Review- From the Boots Up by Andi Marquette

From the Boots Up

By Andi Marquette

March 8, 2013

Contemporary, Lesbian romance

35 K  words

110 pgs

Publisher: self /Kindle

 Meg Tallmadge has more than enough on her plate. She’s finishing up a college degree, getting ready to apply to vet school, and working another summer with her dad, Stan, on the family ranch in southern Wyoming. He’s managed to get the Los Angeles Times to send a reporter out to do a story on the Diamond Rock, which doubles as a dude ranch. Meg knows the ranch needs all the publicity it can get to bring in more customers, but she’s not looking forward to babysitting a reporter for a week. When the originally scheduled reporter can’t make it, Meg worries that they won’t get a story at all, which is worse than dealing with a city slicker for a few days. Fortunately for Stan and the ranch, the Times finds a replacement, and Meg prepares to be under scrutiny, under the gun, and the perfect hostess. She knows what this opportunity means to her father, and she’s hoping that if it goes well, it’ll ease some of the distance between them that resulted when she came out a few months earlier.What Meg’s not prepared for — and never expected — is the reporter herself and the effect she has on her. In spite of what she feels, Meg can’t risk the fallout that could result from overstepping a professional boundary. But as the week draws to a close, it becomes clear that not taking a chance could be the biggest risk of all.

I’ve only read one other of Andi Marquette’s books, Some Kind of River, and I really liked it. From the Boots Up also is a cute, warm and fuzzy feel good love story. While it’s not a deep book, the author still managed to convey quite a bit about both protagonists.

You know all those feelings and fears, butterflies in your stomach, racing thoughts about words and actions that could be taken in different ways, and all that awkwardness that happens when you have an attraction to someone but are not sure about what’s going on with them? Well that’s what Andi Marquette captured extremely well in this story.

Meg is a down to earth, funny, easy going kind of girl. She loves her life as a cowgirl in Wyoming working with her father and helping out with guests at their dude ranch. She’s young but has had a few heartbreaks so she’s kind of freaked at her instantaneous and intense attraction to a reporter who’s come to do a story on their ranch.

This story is mainly told from Meg’s POV, so all that internal angsting is about her attraction to Gina. There really isn’t much conflict going on except in Megs head and heart. But that was enough to keep me interested as the story progressed. Andi Marquette does have an amusing way with words and there were some pretty funny lines and character banter.

We don’t get to know too much about what Gina feels until the end. But I liked her light, flirty, but slightly mischievous way. She plays just enough with Meg to keep the communication lines open and be provocative without actually letting on how she feels. The main thing keeping them separated is that from both sides, professionally, they can’t fraternize in a more personal way.

There’s no big surprise here. From the get-go you know what’s going to happen. And it’s a short book. But I liked Meg and Gina’s little dance, the secondary characters, and the setting. So it was a gratifyingly light, fun read for me.

I’d say if you’re looking for a meaty love story, this is probably not going to satisfy. But for me, after coming off of a more weighty and lengthy book, this was a perfect quick little story. Two people meet, they find out fairly quickly they’re both attracted and go for it. Very satisfying!

Heat level: 3- two semi graphically written sex scenes.

Grade: Really Liked

Review- Some Kind of River by Andi Marquette

Some Kind of River
by Andi Marquette
2007
Contemporary/Lesbian
21K
Ebook- Torquere Press

Buy it Torquere Press, ARe (cheaper), Fictionwise (also cheaper) Kindle
 
Rafting guide Dez figures her best friend Mel just isn’t into her. She knows Mel is a lesbian, just like she is, but she's never seen a glimmer of interest from her friend, and would never screw up their relationship by making a pass.
Luckily for Dez, Mel is a little more determined than she is, and will keep trying to get Dez's attention, even when Dez is truly clueless. When a chance game of truth or dare with their friends leads to a revelation, can Dez admit that she might just be Mel's type?

Some Kind of River is one of those very sweet and real stories that make you feel at home and comfortable. Both Dez and Mel, plus the secondary characters are all down to earth, fun characters whom I could really relate to. Especially Dez. It’s not a flashy story, nor is it erotically charged, although there are some very erotic moments; it’s just kind of like being wrapped up in a warm blanket on a cold day in how Dez and Mel relate.

Dez and Mel have been rafting buddies for years. They see each other and work together every summer and the rest of the year they stay in touch through emails. They are really good friends and this year Dez is getting concerned with her growing crush on Mel. The trouble is, she’s afraid to say anything about it since she doesn’t want to jeopardize the relationship altogether since she thinks that Mel is not interested.

Mel has a crush on someone in the group as she stated during a game of truth or dare. I wonder who it could be? :-) Unfortunately, this has a worried affect on Dez. Mel, in her own way, tries to suss out if Dez is feeling just a bit more for her but is also worried about losing the friendship by bringing in weirdness if Dez is not interested.

The rest is basically the dance between these two in what is the classic “I like this person but don’t know if they like me, so I’ll pretend I don’t, but what if I don’t say something and they like me, but if I do and they don’t like me, then what will happen?” syndrome we’ve all been through. 

Fortunately, Andi Marquette kept the angsting on an even keel without it getting too melodramatic or frustrating, but giving just enough tightness to keep it interesting.

What was very nice about this story outside of Dez and Mel trying to work it out, is the interesting and different backdrop of white water river rafting. I’ve never done that, but Andi Marquette seems to know what she’s talking about since there were specific references to things particular to white water rafting. Also, I liked the fact that both girls are outdoorsy and athletic. The scenes are set in a camping situation, which is just different from the usual.

The other characters are all very supportive of both Mel and Dez and the whole lesbian thing is not a big deal. Whew! I love that. In fact, during a game of truth or dare, there is a kiss that pretty much makes everyone hot and bothered, including the very straight Mary, a co-worker, who lovingly jokes that she would be all over that if it happened to her. So there’s a nice camaraderie between the characters that I enjoyed.

Dez is one of those characters that I could relate to on a real level. She’s an everyday girl: no big ego, unpretentious, going for her Master’s degree and looking for “the one.” She aches for Mel but is very sensitive to the fact that she wishes to have Mel in her life even as just a friend rather than blow it. But I also loved how when they went rafting and Mel, playing around, scares Dez, Dez goes off on her in a very colorful way. She’s not afraid to show her anger and this makes for a real relationship. When you can go off on a friend like that and still be friends, that’s a deep commitment to each other that I love to read.

The only issue I had with this story is in the beginning the writing was a bit funky. This is told in first person by Dez. In the first few pages, many of the sentences are choppy and start with I. I did this, I did that, I felt this, I said that… It was noticeable to me to the point that I thought if the rest is like this, it will be hard to read. However, very quickly Dez and Mel meet and the rest of the story is mostly dialogue between Dez and Mel and everyone else and is nicely written.

In short, I recommend Some Kind of River if you’re looking for a friends to lovers love story that has all the juicy, loving components without all the heavy angst, but just enough tension to keep the pages turning.

Heat level- 4- some graphic sexual language- one sex scene.

Grade- B+