism or homophobia, nor did she use them gratuitously to manipulate emotions. They are dealt with honestly and realistically. However, I will say that it was satisfying that issues along the way got resolved in positive, and I felt, believable ways.

While this story includes the everyday issues these women face, this is ultimately about a lifelong love story. The glue that holds Lou and Vanetta together through all the years is their undying love for each other and this comes through so strongly throughout the book. They support each other, they express their love often in so many ways and although not a romance per se, this is an endearing, sweet love story.

All in all this was this was an excellent read and one that I won’t forget for a long while. I still can’t get these characters and the setting out of my head.

Heat level: 0-1. Not erotically written on any level, but clear intimations about their sex life are expressed.

Grade: Loved it!

Review- Prohibited Passion (Bandit Creek #10) by Alyssa Linn Palmer

Prohibited Passion (Bandit Creek #10)

By Alyssa Linn Palmer

January 12, 2012

F/F/Bisexual/ Period Historical 1920’s

72 pgs

This erotic romance brings you right into the middle of Prohibition...

Ruth wants to escape the boredom of Bandit Creek and the strict expectations of her father, the local pastor. Her life changes the day she meets CeeCee, a world-wise flapper, and an irresistible attraction develops between them. She’ll be disowned and shunned if anyone discovers their prohibited passion, but can they keep their growing affection a secret?

CeeCee is drawn to Ruth, but things become complicated when her gangster companion disapproves of their liaison. He’s in town to broker a deal with the owner of the local speakeasy, and he’s not above using them to further his own plans. Can CeeCee protect Ruth and their budding relationship?

As Ruth gets drawn further into their world, she must decide between her familiar life and a new, dangerous path with the woman she loves

I really don’t know how to categorize this book. I enjoyed it, but it’s not really a romance per se. It’s more like a coming out/of age lesbian fiction story.

Ruth feels stifled and trapped in her life. Her mother has passed away and she is all her preacher father has. She takes care of him and the house as was what women were expected to do in those days and is expected to act as a proper preacher’s daughter should.  She’s of an age that young men are coming around to court her, ones that will take over the position of church preacher when her father retires, but she has no interest in that. Instead she dreams of a life outside, free of all these constraints and full of new experiences.

While shopping in town, she casually glances through the cafe window and sees a beautiful woman sitting alone, clearly a stranger in town. She’s mesmerized by this woman, the way she’s dressed, her beauty. This woman, CeeCee, happens to notice her looking and see’s something about Ruth that attracts her. She’s so much like someone she once knew, someone she loved.

CeeCee ends up inviting Ruth to a speakeasy, something Ruth feels rather uncomfortable about due to how things would look for her father if she were caught, but is so enthralled by CeeCee she goes. This catapults Ruth into a whole new world and helps her discover things about herself she didn’t know about.

Ruth responds easily to CeeCee’s advances even if she’s shy. CeeCee represents just the new and exciting that Ruth craves. However, there’s a kink in the budding love between CeeCee and Ruth, Sheirdan, CeeCee’s busisness partner/boyfriend/controller.

Sheridan is not happy that Ruth, the preacher’s daughter, has been brought there and makes it known is clear and on aggressive terms. This creates tension in all of them.

What was kind of weird for me in this story was how easily CeeCee moves between Sheridan and Ruth. I didn’t quite get her relationship with Sheridan. They have a sort of business relationship in which CeeCee is used to seduce costumers into buying the bootleg booze from Sheridan. He seems to have a lot of control over her both physically and emotionally, which he exercises somewhat violently at times. But at the same time, they also have a comfortable sexual relationship, which she openly enjoys. CeeCee, however, begs Sheridan on a regular basis to allow her to get with Ruth, which he tries to dissuade at every turn.

