Rachel Travis and Mattie Crockett meet on the beach and it changes both of their lives. Mattie is married to an abusive man who doesn’t love her and Rachel is a lesbian whose closest friend is a prostitute who sometimes shares her bed. Their growing friendship leads to love and upheaval. But not as much upheaval as a hurricane.

For the most part, I really enjoyed this story. Toward the middle, after the two main characters fall in love, the story sort of drug on for me. Once the hurricane hits, though, I had a hard time putting it down. The author did a great job of getting the reader in the story. I was able to relate to the characters and genuinely cared, for the most part, about what happened to them.

I also enjoy stories that deal with historical events or period pieces. Whether it’s Victorian England or the Wild West, I’ll read it. I’ve read a few of Lillian Faderman’s books about lesbians through the ages and I get the same feeling when I read fiction set in earlier times. It’s important to remember that lesbians didn’t just show up in the 60’s. We’ve survived throughout the ages in various ways, but we’ve always been here. Not to mention it’s refreshing, to me, to read something that doesn’t resemble several other stories I’ve read.

Bottom line is that I do recommend this one. It’s also a published work if you’re interested in picking it up. If you do, post a comment if you notice much of a difference in the versions.

http://www.academyofbards.org/fanfic/t/texbard_galveston1.html