Alice never imagined that meeting co-worker Leslie would lead to an all-consuming love affair. But even in the anything-goes 1970s, feminist attitudes and the sexual revolution can’t change the fact that Leslie is a traditional married mom of two who won’t chance losing her children to follow her heart and divorce her husband. Their year of risk, passion, and heartache takes its toll on both women. Tired of only receiving crumbs from Leslie, Alice makes the toughest choice of her life and moves on.
Although their affair is short-lived, their desire to be together never dies. Nearly forty years later, Alice returns to Connecticut after learning Leslie has suffered a stroke. She soon realizes that time and distance haven’t doused the fire for Leslie that’s always burned in her heart. But is it too late to pick up where they left off?
Leslie Harris's visit to her upstate New York lakeside family home after a decade of triumphs and disappointment resembles a nightmare more than the quiet vacation she'd hoped for. The unexpected appearance of much-changed town girl Devon Weber, with whom Leslie shares a secret that haunts them both, rekindles an old heartache—and reminds Leslie of just why she left.
Even though her attraction to Dev comes roaring back, the one thing Leslie doesn't want is to pick up where they left off, especially not when she already has just the life she wants—a rewarding high-power law practice, a condo in Manhattan, and a lover who satisfies her without demanding the intimacy Leslie avoids. Unfortunately, environmental biologist Devon Weber doesn't play by Leslie's rules. Two women whose lives turned out far differently than they'd once imagined discover that sometimes the shape of the future can only be found in the past—and love is strongest When Dreams Tremble.
Ancient curses, modern day villains, and a most intriguing woman who keeps appearing when least expected and then disappearing.
Archeologist Valerie Foret has spent a year searching for a tomb in the Egyptian desert—a labor broken only by high risk trysts with a powerful man's wife. When she finally makes the discovery of a lifetime, she is set upon by jealous rivals and religious fanatics. Worse, she is drawn into the depths of the desert by forces that offer knowledge of vast mysteries and at the same time threaten to destroy everything she knows. For what she's found is a glimpse into the hereafter, and it's nothing like it's supposed to be.
Brilliant scientist that she is, she has loved most unwisely and learned what she does not want to know. Follow her adventures through modern and ancient Egypt, through this world and the next, with Book One of the Ibis Prophecy.
Life would be much easier for Rosalind Olchawski if she didn't have to wake up the morning after the fairy tale.
Falling abruptly in love with a much younger drag king, awakening to the passionate madness of life, and breaking barriers, internal and external, are all wonderful things. But the past has a way of lingering and erupting into the present with devastating force, and sometimes love doesn't come with the white picket fence of our dreams. Rosalind's former husband arrives unexpectedly in Buffalo, turning Rosalind's brand new life with her lover Taryn on its head. Paul doesn't know Rosalind has fallen in love with a young woman and moved on with her life, and he wants her back. Will Paul's intrusion destroy him, or the burning new life Rosalind has built?
When truth is buried so deep it can kill, will the love of one woman be enough to save the life of another?
Kara Lynch lives a simple life as a ranger in Washington's Riverside State Park. When dead bodies begin to turn up, her simple life vanishes. Adopted at birth, Kara has no idea her birthright is at the center of the murders and is the sole reason her life hangs in the balance. Help comes in the form of wolf expert, Camille "Cam" Black Wolf. Tall and mysterious, Cam is both a blessing and a curse--it's hard to concentrate on saving hikers when Kara's fighting the urge to run her hands all over Cam's body. With assistance from vampire Riah Preston and her partner Adriana James of the Spiritus Group, they race to stop a preternatural killer. But will the secret they uncover give Kara wings or send her to the grave?
When fate takes a wrong turn, even a romance written in the stars can be destroyed.
Soul mates from preschool, Dana Ryan and Keri Flemons are separated by tragedy when they are eight years old. Twenty years later, fate throws them together again. Dana is a retired pro-soccer player and a rookie sports photographer, and Keri has reluctantly assumed control of a professional football team after her father's untimely death. When Keri offers Dana a position as a photographer for a team project, an opportunity that would make her career, Dana is faced with the challenge of working with the woman whom she holds personally responsible for most of the heartbreak in her life. Despite their rocky history, as time passes their attraction grows—until the past resurfaces to threaten the shape of their future.
How much courage does it take to be yourself? In a decade when good girls conform to strict family and social expectations, Beatrice Darby is about to find out. After a harmless admiration for her older boss, sophisticated Abby Gill, blossoms into a full-blown crush, Beatrice is startled to discover why she's never felt like other girls.