Clearly CeeCee is bisexual and in a somewhat co-dependent relationship with Sheridan. I got CeeCee’s attraction to Ruth and that she wanted to have something with her, however, it was all set up to be doomed as long as Sheridan was involved and she kept working as a bootlegger, something she seemed to have a hard time walking away from for a reason we don’t know.

Although not a romance that follows the rules of romance, the author did manage to infuse a lot of loving energy between the women. The sex scenes were nicely written even if not too graphic and the setting felt authentic to the time period as well.

Mainly this is a story about Ruth’s journey from being small town sheltered girl to having the courage to go for what she wants and to be who she is. This is what her relationship with CeeCee gives her.

Heat level: 2-3- sensual sex scenes, not graphically written.

Grade: Liked it

Warning: this is not a romance that follows romance rules.

Review: Passion for Vengeance by Patty G. Henderson

Passion for Vengeance

By Patty G. Henderson

March 2, 2013

Historical/ Lesbian/Gothic/Romance

192 pgs

Blanca Rose Publising

It's been a long time since Jane Havens, Mistress of Havenswood, felt the joy and promise of by-gone days when her family home, Havenswood, was a thriving and powerful farming estate. Together with her elder brother Cole, who drowns his sorrow in alcohol, Jane does what she can to lead the fading estate through the hard times that fell upon the family after their father, a Union Army Colonel, died shortly after the Civil War.

Jane and Cole try to raise their little brother, Henry, a wild young boy with no direction, no manners and no one to marshal his considerable natural abilities into a productive, young gentleman. But when his new governess, Emma Stiles, arrives, the whole household goes into shock as Henry shapes up, Cole doubles down on the amount of drink he consumes to drown his failures, and Jane Havens falls madly in love with her little brother's governess. Then the trouble begins.

Accidents begin to happen to the residents of Havenswood--incidents that increase in seriousness and danger. Some within the household point fingers at Emma Stiles. Jane will not believe her new lover has anything to do with the terrifying accidents until a chance visit by a new doctor in town raises the specter that Emma Stiles may not be quite who she seems. As the reality of Emma's tortured soul descends upon Havenswood and Jane, it is clear that the demons of vengeance can only be saved by love and forgiveness. Or is it too late for forgiveness and too late for love?

Set in the tumultuous decade after the Civil War, PASSION FOR VENGEANCE is a Gothic Romance tale of betrayal, revenge, love and forgiveness.

Basically the blurb for this book is spot on so I’ll go from there. I enjoy this particular genre of books but haven’t read one in a long time so this was fun for me to read. There was a definite Gothic feel to this story as romance and a dark mystery were entwined perfectly. What was particularly appealing was Emma Stiles as a character. But also the slow reveal and build up to the truth about Emma as well as the romantic angle.

I really got off on how this books starts and Emma’s personality. Emma comes across as confident but aloof as she enters the lives of Jane and her two brothers who are basically living on the edge of depression after many losses to their family and finances. She seems to be in touch with a part of some kind of knowingness of things outside of the normal realm and this intrigues the family.  Right away she takes control of things but in a subtle, indirect way and things start changing for the better. Everyone is affected by her, particularly Jane. However, the longtime family housekeeper and property caretaker are not that keen on her and feel she’s up to no good.

Emma is fairly quick and direct about coming on to Jane. She seems to know Jane will respond to her advances without any questions and she stays in control of how and when they interact to Jane’s dismay. However, what kept her appealing was the constant pull back or air of mystery around her. Something is up with her and Jane gets that on some level.

Jane who has been lonely for any kind of female friendship falls madly in love with Emma almost immediately. I mean that crazy, irrational, intense passionate kind of love. She is somewhat shocked that she’s falling for a woman, but her need and craving of any kind of attention from Emma is such that she cannot stop herself. On the surface though, she is aware that this will cause huge problems for her with her older brother and socially. She doesn’t care; she wants and needs Emma desperately. She even doesn’t care when Emma shares a huge secret that totally freaks her out.

