All the Wrong Places

First off, do not read this book waiting outside the movie theater on that off day you decide to check out an afternoon show. One, you may blush and if you don't catch yourself, some strange man will come up to you and ask if you are ill. Second, read this book if you want a delightful read as in all of Ms. Kallmaker's books. The characters are believable and likeable, even if some are like the women your mother told you not to date (wait, most of our mothers told us not to date women.) While the book contains more of an erotic flavor, it still has that tell tale warmth, vulnerability, and charm that are so recognizable of this author. In the content of 174 pages you get to witness the progression of Brandy's search for sex, (the author may disagree) and her eventual stumble across love. Dang it, if that doesn't make sex look second best. If I told you the story, you might not read it. So, READ IT. It's a good read. Every Kallmaker book explores a different perspective and this book is no exception. I think the "Bella After Dark" has a definite good start.

All the Wrong Places is not a typical Karin Kallmaker romance, but a hot and steamy graphic love story. Karin Kallmaker has created the first full length erotica novel for Bella Books, and it is full of tantalizing sex that heats up every page. Brandy Monsoon and her best friend Tess work at a Caribbean resort doing almost anything to meet their guests' needs. For Brandy this means giving straight women the pleasure they cannot get from their husbands or boyfriends. Tess, who is straight, comes crying to Brandy one evening, because she is not satisfied with her most recent date and is very hormonal at that moment. So they experiment that night and decide that becoming sex buddies can work out. Brandy is giving her best friend the physical pleasure without the emotional attachments. Then a tour group of 300 lesbians comes to the resort for a week, and that is where the fun really begins. Kallmaker has always been a master at creating tension-filled romances that affirm the power of love and a promise of a future. All the Wrong Places is no exception, but even as she teases the reader, she gives us release along the way with visually explicit sex. The book isn't all erotica either. The romance is front and center throughout. Throughout the pages, Kallmaker describes so well through her characters' thoughts and actions the difference between sex and lovemaking. Her mix of erotica with the romantic plot is balanced. Her trademark in all of her romances is that she creates intelligent and strong-minded women, and she does that beautifully here. One of my favorite lines of any book is when one of the characters gives advice to Brandy, "... Dance through life any way you want and don't worry about people who can't hear the music," (pg. 104). This is definitely a book that you may want to have two copies - one in the bedroom and one that you carry with you. Both will become tattered with use because you will reread this delicious book over and over again.

"All the Wrong Places" by Karin Kallmaker is a steamy romance novel about Brandy Monsoon, a fitness instructor at a Florida resort who is looking for love in all the wrong places. Brandy gives sex "lessons" to the curious and primarily straight women who frequent Club Sandzibel. After one of her morning stretch classes, Brandy gives a quick lesson to a guest named Paige, but soon tires of such dalliances. "... the allure of straight-but-looking-for-thrills Paiges had paled along the way" (p. 4). During breaks and time off, Brandy hangs out, and ultimately falls in love with her best friend Tess, a fellow instructor who sleeps around-with men! Will Brandy ever find her true love? The tropical setting for "All the Wrong Places" makes you feel like packing up and heading for a vacation to the alluring paradise, especially when the Ladies on Vacation Enterprises (LOVE), a large group of lesbians, heads for some fun in the sun. Brandy cannot believe her luck when she discovers Club Sandzibel will be host to the members of LOVE for a whole week. One of the guests happens to be the famous lesbian comedienne, Celine Griffin. When Celine shows an interest in Brandy, it's her dream come true and the fantasy of a lifetime fulfilled. Will a tryst with Celine be enough to satisfy Brandy over the long run? Kallmaker frequently had me laughing out loud, for instance, when Brandy thinks, "...I didn't think I could ask her to do that for me through some sort of cling plastic wrap...I mean, it's just not what most people think of when they're glad they've got Glad" (p. 56). When I wasn't laughing, I was engrossed in the plot. It was easy to root for Brandy's success at finding love and resolving her issues with her homophobic family, while at the same time enjoying some hot sex scenes. The most notable performance is between Brandy and Celine, (you may want to read this one twice!), but the romps between Brandy and Tess were equally sexy and even more appealing because of love. Kallmaker's style is clear, crisp, believable, and fun. Karin Kallmaker is a prolific writer who is not only a crowd pleaser, but in my opinion, a great storyteller. You can read "All the Wrong Places" in one sitting, but you'll want to savor each delectable detail. Kallmaker deserves her numerous accolades, and I'm sure her loyal fans will just love this one as well. "All the Wrong Places" is recommended for both serious fans of erotica and romance as well as anyone who enjoys good, hot storytelling.

