I like the main characters of Emily and Sam. It was a nice little look at Seattle. But . . . I had certain problems.

But first, let me look at what I wrote as I went along . . .

Hmm, at the 56% mark I put down
"Unfortunate that I didn't know this was a lesbian-straight relationship book. Also, WTF? 'Why hadn't Emily called? She was the experienced lesbian here. Didn't she know I was waiting for her to make the next move?' - um, you kissed her and then ran. She's the one to make the next move? WTF?"

"Just so I'll remember things later when everything is said and done - Sam kissed Emily on check in bar, then, outside, Emily pushed into and kissed Sam. Whereupon Sam fled. Still, she fled. She's older by 4 years and the one who fled. If playing game of 'who calls next', you'd think Sam would be the one with the obligation to say what the fuck is going on with running."

And then at the 83% mark I put:
"I like Emily and Sam, and I don't always say that or think that about the characters in books, but they are killing me here. Two people with long term crushes who are horribly afraid to be damaged. I need to stop reading books involving 20 year-olds. I knew I'd read a previous book by Christie, but I just realized it wasn't the one I was recalling. I was going to make a comment that doesn't fit now. Ah well."

Re: comment about previous book. I don't know how long it lasted, but there was a period of time there where I thought I'd been reading the second book, by me to be read, by an author who had written a book involving two people who were kept apart for, like, 20 years because of a simple stupid miscommunication. But, I wasn't actually reading that author. I was reading the one who turned Pride and Prejudice into a LGBT book.

Okay, so. Sam & Emily went to high school together. They, apparently, both fancied the other but Sam didn't realize she was gay until much much later, and Emily was put off by the fact that . . . um. Well, intimidated by the fact that Sam was somewhere around 3 to 4 years older. Yeah, that's it. Oh, and neither knew of the other's 'fancing'.

About a year before the opening of this book, Sam's brother died. Let me rephrase that the way it seemed to be hammered against the reader's head: Sam's gay brother died roughly a year before the start of this book. His (and hers . . um, I should say their) parents were quite put off by the fact that . . . I've forgotten his name. The parents were put off and horrified to learn their son was gay. They sent him off to be converted and de-gayified. Kid fled. As in ran away. Years later he returned. To promptly die. From complications relating to AIDS.

The parents blame themselves. The sister, Sam couldn't stand the situation, all the way around, so fled. To Seattle (they lived in Michigan, something like Logan Michigan, though, apparently, they have some connection to Chicago as well). Oh, wait, she moved six months later, not immediately, I think. Six months after that, the book opens.

Emily headed off to a college in the Seattle area. I have the vague desire to say that it was something they kept calling "U-Dub", but that's probably wrong (I can only say with confidence that Sam went to college at Northwestern, in Chicago - right, so that's the connection to Chicago). Emily has just completed her last year of eligibility at college. To play soccer. So she's now on of the coaches. It's the summer between seasons. Or semsters. Or something.

The book literally opens with . . well, I don't recall actually, but somewhere near the beginning Sam is racing around on her bike. Or running. Right, she was running. That makes more sense. Okay, she was running around a lake, spots Emily, almost doesn't say anything but Emily recognizes her and chases her down. They have a conversation. Sam flees. Same day, shortly thereafter, Emily runs into Sam again. They again have a relatively good conversation before Sam again flees.

I'll break here to note: I normally don't like it when there's more than one POV and they cover the same scene. That occurs several times here but - it was actually pretty neat. Because you could see how each saw the conversation/events/etc. What they were focusing on, what they felt, and what they remembered of the event. They did not remember things exactly the same way. So, that was neat to see unfold.

So enter into the mix one (1) lesbian, and one (1) straight woman. Toss in some elements (long term awareness of each other) plus (attraction). Mix up. Let simmer for most of the book. Then have book abruptly end before the 'good stuff' can occur. Well, something like that.

Oh, and in terms of 'the good stuff', I'm not talking about sex. I'm talking about 'happy couple.' In terms of sex - there's nothing graphic that occurs and/or is described. I'm not saying whether or not sex occurred, I'm noting that, if any did occur within the pages of the book - it was fade to black kind.

Oh, and I liked Chloe. The cat.

Before I close - I probably could have rated this 4 whole stars if the ending had been extended. Actually, if the chase had been compacted a little, and the ending extended a little. I do not mean - add stuff before the ending that occurred. I mean, add stuff around the ending that extends things beyond the point the book ended.

I was left disappointed by how early the book ended. ( )