Between Girlfriends by Elizabeth Dean

Publisher/Date:  Kensington Publishing Corporation, May 2004
Genre:  Romance
Pages:  264

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Elizabeth Dean has become one of my favorite authors. Her uproarious first novel, It’s in Her Kiss, paired a contemporary theme with an intelligent storyline, and created a first-rate book.

And BETWEEN GIRLFRIENDS is no different.

This story is about the lives of four lesbians who are smart, attractive and very with-it. Gracy is the narrator, a freelance writer who meets Blair, Parker, and Leslie at a New Year’s Eve Party. The four become fast friends and soon share everything – their lives, their loves, their joys, and their pains. It’s touching to find a group of hip lesbians, but I’m not quite sure how realistic.

Lesbians do bond quickly; in fact, it’s the basis of most of our relationships: quick, quick, and quicker. Yet I’m not quite sure how often a group of this make up comes together. Let’s see. There’s Gracy, a writer (white); Parker is a rich, white businesswoman with a horny appetite; Lindsey (white) is a lawyer who doesn’t take many risks in life, and Blair is a black schoolteacher who is so prudent and prissy. Could this makeup really happen? I guess. I do applaud Dean for showing and embracing diversity. Some “authors” wouldn’t dare take that chance.

Beyond that, the novel was highly entertaining. I loved the jokes, the witty banter and the discussion of today’s lesbian lifestyles. A lot of their points I agreed with wholeheartedly, like how lesbians move fast in relationships, how to find a “single” lesbian with no issues, and how lesbians never quite seem to let go of their exes. I just really had a lot of fun with this book. The story was truthful in its observations of our species, but didn’t take itself too seriously.

In fact, I could call Between Girlfriends the lesbian Sex and the City.

Oh wait, we already have The L Word.

Reviewed March-April 2006

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.