Title: Ambereye Author: Gill McKnight ISBN-13: 978-1-60282-132-3 Publisher: Bold Strokes Books Available from: Bold Strokes Books, www.boldstrokesbooks.com Price: $16.95 Pages: 224 Genre: Paranormal Romance

Ambereye is the second novel in the Garoul series. It's protagonists are Hope Glassy and Jolie Garoul. After a long medical leave, Hope has just returned to her job at Ambereye. Unfortunately, the position she previously held has been filled, and she is now the assistant to Jolie Garoul. Dark, brooding, and a moody workaholic, Jolie is strongly disliked by her staff. Hope's first job is to become invaluable to Jolie. Her second is to help Jolie become more liked by her staff.

Hope is adjusting to her return to work, and regaining her sense of self worth when Jolie announces they must work over Thanksgiving. Hope and Jolie are to join the rest of the Garoul family at their home in Little Dip in the mountains outside of Denver. What follows is a humorous tale, some very hot sex, wonderful characters, and a charming little dog. Ambereye is an enjoyable romp with some lusty lycanthropes.
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Reviewed by RLynne

Title: Command of Silence Author: Paulette Callen ISBN: 978-1-935226-08-6 Publisher: Spinsters Ink, www.spinstersink.com Available at: Bella Books, www.bellabooks.com; www.amazon.com eBook from www.bellabooks.com Price: $14.95 - Pages: 247 Genre: Mystery

This is an amazing book. It's listed as a mystery, but the mystery that is described in the blurb on the back of the book isn't the one that makes the book.

Two children have been stolen from the same household a few days apart. The police are at a dead end and desperate to find the little girls. Desperate enough to call in Shiloh & Company, a most unusual detective agency because the members are different personalities all housed within the body of Isadora. Each personality has unique skills and they use them together to solve mysteries that "normal" people can't untangle. Isadora sometimes controls the other personalities and sometimes she can't. She acquired them because of the severe trauma she suffered as a result of sexual abuse when she was a small child.

The members cooperate, sort of, because of a contract developed for them by Ray Martinez, Isadora's therapist, who is trying to integrate them into one person. It's Ray's idea for Shiloh to take this case, but it may prove to be a tragic mistake. As Isadora and her "partners" work their way through the clues and their observations, their tenuous hold on reality is stretched to the breaking point. They also discover that they are dealing with some very dangerous characters. Shiloh is determined to find out what happened to these children, but it may cost the personalities their lives, or worse, their joint sanity.

The surface mystery in this story of what happened to the girls is fairly straight forward and Callen does an outstanding job of gradually revealing clues, so that the pieces can't be put together until the end. The master work at the core of the book however is the story of Shiloh and the mystery surrounding how "it" developed. Callen reveals each personality in a setting that commands its appearance and explains the role that each one, including sophisticated Hester or motherly Sugartime or scholarly Lance or the terrifying Hawk, plays in the company and in Isadora's survival.

Sometimes the characters switch back and forth quickly, but it's handled in such a way that the reader is never confused as to which one is in command, though the characters confronting each persona can't say the same. The reader is drawn into an almost hypnotic dance as each personality emerges and contributes to the whole. Just as the mystery of the children is slowly revealed, the tragedy that created Shiloh is brought out by hints and flashbacks, only to come screaming out at the end in an incident that nearly destroys them all. Watching Isadora and her personalities work and interact is like watching a moth dance back and forth around a flame and the reader knowing that she can't do a thing about it.

