Stevie‘s review of Seascape by Karis Walsh
Contemporary Lesbian Romance published by Bold Strokes Books 11 Dec 18
When I think of Karis Walsh novels, the two aspects that distinguish them from those of many authors are the interactions of the characters with their environment, both the scenery and the plants and animals that live in it. This book has all of that in abundance, as well as a pair of heroines who are rethinking their careers and their place in the world.
Brittany James is a chemist working in a research lab, who is frequently called to give evidences in cases where her employer has been accused of causing harm to people or the environment. She loves both aspects of her job, right up to the point where the photographs of dead wildlife presented in court by the other side provoke an extreme emotional reaction. Unable to face returning to work, Britt takes a period of extended leave to consider her options, beginning with using some of her squirrelled-away bonus payments to set up a charitable grant for an organisation working to improve the environment. She chooses the Olympic Peninsula by chance as a place to stay while she considers her options, and there encounters Tess Hansen.
Tess is an academic researching orcas, who has taken a leave of absence in order to return home and care for her parents after her father injured his back in a fall. Although she and Britt are attracted to each other, Tess has a far more casual approach to dating than does Britt and so they agree not to pursue the connection during their respective stays in town. As her father begins to make progress toward recovery, Tess visits the local marine research station, hoping that a few hours volunteering there will aid both them and her. She is excited to discover that some of their projects could potentially overlap with hers, particularly when she hears of a grant that might fund an expansion of the work.
When the women realise that Tess is an applicant for Britt’s grant, they begin to develop a deeper friendship, and Britt’s various efforts to ensure that all potential recipients get to show their projects in the best possible light lead to new connections being formed between the various charities and wildlife organisations. In the end it’s Britt that decides to move the relationship onward on a temporary basis, just as Tess has started to consider the possibility of something more serious.
Ultimately, they find a solution that suits them both, and gives Britt a potential new career direction, all with the help of a couple of characters from one of the author’s previous books. I plan to read that one soon.
Grade: B
Summary:
Marine biologist Tess Hansen has left her high-tech lab at Evergreen College and returned to Washington’s northern coast to take care of her aging parents. Although her new job studying orcas in the Pacific excites her, she finds life in the small town where she grew up to be stifling and boring. Until she meets Brittany James.
Chemist Britt James has made the move from a hectic city to the rural coast as well, but she embraces the isolation. She’s looking for a way to reconnect with the environment and make amends for the damage her chemical company has done, and Tess’s center for orca research is a top contender for her endowment.
Change has become an unwelcome part of Tess’s life and a desperate hope for Britt. Can these two women find a place of refuge with each other?
Read an excerpt.
