The Way Life Should Be

Kristan is a forty-something reporter in a small town in Maine. She has a good relationship with the cops, the city council, and the DAs office. However, except for a few close friends, she has no intimate relationships. In fact, her last girlfriend left because Kristan cheated. Jennifer is the town's new thirty-something assistant district attorney. She just left her cheating lover of five years, Pam in Portland, to move to the small town and live in her late grandmother's home. Jennifer meets Kristan and feels an attraction, but has unsolved issues with Pam. Pam comes to town to try to win Jennifer back, but the ADA isn't biting. Kristan's friend Tina, mother of three and unhappy wife of Billy, calls one night to talk, but Kristan is on her way to have dinner with Jennifer and asks Tina to wait until morning. Before leaving for dinner, Kristan gets a call about a deadly accident and heads for the scene. Unfortunately, the accident caused the brutal deaths of Tina's children and husband. Tina shows. Jennifer joins the chaos. The remainder of the book is about the resulting trial and the growing love between Kristan and Jennifer. I agree with several of the other reviews here that this book seems unfinished. The reader doesn't get closure on Kristan's issues with Tina or on Jennifer's issues with Pam. However, this is a solid story and (in this reader's humble opinion) one of Braund's best. Read it, hope for a sequel someday to answer the hanging questions. Enjoy it, but don't expect 'War and Peace.'

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, because it involved characters who were well drawn and lived meaningful lives and only happened to be lesbians. The storyline was gripping and I couldn't put the book down. The people involved lived real lives and I cared what happened to them. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about women.

Finally an author who can write about gay people who aren't rich and living in New York! The result is much more interesting, and much easier to identify with for those of us who live in the real world (as opposed to the one described in gay magazines). The author describes life in a quiet Maine community, where the heroine happens to be lesbian. Adventures happen, and even romance, but the characters are seen as part of a larger whole community, not separate from it. Good, believable,absorbing plot points. An excellent read.

The author keeps you interested by pulling you into two unlikely companions' lives. There are so many different turns of events. It kept me on the edge of my seat! This is a great book that will leave you smiling for hours.