The power of this book is something rarely experienced in this genre. The case of the missing children is interesting, but the story of Shiloh & Company is fascinating. The only lesbian presence in the book is Ray Martinez and her sexuality has practically no significance, but Command of Silence is an engrossing and very different story. You don't want to miss it.
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Reviewed by Lynne Pierce

Title: Fever Author: V.K. Powell ISBN 10: 1-60282-135-6 Publisher: Bold Strokes Books Available from: Bold Strokes Books, www.boldstrokesbooks.com Price: $16.95 Pages: 249 Genre: Romantic Adventure

V.K. Powell has given her fans an exciting read set in Africa. Zak Chambers has been hired to escort philanthropist Sara Ambrosini to a remote site in Kenya. Sara is following her mother's wishes to build and open a school. What Zak imagines to be a baby sitting job quickly turns into a challenge as the team faces one obstacle after another.

The plot of Fever is filled with twists, turns, and “seat of your pants” danger. There are lions, hostile soldiers and corrupt police officers along with the everyday dangers of life in the bush. Zak Chambers is a beautiful, capable woman who keeps her emotions buried deep inside. Sara is given to saying whatever she is thinking. She's warm, caring, and extremely intuitive in dealing with others. The combination of these two women explodes into emotion which fairly bounces off of the pages.

Powell is known for writing great, memorable characters and richly erotic scenes. Fever gives readers both great characters and erotic scenes along with insight into life in the African bush.
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Reviewed by RLynne

Title: Hanging Offense Author: Cleo Dare ISBN: 13) 978-1-935053-11-8 Publisher: Regal Crest Enterprises, www.regalcrest.biz Available from: Allied Crest Editions, www.acebooks.biz; Bella Books, www.bellabooks.com Price: $15.95 - Pages: 187 Genre: Mystery/Adventure

Mandy Barnes is using her summer job as a ranger at Bryce Canyon National Park to get away from some things – her husband Jay who cheated their friends out of their money, those friends and her marriage. Maybe being out in the middle of nowhere with no distractions will help her to clarify what she needs to do next. All she encounters is distractions though. There is Jo Reynolds, a full time park ranger, who is surprisingly attractive to Mandy. Mandy has had doubts about her sexuality before, but has never had the chance to act upon that. Jo could change everything. There is the Mormon community located around the park that feels the rangers are unsettling to their young people and are therefore hostile to the rangers.

While on a hike Mandy finds coins that might be part of a Mormon treasure that is supposed to be hidden in the area. Finding them starts Mandy having dreams about a brutal murder and where the treasure came from over a hundred years before. The focus of the book though is her growing attraction to Jo, which isn't dampened even when Mandy tries dating one of the male rangers. When Jay shows up with no warning everything becomes a jumble as he tries to pressure Mandy to resume their marriage and then finds more interest in discovering the treasure than pursuing her. Maybe Jo and the stability she represents are what Mandy needs to deal with all of the other issues in her life.

Cleo Dare had previously published novels and a proven track record. Hanging Offense follows a well known pattern. There aren't any surprises in this book. It's not a complicated story, but it is an enjoyable one and fine for escapist reading. Anyone who reads this book should then try one of Dare's others to develop a full appreciation for her ability.
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Reviewed by Lynne Pierce

Title: High Risk Author: JLee Meyer ISBN-13: 978-1-60282-136-1 Publisher: Bold Strokes Books Available From: Bold Strokes Books, www.boldstrokesbooks.com Price: $16.95 Pages: 236 Genre: Romantic Intrigue

High Risk, which can be read as a “stand alone” novel, takes readers back to the San Francisco of Meyers's Hotel Liaison. Kate Hoffman, a successful Hollywood actress, has promised her sister Laurel to help with the grand opening of Hotel Liaison. Dasher Pate, a successful Hollywood agent, has agreed to help her old friend, Stefanie, with the opening. Neither Laurel nor Stefanie is aware of the history shared by Kate and Dasher. When Kate and Dasher meet, verbal explosions follow.

Meyers has given her fans an exciting and intriguing look behind the sometimes seamy doors of Hollywood. Her villain is both despicable and dangerous, and unfortunately, very human. She has balanced the seaminess with Hotel Liaison, it's staff, and the Elysium Society, an integral part of the hotel.

