All That Matters

I enjoyed the story, it was a bit of a slow ride. I wasn’t as interested in the beginning when the main character was married to her husband. I don’t really care about intimacy between the husband and wife. I was definitely interested to see where the story would go and I was so glad I did. I definitely found the writing to be superb. I will read more by this author.

I have seen a few reviews of people that wish this book would have moved faster. I disagree. I went into this book knowing it was going to be long. I'm usually also the type to like books that get to romance alot quicker, but for this story it needed to be slow. It showed the true stages of a realistic relationship. Not all relationships are conventional, and this was a great example of just that. Others also dislike the background in Blair and David's infertility and journey to getting pregnant. But I believe it was very important to follow the characters through that journey, because know the full details really put you in a spot as a reader where you can really understand and feel the characters emotions. I also think some disliked Blairs personality. I will say I agreed at some points in the book. But I think those moments really added to her character development and showed how much of herself she really compromised on to be with Kylie. Over all I really enjoyed this book, I found my self ready very slowly and taking long spanded breaks just to make it last longer. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a romance book that's not just rainbows and unicorns, but one that shows the effort and true essence of a relation ship.

This was my second Susan X Meagher book and it was so beautifully done. Though published in 2007, it has held up quite well. Beyond doctors carrying around pagers (there are cell phones in this too, however) gay marriage not yet being legalized and the price of California real estate - the rest of the story could very well happen today. I absolutely fell in love with these characters - especially their humor and instant rapport from the moment they met. I appreciated the fact that this wasn't a short read. To do this story justice, there needed to be strong character building and enough background to get a real understanding about what made these women who they are, where they are in their lives when they meet and a believable progression of their story and relationship. Nothing is rushed. If you Google slow burn, the result would be a picture of this book. This is one of those that spoils you and makes you wish there were many more like it. While there is a place for the quick, 3 hour afternoon read - however formulaic it may be - sometimes you want something more meaty that takes you through a gamut of emotions. Something to immerse yourself in that flows over and around you like a warm bath. This is one of those. Completely satisfying. And incidentally, hot as hell.

*This review contains spoilers, although nothing very surprising*This book was not as rewarding or relatable as I'd hoped. A disappointment, because it's the second book I've read by Meagher, and the first ( Almost Heaven ) was excellent.The pregnancy dominates the story. This may be realistic, but it makes for an annoying slog of a story. And it makes the "romance" about the third or forth most important thing in the book. The life-changing trials of pregnancy will elicit sympathy when mentioned to someone you just met. But if that's all you talk about for hours and hours on end... that sympathy will wear awfully thin. Meet Blair.Blair, the main character, is cold. It's a romance cliché to have a character who's cold and unwilling or afraid to give him or herself romantically. But there has to be _something_ else going on: maybe the character was hurt in the past, or only seems cold on the outside (Pride and Prejudice), or is having trouble admitting she's gay ( Something In The Wine ), or has a deep dark secret ( Accidental Love ). Maybe the prospective couple meets as adversaries ( Tropical Storm: The 2010 Author Edition (The Dar & Kerry Series) ), or comes from vastly different cultures or backgrounds (Almost Heaven). But Blair has none of this. She just doesn't care. I admit to liking Camus' The Stranger, but that guy will never be a good romance hero.About 80% of the way through the book, Blair does have a change of heart, although it seems shaky for a little while. But it was too late. This is much too long a book to have the change of heart 80% of the way through. The love interest, Kylie, has been mad about her from almost the beginning. That doesn't work. The reader needs to fall at roughly the same rate as the love interest. Imagine if Lizzie Bennet had swooned over Mr. Darcy from the very beginning, and immediately dedicated her life to him. Wouldn't that have made you throw up a little?Blair is also very hard for me to relate to. Very good literature can find the universal even in specific experiences, but I couldn't relate to Blair because I didn't share her key experiences (pregnancy and being adopted herself). This, then, is not very good literature. In addition, she's utterly neurotic about adoption. This may be understandable given her background, but at times it makes her an unsympathetic character. Her husband does do a very douchey thing, but what's presented as his Grand Inexcusable Sin is that he doesn't think he will feel like the true father of a child that's not biologically his. I would understand if Blair found this upsetting. But Blair finds this grounds for leaving him immediately. And she literally does not understand how he could feel that way. Really? She somehow missed one of the most basic biological imperatives, ingrained from a billion years of sexual reproduction? Humans may be more civilized than the species where a new top male kills all the progeny of the previous top male, but we're not entirely immune from wanting our children to be biologically our own.Maybe Blair is hypersensitive and bitchy because she's pregnant. Fine. It doesn't make her a very sympathetic character, though. I understand why Blair wants Kylie. I don't ever really understand why Kylie wants Blair. When you've taken this many pages and still can't sell the romance... Obviously some people do like this book (see some of the other reviews). I couldn't tell you why.And it didn't have to be this way. This book touches on themes not entirely dissimilar from Maas'  None So Blind , but that book is so vastly superior that I hesitate to compare them. And I have almost nothing in common with the lead character in Atwood's  Cat's Eye , but thought that book was fantastic.

