All the Wrong Places by Karin Kallmaker is a steamy romance novel about Brandy Monsoon, a fitness instructor at a Florida resort who is looking for love in all the wrong places. Brandy gives sex “lessons” to the curious and primarily straight women who frequent Club Sandzibel. After one of her morning stretch classes, Brandy gives a quick lesson to a guest named Paige, but soon tires of such dalliances, “… the allure of straight-but-looking-for-thrills Paiges had paled along the way” (p. 4). During breaks and time off, Brandy hangs out, and ultimately falls in love with her best friend Tess, a fellow instructor who sleeps around—with men! Will Brandy ever find her true love?

The tropical setting for All the Wrong Places makes you feel like packing up and heading for a vacation to the alluring paradise, especially when the Ladies on Vacation Enterprises (LOVE), a large group of lesbians, heads for some fun in the sun. Brandy cannot believe her luck when she discovers Club Sandzibel will be host to the members of LOVE for a whole week. One of the guests happens to be the famous lesbian comedienne, Celine Griffin. When Celine shows an interest in Brandy, it’s her dream come true and the fantasy of a lifetime fulfilled. Will a tryst with Celine be enough to satisfy Brandy over the long run?

Kallmaker frequently had me laughing out loud, for instance, when Brandy thinks,  “…I didn’t think I could ask her to do that for me through some sort of cling plastic wrap…I mean, it’s just not what most people think of when they’re glad they’ve got Glad” (p. 56). When I wasn’t laughing, I was engrossed in the plot. It was easy to root for Brandy’s success at finding love and resolving her issues with her homophobic family, while at the same time enjoying some hot sex scenes. The most notable performance is between Brandy and Celine, (you may want to read this one twice!), but the romps between Brandy and Tess were equally sexy and even more appealing because of love. Kallmaker’s style is clear, crisp, believable, and fun.

All the Wrong Places is a 2005 winner of the Golden Crown Literary Society Award for Romance/Erotic Love Stories as well as a Lambda Literary Award finalist in two categories, Erotica and Romance. It exceeded my expectations in both categories. Kallmaker is a prolific writer who is not only a crowd pleaser, but in my opinion, a great storyteller. You can read All the Wrong Places in one sitting, but you’ll want to savor each delectable detail. Kallmaker deserves her numerous accolades, and I’m sure her loyal fans will just love this one as well. All the Wrong Places is recommended for both serious fans of erotica and romance as well as anyone who enjoys good, hot storytelling.