Strong characters, humor, and strong sex scenes are a trademark of JLee Meyer. High Risk will not disappoint readers. Kate is particularly well drawn as a woman who has always been prized for her looks and sex appeal. Now, as Kate nears thirty, she's realized that she wants more out of life, and out of herself.

High Risk is an enjoyable read. It leaves readers eagerly awaiting the next book in the Hotel Liaison series.
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Reviewed by RLynne

Title: Lesser Prophets Author: Kelly Sinclair ISBN: 978-0-9822858-8-6 Publisher: Blue Feather Books Available at: Blue Feather Books, www.bluefeatherbooks.com; Bella Books, www.bellabooks.com ebook available at Bella Books Price: $14.99 - Pages: 173 Genre: Science Fiction

Kelly Sinclair takes a story off of the front page of the newspaper to tell a tale in Lesser Prophets that is somewhat apocalyptic and based on a frightening possibility, with a twist.

Secret experiments in China cause a variety of swine flu to mutate and then it escapes into the human population. People eventually die by the billions, heterosexual people. A component of this virus causes it to infect people who are genetically homosexual, but it doesn't kill them. They become carriers and lethal to those people who don't carry the correct genetic material. Variant Swine Flu, VSF, doesn't play favorites. As leaders of countries and CEOs of corporations are wiped out, so are the poor in the slums, middle class office workers and those who can afford to barricade themselves in their homes, only to die there. Societies spin out of control and gay people suddenly find themselves both the hope for anyone's survival and hated for their ability to transmit the illness. The book illustrates what steps civilization would take to survive and the ironic circumstance that the people who were once among the most hated and persecuted are now the leaders everyone looks to for answers.

Sinclair uses the first person accounts of five women to tell the events. As she rotates them through each chapter, it creates the feeling of reading random pages from a collection of diaries and gives the story a very personal feeling. A number of issues are raised for the reader to consider. The tests on gay people who die show that they did not carry the gay gene, yet they identified that way, opening the issue of the impact of "nature versus nurture." When the decision is made to try to save heterosexuals by putting them in isolated domes and camps, the conflict over how many civil rights a person should give up for the public good recalls incidents like the Japanese-American internment camps. People who have never been "out" are suddenly identified to everyone because they survive and people who never realized they were gay and had happy straight unions are confronted with the reality that their genetic code meant them to be something else. The book doesn't preach about these issues. They are simply presented along with others as problems that the new world has to deal with and the reader is left to think about the implications of all of them. Sinclair doesn't provide neat answers for them either.

Lesser Prophets is a different type of book. It qualifies as science fiction because of the topic, but the topic is also one that could very possibly occur if in a different form. It isn't a romance, although there are love stories in it. Those who expect every book to have a sex scene won't find that here. Reading Lesser Prophets is a different experience and trying something different occasionally is probably a good thing to do.
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Reviewed by Lynne Pierce

Title: Lilac Mines Author: Cheryl Klein ISBN: 10) 1-933149-31-0; 13) 978-1-933149-31-8 Publisher: Manic D Press, www.manicdpress.com Available From: Manic D Press, http://www.manicdpress.com Price: $15.95 Pages: 352 pages Genre: Fiction

Lilac Mines is a dense story to read. It's not that 352 pages are that long, but the material requires concentration and assimilation of a number of details. It's a combination of mystery, history and romance that creates a very different novel from the typical lesbian fare.

Felix Ketay isn't prepared for the changes that occur in her life. First, her girlfriend runs off to Europe with a female punk rocker and Felix can't stop obsessing over that. Then her friends try to distract her by taking her for a night out at a lesbian bar and she becomes the victim of a vicious gay bashing. She doesn't feel safe at home, she doesn't feel safe going to work and her parents are driving her crazy. When her mother suggests she spend some time with her seldom seen Aunt Anna Lisa in a backwater town called Lilac Mines, Felix agrees more with dread than an eagerness to visit a relative.

