Review of ‘Georgetown Glen: Queermunity Living At Its Finest’ by Annette Mori

‘Georgetown Glen: Queermunity Living At Its Finest’ by Annette Mori is a book you’ll want to devour. Lucy and Bea buy an old ghost town, with the hope of turning the ramshackle old buildings into a retirement village for sapphic ladies of a certain age. As they make plans, they hire Fi, an expert in architectural restoration, and Saville an electrician. With the help of Lucy’s niece they begin to knock the old town into shape – until the resident ghost objects. As the group are forced to deal with the spirit in their midst, they uncover secrets and start to investigate the history of Georgetown. And there might even be time for a love story in there too.

Mori has a winner on her hands here. Her trademark humour shines through, and she has managed to weave a fascinating tale encompassing love, friendship and sapphic history. I loved the multigenerational nature of the story and the historical aspects too. I think Saville was my favourite character. She tried to come across as confident and a player.  But she wasn’t. She was caring and sensitive underneath it all. I love the fact that there can be many more stories to tell with this group of characters and those who end up living there. 

I was given this ARC to review.

Review of ‘The Others’ by Annette Mori

‘The Others’ is a thought-provoking dystopian story, full of tension and adventure. Em is a scientist, and along with her wife Lise, has been hiding in a bomb shelter for ten months. The world, and specifically the United States, went crazy after the last election, and the other superpowers took advantage. Now that the cities are presumably destroyed, groups of survivors try their best to live with what is left. Once on the outside again Em and Lise become aware of other people who managed to keep going. But who can they trust? And what will life mean after the war?

Annette Mori uses truth and imagination and mixes them to make a compelling story that kept me up into the wee hours reading. There are some tense and disturbing moments – some of them not too far off the mark from our reality. And that makes the story all the more powerful. The main characters were appealing, strong women, and it is through their interactions with the people they meet, that we see just what it takes to survive. I was hooked from page one and couldn’t put it down.

I was given this ARC for review.

Review of ‘Inspiration Takes A Vacation’ by Annette Mori

‘Inspiration Takes A Vacation’ by Annette Mori is a charming romance with a twist. Abby Prentice has writer’s block – and she’s not the only one. All across the Pacific Northwest creative people from all areas of the arts have lost inspiration. A coincidence? Maybe not. When she bumps into a beautiful, but strange, woman on the beach it takes her mind off her troubles for a while. She can’t quite work her out at all. Musetta is on a much needed break and has come to a point in her life where doing what’s expected is not enough for her. She has a lot of thinking to do. In the meantime she feels drawn to the accident-prone Abby, and there’s no harm in exploring that, is there?

The mixture of old and new turned this romance into something quite unexpected. Ms Mori likes to do things just that little bit differently and it works for me. I love the humour and the honesty in her writing. Abby was goofy and clumsy, but also loyal and endearing. Muse had an innocence paired with wisdom – a wonderful combination. They were a wonderful couple and I wanted it to work for them. This is the kind of book to snuggle on the couch with, for a few hours of love, romance and passion. I loved it.

I was given this ARC for review.

Review of ‘The Panty Thief’ by Annette Mori

‘The Panty Thief’ is told with Annette Mori’s trademark quirky humour – but there’s a serious side too. And that’s her standout skill as a writer. She manages to make us laugh one minute, then finds a way to make us think the next. 

Joey and Sabrina are neighbours who become study buddies. But it’s clear from day one that they both want more. Heavy workloads, friends with major problems and a reluctance to commit conspire to keep that on hold. Will the pair ever find time for themselves – and will they see that all work and no play is no fun at all?

I enjoyed spending time with Joey and Sabrina and hoped that they would get their happily ever after story. Stealing panties was the light relief in this story that tackled a pretty serious issue too. Throughout it all was the attraction between them, an undercurrent of fizzing passion that they struggled to keep under control. Joey seemed to be a wise-cracking joker at the start, but there was a lot more to her character. I liked seeing how she grew, and how she began to see what was really important in her life. Sabrina was just as dedicated to her studies as Joey, but she found a way to attend to the other tings life threw at her, without neglecting them. Joey was a good influence on her as she allowed her to loosen up a bit – especially regarding those infamous panties! I really enjoyed ‘The Panty Thief’. 

I was given this ARC for review.

Lesfic Bard Awards Winners Announced!

Congratulations to the winners of the 2019 Lesfic Bard Awards. I was delighted see such an amazing list of Lesfic authors honoured in this year’s awards. I’ve had the pleasure of reading many of these books over the past year and hope that their success in the awards will point more WLW readers in their direction.

In the Fantasy Section the winner was Alison Naomi Holt for ‘Duchess Rampant’. The Mystery Section was won by Anne Hagan for her fantastic story ‘Steel City Confidential’. Annette Mori won the Romance Award for ‘A Window To Love’, one of my favourites of last year. Elle Hyden won for Best Cover, for her debut novel ‘Lost & Found’. Iza Moreau won the Young Adult section for ‘Tank Baby’, and Jane Alden won the Fiction section with ‘Jobyna’s Blues’, a wonderful story told over two time periods, with a starring role for one of our favourite lesbian stars of the 60s. K Aten won in the Drama category for her powerful story, ‘Burn it Down’. Karen D Badger won two awards – the historical section and the Action Adventure category for ‘Over the Crescent Moon’. Madeleine Taylor scooped the erotica prize for ‘The Good Girl’. McGee Matthews won the New Author award for ‘Moving Violations’ and Rachel Ford took the Science Fiction award for ‘Black Flag: Safe Passage’.

