Too Close to Touch

WOW! I started reading this morning and I can't think of a better word to describe how I felt when I closed the last page of this latest book from Georgia Beers this afternoon. I certainly enjoyed her earlier books - 'Thy Neighbors Wife' and 'Turning the Page' - but in 'Too Close to Touch' Beers shows an incredible leap in maturity as a writer. Her earlier books were very good, but this one is incredible. A brief synopsis... The new boss (Gretchen) and her executive assistant (Kylie) come from very diffferent backgrounds and have a very different approach to life. At 47 and 37, they are both a little older as main characters go. Both are pretty short too -- a point the author mentions throughout the book. They have chemistry from the moment they meet, but both try very hard to respect the invisible line between them due to their working relationship. Little by little, things begin to change and barriers are harder to ignore. We all know it's a romance, but it's watching their relationship ebb and flow that makes this book great. Much in the style of Radclyffe, Beers does a fantastic job giving these characters history and dimensionality. They have families and pasts. They have friends outside of work. They have lives outside of their fledgling relationship. This type of 3-D view of the characters allows the reader to feel their pains and joys much more acutely than might be possible otherwise. The tag line "a modern day romance" seems especially appropriate for this book as well. It's becoming more and more common to see women in high-level corporate jobs... and it's really nice to see books written about women who could actually be real. As I read about Gretchen, I was reminded of a friend who holds a similar position at work. It was almost as if Beers used her as a model for this character. I almost expect to see Gretchen and Kylie enter our local bar together. Three cheers for Beers! WOW!

Gretchen Kaiser is an executive with a new job and a new assistant, Kylie O'Brien. Both women are aware of a mutual attraction, but both women are well aware of the inappropriateness of that attraction. The author has written an excellent book about an all-too common issue in the workplace. How these two women handle the problems are the meat of this book. Beers has created two very likable and believable characters that readers will root for them to be together. But she has not shirked the ramifications of what would happen if they have a relationship and (a) someone else found out about it or (b) one of them decides to break it off. Beers has also written the perfect ending for this book. She has made Gretchen's final decision believable by allowing the reader to glimpse into the thought process that she goes through to come to her decision. There is even a sub-plot about Kylie and her best friend, Mick, and what happens when a best friend falls in love with her best friend. The reader will ache for Mick. Overall, a very interesting book with very interesting characters and a plot line seldom seen within the genre.

Kylie O'Brien, executive administrative assistant extraordinaire, has a new boss, namely one Gretchen Kaiser, corporate dynamite. Things do not go well after her new boss joins the company. It seems Gretchen's reputation has preceeded her and Kylie's not at all sure people will survive the onslaught. Time flies by as the two women settle into their respective roles. However, it's not long before Kylie is forced to acknowledge that her feelings for Gretchen have changed. Changed how? And what will she do with these feelings when an old friend of her boss appears? Just exactly who is this `friend' and what do they mean to Gretchen? What would she do if Gretchen were to even have feelings for Kylie? After all, a relationship between an employee and their boss is out of the question. Isn't it? As if things weren't bad enough, complicating the mix is a secret admirer of Kylie's... an admirer who would do anything to gain Kylie's affections...an admirer holding something against Kylie's boss. What could they possibly know? And how far are they willing to go to sabotage any chance Kylie and Gretchen might have? While both women try to figure things out, a family tragedy hits Gretchen. Kylie desperately wants to be there for Gretchen. But in trying to stand strong, will Gretchen allow her to do so? Or will she turn her away once again? Georgia Beers has certainly entertained and enthralled an appreciative audience with her previous books, Turning the Page and Thy Neighbor's Wife, as well as with stories placed in two anthologies, The Milk of Human Kindness and Stolen Moments: Erotic Interludes 2. Her newest offering, Too Close To Touch definitely provides the reader with a bit of drama, a bit of heartbreak and the strength that comes from loving someone. Georgia's soon to be released book, Fresh Tracks, due out in November 2006, is sure to have readers sitting on the edge of their seats!