Lilac Mines is an unusual town. It takes its name from the mysterious disappearance of a young girl in a nearby mine and the name may explain why the town is a magnet for lesbians in two different time periods. Anna Lisa has seen one period pass and the next one arrive in the form of her niece and if she's learned anything, it's to keep a low profile. Felix comes into a town that is haunted by the mystery and in denial of what is going on right in front of it. As she tries to solve what happened to Lilac Ambrose and unravel the truth about her aunt, she finds that she learns even more about herself.

Klein sets her story it in three different time periods, the late 1890s, the 1960s and the present. By alternating chapters about each period she weaves them together to create a single theme – growth. Lilac Mines itself grows and shrinks, coming back stronger with each incarnation. The book also addresses the growth of the lesbian experience, starting with that period when the culture was dominated by "butches and femmes" who had to deal with a society that hated and persecuted them openly and coming into the future where the situation is better, if still not yet perfect. It also deals with the conflict that sometimes arises between older and younger lesbians where the younger women don't understand the caution of the older ones and the older women are a little resentful that they weren't born just a few years later. Anna Lisa, as the one who straddles the two periods, shows the most growth and confusion. Klein apparently doesn't expect the reader to like all of her characters, but they are written in a way to make the reader listen to their points of view.

There is a lot to digest in this novel. At times it appears to be wandering around and the reader may wonder where all of this is heading. This is one that has to be read carefully and then thought about before the entire story is appreciated. Lilac Mines is definitely not a book for a casual reading.
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Reviewed by Lynne Pierce

Title: Miles to Go Author: Amy Dawson Robertson ISBN 978-1-59493-174-1 Publisher: Bella Books Available from: Bella Books, www.bellabooks.com Price: $14.95 Pages: 228 Genre: Intrigue

Amy Dawson Robertson has given her readers a gripping story which could be cut from the headlines of any major newspaper. Her heroine, Rennie Vogel, has fought hard to win a coveted spot on a new special forces team, a small, crack, anti-terrorist FBI unit. Many men, including those in charge, are unhappy about Rennie's position on the team.

The unit's first assignment is in Tajikistan on the border of Afghanistan. Within hours of landing, disaster hits the team, and Rennie finds herself alone. What follows next is page turning suspense as Rennie attempts to fulfill the team's assignment, and to battle her way back home.

Robertson skillfully gives the reader enough of the background of each of her main characters to allow us to understand their motivations. She also fills in the politics of both Tajikistan, and those in Washington, as each agency battles for money and for fame.

Miles to Go is the type of book that has readers staying up late to see how it all ends. It's definitely a must read.
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Reviewed by RLynne

Title: Soul’s Rescue Author: Pat Cronin ISBN-10: 978-1-935053-30-9 ISBN-13: 1-935053-30-2 Publisher: Regal Crest Enterprises Available From: Allied Crest Editions, www.rcedirect.com Price: $14.95 - Pages: 157 Genre: Action Romance/Lesbian

Souls’ Rescue is Pat Cronin’s first novel-length offering. In this story, firefighter and EMT, Kelly McCoy is called to rescue a woman trapped under a truck that has crashed through a glass-front office building. She is immediately drawn to Talia Stoddard, whom she helps rescue. Talia must make a long journey of recovery from her accident, all the while battling her own inner demons of self-doubt and image. All the while Kelly remains at her side. Talia, her own worst enemy at times, can’t believe that Kelly wants to be with her for any reason other than pity. This creates tension in their budding relationship as Kelly struggles with her tentative, already broken heart, and Talia works to get her life back on track. This isn’t an easy task for Talia.

With an overbearing mother and a controlling ex-girlfriend who have taken this opportunity, at her weakest moment, to dominate her life again, Talia shows her true strength at the beginning, but weakens as these two women hammer at her self-esteem.

Fortunately, Talia has a friend, a sort of Jiminy Cricket, in her long time buddy, Jacob, who manages to keep her focused on what matters in her life instead of what is fed to her by those who may not have her best interest at heart.

