Walsh is a great author. One that I have come to appreciate. She makes her characters very lifelike. I also like the way she describes her characters jobs. Although they may not be the fanciest of occupoations you come to understand and enjoy what they do.

For me, Walsh makes me feel this is more than fiction but more realistic.

A gardener and an actress. Do they match or is it unreachable?
My only real complaint was they spent a lot of time in their heads, trying to work out what they did wrong and right in the past. This part I felt Walsh over done. Why worry about the past you can't change it. Yes you can improve but each relationship is different. Those past wrongs may never see the light of day again.

Overall an enjoyable read. I look forward to reading Walsh again.

Arden is a gardener at the local park, following in her grandad’s footsteps. She has a creative spark but resists adding her own design to the landscaping despite her obvious skills. Lithia Park is the home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s open-air performances, with which she has a love hate relationship; she adores Shakespeare and sees every show, but hates the transient nature of the company – including her parents who left her behind for the bright lights elsewhere.

Every year she has a short relationship with one of the cast or crew, and each year gets hurt when they leave. So when she meets Emilie rehearsing in the Park she is determined to keep her emotional distance.

Emile has recently escaped a domineering relationship where she was constantly second and is resolutely staying single and putting herself and her career first. She sees the season in Oregon as a last chance to establish the career she too easily gave up to follow her heart. So the stage is set but the players determined to resist, always a clear sign they are drawn to each other despite their best intentions.

Karis Walsh write some of the best descriptive settings and scenes out there. Her use of colour, visual narrative and the senses draws us in to the scene and makes it real, to the point you could walk round the park or through the backstage theatre in your mind long after the scene is over.

Her characters are similarly well drawn; rounded, flawed and both have lessons to learn and growing to do. The small supporting cast of established locals and the Shakespeare company are equally well sketched and add to the colour and flavour of the whole.

Well written and edited, Walsh’s romances flow across the page with delightful ease. A mixture of humour and angst, self-doubt and learning, the main characters form a solid friendship and support each other’s professional development, grounding the whole in a sense of reality.

I never miss a new Karis Walsh and she continues to deliver new characters, setting and plots with consistently good stories and charming romance.

The Shakespeare Festival setting was very interesting and felt so real. Both leads were well developed and you could see them grow as characters throughout the novel. They also had great chemistry. This slow burn romance made a great summer read.

This was phenomenally written, I wish it were longer! In general, I would love to spend more time in this world!

DNF @ 36%. This was just really boring. The theatre aspect is falling flat because I feel like we see a lot of "I just had a really horrible rehearsal" or "The way she acted was so sincere" (these are made up quotes but you get the gist) but not the real PROCESS of acting and rehearsing which is what I wanted from it.
And don't get me started on the romance. Over a third into it we're still at the exact same point we started at? Both like each other AND THEY KNOW IT and they're already involved but they don't wanna date because they don't wanna get hurt... guurl, your ass is already in too deep, you're gonna get hurt anyway. JUST MAKE OUT ALREADY.

Overall nothing about this book is exactly BAD (so far) but it was just really, REALLY boring.

I really like Walsh's books. I enjoy her writing style and have never been disappointed in a book of hers. I think she did a fantastic job of creating a beautiful setting in this book. Walsh can write in such a way that even the smallest details are easily pictured by the reader. This isn't an easy task and she really is great at it. I enjoyed both characters but Arden was by far my favorite. If you have read other books by this author and enjoyed them this one should be added to your read list. Like her other books the writing is solid, and I will continue to look forward to Walsh's future books.

Stevie‘s review of Set the Stage by Karis Walsh
Contemporary Lesbian Romance published by Bold Strokes Books 14 Nov 17

I’m a sucker for anything to do with Shakespeare, in print as well as on stage and screen, and that extends to stories set around Shakespearian performers and performances, as in this story. However, it’s only now as I’m writing this review that I discover that the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a real thing, and one that I blatantly need to go to (once you guys over there find yourselves a better President anyway). Not knowing anything about Ashland or the Festival, I can’t vouch for how much of this story stays true to the real place and event, but it certainly made me want to find out more. Onto the story itself…


Emilie Danvers quits her temporary job in a fast food joint in order to join this year’s company putting on the Festival. Although she had acting successes in the past, she dropped out of her career while touring Europe with her more ambitious actor ex, whose acting jobs dictated where the pair lived at any given time, to the detriment of Emilie’s attempts to audition for her own parts. Now she’s got a second chance, Emilie is determined to take whatever roles are offered to her during the Festival and then move on to whatever comes her way afterwards, no matter where those next roles might take her.