She soon learns the necessity of "passing," the shame of secret "sin," and the pressure to meet family expectations, all while suffering the angst of unrequited love and the disastrous end to her friendship with college roommate and future sister-in-law, Gwen Ridgeway. When Abby reappears years later, can Beatrice go against all she's ever known to be happy? Will she have to choose between honesty and her family?
So many feels with this one. :) Loved all the 70s flashbacks. The story alternates back and forth in the past and present in a way that made me think of Fried Green Tomatoes. (Another great book.) This book is filled with love, angst, hurt, and hope. It's a fairly quick read with some engaging characters....
Reviewed by Samantha Luce
Her prose is well-crafted, and her characters are beautifully flawed, a winning combination.
By Netgalley.com on Dec 19, 2016 02:12
When Alice finds out that her old friend, Leslie has had a stroke, she dashes to her side, never mind that it’s been over twenty years since they’ve seen each other, and longer still since they had an affair while Leslie was married with children. From coworkers to friends to lovers, Alice rehashes the past while at Leslie’s bedside, and when she wakes up, if they can put the past behind them, they might just rebuild their friendship and more.
Copeland is an English teacher, and it shows. Her prose is well-crafted, and her characters are beautifully flawed, a winning combination. There is a lot of back and forth, not just in time but also in a will-they/won’t-they work out their differences sort of way, but for the characters’ complicated history, it makes sense. The sex scenes aren’t too hot and heavy, and are pretty tasteful, so if you’re in it for the bodice-ripping, you might be a tad disappointed. That said, there is plenty of action.
As with most books I enjoy, my favorite part of the story is the characters. As I mentioned before, Alice and Leslie are both terribly flawed, and though Alice knows she’s different from a lot of women, neither suspected sapphic tendencies before falling for one another. Thus, the emotional fumbling seems realistic as does the melodrama. I mean, not only are they dealing with new feelings for one another in a time when that sort of thing wasn’t talked about, they can’t even research, no Google. Anything they could have possibly read to get a clue would only tell them they were deviants. That combined with Leslie’s marriage and motherhood seems to spell disaster.
They’ll get a second chance, however, if they can work out all of the hurt and anger from the past, and even as they try to find their way back to one another, there’s still plenty of those emotions to go around. Despite all of their shortcomings, these characters had the real deal, and the author had me rooting for them.
A couple of final thoughts. Firstly, women’s history is in the 70s, so there’s plenty of disco, feminism, and weed (right on), and finally, I love that this book is about older lesbians. Sure, half of it takes place when they’re younger, but I loved the chance to see them later, how they matured and changed and what became of them. Plus, if they’re to have a shot, they’re going to need the wisdom of age and time to learn from past mistakes. I’m always on the lookout for a good book about lesbians in middle-age and older, and this one doesn’t disappoint.
Reviewed by Leslie Shaip
A captivating tale of discovery, awakening, love and loss
By Netgalley.com on Oct 20, 2016 04:10
A captivating tale of discovery, awakening, love and loss, told through an intricate weaving of the present and the past. A story that rivals the poignancy of The Notebook, "The Second Wave" is a must read for lovers of romance everywhere. Jean Copeland is clearly a master at the art of drawing the reader in, and keeping you wanting to read just one more page before you set the book down.
Reviewed by Lily Greer
F/F at it's absolute best.
By Netgalley.com on Oct 20, 2016 04:10
This one was great. I literally got approved for it today and read it all on this lazy sunday. F/F at it's absolute best.
Reviewed by Guinevere Zoyana Thomas
A beautiful, heart-wrenching love story
By Netgalley.com on Sep 16, 2016 12:09
Jean Copeland has written a beautiful, heart-wrenching love story that flits between the 1970s and present day. Leslie and Alice became friends at work but over time they became so much more to each other. Alice, a divorcee, introduces housewife and mother Leslie to her feminist crochet club and to a different kind of love. What starts as an education into the new feminist thinking of the 70s becomes for Leslie the most important relationship of her life and one she can’t ever forget, however hard she tries.
When Leslie has a stroke at the age of 69, her daughter contacts her old friend Alice as that is the only word Leslie keeps repeating in her unconscious state. As Alice remembers their affair, we find out exactly how much they loved each other, but also how difficult it was to be in a lesbian relationship back then. Women had to put up with lecherous men refusing to believe that a woman might legitimately not be attracted to them!
The big worry for Leslie though was the fact that she might lose her kids if anyone found out about them. I loved the way the author let us see how all-consuming the relationship had been and then the affect it still had on them in the present day. This is an emotional story with great characters and a poignant insight into the lives of women in the recent past. Highly recommended.