Souls' Rescue starts and ends with heart-pounding action. The rescue and firefighting scenes are believable, as told from the author’s wealth of experience in the field. The actions of the heart are portrayed in a sensitive and gently unfolding way, making the reader root for these two to work to stay together, to take a chance on each other, in their new-found relationship.
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Reviewed by Anna Furtado

Title: Spanking New Author: Clifford Henderson ISBN-13: 978-1-60282-138-5 Publisher: Bold Strokes Books Available From: Bold Strokes Books, www.boldstrokesbooks.com Price: $16.95 Pages: 283 Genre: Comedy

Clifford Henderson took a warm look at people in her first novel, The Middle of Somewhere. She continues her warm looks in Spanking New. Spanky is a Floating Soul in the realm of The Known. He has chosen to go to the Land of Forgetting. To do this, he must choose parents and go through the birthing process.

Spanking New is told through the viewpoint of Spanky. As a floating soul, he is able to get into the minds of his chosen parents, their friends, and their families. The viewpoint is that of someone new to our world and all of its nuances. What emerges is a funny commentary on the foibles of humans. Whether it’s on sexuality, mating, working, or sports, Spanky has an opinion.

Henderson has filled her novel with young adults who are just starting their post high school lives.. Her characters have all of the uncertainties, issues, entry jobs, etc. that many of their age share. She draws her characters skillfully and with warmth and humor. As a result, these are characters readers care about and with whom they can sympathize. And Spanky is a mix of self discovery and explorer. The combination is endearing.

Spanking New is a book I found myself talking about with others, and one which I won't soon forget. This is a wise and funny book.
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Reviewed by RLynne

Title: Stepping Stone Author: Karin Kallmaker ISBN-10: 1594931607 ISBN-13: 978-1594931604 Publisher: Bella Books Available From: Bella Books, (www.bellabooks.com) Price: $14.95 - Pages: 206 Genre: Romance/Lesbian

In this Kallmaker offering, we meet Selena Ryan. At first blush, she appears to be a woman in command. Her movement from one Hollywood event to another is measured, her actions economical, her words, incisive. Yet there is something about her that makes us wonder if she is really the persona she portrays to the public as a powerful and successful independent movie producer.

A stepping stone may be defined as any means of advancement, and the people that Selena encounters often see her as just that, a means to advance their acting careers. She knows this and tries her best, sometimes with the help of her staff, to fend them off. Of course, there is one particular person with a reputation for doing whatever it takes to get what she wants. Jennifer Lamont, Selena’s ex. She still makes Selena’s blood boil in more ways than one. Jennifer was the star of a previous film Selena produced, and Selena knows from past experience that Jennifer is not to be trusted. But in Selena’s life, who is? She’s not even sure the waitress at the local coffee shop where she goes to just be herself for a little while is—yet there’s something about the woman.

The queen of romance still reigns and she’s given us another tale that intrigues us. Lifting a page to turn it is like peeking behind the curtains of the intimacies of people’s lives as Kallmaker reveals another turmoil-filled, deliciously budding romance. Stepping Stone is filled with insight into the workings of Hollywood and insight into the people who populate this community. Catch a glimpse of the place where everyone has to watch where she steps, lest she make a mistake and fall.
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Reviewed by Anna Furtado

Title: The Carousel Author: Stefani Deoul ISBN-10: 0964664895 ISBN-13: 978-0964664890 Publisher: A&M Publishing Available From: A&M Pubishing (www.aandmbooks.com) Price: $16.95 - Pages: 232 Genre: Dramatic Fiction/Lesbian

Can a rag-tag bunch of citizens who are hardly in touch with themselves, let alone with each other, ever come together? As this tale begins, there is little hope—little hope in the lives of the townspeople and little hope in the woman who stops in the town because she is just too tired to drive any further. The woman is distraught, numb, barely coping. But when she sees the carousel horses in a junkyard, she knows she has to do something to bring them life. The restoration becomes a metaphor for the lives of the people who slowly find one other and come together to create something bigger than themselves.

