Touchwood Review — Is It Worth Reading?

Verdict: A genuine classic of lesbian romance — a tender, sensual slow burn between a 29-year-old woodcarver and a closeted bookshop owner in her fifties that still reads well more than thirty years on, with a little early-1990s creak and a Louisa some readers never quite get to know.

Best for: Readers who love May-December romance, bookshops, and romance with real history behind it.

Heat level: Open door (readers flag sexually explicit scenes; no romance.io steam rating)

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.2/5 — a 4.09 Goodreads average across 1,019 ratings, 3.98 on StoryGraph from 145 reviews, and 4.7 stars across 42 Amazon ratings)

Tropes: Age gap (27 years), slow burn, closeted older heroine, forced proximity (landlady and tenant), workplace (bookshop), coming out to family, classic.

Touchwood is Karin Kallmaker’s lesbian romance, first published by Naiad Press in 1991 and reissued by Bella Books in a 30th anniversary edition. Rayann Germaine, 29, walks in on her girlfriend cheating and flees with nowhere to go. Louisa Thatcher, who runs a small bookshop in San Francisco, offers her a room upstairs and a job — and Rayann falls for a woman old enough to be her mother.

It holds a 4.09 average across 1,019 Goodreads ratings, with 76% of them four or five stars, 3.98 on StoryGraph from 145 reviews, and 4.7 stars across 42 Amazon ratings for the anniversary edition.

What Is Touchwood About?

Rayann gave up her woodcarving career to be a lesbian housewife to a woman who then betrayed her. Now she is living over Louisa’s shop, working the till and trying to work out why she cannot stop thinking about her landlady. Louisa, who shared years of her life with a partner, Christine, has spent her life in what she calls two closets — out among lesbian friends, hidden from her son and the wider world.

Everyone has an opinion: friends question the wisdom of it, Rayann’s mother disapproves of a lover her own age, and Louisa’s son is about to learn who his mother really is.

What Makes This Classic Work

The age gap, taken seriously: Readers praise how the difference is treated as a real obstacle rather than ignored or romanticised.
History: Louisa’s generation of closeted lesbians, and what that cost them, is the book’s emotional backbone.
Tenderness: Readers call the love scenes touching and the relationship deeply mature.
Louisa: A lasting fictional crush for many readers.
Audio: Angela Dawe’s narration of the anniversary edition is widely praised.

Book Synopsis

Betrayed by her lover, Rayann Germaine flees in grief and anger. She finds shelter and work with bookshop owner Louisa Thatcher, a woman many years her senior — and soon, against her better judgement, passion.

But their love faces challenges from friends who doubt it, from Rayann’s disapproving mother, from Louisa’s son, and from the gulf of age and experience between two women whose only obvious common ground is an attraction both try to deny.

My Review

What lifts Touchwood above a nostalgia read is that Kallmaker built the generational gap into the love story itself. Rayann’s assumptions about “older lesbians” are challenged, Louisa’s caution is given its history, and readers who were young lesbians in the 1990s repeatedly say it felt like home. Reviewers who came to it new are often surprised by how well it holds up, and it is widely reread.

The criticisms are mostly structural. Nearly all of it is told from Rayann’s point of view, and a few readers say they never understood what she saw in Louisa beyond physical attraction. Communication between the two is frustrating early on, some find it dated, and one reviewer was uncomfortable that Rayann sleeps with Louisa while believing she is in a relationship. For some readers the 27-year gap — Louisa’s son is older than Rayann — is simply a lot to get past.

My honest note: If you read one classic lesbian romance, this is a strong choice.

Element	In Touchwood
Central relationship	Rayann Germaine (29, woodcarver) & Louisa Thatcher (mid-fifties, bookshop owner, mother)
Core tropes	Age gap (27 years), slow burn, closeted older heroine, landlady and tenant
Setting	A small bookshop in San Francisco, around the turn of the 1990s
Heat level	Open door — sensual
Length	About 280 pages; 7 h 48 min audiobook
Series	Standalone — happy ending
Content notes	Infidelity, homophobia and internalised homophobia, family disapproval

How Spicy Is Touchwood?

It is open door, and at least one reader flags sexually explicit scenes. But readers talk about the love scenes as tender and funny rather than steamy set pieces, and the book’s energy goes into the emotional story. Romance.io has no steam rating.

StoryGraph has no submitted content warnings. From reviews: infidelity (Rayann’s ex), homophobia and the costs of the closet, and a disapproving parent.

Who Should Read This Book?

You’ll likely love it if: you want a thoughtful age-gap romance with real stakes and history. It is on our mature lesbian romance list.

You may want to skip it if: large age gaps put you off, or you want a modern, fast-paced romance.

In short: A classic that earns the name.

What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)

On Goodreads the split is 38% five stars, 38% four, 17% three, 4% two and under 1% one. On StoryGraph, 85% tag it emotional, 94% said the character development was strong, and every reader who answered found the characters loveable. The 2021 Tantor audiobook is narrated by Angela Dawe.

Prefer audio? Listen to Touchwood on Libro.fm — the audiobook shop that supports independent bookstores.

Why readers love it (according to the discourse): Louisa first. Second, the history of lesbian life it captures. Third, the tender romance. Fourth, the audiobook.

What readers argue about and complain about: The size of the age gap, above everything. Second, a one-sided point of view. Third, early miscommunication. Fourth, dated elements.

The comparison worth making first: For more Karin Kallmaker, try Wild Things or Roller Coaster. For a modern age-gap romance, try If You Kiss Me Like That.

Frequently Asked Questions

How big is the age gap in Touchwood?

Twenty-seven years. Rayann is 29 and Louisa is in her mid-fifties — a contemporary of Rayann’s mother, with a son older than Rayann.

Is Touchwood dated?

In places, and knowingly so. It was first published in 1991, and readers value it as a window on lesbian life before marriage equality; most say the romance still holds up.

How spicy is Touchwood?

Sensual and open door. Readers flag sexually explicit scenes, but describe them as tender rather than the focus. Romance.io has no steam rating for it.

Is Touchwood on Kindle Unlimited?

Not at the time of writing — the 30th anniversary Kindle edition was listed at $9.99. The Tantor audiobook, narrated by Angela Dawe, runs 7 hours 48 minutes.

Is Touchwood a slow burn?

Yes. Rayann and Louisa live and work together for months before anything happens, and the book spends much of its time on why the age difference matters to them.

If You Loved Touchwood, Read These Next

Try Wild Things or Roller Coaster for more Kallmaker, If You Kiss Me Like That for a contemporary age gap, or our lesbian age-gap romance list. For more, browse our mature lesbian romance list or the full Book Reviews archive.

The Bottom Line

Touchwood sets out to tell a May-December love story honestly, and more than thirty years later it still does. What holds it back is a narrow point of view and some period creak. It is worth it. Check Touchwood on Amazon →