Jaime Samms

I only read about half the stories in this anthology. It's mostly a mixed bag. There were a couple I really like (one particular stand-out story is Clare London's "Say a Little Prayer"), most were just ok. With such short stories, I felt a lot of the sex scenes were totally unnecessary, and some stories seemed to be set up around the sex scene, with character/plot background just to pad it out so it wouldn't be totally about gratuitous porn. Meh, most of these were not really my taste, I suppose.

J.P. Barnaby, "End of the World As We Know It". Did not finish. The age gap involving a minor really puts me off.

J.C. Chase, "Open Tackle". 2 stars. The relationship between best friends and football teammates Owen and Rory change when Owen confesses his feelings for Rory, then runs off after taking Rory's stunned silence for a rejection. A basic misunderstanding plot, really common in yaoi manga, which I find rather unrealistic and gets resolved fairly quickly.

Jaya Christopher, "Cody and the Hermit". 2 stars. Cowboy Cody pines after a former childhood friend and longtime crush when said crush returns to his hometown after several years away. I didn't really find this one believable at all. The sex scene was also clearly tacked on and didn't really add anything to the story.

Poppy Dennison, "Blindsided". 3 stars. Boxer/fighter Noah is nervous about his upcoming fight, his fellow boxer comforts him. This is a plot that I like a lot and wish I could read as a full novel. As a short story, the ending is too easy and unsatisfying and would be better if it was more developed.

Rachel Haimowitz, "Jungle Heat". 2 stars. American Ranger Pete gets captured by a drug cartel, is given cocaine and raped. The story completely falls apart at the end when the love interest (a fellow Ranger) comes to save him, confesses and suddenly everything's ok???

Jambrea Jo Jones, "Wild Blue Yonder". 2 stars. Bruce leaves his lover and fellow soldier Rick when it seems like Rick can't offer him the commitment he wants.

Marguerite Labbe, "Tears of the Sea". 2 stars. David is tied up by Liam, his crush and the husband of his husband's twin brother, in an attempt to make him remember memories he lost. An interesting enough idea but terribly executed. It dragged on way too long and wasn't particularly well-written.

Clare London, "Say A Little Prayer". 5 stars. While working a summer job, Jonathan finds a winged and naked man on the beach waiting just for him. This was a real gem of a short story and absolutely compelling from beginning to end. I like how the "mystery" unravels itself slowly and allowed for the development of some really delicious tension and heat. This was also one story where the sex scene felt like it was important and fit into the story rather than being a gratuitous scene added in. (Ironically, this is one story where I wouldn't have minded more sex-- I guess because I was very invested in the two characters.) Lovely writing and wonderful story overall. I will definitely check out more of this author's work.

M.J. O'Shea, "Bridges". 2 stars. I've read this one before, my review is here. Sweet but ultimately forgettable tale of two enemies turned lovers.

Devon Rhodes, "His Last Resort". 3 stars. A college freshman comes out to his roomate.

Andrea Speed, "My Bloody Valentine". 4 stars. Cody takes Drew to an abandoned house for some spooky fun. Super short but packs a real punch.

V.J. Summers, "Liar, Liar". DNF. Didn't like the writing.

Bryl R. Tyne, "Alipio". 3 stars. A very poetic and dream-like short story about an artist who becomes infatuated with the slave who is his model.… (altro)

It's a short, (66 actual pages even on audio), sweet, heartwarming romance. Eugene was a fantastic character and I really liked that the reader got to know him so well in spite of the shortness of the book. His ingenuity for turning scrapped building materials into the makings of a home was quite interesting. As a conservation biologist, I absolutely loved his idea. His resources were quite limited, so he also did the majority of the labor on his own and used the land’s terrain in the design of the house rather than destroying the landscape. The one thing that I didn't especially care for was how much he constantly worried about his past bad luck ruining all his newfound good luck. His failure to communicate with Cullen...the guy that was quickly claiming his heart...nearly causes him to torpedo their fragile, fledgling relationship before his bad luck can do it. It does have a happy ever after and I look forward to revisiting with Eugene and Cullen another time.… (altro)