Despite there being numerous likeable elements, I really couldn’t get into this unfortunately. I DNF’ed it around 60%. Just wasn’t for me I guess and I can’t really pinpoint what it was exactly because it was in several story elements that I just found things that couldn’t really get my in its grip. The characters weren’t really likeable to me for an instance, and those are always a big part of a reading experience for me. It was my first time reading this author, not sure if I’ll pick up another one in the future. Maybe this author’s writing just isn’t for me?

Almost four years, so alas it’s safe to say this has fallen to the wayside a bit. My fault, not the book’s fault. I hope to find the time for it in the future — that magical future when everything has its season.

Seascape is a charming romance that is well written and has some great characters. It has a couple of slow spots, but don't let that stop you from the finish line.

I really enjoy Walsh’s books but I have to say this was not one of my favorites. I don’t know what it is that didn’t click for me. It wasn’t a bad story but it was just missing something. Maybe more dialogue would have helped to make this flow better.

Stevie‘s review of Seascape by Karis Walsh
Contemporary Lesbian Romance published by Bold Strokes Books 11 Dec 18

When I think of Karis Walsh novels, the two aspects that distinguish them from those of many authors are the interactions of the characters with their environment, both the scenery and the plants and animals that live in it. This book has all of that in abundance, as well as a pair of heroines who are rethinking their careers and their place in the world.

Brittany James is a chemist working in a research lab, who is frequently called to give evidences in cases where her employer has been accused of causing harm to people or the environment. She loves both aspects of her job, right up to the point where the photographs of dead wildlife presented in court by the other side provoke an extreme emotional reaction. Unable to face returning to work, Britt takes a period of extended leave to consider her options, beginning with using some of her squirrelled-away bonus payments to set up a charitable grant for an organisation working to improve the environment. She chooses the Olympic Peninsula by chance as a place to stay while she considers her options, and there encounters Tess Hansen.

Tess is an academic researching orcas, who has taken a leave of absence in order to return home and care for her parents after her father injured his back in a fall. Although she and Britt are attracted to each other, Tess has a far more casual approach to dating than does Britt and so they agree not to pursue the connection during their respective stays in town. As her father begins to make progress toward recovery, Tess visits the local marine research station, hoping that a few hours volunteering there will aid both them and her. She is excited to discover that some of their projects could potentially overlap with hers, particularly when she hears of a grant that might fund an expansion of the work.

When the women realise that Tess is an applicant for Britt’s grant, they begin to develop a deeper friendship, and Britt’s various efforts to ensure that all potential recipients get to show their projects in the best possible light lead to new connections being formed between the various charities and wildlife organisations. In the end it’s Britt that decides to move the relationship onward on a temporary basis, just as Tess has started to consider the possibility of something more serious.

Ultimately, they find a solution that suits them both, and gives Britt a potential new career direction, all with the help of a couple of characters from one of the author’s previous books. I plan to read that one soon.


Grade: B

Seascape is a sweet contemporary f/f romance in which both the main characters have interesting and developed arcs outside of the romance, which I really appreciate. Tess and Britt both felt more well-rounded than a lot of f/f romance protagonists and I appreciated that they took their time learning about themselves and each other before becoming romantically involved. Following these characters as they learned what really made them happy was incredibly sweet. I loved the ocean-adjacent setting and the focus on caring for the environment (which never felt preachy). I can see myself rereading this when I'm looking for a slow, sweet story with an emphasis on self-understanding. (One note: I could have done without the implication of a ~mystical Native American, even if the character in question could have been faking it to take advantage of tourists' racist assumptions, but as a white person, it's not my call.)