This story is written with few scene breaks, and many characters are given a point of view within single scenes, yet this seems to add to the revelatory nature of the tale. Every word carries the reader along as the woman, known to the townspeople only as “the carousel lady,” somehow brings healing and wholeness to others that she cannot seem to find for herself. But healing is a relative thing. For some it comes quickly and early. For others it comes late and long. The carousel lady seems to be carried along on the wave of healing and restoration as are the horses and townspeople, in spite of herself.

The story is laced with characters that are both quirky and likeable. The mystery surrounding the carousel lady will keep the reader turning page after page, as will the desire to know if the town will succeed. This story, with its surprising lesbian twist, adds to the totality of the mystery itself. In the end, The Carousel is one of those stories that lingers long after the last page is turned—a story of redemption and a journey to wholeness—and one not to be missed. This tale is sure to find a special place in the reader’s heart.
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Reviewed by Anna Furtado

Title: The Path Taken Author: Koda Graystone ISBN: 13) 978-1-933720-58-6; 10) 1-933720-58-1 Publisher: P.D. Publishing, Inc. Available From: Barnes and Noble, www.barnesandnoble.com; www.amazon.com Price: $17.99 - Pages: 213 Genre: Adventure/romance

Nicky McCloud's husband is dead, which is actually a good thing for her. He was abusive and secretly gay, but he was also the mayor of Seattle and her entire identity was based around his position. Now he's gone, her children are grown and Nicky feels lost inside her own life. She decides to set herself a challenge and alter the course of her life. The challenge will be to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada and it's going to change her life more than she expects. On the trail she meets Jay Reisman and they agree to be hiking buddies. Nicky has no way of knowing that Jay has been stalking her. Jay blames Nicky's husband for giving her brother AIDS and she's determined to get evidence that Nicky knew about it so that Jay's family can sue her and her husband's estate for damages. As they hike, enjoy the scenery and encounter various "adventures," Jay comes to realize two things. Nicky was a victim of her husband also and she loves her. By the end of the trail the women come to realize that they can't return to the lives they left behind months later, but what kind of life can they have?

This is the first novel for Graystone and it shows real promise for any future books she may have published. Her intricate knowledge of the culture of hikers shows a lot of research and her descriptions of the landscape are spectacular. By the end of the book the reader may want to run out and hike the trail herself. She also creates characters that are extremely likeable. Even when it's revealed that Jay is not being honest, she's presented in a way that the reader can't hold her behavior against her.

There are some drawbacks to the book however. The story loses focus because there are too many topics squeezed into what is going on – conflict with children and in-laws, AIDS, abusive marriage, values for women and a murderer on the rampage. This would have been an excellent story about the hike alone without some of these issues cluttering the book. The dialogue needed some work and the final climatic scene between Nicky and her father-in-law didn't stay true to his character in the rest of the book. These flaws are easily outweighed however by the atmosphere and beauty of the setting plus the knowledge that is imparted about the hiking culture.

The Path Taken is a good first effort for Graystone. The story flows easily and the details about the hiking culture make it interesting. Her descriptions of the country add warmth to the love story that develops between Nicky and Jay, so this is an enjoyable book to read.
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Reviewed by Lynne Pierce

Title: The Sublime and Spirited Voyage of Original Sin Author: Colette Moody ISBN: 10) 1-60282-054-6; 13)978-1-60282-054-8 Publisher: Bold Strokes Books, www.boldstrokesbooks.com Available From: Bold Strokes Books, www.boldstrokesbooks.com Price: $15.95 Pages: 234 Genre: Adventure

If you like rollicking, funny pirate stories, The Sublime and Spirited Voyage of Original Sin is your book. The quirky title announces that this book is about more than swashbuckling.