One might think that Jane is a desperate loser type by how I’ve described her, but no, she’s not. The author kept her real. She didn’t just blindly follow after Emma, but she’s willing at every turn to ignore the growing evidence that Emma might not be the person she’s in love with and that Emma might actually be harboring something dark and evil as calamities besetting their household start piling up since she came there. Jane knows in her heart though that there must be some rational explanation that will exonerate Emma.

Outside of the drama going on in the household, the actual romance between Emma and Jane is rather erotic and sweet at the same time. They only have eyes for each other and truth be told, that’s really appealing. Even when the new local Dr. shows up and seems to have an interest in Emma, Emma makes it clear to Jane that she is the only person she’s interested in. One thing I liked is that both women, particularly Jane, don’t bother too much about hiding their relationship. While they do for a while, Jane is fairly adamant in her desire to tell her brother and eventually does without shame or worry about the consequences. They really don’t question too much about what they feel and how people will think about it.

The story itself, the mystery, unfolds at a perfect pace. I actually couldn’t stop thinking about it as I went about a huge gardening job and got straight back to it when done. What’s going on? Who is Emma really? What’s her story? So many hints along the way that kept me interested.

The only thing I will say negatively about this book is that one of Emma’s secrets has to do with a combination of spirituality, witchcraft and mysticism. Not to give away too much, but Emma is learned about nature and the effects of herbs and botanicals, which she uses for all sorts of reasons, including as an aphrodisiac in seducing Jane. While it added something erotic to their first sexual encounter, it seemed out of place for the rest of the story, which didn’t make use of this.

Along the same lines is that Emma has been doing something that she feels will condemn her to hell. She states she was forced by circumstances to do so, but what it is she’s been doing --- don’t want to give it away--- seems so out of place for the general tone of the rest of the story. Sure, Emma has an interesting and dark past, but this seemed to be something thrown in that felt disconnected to the rest of the story.  

Even so, Passion for Vengeance is an excellent, intriguing read. If you’re at all into  the Gothic romance genre this book will definitely hit the spot.

Heat level: 1-2. Sexual scenarios sensually, not graphically written.

Grade: Loved it!

Review: The Seduction of Moxy by Colette Moody

The Seduction of Moxie

By Colette MoodySeptember 21,2009Lesbian/Romance/Retro 1930’s era

69.6K words

Publisher: Bold Strokes Books

When Hollywood-bound actress Violet London meets speakeasy singer Moxie Valette, her trip takes an unexpected turn toward love.

New York City, 1931: When wry Broadway actress Violet London and her hard-drinking cohorts venture into a speakeasy the night before she is to board a train for Hollywood, she is floored by sassy blond singer Moxie Valette. As Violet introduces Moxie to an assortment of bootleg liquor, cross-dressers, and sex shows, she vows to find a way to see her again. Moxie is fascinated by Violet in a thrilling and unfamiliar way, and the ensuing evening of bon mots, shameless flirtation, and illicit revelry is unlike anything she has ever experienced.

From Manhattan to Los Angeles, both women’s lives are turned upside-down by separation, unscrupulous motion picture studio executives, self-serving agents, eccentric celebrities, and the collection of hedonistic reprobates that are their closest friends.

I’ve been jonsen to read some lesbian stories set in the early 20^th century lately and this one was recommended. I’ve read Colette Moody’s The Sublime and Spirited Voyage of Original Sin and really liked it so I jumped on reading this one.

This story started out great. Loved the characters; Violet, Moxie and the group of colorful  secondary characters. Loved the setting; the world of entertainers in speakeasies in NYC and Hollywood movie industry during the 30’s. Loved the biting, sarcastic humor. But most of all loved the slow sexual tension build-up between Violet and Moxie. That said, there were some minor issues.

Violet is one of those female characters I get off on. She pulls no punches, goes for what she wants in a direct but patient way, and is very confident in who she is. She doesn’t really care what people think of her, especially that she’s a lesbian. She doesn’t go flaunting it but she doesn’t hide it either. She sets her eyes on Moxie and goes for it not caring what Moxie’s sexual orientation might be.