This book was nice and soothing to read, like a comfy blanket of lesbian romance. It was pretty slow, however, and the sexual tension between the characters was just so-so for me.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43157431-seascape" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Seascape" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1544655218m/43157431.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43157431-seascape">Seascape</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4595785.Karis_Walsh">Karis Walsh</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2677112230">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I rec'd a copy from NetGalley/Bold Strokes Books for an unbiased review. No synopsis needed.<br />An angst filled romance with beautifully written descriptions of the northwest environment. The storyline dragged somewhat where the relationship between leads Tess (marine biologist) and Brittany (chemist) was concerned and family interactions seemed stilted. I would've liked more dialogue between the main characters but the overall theme of chemical companies and accountability (or lack thereof) re the environment held my interest. Ms. Walsh always covers interesting topics and this was no exception. 3 stars.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31134832-gail">View all my reviews</a>

Loved this book. This was a new genre to me and the way the story flowed drew me in. I loved the setting and the environmental awareness that showed through the prose really let me fall in love.

I can honestly say I’m a fan of Ms Walsh’s work, so when I got the chance to read this new book I couldn’t wait. Starting with Marine Biologist Tess Hansen who left her home in Washington’s Northwest Peninsula hoping to never have to return again. Growing up there was enough for her but when she’s call to come help with her father who’s in poor health she doesn’t feel she has much choice but to go. There she meets Chemist Britt James who needed to escape, go somewhere where she can think. She needs to decide just what direction she needs to take now that she’s finally reached the end in her career. She can’t go on lying about the damage being done to the environment by the company she works for. As with most books done by Ms Walsh I always come away feeling like I actually learned something. This one isn’t any different. Great read. Very enjoyable.
ARC via NetGalley

3.5/5

Marine biologist Tess Hansen is forced to move back to her hometown and leave her job in Evergreen College to take care of her parents. Chemist Britt James is looking for solitude to find herself and make some choices that could change her life. When Tess and Britt meet, they can't seem to find their attraction.

The different settings and descriptions were beautiful and entertaining but I think it went a bit too long. The writing is great and has a great flow.

However, I was a bit bored with some parts of the book. There wasn't enough dialogue or interaction between the main characters, something I think it is important, specially when developing a romance story. I think a bit more interaction between the main characters would have made this book perfect and sweet.

This book was given to me as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Marine biologist and Orca specialist Tess meets guilt-ridden industrial chemist Britt one day on a Washington Pacific beach – and the attraction is instant. Yet both women are running and not sure what they are looking for. Seascape is a great book. Although this is definitely a romance, and quite a good one at that, the epic setting and subject are what nudges this towards five stars. The atmosphere is captured so well, with vivid descriptions of the scenery and people, that I could easily picture being there. I had to look it all up online afterwards! I got a real feel for the precarious balance of nature in the Pacific North-West and this added interest for me. Definitely recommended and I loved it, four stars plus a bonus one.

That was a nice regular sort of lesfic romance.

It's about Tess and Britt. Both women are at a turning point in their lives. Britt is a chemist who is very good at convincing juries that the company she works for isn't totally evil and because of that she has some illish gotten money burning a hole in her pocket and she wants to give it (as a one time grant) to a good cause.

Tess has her whole life worked out, then she gets called home to help with her Dad's recovery at the same time she finds herself at a Killer Whale research station and applies for Britt's grant.

The only thing is though that they've met before they meet for the grant interview, and, both times it was really really awkward. Thankfully their interview for the grant sets them on a slightly different path and resets their journey towards each other.

It was an interesting look at a lot of different animals. The main characters were interesting (always a good thing). I would have loved to see more of the Tess Family stuff though. There was so much set up with Tess and her Dad and then very minimal follow through on his subplot. I felt like it was something missing from the novel.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books

A great romance to warm your heart on a cold winter night. This was my first from karis Walsh I'm putting her on my list of favorite writers.

I was really excited to read this story having grown up in the Pacific Northwest and having such a love for whales. I absolutely love the Puget Sound and San Juan Islands and would love to see the resident orcas someday, so any part of the book that talked about the whale research or sightings was fun and interesting to read. I even learned a few things about orcas..
The storyline was not a disappointment but it just didn’t really excite me and the romance was a bit of a slow build. That being said, I would still recommend this book to anyone who loves whales!
Thank you to Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for the chance to read this e-copy in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are my own.
LanaLCole@yahoo.com

I thoroughly enjoyed the development of all the characters and their relationships. There were a lot to keep up with, but it never got confusing.

