Inna Karpova Karpova itibaren Uchhahr, Himachal Pradesh, Hindistan
Yup, you guessed it, another month has passed and it is time, yet again, for another Lesbian Adventure Club get together. This month the hosts are Holly and Laura, the “indisputable scoundrels of the group.” Emotions run high when the women are told that the weekend has been designed by their scheming hosts to help their friends lose their sexual inhibitions. Needless to say, this doesn’t go over too well with the participants. With that kick in the pants start, Kate puts things in reverse a bit to explain how they got to this point of sheer terror for those at the mercy of their hosts “Evil and Evil-er”. When Claudia and Kate arrive they find the other couples waiting outside the house. Susan and Maggie, Ginny and Kris, and Alison and Janice are scared of what Holly and Laura have planned for them, and can’t bring themselves to enter the house. As always, they know there will be some element of revenge and retribution involved for the previous months’ trials. In particular Susan and Maggie know that they are in trouble ~ when they least expect it Laura is sure to avenge Holly who was so scared by the ghost of Bub. (If you don’t know what that could possibly mean, go read book 3, Savages. Now!) One of the group mottos is that “dykes who dare had better prepare to accept the consequences” so the women must admit that all is fair in love and war. “Yes, the notorious lessons we were forced to learn each and every frickin’ month. Fair was fair. Annihilate and then be annihilated.” Since Laura is a detective, the actual adventure she and Holly have devised is centered on “Five Mysteries for a Buck.” With each mystery, there will be clues to solve to help the couples test their own sleuthing powers. Two days prior, each woman received an envelope marked “For Your Eyes Only” which contained information about attire and 300 dollars of play money, “DWD bucks.” The money will be used to solve the mysteries, as each question asked will cost a dollar and requested items can be five dollars or more, and awarded to the winners. The clothing directives specified what color each woman’s sweatpants and underwear must be, as well as what colors must be represented in other articles of clothing. As a result, the women look quite mismatched, like a bunch of children allowed to dress themselves for the first time. The ultimate prize will be awarded to the team with the most money after all five mysteries, the “beloved big-boobed bimbo babe” from the previous month’s adventure. Of course, everyone wants to claim her as their own ~ who wouldn’t? The women are all warned that they must put their “fears and mistrust aside” to prevail, but as is often the case this is easier said than done. Things never go as planned when the “Dykes Who Dare” convene, and this get-together is no exception. Each couple is pushed to deal with an issue that has been lying dormant under the surface, and in the end they will be stronger thanks to help from their friends. Loose Sleuths is once again a fabulous addition to the Lesbian Adventure Club series. It includes playful humor as well as touching moments between the women. I love spending time with these characters, and eagerly anticipate each adventure. I always know that there will be a fun and tricky adventure but there will also be moving displays of the love and closeness of all these women. They are a family, in the strongest sense of the word. Each couple is so realistic, they have issues to deal with and are never perfect, but at the core is intense love and respect that is apparent throughout every story and most especially this one. The adventure is filled with humor, as is always the case with these stories. I was left with images of the bobbling bimbo prize doing her little dance after Laura gave her “a mighty flick so she did her sluttish jiggle” for the group. Foxhole maneuvers to escape bedrooms and bathrooms, panty swapping, a blue bra blindfold with the straps flapping around, littermates, and mismatched color-coordinated clothing are just a few examples of the hilarity that ensues when these women set off on their adventure. I love so many of these characters, but this story especially provided more depth to Laura. She is a complex woman, and although she is often scheming and desperate to arise victorious at the end of any adventure at all cost, she truly cares for her friends and will be the first in line if ever one needs help or protection. Kate explains, “As brassy as Evil Dick could be, her heart glinted gold if you looked from the right perspective.” Laura’s relationship with Holly is so strong and there is no question that they are soul mates. Their easy affection with one another is heartwarming and joyful to experience. The best explanation of how close these women are comes from Kate’s reaction to witnessing a fight between the couple. “Something within me felt like it was dying. I wanted to throw up. In all the years I had known them, I had never heard them argue. They loved each other in a way that was dizzying to watch. This made me sick.” Although the adventure does not turn out to be a thinly veiled attempt to throw caution to the wind when it comes to sexual inhibitions, a strange phenomenon seems to be sweeping through the women. Several of them feel the need to account for a sudden amorousness from their partners which is totally unexpected. Kate, in particular, is completely thrown by Claudia’s new willingness to be sexually open around their friends. So used to their previous roles, Kate isn’t quite sure how to handle this new development, or where it stems from. She even thinks that Holly and Laura have possibly spiked their drinks with aphrodisiacs. Whether it is the house or being in the presence of Holly and Laura who are not afraid of any type of PDA, all of the women seem to be affected and the result is some private moments not so well hidden from the others. In short, lots of sex between these couples. “The rip sound wasn’t from the fabric of reality. It was undies being torn from the shank. … We were a bunch of horn dogs … stuck up the center … and grateful for it … horn dogs at the state fair next to smelly stalls of undomesticated pigs. Dogs With Desires. Dykes Who Diddle.” I cannot more highly recommend this story for readers who enjoy an adventure story with wonderfully detailed characters. As always, this story can be read and enjoyed on its own, but I encourage reading them in order. Scavengers, Ledge Walkers and Savages are the first three books in the series and are hilarious and exceptional reads. Spending time with these characters is engaging and once you start reading you won’t be able to stop. I only hope that Wraight has plans to continue this series that I have come to love so much!
1947 Caldecott Medal Winner The art in this book is either done in a combination of water color and some other kind of paint (maybe acrylic), or it's all watercolor and it's just unusually dark--not sure. Style is more representational than realistic, but still pretty detailed. Very pretty. This is a neat nature book about a little island. A random kitten visits on a boat and the island explains to the kitten that it's part of the rest of the world. Kind of a cool book to introduce kids to islands, but I thought the story was a little weird and disjointed. Another reviewer wrote that she thought it had religious overtones because of the discussion on what faith is that the kitten has with a fish--I am a churchgoer and did not find that to be the case. I see faith as something separate from religion--I mean, one can have faith in anything. Pretty much everybody has faith in something on the strength of what another person has told them. So, I wouldn't call it a religious book.