Gayle Malvern finds herself thrust into the position of captain of the pirate ship Original Sin when her father "Madman" Malvern is wounded in a battle. When she sends members of her crew ashore to find a doctor, the coward hides while his fiancée Celia Pierce, the town seamstress, is kidnapped instead. For superstitious pirates who aren't used to having one woman aboard, the idea of two is really dangerous for both women. Celia is assured by Gayle that as soon as possible she'll be put off in a safe port and returned to her family, so she decides to make the best of the situation and treat is as a lark. She's drawn into a world of adventure, slave-traders, rival pirates, unscrupulous sea captains and frightening battles. She loves it. Celia never expected to have so many experiences in her life and she finds it quite exciting.

She also begins to find Gayle quite exciting and comes to understand why she was never really interested in her boring future husband. As she and Gayle become closer, Celia begins to think of herself less as a captive and more as a member of the crew. Gayle comes to realize that spending the rest of her life at sea isn't very appealing, but having a life with Celia is, if she can find a way to get them out of the pirate life without anyone hunting for them. Not easy to do when you command one of the most infamous ships in the Caribbean Sea.

Colette Moody injects a lot of humor into this book and intersperses it with terrific adventure scenes. Her characters are interesting, even the ones the reader won't particularly like. These are scoundrels with hearts more than just scoundrels. The reader will feel the tightrope that Gayle has to walk in order to keep her male crew happy and protect herself and yet not become as ruthless as pirate captains are usually portrayed.

Celia is the prize in the story though. She's an unusual mixture of wisdom, naivete and earthiness. Her character grows the most and is the most entertaining as she goes from the meek daughter accepting a marriage she doesn't want to a woman willing to knock another one out cold to shut her up and keep her away from Gayle. It's almost too bad the women abandon the sea and settle down. There is a real feeling that there was a lot more fun and adventure in them.

The Sublime and Spirited Voyage of Original Sin doesn't pretend to be sophisticated or loaded with meaning. It's a quick, entertaining and fun story to read and well worth setting aside a couple of hours to enjoy it.
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Reviewed by Lynne Pierce

Title: Worth Every Step Author: KG MacGregor ISBN 978-1-59493-142-0 Publisher: Bella Books, www.bellabooks.com Available From: Bella Books, www.bellabooks.com Ebook also available. Price: $14.95 - Pages: 229 Genre: Adventure/Romance

KG MacGregor uses the beauty of Africa and the majestic setting of Mt. Kilimanjaro as the setting of this novel about doing something daring in your life.

Mary Kate Sasser feels a need to do something spectacular in her life. Life in a small Southern town is stifling her and she craves adventure. She can't explain to her fiancé and family so that they'll understand why she needs to go to Kenya and climb Kilimanjaro, but go she must. Addison Falk is headed to the same location for a similar reason. She has just finished her MBA degree and her father expects her to come to London and take her place in the family firm. Addison isn't sure what she wants to do with her life, but she knows working for her father isn't it. She decides that climbing Kilimanjaro will give her a chance to do something exciting and some thinking. When the women are paired together as climbing buddies, they form a pact to help each other reach the summit. That act comes to be symbolic not only of them achieving their quest, but finding themselves and each other.

There are three major characters in this story, the two women and the mountain. As with all of MacGregor's books, the characters are well written and the story is solid. It is the mountain that sets the tone though. No matter what happens to Mary Kate and Addison the mountain is there hovering over them. Massive and dangerous it represents the challenges they face and the decisions they have to make. There is plenty of humor and sexual tension, but always there is the adventure and the need it represents in both of them to change their lives. MacGregor has put her personal knowledge of that environment to good use in this book.

Anyone looking for a book to provide some hours of enjoyable reading should give Worth Every Step a chance. Adventure, suspense, romance, sex, it has a little for everyone.
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Reviewed by Lynne Pierce