As well as multiple theatres, the Ashland of this story also features Lithia Park (another real-life landmark, I find), and this is where we meet the other heroine of our story, Arden Philips. Raised by her grandfather after her parents left her to continue their lives as touring actors, Arden has followed the old man into a career in park maintenance. Although her grandfather created a number of gardens within the park, Arden has so far limited herself to tending the plants that are already in place, adding new ones only as areas or beds become depleted. Arden has an interest in the Festival and the actors who come to Ashland each spring, but has no intention of ever letting one break her heart, much less take her away from the town she loves.

When Emilie arrives in town, she and Arden quickly strike up a friendship that blossoms into romance. They support and encourage each other to take risks and overcome their career-related fears; however, neither is willing to commit to anything longer term than the length of the Festival, since both are unprepared to compromise their career or lifestyle for the other.

While I loved all the descriptions of the plays, the gardens and the other aspects of Ashland, I found the two heroines a little tedious in their respective commitment phobias. I also felt that Arden’s friends were deeply annoying with their various in-jokes and teasing of Emilie over conversations she had no knowledge of. All in all, not the author’s best work, but I do at least have a future holiday destination to ponder.

Grade: C

This wasn't the first book of Karis Walsh's I've read but it is the most memorable. I liked all the characters in this novel as well as what they did. On to the next one.

This novel was about Emilie and Arden. Emilie is an actor who has had a rough go of it recently and is sort of trying to get back on track in her career and life. Then she walks into the park where Arden is one of the groundskeepers. They meet and while they both seem to want to start a relationship, they also have some super baggage to get through first, and so they decide to be friends. But, this is a romance book, and so that only lasts so long and then all sorts of stuff is stirred up between them and within themselves.

I liked the characters especially, and the fact that the park itself really came across as a character too. Now that Japanese Garden, I could totally see it in my head.

The plot was interesting too, and her and there I was surprised by which way it went, so that was nice as well.

It was a fun read. Nothing earth-shattering, but reading it put a smile on my face.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.

I have to say this book was engaging and I’m thankful for this read. It really pulls your attention in and what a unique thing but relatable from when you’re getting by in a fast food restaurant to living your dream and suddenly falling in love.

I was unable to review this book because of a conflict in my schedule. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused the publisher or the author of the work. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review for you and I look forward to reviewing for you in the future.

I really enjoyed this book, the first by Karis Walsh I've read. The description of Ashland and the Shakespeare Festival felt very real to me. I thought the character arcs through the story were realistic. And what's more I liked the characters, which made it an enjoyable read.

Emilie is finishing her shift at a fast food restaurant. Emilie is giving her two week notice as she is returning to her true passion the stage to act at the Oregon Shakespeare festival. Emilie had been a promising actress but had given up her career to follow her then girlfriend to Europe . But they didn't end up working out. Emilie had more scars than happy memories from her ex girlfriend. Now Emilie is getting a second chance at acting and she is very excited. Arden was a gardener/ groundskeeper/artist who works in the nearby- to where the festival is being held- Lithia Park. Arden has a history of dating actresses but only ends up being heartbroken. Emilie has already signed a contract for the Shakespeare festival. EWnilie is determined to concentrate in her acting no romance. Arden had followed her grandfather around Lithia Park and watched the work he did. But her grandfather had passed away now. Then Arden went to school and got a degree in Arden was used to people leaving her. Arden’s parents had left her with her grandparents to pursue their own careers when Arden was about four. Arden stumbles across Emilie for the time when Emilie is in the park practicing one of her roles. Emilie and Arden are immediately attracted to each other but Emilie says they can only be friends.
I liked this book for the most part just not into reading about lesbians and their romantic relationships. I did feel this was well written. I also like how the setting was portrayed. This book lacked passion but considering about a lesbian couple that was okay with me, I also liked the double POVS. I did like the romance was slow burning. But I did think there was too much repetition about Arden’s and Emilie’s issues.
I liked this book for the most part. I liked there wasn’t a lot of sex involved. I don’t judge women together I just don’t want to read about it. I did like how Arden and Emilie supported each other. I loved the ins and outs of this story and I recommend it.

