Julia Watts

This novel tells the story of two women, both stuck in bad marriages but each of a different sort. The setting is 1953, when homosexuality was something to be hidden.
Frances is in a loveless marriage with two children and is a housewife to a college professor. Samuel (female) is in a marriage of convenience to Boots, also a college professor. They agreed to marry to hide their true identities as homosexual, thus protecting each others secrets and relationships. When Frances and Samuel meet, they are attracted to each other and begin to meet secretly, but as stories go, their secret is not secret for very long. They both promise their spouses that they will not see each other any longer and both eventually leave their husbands for happier lives, though they still long for each other. Speed ahead 18 years and things have a way of coming full circle. I found this to be a sweet romance between two women that due to male professions and the 1950's way of life, must be kept secret.
.… (altro)

This book was the first 5-star read I have had in a LONG time.

The characters were well-developed, interesting, and relatable.

The setting in the 50s was well-constructed, but did not feel so far removed that I felt I was in an alien world or setting. If felt very here and now.

I loved the characters Frances and Samuel. The dialogue felt comfortable and normal.

The feeling of "something is wrong here" permeated the book in ways I felt close to after growing up in a cult-like subculture myself. I couldn't put it down and the story had its own kind of suspense that kept me enthralled.

The repercussions of having the non-heteronormative ideas or desires found out were written in a way that did not upset me so much that I had to stop reading. It was not gratuitous, but very real.

In its own way, this is an everyday love/horror/suspense/romance/historical fiction/fiction mashup that I enjoyed very much. I want to read more by Julia Watts now!… (altro)