Welcome to Litsy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Story of forbidden love between two women married to men who are faculty in the same department in a college in the South in 1953. Months liked and rooted for the characters but found the carelessness/cluelessness of one exasperating. Mostly left so thankful to not have been born 60 years earlier, because the treatment of women generally and gay women in particular was garbage. #LitsyToB24

#LitsyTOB24

While elements of the plot felt maybe a little by the numbers, I really liked the two main characters and was particularly invested in their fates. Two women fall in love in a small Kentucky college town in the 1950s. Unless one was Gertrude Stein or Rock Hudson, you can imagine at the obstacles faced by homosexuals in this era.

This forbidden sapphic love story is full of longing and obstacles. Set in a college town in the south, readers get to know two women whose husbands are colleagues at the University. I read this directly following “Same Bed” which was confusing and not my style at all, so I found the straightforward narrative such a relief. Also, the setting was well done and I could feel the repressive 1950s vibe throughout. And I‘ve finished the #LitsyTob24 🙌

I‘m seeing a lot of tepid reviews for this one but am happy to report it really worked for me. It‘s a simple story, but in its simplicity lies its sweetness and heart. And so much of what the two women of the story faced is true of the 1950s era. I just loved it. #LitsyTOB

#LitsyTOB. In 1953 two gay adults marry for convenience which works well until Samuel falls in love with Frances, a married woman whose husband works at the same small town college as Boots. This was a short enjoyable listen. 3.5 🌟

#LitsyToB24 Set in the repressive 50s, when women had little rights, homosexuality was mainly a sin and segregation was the way of life in Kentucky, two women fall in love. Their illicit romance is the subject of the book and although I enjoyed reading it, the book felt a bit YA to me and I think the author made the story a bit too convenient at times. ⬇️⬇️

Another easy read for the plane ride home and another light pick. Samuel is married to Boots, a professor several years her elder. They love each other but aren‘t in love as they are both gay and using their marriage for protection from 1950s persecution. When Samuel meets and falls in love with the wife of Boots‘s colleague their fragile peace is threatened. This was an affecting story but still left me feeling not fully satisfied. #Litsytob24

#WeeklyForecast 03/24

I am reading and enjoying both The Pachinko Parlour and Crossroads (I have finally picked it up @squirrelbrain , what a wonderful dysfunctional family 😀). Next will be be the tagged one, for #LitsyToB24. Looking forward to it!

I really wanted to love this but didn‘t. 😢 It‘s queer love set in repressive 1950s Kentucky, but the audio narration was not enjoyable and the story just got thin and repetitive. It needed a good side plot with Boots or something. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I‘d read more by Watts though!

Samuel is a lesbian woman in a sham marriage with a gay professor. Things get dangerous when she falls for another professor‘s wife, but what will they lose if they get caught?

#tob24

Definitely one of my favorites from the long list! 💚

This Sapphic historical fiction swept me up in the story and had me enthralled. Julia Watts paints a vivid picture of life in 1950s Kentucky. Usually, romance isn't my thing, but that is just a small part of this sweeping tale of friendship, acceptance, and learning to be oneself.

Another #ToB book that I really liked (although not as much as Idlewild and Vintage Contemporaries)

Samuel has changed her name and wears men‘s clothes, but no-one questions her identity as she‘s married to Boots, a flamboyantly dressed Professor who still lives with his Mama. But once Samuel meets and falls in love with Frances, another Professor‘s wife their carefully-built world threatens to fall apart around them.

First purposeful purchase from the #toblonglist. 🥂 Of course I had to get the one set in Kentucky! Nice end to a crappy day of dental work. 😁