I've read all the books written by Karis Walsh, so when I got the chance to read her new book 'Set The Stage’ I knew I won't be disappointed. I wasn't. Meet Emilie Dancer, a actress who decided to follow her girlfriend to Europe only to lose the person she was. Arden Phillips works as a landscaper in Lithia Park close to where Emilie finds work with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Arden was raised by her grandparents when her parents decide to follow their dreams, leaving Arden behind. This book is another great read by KW. I'm hoping she writes a book with Arden's friends, Rebecca and Marty. Something tells me their lives would also make a great story.

Walsh is the kind of author I’ve come to enjoy because she dependable when it comes to needing a book that provides a decent romantic storyline that feels breezy and well written. The one you want to read on a bright, shiny day that will make you feel just as warm and sunshiny on the inside as you are experiencing on the outside. No stressed out, drama filled, angst ridden plots for her and this one continues in that tradition.

Settings are an artwork for her as she creates these places that feel so real and vivid you wish you could hop in a car or plane to go walk where her characters are to experience what they get to on the pages of her book. I really wanted to attend the Shakespeare Festival by the time I was finished reading this.

Her character work is as good as the places she’s created so they feel like realistic people making the whole picture enjoyable. What Emilie is going through, trying to regain some control in her life, is something most of us have been through so how she has her handling it and how she feels is believable. Arden hasn’t seemed to have learned from her past dating history, something we can all again relate to, so you both want to tell her to stop repeating the same choices but encourage her as well because this time it might actually be worth it.

I liked how their relationship played out and where Walsh took them as individuals and as a potential love interest for the other.

If you’ve read and loved her books before then you’ll feel good about this one too.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36472577-set-the-stage" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Set the Stage" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1508903578m/36472577.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36472577-set-the-stage">Set the Stage</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/2182622675">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Once again Ms. Walsh scores with an enjoyable romance set in the world of Theatre. A quiet, slow read that does not disappoint with leads Emilie and Arden.<br />3.5 stars.<br /><br />I rec'd an ARC from NetGalley/Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31134832-gail">View all my reviews</a>

Theatre with a lesbian romance. Set the Stage incorporates theatre into the narrative really well. Emilie's love for theatre is a big part of the narrative and it leads to a slow burn element to the romance. Both Emilie and Arden have a certain amount of baggage and why the romance takes it time to really come.

But the author took the perfect amount of time. Both characters needed time to work through their baggage before getting to the relationship. For Emilie it was that she wanted to focus on her career and her a certain amount of insecurity due to wanting to work hard to being a successful theatre actor. Arden has fears Emilie will leave right after they form a relationship. Both of their feelings make sense and their journey through it was well done.

I enjoyed both of the characters. I loved Emilie's passion for theatre especially. And I liked how Arden had a certain boldness to her. I also thought the lesbian rep was done pretty well. 

If you're looking for a f/f romance with a theatre element, I definitely recommend.

ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I like Karis Walsh novels, the characters are generally interesting and she takes time to build the relationships between them. That’s a feature of this story as well. Emilie is an actress taking a second shot at her career and Arden works at the local park and wants to stay in one spot due to abandonment issues. Both women have issues actually and they are in direct counter point, so it seems as though they shouldn’t be together, only problem is they have an instant connection and genuinely like each other.

I found the beginning/middle of their relationship lovely and sweet and filled with some charming dialogue. The end played out much as expected (although it didn’t end quite as I expected, so I was happy to be a bit surprised there). And there was still the obligatory break up that probably could have ended sooner if they had both been a bit braver but it didn’t bog the book down.

There was a lot of repetition around the issues both women had though, and it did get a bit tiresome. The supporting characters also didn’t have much to do other than pop up when the two main characters needed someone else to talk to.

Still the romance was sweet, and I enjoyed both the theatrical and park backgrounds. The chemistry between the characters was believable (so much so that I was surprised by the relative lack of sex scenes). Overall, it’s a nice sweet romance, but could have used a bit less introspection. 3.5 stars, rounded up.