Stevie‘s review of For Good (Out in Portland, Book 2) by Karelia Stetz-Waters
Contemporary Lesbian Romance published by Forever Yours 05 Jul 16
I loved the first book in this series, not just for its characters or for the joy I felt at seeing lesbian romance from a mainstream publishing house, but mainly for the vividness of setting that made me keen to learn more about Portland and maybe visit there one day. So, I was really hoping that upcoming books in the series would deliver more of the same and let me see more of that setting. That wasn’t quite what I got this time around.
Kristen Brock leaves Portland to take up the post of Deputy District Attorney in a small Oregon town. After a month of living in a rundown motel, she’s keen to find a place of her own, but the only empty property on offer is owned by a sleazy member of the town’s most influential family, the Holtens. Trying to keep out of local politics, Kristen instead takes up the offer of a house-share offered by the waitress at the local diner, knowing that the young woman is an outcast, but not keen to find out why.
Marydale Rae is on parole for the murder six years earlier of another member of the Holten family – the young man who tried to beat and rape her after finding out she was having an affair with his girlfriend. In almost any other place she would have been charged with manslaughter if taken to trial at all – self-defence seems the most likely verdict – but in the Holtens’ town, the whole case was rigged against her. It’s even a condition of her parole that Marydale stay within the county and not involve herself in any relationships with other women.
Marydale has some supporters, however, including Kristen once she learns the full story, but it’s not long before the tentative romance between the two women is discovered and their future together destroyed by the Holtens. All this bleakness was a little much for me, but I was more disappointed by the way we’re then flung forward in time five years.
The two women are now both in Portland unbeknown to each other: Kristen is working for a big corporate law-firm and Marydale is helping her best friend from back home run his up-and-coming whiskey distillery. They meet again for the first time when Kristen’s new-age hippy sister drags her to a New Year’s party where the distillery is holding a promotion. Slowly, Kristen and Marydale attempt to rebuild their relationship, but the reach of the Holtens extends further than they anticipated, and Marydale finds herself in trouble with the law once again. Luckily for her, this time Kristen is there to fight for her, although things get very bleak again before they even start to get better.
I really wish I could have enjoyed this book more – but then I also wish I could have seen more of Portland and less of both small-town prejudice and bleak prison conditions. The missing five years was the big sticking point for me; I’d have liked to see what happened to the two women in that time, rather than being told about it in conversations and memories. I’m not giving up on the series just yet, but I really hope the next book returns to a formula closer to that of the first one.
Grade: C
Summary:
How do you choose between your life… and your heart?
In this too-small, dusty town, brand-new district attorney Kristen Brock knows she’ll never fit in. Still, the job will look great on her résumé—if she can just keep her head down and play by the rules. Because in a town run by a self-serving, powerful family, the last thing Kristen needs is trouble . . . but one kiss from the beautiful ex-rodeo queen Marydale Rae turns her world upside down. And Marydale is definitely trouble.
Marydale didn’t intend to hide her past from Kristen, but the prospect of a friend who doesn’t know she spent time in prison is too tempting to pass up. Add in the passionate night they share, and Marydale never wants Kristen to know the truth. But small towns don’t keep secrets, and the powerful Holten clan is determined to destroy anything and anyone who makes Marydale happy.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
