hurricane days by renee j lukas reviewed on The Lesbian ReviewHurricane Days by Renée J Lukas is about Robin, the upcoming Republican presidential primary. She is promoting traditional values as a strong message in her campaign and that includes a stand against same sex marriage.

A story breaks in the media that Robin had a lesbian affair with her roommate, Adrienne, while she was at college. This turns Robin’s world upside down, threatening to shake the foundation of lies she has built. Her perfect marriage might not be so perfect after all.

We see the story from Robin’s point of view for the most part. The book switches between Robin as she is today and her memories of her first year in college. As the story evolves, we begin to see why Robin went from being in love with her roommate Adrienne to vowing to live a heterosexual lifestyle.

The Characters

Lukas managed to capture the essence of Robin in both the older and younger versions of herself, even though, in many respects, they are very different people.

It’s interesting to see how Robin changed so dramatically over time and Lukas used some cute story telling techniques to aid her transformation, one example is her chosen career and how that changes as she does.

I was sad to see so little of Adrienne, she felt distant and I struggled to care enough about her to want Robin to uproot her entire existence in favour of this stranger.

The Writing Style

Renée J Lukas can write. There are moments in the book where I found myself stopping to enjoy the use of the language, for example – “a late-forties Scarlet O’Hara” – what a perfect description.

Another piece that had me enthralled was this one – “She had that charisma up-and-comers like Peter could only wish for – the kind where the air actually seemed to change color the moment she entered a room.”

That kind of language use makes me want to wrap myself up in her words so that I can snuggle with them.

A down side to this novel was that Lukas didn’t continue this level of spectacular writing to the end of the book. After the first couple of chapters the writing flattens out. It’s not bad. It’s decent, but it lacks the flair that I so enjoyed in the first few chapters.

The Pros

It’s a worthwhile read. The story was interesting, the main character transformation was satisfying and deep, and the pacing was good. The way Lukas told the story kept me turning the page.

You can tell that she is familiar with the art of telling a story. There was depth to the piece that you don’t get from most lesbian romances.

[tweetthis]…. the kind where the air actually seemed to change color the moment she entered the room.[/tweetthis]

The Cons

I was sad that the writing flair didn’t continue past the beginning of the novel.

The Conclusion

I enjoyed Hurricane Days by Renée J Lukas.

Get it if you are looking for a story with a fascinating character transformation and an interesting dilemma.

I suspect that we will see great things from Lucas if the beginning of this novel was anything to go by.

Also, I really like the cover – well done Bella Books.

Excerpt from Hurricane Days by Renée J Lukas

Never show them a moment of doubt. She once did an entire television interview, calm and poised, with a beetle squirming in her shoe. Anyone who knew her freakish bug phobia would have been impressed to know that.

Tonight she was throwing one of her famous galas at the mansion. She’d become well known for these events. She’d always had a flair for throwing parties and impressing people. As she always told her staff: “This isn’t politics, it’s show business.”

Robin was a commanding presence everywhere she went, a late-forties Scarlett O’Hara, with thick, dark hair, medium-length – styled conservatively, of course – and stunning ice-blue eyes that always seemed to throw others off balance. She had that charisma up-and-comers like Peter could only wish for – the kind where the air actually seemed to change color the moment she entered the room.

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