Unforgettable

I think if you don't like romance novels you shouldn't read them. I love lesbian romance novels and this is a really great one.I think if you don't like jazz you should avoid books about musicians who sing jazz. I like jazz, and I loved reading about it in this book. None of the songs Rett sings are "bad." That would be saying that Chet Baker and Ella Fitzgerald and Rosemary Clooney -- the songs they sang are "bad." Not in my opinion!There are a lot of not-so-well written lesbian romance novels out there now, lots of them self-published or coming in under the "uber" genre. Many of **them** are amateurish: jerky plotting, stilted dialogue, no transitions, sloppy or no characterization at all. Some are completely unedited. And they're short -- while charging the same or more.This book is not one of them: it's fabulously plotted, the rhythm makes it hard to stop reading, the characters are well-crafted. I wanted to hate Rett's mother but even this unlikable, bitter woman was so three-dimensional that I had to grudingly at least understand her a little. Another example is Rett's career as a hard-working singer compared to Angel's as a genetic researcher. Rett feels a little intimidated by Angel -- wouldn't we all? Rett was a real, complicated by empathetic character. The setting was well-done, too. I guess you have to have done time in Minnesota to understand why people are named Cinny and Bunny. I went to high school with those chicks.This is a nice long, fresh, engaging, complicated ROMANCE. It's great.

If this is anything to go by for miss Kallmaker's work, then damn! A wonderfully scripted novel which just left me wishing it had lasted longer. Rett and Angel are two main charecters who you just become involved with, in a wonderful tale of true love, and spine tingling sex scenes, you'll find yourself grinning hopelessy at the end! Well worth reading on that lonely night, or any night, just! A MUST read.

I am a big fan of Kallmaker's work and have the highest expectations of her every book. Unforgettable met every expectation and blew them out of the water. It's a winner, a total home run, all 278 pages of it.Rett Jamison is one of her best characters ever, and that's saying something. I felt like I knew her inside and out and yet I couldn't wait to see how she handled the double attraction of the two women from her past.I also admired very much that Rett did not make nice with either her rotten ex-girlfriend or her mother. Both treated her abysmally and it might not be politically correct to refuse to forgive -- for the present -- but it sure felt real. Some things you don't forgive easily or quickly, if ever. Rett finds forgiveness for others who hurt her and finally she finds a way to just say "so what?" to the morons who made high school a misery for her. Unforgettable is a triumph! Thank you thank you Karin, for such a wonderful book and such a long one, too. I don't know how you're going to top this one!

I wanted this book BAD. And when it finally arrived it was everything I hoped for. Truly satisfying in every aspect. I want to buy Rett Jamison CDs now! Music, show biz and the high school reunion from hell all came alive. The characterizations are so skilled for a romance novel. I didn't start reading Kallmaker's books until a friend told me that "Watermark" just missed being nominated for a Lambda award. I didn't think a romance writer could write *that* well so I read the book for myself. Showed me what a snob I'd been to avoid "romance" as not weighty enough. Kallmaker's writing has blossomed from her earliest works and every romance goes some place serious. Watermark was the most serious by far. Unforgettable gets serious at times with Rett's horrific relationship with her mother and a nasty break-up. Rett still lingers over the past and the damageit did to her self-image and I didn't need any post-modern prose to identify with her bad high school days. Lest anyone think Kallmaker's portrayal of Minnesota and Minnesotans is over the top - every word was true! Grew up there. The favorite spice is *still* miracle whip. Ms. Kallmaker, if you read these reviews, know that you brightened my day considerably! Please - write faster!

Fasten your seatbelts, you are in for a great ride. If you love Romance of the lesbian persuasion, then this is a must read. "Unforgettable" is Kallmaker at her best.As always Kallmaker's characters are well fleshed out and believable. The story centers around a moderately successful ballad/jazz singer, Loretta "Rett" Jamison who is haunted by the memories of her past. At 40, she is finally coming to terms with the woman she is, compared to the girl who never fit in at high school. At her 20+ high school reunion, she discovers that all is not what it seemed to be when she was growing up. While some relationships held more promise than she ever imagined, others were more bankrupt than even she could have thought. I forget which feminist said it (Steinhem perhaps?), that the trouble with being a woman was being a little girl in the first place. "Unforgettable" carries out that theme to it's adult conclusion.It's not the theme or the plot that I liked best about this book; rather, it's the structure and the dialogue, and yes, of course, there are those sex scenes. Face it, that's why we buy them, and this one won't disappoint. Kallmaker, just like a good script writer, introduces her characters mid-action, mid-sentence, and in this case, mid-dream. We get right into the character's head. Once there, we are ready to suspend our own lives for a moment and live within hers.Her dialogue is fresh, never stilted and always right out of today's society. She even manages to mention Santana's great comeback with "Smooth," and we get to dance to Ricky Martin, flawlessly, of course.Sometimes I wish real life were a little more like Kallmaker's vision. Women are usually beautiful, smart and sexy. Most of the men are gentle and understanding, and the food never makes you fat. It's written real enough to make you wonder if it's not all just around the corner.This book is also just a tad longer than most of it's genre. It allows Ms. Kallmaker to tie up all those loose ends. I wasn't left wondering, "but whatever happened to so and so." Therefore, if you love lesbian romance, this one is delicious.