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Review of ‘Pleasure Workers’ by Annette Mori

‘Pleasure Workers’ by Annette Mori is the follow-up to ’The Trophy Wives Club’ by Ali Spooner. These two authors have managed to weave some wonderful stories together. In ‘Pleasure Workers’ we find out the backstory of Alex, the handy-woman taken on at the TWC – but she also performs some special services upstairs. How she got to Atlanta is mired in controversy and she has to keep under the radar. Meeting one of the rich socialites in Sisters lesbian bar turns her head, but can she get past the different social status and the money? As a proud woman who makes her own way in life, it won’t be easy. Danna Nichols, a recent widow, joins the spa at the insistence of a friend and realises what she’s been missing. But it’s the tall mysterious butch doing odd jobs that has caught her eye. 

Alex’s story was fascinating and certainly a story of our time. I can imagine meany readers will fall for her – and when they read about those aforementioned special services, they’ll be hooked. I really liked Danna too. Although from a very privileged background, she was a good woman who insisted on putting back in to society. I really wanted her to have her happy ever after. There was also a great collection of supporting characters. They really helped make the story resonate with me. The story was very sweet and fairly low on angst, which I appreciated. Sometimes that’s exactly what you are in the mood for. When the sex scenes came into play, they were absolutely scorching. And with some very interesting techniques! I really enjoyed it. 

I was given this ARC for review.

Review of ‘The Trophy Wives Club’ by Ali Spooner

‘The Trophy Wives Club’ by Ali Spooner is a fun, sexy and empowering read. Lindy Fremont decides that the women of Atlanta need a very special type of club all to themselves. One where they’ll get a great workout in more ways than one. She recruits the woman who has been giving her the most wonderful massages every week for the past few years – and leaves it to her to staff it with a few of her friends. One of them is Luna, a hot stud who Marley is attracted to, but would never let her know. She’s the settling down type and Luna appears to be all for a good time and no commitment. Will that change as they spend more time together setting up the club?

Now, when I realised what kind of club this was I wasn’t sure what to think. But Ali Spooner allayed my fears. The women do what they do because they want to. It’s all about women and they are always in control.  It’s respectful. Within a few pages I knew this was a fantastic idea for a book, and the more I read, the more convinced I was. It is light-hearted and very hot and steamy. I really enjoyed it and was happy to find that this is part of a series – and one of my favourite authors, Annette Mori is writing the next one.

I was given this ARC for review.

https://www.amazon.com/Trophy-Wives-Club-Ali-Spooner-ebook/dp/B07W1W64QY

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trophy-Wives-Club-Ali-Spooner-ebook/dp/B07W1W64QY

Review of ‘A Window to Love’ by Annette Mori

I’ve been an admirer of Annette Mori’s books for a few years now and I realise that it is her unique take on life that draws me in. She takes an idea and goes off in a direction I could never have imagined. She is funny and quirky and embraces love. ‘A Window to Love’ does all of that and more. Mandie and Gail meet in very unusual circumstances after both being involved in accidents. They click immediately and seem to be made for each other. But this is an Annette Mori story, so things are not as they seem. Will the two soul mates find true happiness? Well, I recommend reading it to find out as I don’t want to give away any spoilers.  It’s a lovely story, full of imagination and warmth. As always, she uses humour and love to make me feel invested in her characters. Bravo!

I was given this ARC for review.

Review of ‘The Book Witch’ by Annette Mori

‘The Book Witch’ is funny, quirky and full of surprising twists. The first book in the series ‘The Book Addict’ introduced us to Elle and Tanya, who are now all loved-up. When Imara, a book witch with the power to bring characters to life, appears in town things begin to get exciting again. She wants to help Jai, a local teacher, find love at last. But she needs her friends to help. Things are never that simple though and enemies, old and new, try to put a spoke in the machine. 

Ms Mori uses some unique plot devices to take this story in very unexpected directions. Fans of the author will be thrilled to find some of their favourite characters from other series turn up. This really worked for me. In a book about the supernatural I was was surprised to find myself suspending belief and really going with the premise. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if book witches did exist and our beloved characters came to life? This was exactly the kind of book I wanted to read and I salute the imagination of Annette Mori. 

I was given this ARC for review.

Review of ‘The Book Addict’ by Annette Mori

’The Book Addict’ is a quirky story with an unusual premise and lots of fun. I wouldn’t expect any less from the inimitable Annette Mori. Tanya is a quiet book nerd and severely lacks confidence. When a new bookstore opens in town she is first in line and finds herself drawn to the owner. Elle is a magician and her role in life is to find book lovers who would benefit from an adventure inside their favourite stories. And Tanya is her latest project. Things don’t run smoothly though as Elle and Tanya find themselves embroiled in wizard politics and a fight for what is right.

I enjoyed the magical element of the book and the idea was something I’d never come across. It was intriguing. Tanya was so unsure of herself but she was an amazing woman underneath – she just needed someone to show her. Elle could see all of that and I loved how she tried to get the best out of Tanya. The various other enchanting characters around them were equally fascinating. Some were hilarious, some downright wicked. A lovely story with a feel-good factor.

I was given this ARC for review.