I am the first to admit that my lesbian-focused reading is of the "Plot, What Plot?" variety. I like reading about women enjoying each others' bodies in well-written, usually short story formats. On one such reading binge I found a story by a writer I presumed was too vanilla for my tastes, but the story was sexy, hot and explicit. It's with chagrin that I discovered, upon looking at Karin Kallmaker's website, that I had little idea of what it was she wrote. Yes, the majority of her works are romances (for which I have little taste, but I just read my first of hers, Sugar, and to my shock, I liked it). There's also science fiction, fantasy, gothic and erotica. So far her writing is professional, smooth, witty, at times thought-provoking and always enjoyably escapist. But can she *really* write erotica when her stock-in-trade is vanilla romance? The answer is a resounding YES! Her erotica is drenched in the pleasures of the female body and her work is wholly about women with women in safe, pleasurable, consensual fun. Her characters are clear about what they like, why they like it and make no excuses for it, either. All the Wrong Places is part romance novel and part erotic journey. Some writers might fail on one count or the other, but Kallmaker delivers wonderfully on both levels. That might explain why this novel has been nominated for awards in both romance and erotica categories. All the Wrong Place's seemingly simple premise and presentation is a tribute to the writer's craft because a complicated, deftly delivered weaving of memory and immediacy underlies the story. While Brandy dallies with two of the resort guests over course of a few days, we are treated to a minute-by-minute recounting, in intimate, delicious detail, of her first night with Tess, the woman she's falling in love with. On one level we get in-the-moment raw sex, and on the other lovingly detailed intimate play. We, like Brandy, can't help but compare the experiences. Both levels are fantastically satisfying. But it's with Tess that Brandy finds pleasures beyond the bed. When Brandy is forced to leave the resort for a family funeral, she recalls in painful detail the reasons she no longer makes contact with her family. Brandy vows that she will not have "a tankard of Trapped for dinner chased by a bowl of Bitter for breakfast" as her mother did. It's these confrontations that sharpen her appreciation for what real love might be like. We are given, through artful storytelling, the sharp contrast of her father's deceitful, abusive womanizing compared to Brandy's loving, respectful woman-centric sexuality. One of the reasons I've not cared for romances is that a common story is the woman who plays around decides it's time to settle down and renounces her sexual range and play. When finding true love she becomes less than she was, especially sexually. All the Wrong Places takes no such tone. Brandy doesn't go searching for a "suitable" long term mate after sowing her

I am often amazed at how well some authors relay the erotic side of a love story. Kallmaker certainly doesn't disappoint with this one. In fact, it's one of the best Kallmaker books I've read yet. Brandy works at a resort. One of her co-workers is her very close, straight friend Tess. Even though Tess is straight, she relieves sexual tension through periodic encounters with Brandy. One of Brandy's idols, Celine, comes to the resort, followed by a group of vacationing lesbians. Brandy finds herself in heaven and goes to bed with Celine on the first night. In front of Brandy's surprised eyes, Tess also finds a warm body to share her bed. Even while in bed with Celine, Brandy can't help but think about Tess. These feelings confuse her (are they love, jealousy, what?) and she doesn't know what to do. Little does she know that Tess is having difficulties of her own. There is a fine love story here even without the erotica, but who am I to complain?