Stevie‘s review of Taking a Gamble by PJ Trebelhorn
Contemporary Lesbian Romance published by Bold Strokes Books 17 May 16
It’s refreshing every once in a while to come across a romance in which all the main characters have unglamorous or average-to-low-paid jobs. While making a living from trading goods someone else has discarded might seem exciting, the risks almost always outweigh the rewards, even if the hours are almost as flexible as you want to make them. Conversely, the postal service probably offers steady employment and regular pay – though not a huge amount – but the hours aren’t going to be everyone’s taste. Still, one person working the hours that suit them might just be a good match for someone working hours others deem unsociable – provided neither of them lets other issues stand in their way.
Cassidy and her brother live on the farm where they grew up – he in the main house with his wife, and she in the cabin nearby – and the pair work together going round to auctions of abandoned storage units, trying to make a profit from the contents. Although her brother is happily married, Cass can’t get over the memories of her parents’ abusive relationship, even though she has a good relationship with her often-absent mother since her father died. Because of her past experiences, Cass avoids relationships, settling for casual hook-ups, until she meets a new woman in town – who’s out with her co-workers from the post office on the day that Cass’ new nephew is born.
In contrast to Cass, Erica witnessed a close and loving relationship between her parents while she was growing up – right up until they threw her out and pretty much disowned her for being gay. She enjoys her job as a counter-clerk, but fears no woman will ever be able to get close to her due to the shifts she works and her need to go to bed when most people are just going out for the evening. At first she shies away from Cass, since they obviously have very different ideas about relationships and family, but then Cass comes to the rescue of Erica’s younger brother, who has also been thrown out of their parents’ home for being gay, and the two women bond over their wish to see the boy settled.
Although I like the premise of this story very much, I find it hard to warm to the two heroines. Both seem to believe that the only role model for them is that of their respective parents’ marriages, even though other aspects of their families are very much at odds with the pictures they’ve built up of those relationships. Cass expects every potential partner to become controlling and abusive – like her father – even though her brother and sister-in-law have a far more egalitarian relationship, while Erica sees only the love between her parents in spite of their appalling attitude towards their offspring.
I tried very hard to like this book, but the dithering by the two main characters over their potential relationship did a lot to put me off. A shame as I’d have liked to learn more about their work as well as about the area they live in, since it sounds my sort of place.
Grade: C
Summary:
Cassidy Holmes doesn’t want a “real” job. Buying storage units and selling the contents isn’t the easiest way to survive, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. She has no desire for a relationship, but when she meets Erica, everything she thought she wanted begins to change.
Erica Jacobs is a career postal worker with odd hours. Who wants to date a woman who’s asleep by eight o’clock every night? She yearns for the type of relationship her parents have, but finding the right woman isn’t easy.
Cass likes taking a gamble on storage units, but not in her love life. Erica might very well be the one, but Cass is determined to fight it. Every step of the way.
Read an excerpt.
