Just Enough Light

Just Enough Light by AJ Quinn (Bold Stroke Books) is a romantic thriller between two women working at an isolated Search and Rescue center in the Rockies. The setting is captivating, the romance challenging and satisfying...
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If you want to be immersed in the immediacy of Search and Rescue, give witness to very raw struggles for characters with painful pasts, and can handle the suspense of a sniper lurking in the snowy mountains, then Kellen and Dana’s romance will eat up your whole weekend. And hopefully you have a rescue dog like Bogart to keep you safe.

Reviewed by Danika Ellis

...Just Enough Light is a really nice romance with a bit of drama, a splash of action and a dash of thriller thrown in.

Kellan Ryan endured a horrible childhood, one most of us could never fathom. She's a survivor; although, like a wounded animal, she's ready to run again should the need arise.

Dana Kingston is a successful doctor who has stepped away from the life her parents mapped out for her. Instead of following in her father's footsteps of being a cardiologist, Dana preferred to focus on trauma working in an ER before moving to Haven.

...I'm sort of hoping this will turn into a SAR series (one can only hope).

Reviewed by Kellie Starr

Just Enough Light by A.J. Quinn is a wonderful contemporary romance with a dash of suspense and mystery.

Kellen Ryan has taken the survival skills she learned on the streets and used them to create an elite search-and-rescue operation, as well as the first home she’s known in forever—a sanctuary in Haven, Colorado, high in the Rockies. A small mountain town was the last place Harvard-educated Dr. Dana Kingston expected to find herself. Still, when she’s offered an opportunity to partner with Kellen’s operation and develop a medical triage center, Dana follows her heart. Dana falls hard and fast for the enigmatic Kellen. But she quickly realizes Kellen’s heart is as carefully guarded as her past, and breaking through will take time. Except time is the one thing they may not have, because a deadly threat has returned, and this time he plans to finish what he started.

Just Enough Light is a story with wonderfully complex characters. Kellen has survived much, a horrible home life, time on the streets, and a fall that would have killed most people. However, she is still determined to help others and rescue everyone she can, even when it means putting herself at risk. The only thing she really does not want to face is her past. Dana is a doctor that wants to live her life for herself and make her own decisions. Working with Search and Rescue in the Rockies seems like a great way to start over. She did not expect to need rescuing, or to fall in love. But, life and love seem to have their own ideas. Finding their footing in their working roles, and in the relationship has its pitfalls. But when danger comes too close for comfort the past must be confronted and Kellen needs to face down more than a grieving murderer, she also needs to face her past and decide if she is ready to stick around and forge a brighter future. A great love story, and interesting mystery, and a look at characters with different backgrounds and history. I really enjoyed the look at how the past can shape our present, but that we have control over who we become. I also found that I loved the pure honesty ad organic nature of the love story. At no point did the fact that the romantic interests were both woman become the major point of the story. They are just two people in love. That is beautiful. Too often the heart of the story gets lost in the gender, sexual orientation, or race of a character rather than just enjoying that we are all people and none of that really matters.

Just Enough Light is a well-told romance. I like that the psychological scars of the characters are addressed, but at no point is that the main point of the story. The love story was just so natural and organic that any aspect of the story that might otherwise override it just melted away. Great writing, I look forward to more from the author.

Reviewed by Sharon Tyler

Kellan Ryan runs a Search and rescue operation using the survivor skills she had to learn as a teen. She expands the SAR operation to include a medical triage center for better and faster treatment for the people they rescue. Dana Kingston is hired to help start the triage center. She is trying to get away from her parents high expectations and pressure by starting over some place new.

I enjoyed this book the chemistry between Kellan and Dana was great and I loved the characters especially Kellan and her chosen family. Kellan and the girls were very loyal to each other. Dana fit in well with them despite them growing up so differently.

The descriptions of the SAR Operations and Kellan's survival skills were very interesting. The plot moved along at a nice pace and kept my attention.

I recommend this book to readers of lesbian romance unless you are triggered by child abuse.

Reviewed by Dawn Owens

"Just Enough Light" takes readers on a search and rescue mission for more than just lost adventurers. Dr. Dana Kingston, Harvard-educated, takes charge of a medical triage center in a small Colorado town. She wants to escape from the controls of her family and discover her true passions. Upon arrival in Colorado, she falls hard and fast for Kellen Ryan, one of the elite search and rescue team members she works with. The attraction is mutual, yet events conspire to keep the relationship from entering the next level of emotional intimacy. It's full of intrigue and romance as events snowball.

Reviewed by Julie Thompson