{"id":5137,"date":"2017-05-01T00:00:49","date_gmt":"2017-04-30T22:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelesbianreview.com\/?p=5137"},"modified":"2023-06-14T15:35:24","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T13:35:24","slug":"deal-breaker-siri-caldwell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelesbianreview.com\/deal-breaker-siri-caldwell\/","title":{"rendered":"Deal Breaker by Siri Caldwell: Book Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Deal<\/a>Deal Breaker by Siri Caldwell<\/b> is about Rae Peters, dancer for a superstar singer. She just had the worst career hiccup of her life \u2013 she snapped her leg in the middle of a performance. The tour moves on without her, leaving Rae to mend broken bones, and perhaps, find an opportunity to mend her heart. Jaded by a complicated relationship with the superstar singer she dances for, Rae isn\u2019t looking for anything serious or emotional. While rehabilitating her leg at a health retreat, Rae soon meets Jori.<\/p>\n

Jori is a water aerobics instructor at the retreat, and is also single mother with an unusual relationship with the father of her child. It\u2019s a combination of this unusual relationship and Rae\u2019s jaded heart that throws conflict between the rapidly developing feelings between the women.<\/p>\n

The Characters<\/b><\/h3>\n

Rae, our lead character that suffers an unfortunate injury was brilliantly sarcastic. The kind of tongue-in-cheek narrative that reflects my every-day interactions with the world. Who doesn\u2019t love a bit of sarcasm and gumption? Jori Burgess, the athletic water-aerobics coach that lives in shorts and sports tops, is a straight-talking, open-minded woman who was quite easily my favourite character in the novel. It was an effortless progression that these two women would find interest in each other\u2026right up to the moment that labelling sexuality became an issue, however, that added its own thought-provoking drama and acted as an overarching theme throughout the story.<\/p>\n

The secondary characters, Axel and Kaoli, were akin to two predators toying with their prey. Axel, the once-upon-a-time boyfriend of Jori and father of Jori\u2019s child, was perfectly cowardly, shallow and selfish, and used Jori like a pawn on a chess board. Kaoli, the predator that treated Rae like a piece of bait, is a multi-faced woman whose actions are entirely self-serving. Kaoli has a heavy influence on Rae\u2019s life, and clues about their past relationship develop throughout the story. Axel seemed purposely written to give the readers someone to dislike, and Kaoli was portrayed beautifully as a confused, manipulative woman that didn\u2019t seem to have any clue about who she really was.<\/p>\n

The Writing Style<\/b><\/h3>\n

We start with a bang, or in Rae\u2019s case, a snap! Siri Caldwell had me hooked within a paragraph with the easy-flow narrative, the subtle humour and wit that makes the story pop. Listening to the story from Rae\u2019s point of view was a delight, and when the focus shifted to other characters, you were immersed in their very differing personalities. Some were perfectly written as narcissistic manipulators that made me want to reach into the book and slap them, which I suspect was exactly what the author was intending.<\/p>\n

The book doesn\u2019t hang up in too many places, moving along at a suitable pace to keep me interested. Reading this book in various snatches of time, it was easy to pick up and move on from wherever I left off. The perfect book for those with limited grabs of time throughout the day.<\/p>\n

The Pros<\/b><\/h3>\n

Siri Caldwell has some amazing turns of phrase that made me smile, laugh, or nod my head in respect of her phrasing. Seeing the story through Rae and Jori\u2019s eyes was absorbing, especially considering how different both women looked at the subject of sexuality. Jori, a bisexual woman, was open to love who she loved, and Rae, burned by bi-curious women in the past, was stubborn-yet-justified by her inability to trust Jori.<\/p>\n

Siri provided an insight to the battle of lesbianism and bisexuality that I haven\u2019t read in a book before, and it was enlightening to see the different battles her characters faced. She explored themes from closeted homosexuality to those jaded by labels, from open and accepting hearts to manipulative ones. Every character brought something different to the table. The deeper into the book I read, the more I liked it.<\/p>\n

The Cons<\/b><\/h3>\n

While the author hops into different characters throughout the book, I felt that we lingered a little too long in the minds of some, specifically Axel, and not long enough in the minds of others. I have to admit that I flicked through some of the narrative around the secondary characters because I wanted to read more about the developing relationship between Rae and Jori.<\/p>\n

