Hotel Liaison (Modern Romance (Bold Strokes Books)) | 
 enlarge | Author: Jlee Meyer
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $9.37
You Save: $6.58 (41%)
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Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 32548
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 231
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6
ISBN: 1602820171
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781602820173
ASIN: 1602820171
Publication Date: June 10, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20081005210942T
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Product Description
Two women searching through a secret past discover that their brief hotel liaison is only the beginning.
Laurel Hoffman, an associate professor of women's studies in Berkeley, struggles to stay on track for tenure while caught up in the last throes of a crumbling relationship with a senior colleague. When she hears of a hotel being renovated and a secret room full of papers about women who once stayed there, she knows she has a potential career-saving article.
Stefanie Beresford, the hotel owner, is not exactly receptive when Laurel approaches her about researching the hotel's history, but that doesn't stop her from flirting with the alluring academic. She doesn't need the distraction, but for the first time in her life she wants to take a chance on more than a fleeting encounter.
While Laurel can't deny her powerful feelings for Stefanie, she fears she's risking her heart as well as her future if she acts on her desires. But can a simple encounter between two rational adults really be all that dangerous?
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Less can be more September 8, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I was really looking forward to this book after having read the reviews about it. And I have to say that there is an intriguing plot to it but, there is a but... well, to be honest two buts.
My first but: I love character development and I love to get to know my heroines in the course of a tale. And that is where the story lacks. Bitterly. The author just put too many interesting stories, too many fates, to many different personalities with background stories about whom I would have wanted to know more into 231 pages. And I found that absolutely irritating.
Let's see: There is a woman who is abused from her girlfriend and tries to get out of this relationship. She falls in love with a woman who owns a hotel and who is not sure if it is the right time for a relationship for her. There is yet another woman, an old lady, that lives in the hotel and you just know that there is a secret around her. There is another woman who feels that she can't do relationships because of something that has happened in her past. There is another woman, the best friend of the hotel owner and the one feeling unable to do relationships that runs around in this story as well. And there is a teenager, run away from home, which meets the old lady mentioned before. And these were just the main characters and the main minor parts.
I am sorry, but this is just way too much for me. I have to admit that I begun to loose interest rather soon and was only skimming through the book from page 100 on.
This is a bit of a shame because, like I stated earlier, the plot is intriguing. And I like the way JLee Meyer worked the abuse girlfriend thing... in the beginning. And this is my second but: Because, honestly, how realistic is it that a woman coming right out of an abusive relationship is turning into some kind of sex maniac with another woman she just met recently. Does that sound healthy to you? Sorry, I really had a problem with that one.
All in all I give three stars to this book because of the interesting idea.
 Something quite different July 28, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I usually reserve 5 star ratings for the small number of lesbian romances that are exceptional. Hotel Liaison scores highly because the author has done something different and original.
I have only read one other book by Ms. Meyer, Rising Storm, and wasn't gripped by the throat at all, but this new romance is one of the most enjoyable I've read recently. The idea of women renovating a women only hotel and uncovering a fascinating history is a winner. This plot could have been dusty and dry, but Ms. Meyer created a cast of characters who bring the story to life, from runaway Ember to her unlikely ally, elderly Mrs. Castic.
Most important among them is Laurel Hoffman, who is smothered in an abusive relationship with her boss. Both women are academics and the partner, Rochelle, uses her power in this setting to intimidate Laurel into being less than she really should be at home and in her career. Kudos to Ms. Meyer for making this destructive relationship believable without being black and white. Laurel plays a role in her own unhappiness and her journey to break free is one of the most compelling parts of this book.
The romance between Laurel and Stephanie was rewarding and touching without being over the top. I was left with the feeling that there is more to be told. Sequel please! Hotel Liaison is a well-written story with a very good plot and characters that feel real. These are women you could hope to meet and sit down for a cup of coffee with. The writing is pleasant and there are touches of humor that also make reading a pleasure. I closed the covers with a sigh and a smile. I want to thank Ms. Meyer for writing a romance a cut above the ordinary in every way.
Praise! Praise! Praise! Great Book! July 19, 2008
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
Hotel Liaison is JLee Meyer's fourth book and although the other books are very well written, this novel simply takes it to the next level. It stands alone as a masterful piece of work.
One feels they are on a personal journey with this group of inspiring women as they each grow into their strength. The Hotel serves as their home, their fortress. It becomes the reader's home too.
JLee's novel is an exciting romance, poignant, historically empowering and very realistic. The struggles these women face are struggles many of us can relate to. There are abusive relationships in real life, there are financial woes from time to time, and there is the hope of love to keep us going.
Excellent! ~CC
 Abuse comes in many forms July 15, 2008
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
Abuse exists in many forms. It can exist within relationships, organizations, or societies. Hotel Liaison is a romance that has at its heart abuses of several different types.
Stefanie Beresford and her friends are trying to restore an old hotel with the idea of creating a business that would cater only to women. Things have not been going well as they've found themselves beset with unreliable contractors, cost overruns and mounting mortgages. The entire project seems endangered when they break through a wall and find a secret cache of old papers that indicate, ironically, that the hotel might have been a meeting point for women in the past and might have historical significance. Laurel Hoffman is an assistant professor specializing in women's studies who is respected by her colleagues and admired by her students, but she's trapped in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship with her partner who also happens to be the chairman of her department. When one of her students suggests she might be interested in looking at some old papers found on a construction site she's working on, Laurel uses it as a temporary escape from problems at home. The papers bring Laurel, Stefanie and an interesting group of women together for several missions. They find themselves not only trying to save the hotel and Laurel, but dealing with the misuse of power by businessmen and within families. There is also a conspiracy lurking in the background trying to undermine everything they do. As Laurel and Stefanie are drawn closer together, they realize there is more to fight for than just their relationship and more to win than a chance for love.
Hotel Liaison is Meyer's strongest book so far. The characters are much better developed and the plot is more complex. There are some weaknesses. Some points in the book are just a little too convenient and contrived; however, the interlacing of the different story lines keeps the reading fresh and the conspiracy theory is interesting. This book has a little bit for lots of people - romance lovers, mystery lovers, historians and conspiracy buffs.
Her best book yet.... July 4, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I've read all of JLee Meyer's past novels and I believe that this is the best work that she's done to date. Originally when I read the premise of the book I wasn't sure what to think, but having read JLee Meyer's books in the past I ordered it. I'm so glad that I did!
There are not only 2 strong central characters, Stephanie, the hotel owner and Laurel, a history prof of Women's Studies at the nearby university, but there are also several other critical players in this book. They all have a story to tell and the reader is struck by how women can work well to help each other, that is except one person who Laurel must face head on in order to save her own life, the life that she needs to live. The women in this book are young, old and in between, but they need to learn from each other in order to keep the hotel.
A secret room is discovered....and it holds secrets from the past that actually link to the present. Those secrets might save the hotel, or they might be the hotel's downfall.
There's a surprise visit in the book by a character from JLee's other novels and it works so well that I was cheering the closing pages of the book.
This is a novel that will leave you smiling. I'm looking forward to the series that the author has said this will become. I can see where the strong women in this novel leave a lot of stories still to be written.
Go out and buy this book. Then go and stay at a boutique hotel and see if you look at it the same way again. :>)
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