I really loved most of this book (which is the reason for 4 instead of 5 stars.)The conversations and story line felt very real. I loved how they worked things through rather than the typical fight, angry sex, angst, rinse, repeat.The progression of their relationship was amazing, beautiful, and so natural.The lovemaking was perfect, conveying the right emotion.Why 4 stars then? The first 1/3 of the book was a struggle to get through for reasons that others have mentioned.The detailed hetero sex was way way too much and often. It became a turn off really quickly. I started skipping paragraphs. I don't read f/f to see this. Fade to black would have been just as effective.The history with David was way too drawn out. I love me a long epic novel with a ton of details but it was way much. It could have been covered in short scenes as well as conversations between Kylie and Blair. And during this time, we got no backstory on Kylie either, which could have balanced it out.I kept reading because of the reviews and I am very very very happy I did. Don't judge the quality by the beginning.

I have to admit that during the reading of this book I became frustrated with one of the main characters and her behaviour. I was still thinking about the storyline several days after finishing the book. This is the first book I have read by Ms Meagher, but it certainly won’t be my last. The story concentrates on two main characters – Blair and Kylie, but mostly from the perspective of Blair.I’m not certain if the author consciously wanted to make the Blair character obnoxious or not, but if she has based this character on someone she knows personally, then I feel for that person’s partner. Blair is in most parts of the book self-centred and I found myself not caring for her. Kylie on the other hand is near perfection, always being considerate of Blair’s feelings and always putting her wants and feelings second to that of Blair’s.With my ambivalence towards the Blair character, it demonstrates how skilful the author is, in managing to draw me into the story until the end. I thoroughly recommend this book.

Probably one of the books I have most enjoyed reading ever. Took me two days because I kept going back to re read bits to make sure I had not missed any thing. Brilliantly written at times my emotions were all over the place,characters that you could not help but empathise with completely. Really well researched and at times more detail than I could deal with, but I will not give any of the story away as it is so good you need to read it yourself. Am now going to grab as much by this author as I can , would advise all who love a good well told story to do the same.

Super read recommended to me. First by this author and so not disappointed.It’s a long book and took me nearly a week to read ( but I am a slow reader ).An endearing story of unexpected love in a unique set of circumstances.I loved the development of Kylie and Blair’s relationship. Enjoyed the characters, but Kylie, she really is a special character.Great value for me money for a very special read.

I read a lot of lesfic and occasionally stories can seem like you've read them before. This is not the case with this book. Susan Meagher has a way of writing that leaves you wanting more, even after a comprehensive story. This books ranks among my all time favourites. If you haven't read it - go for it, it's great!

Its my first by this author and I loved the slow burn and length of this novel-which was a gift because I sometimes find rather long novels a little bit of a burden. She has a wonderful way of telling a story that is realistic and detailed but not tiresome or average in any way. It was brilliantly written and as a wannabe novelist gave me some real food for thought.