A few clumsy sentences made me stop and pondering what the author was trying to say, and several ambiguous pronouns had me pausing to figure out which character was doing what. Those editing stumbles are often my own deal-breaker, however, the story provided enough interest and moved on quickly enough for me to carry on reading, and ultimately write this review.<\/p>\n

At the end of the book we\u2019re left wondering what happened to Kaoli. One line would have tied her story off, and I suspect it would have been an interesting one-liner to boot.<\/p>\n

The Conclusion<\/b><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re looking for something to fill in a few minutes here and there, then this book makes for a perfect travel companion or lunch-break read. The relationship build-up is satisfying, and the story offers enough interest around the dynamic subject of sexuality to leave the reader fulfilled. If you\u2019re a reader that can forgive a few editing oversights, then this novel will provide you with an easy escape.<\/p>\n

Excerpt from <\/b>Deal Breaker by Siri Caldwell<\/b><\/h2>\n

Jori frowned as she replayed what she\u2019d said:\u00a0First I fall in love with a person for their personality. Then their body becomes interesting.<\/i>\u00a0She found Rae\u2019s body interesting. Her eyes didn\u2019t skim past her without noticing, like with all the other naked female bodies she saw in the locker room every day. That meant\u2026\u200coh no. That meant she was already attracted to her and well on her way toward\u2026\u200c<\/p>\n

When did\u00a0this<\/i>\u00a0start? Well, she knew when it started. It started the first time she saw her, a small determined guest in the deep end of the pool, squeezed into two flotation belts so she wouldn\u2019t sink, pushing herself to the point of exhaustion. All she\u2019d been able to see was the tops of her shoulders and her head and her adorable stubby ponytail. It had been enough.<\/p>\n

Rae finally took mercy on her and put distance between her and that doorframe, making her way across the floor with a slow, rocking gait that suggested she didn\u2019t quite want to bend her knee, despite what she\u2019d just done to the woodwork. That slight hesitation in her stride as her heels clicked on the wood floor did something to Jori\u2019s gut. But then it got worse, because soon Rae was standing in front of her, closer than would normally have been comfortable if her nervous system hadn\u2019t decided the boundaries of her personal space no longer existed.<\/p>\n

Rae held her arms out in invitation\u200c\u2014\u200cnot to embrace, but to dance\u200c\u2014\u200cand somehow it was too much.<\/p>\n

When Jori didn\u2019t respond, Rae dropped her arms to her side. \u201cYou really are straight, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat? Why?\u201d Jori gave a startled twitch and almost laughed out loud at the disconnect between her own line of thought and Rae\u2019s. What could she possibly have said that made Rae come to that ridiculous conclusion?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve obviously spent a lot of time thinking about what\u2019s wrong with men.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShouldn\u2019t that make me\u00a0not<\/i>\u00a0straight?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot necessarily. I mean, for me, I prefer to spend my time thinking about women. Why should I care what men think of the opposite sex? I leave it to the straight women of the world to figure out what makes men tick.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rae held out her arms again. Jori shook herself out of her decidedly\u00a0not<\/i>\u00a0straight train of thought and reached for her. Rae positioned Jori in a standard dance hold, one arm curved around her shoulder, their free hands clasped. No tango legs, thank God. But just touching her, standing in each other\u2019s space, was unnerving. And wonderful. And this time they were alone\u2026\u200c Jori jerked her gaze down at her arms and memorized the correct pose.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019re not going to explain?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jori shook her head. They were in each other\u2019s arms\u200c\u2014\u200csort of\u200c\u2014\u200cand that made it hard to focus. Talking and dancing at the same time was turning out to be surprisingly tricky. Or maybe the real problem was that it was hard to do much of anything when the only thing that mattered was the caring, supportive pressure of Rae\u2019s hand on her shoulder blade and the fact that she was standing close enough to kiss her.<\/p>\n

But she had to reply. \u201cI don\u2019t believe in labels. I believe in being willing to love no matter what form love takes.\u201d There were a lot of things she was less than honest about, but this wasn\u2019t one of them. She never lied about the important stuff.<\/p>\n

Get This Book On Amazon<\/b><\/h3>\n

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[tweetthis]I just finished reading the review for Deal Breaker by Siri Caldwell – check it out here [\/tweetthis]<\/p>\n

Bits and Bobs<\/b><\/h3>\n