Moxie is perfect complimentary character to Violet. She’s not as straight forward, but is honest in a more down to earth way. She’s not totally naïve but is innocent and curious enough to be persuaded by Violet’s seductive energy towards her. In the beginning she’s portrayed as a rather aloof, keeping to herself off stage, but seductive on. She works in a speakeasy as a singer and something about her quiet intensity, looks, voice and unassuming character totally grabs Violet.

From the get-go Violet pursues Moxie in a direct but non pushy way. Actually one of the best parts of this book is how perfectly the author built up the sexual tension and attraction between these two women. That’s something that I often find not well developed in many romance stories. Just enough time and pacing was given so that it’s totally believable that Moxie would reach the point of wanting Violet as much as Violet wants her.

Outside of the love story there are lots of things going on with this book and the gaggle of characters. One of the main foils to Violet and Moxie actually consummating their attraction and getting together is Moxie’s agent, Cotton. He’s hip to what’s going on between them and he does whatever he can to keep them apart both to keep Moxie focused on her career and to keep her from becoming a scandal due the lesbian relationship, which could kill her career if it came out.

Wil, a secondary character who takes up lots of book real-estate, is Violet’s bff. She has no filter really and comes across as nympho alcoholic who seems to enjoy flaunting it. She’s recruited to keep Cotton occupied to help give Violet and Moxie some private time so that can finally have a chance at consummating their attraction.

While overall I enjoyed this book, I had a few issues; par for the course in any book. One of the main issues was the humor. In thinking about it, I feel maybe the author was trying to mimic some of those classic screwball comedies of the 30’s in the whole way the book was written, the pacing of story and the antics of each of the characters.

For the most part, the dialogue, double entendres, and sarcasm were funny. Laugh out loud funny. However, sometimes the sarcasm crossed the line into meanness for me. Particularly Violet steps over the line and I didn’t get why; she didn’t need to. Wil I could see because in many ways she’s a one dimensional character—not much is offered in the way of how she’s affected emotionally about anything-- and doesn’t care how she comes across. But Violet has more depth and soul.

Another issue I had, and this is really minor, was that several times real actresses from the time period were thrown in. For some reason I found this distracting. Maybe it’s more of personal thing since I’m an old movie buff. I’ve read many star biographies and movie industry nonfiction from this time period. So knowing a lot about some of the stars mentioned it felt weird since their personalities were generic except for the name. Although, the author did get Bette Davis down fairly accurately. Would have been better for me if the author used real names for studio heads since they were less in the limelight.

Even so, I felt the author created an accurate feel of the time period. Part of the humor I enjoyed was the slang used. I started recently watching old movies again on TCM and was shocked really at the colorful slang, some of it still used today, that was used back then. Often it’s far more witty actually then of today. The type of light, humorous banter in the dialogue of movies from that time is captured nicely as well.

I also felt the essence of sexual mores and licentiousness of that time is integrated and expressed accurately. Movies from this time period do show that that this was a time of sexual revolution and to some degree decadence, even if censuring was strict. (Mae West anyone?) There was a lot of sexual experimentation. While the studio heads kept actors on tight leashes as far as keeping anything other than straight and married relationships out of the papers, all kinds of things went on outside of that as we all know now,  which was also accurately portrayed in this book.

I thought the author showed the ramifications of Moxie and Violet’s relationship if found out by the public in a true way. Maybe IRL Moxie and Violet might have kept their relationship and orientation hidden, but I enjoyed that in this story they had the guts to just be who they are and that they found a business they could be free in.

All in all, The Seduction of Moxie is a delicious, fun read. And my desire to read stories from this time period was very satisfied.

Heat Level: 2-3 Some sexual situations that were sensuously written but not in a very graphic way.

Grade: Really liked