Just Like That

The world of lesbian fiction will lose something special when Karin Kallmaker stops writing books. With her 17th book, 'Just Like That,' this author delivers yet another enjoyable story. Syrah Ardani's father is a skilled winemaker with no head for business. He has mistakenly buried his vineyard in debt that her cannot repay. In walks Toni Blanchard, a woman hired by the investors to ensure they are paid. Toni has just been dumped by her immature, greedy long-term girlfriend, and immediately feels an attraction to the innocent Syrah. Knowing a personal relationship with the woman would be professionally inappropriate, Toni makes every attempt to avoid the daughter and work directly with the father. Syrah is enraged this woman has entered their lives and is convinced by an anonymous source that Toni is akin to evil incarnate. A solid supporting cast that includes both of their best friends rounds out this tale, giving the reader two romances in one. This is an intelligent story for an intelligent reader. There are "good" and "bad" characters to give the book dimensionality. Kallmaker even does a nice job with the terminology regarding wine and with details regarding the growing of grapes for wine. Of course it's pure formula, but that's part of why we read it. No lesbian's bookshelf is complete without this newest installment from Karin Kallmaker.

As someone else said, "the reader knows how a Karin Kallmaker book will end, but it is so much fun getting there." Every journey is always different and will come with its own lessons and twists. It would have been easy to make these characters into the stereotypical lesbians found in many lesbian romance novels. But Ms. Kallmaker never takes the easy way out. All of the major characters in this story are multifaceted. Each one brings their own experiences and backgrounds to color their interpretation of the world, and people, around them. In this case, Toni and Syrah's individual perceptions filter their view of others. Their fear of saying too much cause miscommunications and actions that belie their true feelings. It takes courage to shake off these perceptions. They must learn to listen with their hearts, not their ears or eyes. One thing I feel that is uniquely Kallmaker is that with every book I read I learn something more about another new subject. In this case, wines and the wine country. Each new book is an educational experience as well as an emotional one. And, of course, an erotic one.

"Everybody knows that a single woman with good money is in want of a wife (1)." English Lit majors and fans of Jane Austen will recognize this paraphrase from the opening of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Karin Kallmaker's latest romance, JUST LIKE THAT -- set in the wine country of Northern California -- is a very modern, decidedly lavender, adaptation of the Austen novel. Syrah Ardani is 30, recently returned from years studying Oenology in France. The only daughter of the widowed Anthony Ardani, the owner of Ardani Vineyards, Syrah lives and breathes the vines like her father and is comfortably settling into life at home. Yet clearly something with the family business is... off. Jane Lucas, Syrah's long time friend, struggling artist and former heart-breaker-butch, is about to fall hard for the new, very eligible dyke in the area, Missy Bingley. Initially Jane, who has decided to "settle down", appears to be on the calculating side about Missy with comments like, "... Definitely a dyke. And femme, so, hey, I'm thinking she needs a wife like me. I've got all the qualifications. I can fix stuff, dance, like to talk and think sex is really fun. My only strike against me is the money thing (3)." However, Jane is thunderstruck when she meets Missy. Missy Bingley, forty-something, successful businesswoman retiring to rehabilitate her newly acquired historic Netherfield estate, appears equally smitten with Jane. Does love at first sight exist? Before long, Syrah realizes that her gentle, intuitive, wine-knowledgeable father is the definition of naive with what has to be the antithesis of a head for business. While she was gone, he has incorporated the vineyards, over-extended his capital and been unable to cover his debt. The future of the Ardani Vineyards is in danger and the creditors have gone to court. An "axe man" is being sent to take stock of the situation. Toni Blanchard is that "axe man." She is also very attractive. Syrah first sees a photograph of her from a Fortune magazine article and describes her thus: "Dark hair twisted at the neck and East Coast stylish, Toni Blanchard gazed out from the page with an expression Syrah could only describe as haughty. If the toes on her shoes had been any longer they'd have curled like some court jester's. Everything about her dripped wealth and superiority(12)." An intelligent, thoughtful, skilled woman, Toni's job is to make difficult recommendations for companies that are in receivership, and she is well respected in her field. She is also the daughter of Anthony's old college friend. This connection encourages Anthony to believe that Toni will "fix" the situation. The vintner never seems to understand that Toni's role is to represent the court and creditors. Toni arrives in the area emotionally shell-shocked. Her lover of several years, Mira, has dumped her for another woman, moved out and taken possession of funds that are not hers. Staying with her old friend Missy Bingley while reviewing the

