I suppose many of you know multitudes of friends who drink and / or smoke, and you wonder what the big fuss is. I, in contrast, have never smoked, and drink only very sparingly. I cannot give you too many details about the drinking and smoking genes that have come to me through genetics for fear of compromising my state of being incognito, but let me reassure you: the story is dismal. Many of my friends are recovering, and recovered, addicts, who have parents and family who have battled various sorts of addiction, some with success, and others with less success; and many of us have friends who are still battling addiction, and we just don't know how to deal with those situations. In theory, there are experts who say that they know exactly how to deal with addicted---and partially addicted---friends. In practice, though, these experts have no clue, or only minute clues. So, that's the background of my review of A.K.Rose's Slightly Addictive. In case you were wondering, there is no tried and true advice to authors, either, about how to go about writing a book about addiction, that an addict would find helpful.
Slightly Addictive
Slightly Addictive, by A. K. Rose, is a thoroughly enjoyable read, especially for those who would recognize themselves, or a friend or lover, in any of the main protagonists: Gia, Roxy, and even Jennifer. It's a little intimidating to review such an unassuming book, but which is potentially bound for great things.
Though the typical reader might not be looking for 'a slice of life' story--and I wasn't--this relentlessly upbeat book just brims with optimism, and follows the bootstrapping adventures of a woman whom life has 'kicked to the kerb,' and has simply decided to turn over a new leaf. In Gia, the author has invented a unique hero; at once both simple and outgoing, and also focused and stern. In Roxi, Gia has the perfect foil, but of course she doesn't know this; Gia has climbed up the wrong palm tree* once too often to take chances. And (from where Gia sits) what does Roxi have going for her? She's just cute, and a tease. And constantly tosses Spanish phrases at Gia, which alternates between being hilarious and annoying! Luckily, Roxi's sterling qualities are gradually revealed.
Being an author, I must say 'Slightly' is a story I wish I had written myself! But I could never have done it; I just don't have the background. Gia is a great invention, and little details reveal how carefully Gia's character has been put together. For instance, Gia has a dictum: Three strikes, and you're out. What kind of person has to lean on a principle like that? One who blames her failures on her tendency to be too helpful, and too forgiving. We wonder what Roxi sees in Gia, beyond their chemistry. Perhaps chemistry is all one needs, in the end--NOT!
Two thumbs up, and I wish I had more thumbs! Note: an all-new HEA is reportedly in the works.
*The story is set in Palm Springs, California.
Obviously, that's not all I have to say, given that I don't want to scare off any potential readers. Most Lesfic readers don't want to read about anything except flirting, and gentle hands moving down to hips. The author does her best to accommodate readers of that description, but she can only go so far; there are regular scenes with AA meetings, and Gia and Roxi longing for a drink, or longing to jump into bed. Very few lesbian romances are set in apartments that are, let's say, very sparsely furnished. (Most of the movies we see, either in theatres or on TV, have fabulous houses, or even apartments, where even the toilets have gold fittings.) This is a very down-to-earth story, except for the fact that Gia is such a lovable, decent character. I can only hope that that doesn't throw off anyone from reading the story.
Early in the opening chapter, it is revealed that Gia took up drinking to wean herself away from smoking, and sex to wean her away from drinking; basically a stack of addictions built on the lines of the House that Jack Built. (That's an old allusion based on a pre-19th century nursery rhyme.) The fact remains that often this sort of chain of dependencies really happens to people.
The conventional wisdom about socializing is that you have to drink, in order to dance. This probably explains why I don't know how to dance <sad face>. I can waltz, though, without drinking.
So, go out and read this book; it's priced very reasonably, and I hope it doesn't begin to sell so well that either the author or Amazon decide to raise the price!!
Kay
[Added later:] If any one of my readers has a parent or relative who drinks so much that you can't tell that they've drunk at all: avoid drinking at all. Some people have a metabolic system that warns them in good time, each occasion, that it's time to stop drinking. Other people don't have this; they can continue to drink without any apparent ill effects, each and every day, until they can no longer function without some alcohol in their systems. This means that they'll eventually destroy their livers, which is a painfun condition. Read up about it, because I'm certainly not an expert. But one of my closest friends--a guy; incidentally, the one who got me into writing seriously--used to drink this way. He's dead, now, in his seventies. He didn't die of cirrhosis, but I wonder whether his alcoholism affected his neurological functions in ways that we could not see.
Kay
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