The handling of Britt's realization of the harm done by her company and the steps she goes through to mitigate it were very well done - including Tess's assurance that it was perfectly okay that she came to the realization when she did - even though Tess initially criticized her former job.

So many romance books focus on just the main characters, and just on the romance and sex. This book has them - separately and together - spending quality time with others. And spending quality time together doing regular activities that don't necessarily scream "romance!" In this way, it was much more "real life" than so many other romance books. And I, for one, thoroughly appreciated that.

This is the first Karis Walsh book I've read, and it won't be the last. I also wanted to mention that *so* many of her book covers draw you in.

This was a very sweet book. I did not know what to expect when I first started it, but Karis Walsh has written a few of my favorite lesfic books, so I knew I had to read this. The two main characters were okay, but I really liked Kelly the best even though she was a minor character. I felt like Tess's reasons for leaving her family were really thin and a little immature sounding which she ultimately acknowledged near the end of the book.

This is a book about a woman Brittany who runs away from home after realizing that everything she has ever stood for is a lie and she has been okay with her entire working life. She goes off the deep end though and tries to do all of the "good" things at once. She is a little lost and unbalanced for most of the book, but I found he character arc to be the most satisfying. I did think her wanting to be a vegetarian was a little much, and at first she just seemed to be drifting, but ultimately she does some good and finds the love of he life along the way.

Tess wasn't the most enjoyable of characters, but she was alright. She was consistent in the story, and that made it enjoyable.

This was a solid book by an excellent writer, I really enjoyed it. It was a very sweet romance.

This book was given to me as an ARC from NetGalley and BoldStrokes books in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 Stars. This book was okay. It was about a marine biologist, Tess Hansen who has to come back to her hometown to take care of her ill father and Britt James, a chemist who is going through a crisis after realizing she is working for a side of chemistry. Tess and Britt meet at the beach, where Tess looks like she is going to jump into the ocean. They flirt with each other, but Britt catches on and does not want a fling with Tess. They wind up meeting up again and again since they are both in the small town. Britt just winds up there after driving and driving and not knowing what to do with her life. Britt and Tess wind up connected through Britt's grant and spend more time together.

I only thought this book was okay for a couple reasons. There was a lot of talk about marine biology, which did not interest me at all. Another reason is that Tess and Britt did not have enough interactions, in my opinion. They had some interactions, but it seemed like it focused on other things, which makes sense, but I just didn't feel their relationship. Their interactions were good and I sort of felt like their relationship and interactions evolved, but it took a while to get there. I was reading and reading to get to when they actually interact and start spending more time together. I am not sure I would recommend it.

‘Seascape’ has the most beautiful setting and that drew me into the story right away. Tess is a marine biologist forced to go back to her home town to help with a family crisis. Forks is the wettest place in the entire United States and holds no excitement for her and no chance to date. Or so she thinks. Britt is a woman facing her own crisis and ends up in the area, trying to decide what to do with her life. Their interactions are light and flirty at first but there is always an undercurrent that promises more.

The strength of this novel is the way Karis Walsh has woven beauty, romance and an absolutely fascinating and enlightening environmental story together. Both Tess and Britt grow so much as they begin to question the choices they have made. I enjoyed going on that journey with them. I also found myself immersed in the world of killer whales, wolves and the fragile ecosystem of the Pacific Northwest. A really lovely story.

I was given this ARC to review.

I enjoy Karis Walsh's books, and while I liked this one, it's not my favorite of hers. Seemed a bit disjointed and moved pretty slowly. I did enjoy the character development and the setting. Secondary characters were very likable too. Might have one too many environmental PSAs for some readers.