After 17 romances, the reader knows how a Karin Kallmaker book will end, but it is so much fun getting there, and Just Like That is no exception. Syrah Ardani returns from Europe to find that her father has turned their Napa Valley winery and vineyards into a corporation that is now in receivership. Toni Blanchard is a corporate guru who has been hired by the courts to rescue Ardani Vineyards for the creditors by whatever means necessary. While Toni is working for the creditors, she subconsciously is trying to help the Ardanis save their winery. She truly likes Syrah's father, but is also attracted to Syrah. After a recent break-up with a lover who was shallow and using her for her money, Toni doesn't want any more entanglements, but her heart isn't willing to cooperate. Kallmaker creates a funny, enchanting and heartfelt love story with Just Like That. She sets up the story well by delving into Toni's and Syrah's histories so that we understand the characters and their motivations better. Within this, she depicts vividly Toni's harsh break-up with her ex-lover Mira. The scene is so well written that I could feel how hurt and livid Toni was. The scene is a turning point for Toni as it establishes the tone for her future encounters with Syrah. We can appreciate why Toni is drawn to the quiet countryside of Napa, California and the charms of the Ardanis and how the New Yorker is transformed by this. The heart of the story lies in the half-truths and misunderstandings between Toni and Syrah. They judge each other by their current actions, and what others say about them rather than really getting to know each other without outside influences. Time and again, Kallmaker has shown her expertise at portraying conflict and the accompanying trust issues that prevent her main characters from realizing what is in their hearts. We experience Toni's and Syrah's angst along with them. In Just Like That, the reader is treated to prose that is pure poetry. Kallmaker compares love to grapes growing into wine. She composes this beautifully and captures our hearts as well.

And then there were 17 of them. Beginning with In Every Port in 1989, Kallmaker has created her own fiefdom, in which she reigns and labors. If you read lesbian romances and enjoy them, you'll not be disappointed with this latest Kallmaker effort. She has earned a Lambda literary award; she has honed her craft, and she is the queen of her genre. The latest issue from this prolific author, Just Like That, contains the trademark qualities expected from Kallmaker by now, and it does not disappoint. There is humor, attention to detail in character and setting, and sex. Syrah Ardani has returned home to her family's vineyard in the Napa valley, a beautiful area lovingly and vividly described. One can almost see and feel the quality of the sun on the hillsides; and almost taste the wines, smell the air. Toni Blanchard has made a career and a fortune rescuing troubled corporations. These two meet, clash, and sparks of various kinds fly. This author's career has been made by paying homage to the classic romance genre, all the while enriching and sustaining it. Just Like That certainly falls into that category. Kallmaker is a master at holding our attention: it is a classic, romantic setting, a classic, romantic plot, and a classic Kallmaker entry. Relax, read, become swept away. That's what a romance novel is supposed to do for the reader. There are traditional sidekicks for comic relief, lovable fatherly and motherly characters, rich city versus noble country, honor found under strained circumstances, misunderstandings, emotions wildly out of control being denied for the sake of blind stubbornness, corporate coldness losing against the simplicity of the warmth of the land itself, amazingly hurtful and wrong things done for inconceivably cockeyed reasons. It is very entertaining and enjoyable. The romance and the scenery, the tension between the principals, the palpable desire, all are more than one would need for a fine effort in a field Kallmaker has dominated for more than a decade.