Where He Belongs by Rachel Haimowitz

Where He Belongs by Rachel Haimowitz
Stars: 5/5

Notice: While many people who read this book will be reading it after Anchored, I read it before.
Overall
Whenever I read a story that I either really enjoyed or didn't expect to enjoy, I never know what to say. I don't want to gush over it, because I hate giving high expectations that could lead to disappointment--not because the story isn't good, but because the expectations were so high.

That being said, I did enjoy this collection of five short stories, two chapters from Anchored, and a selection from Counterpunch by Aleksandr Voinov. Aside from her collection of stories Sublime, I haven't read any of Haimowitz' work. That, in addition to coming at this collection backwards (having not read the book it's a prequel to), I was worried I wouldn't get it.

I needn't have. The five stories were delightful, all of them bittersweet with an aftertaste of hope. Although each was only a few pages, the characters leaped off the page and many straight into the heart. The bonus chapter previews were enticing enough that the books are now ensured a higher rank on my to-read list.

One last note: I do enjoy the concept of slaves, in fiction. If this is not to your liking, reconsider reading this (although don't discount it completely).

Strengths
Writing. Each of the stories is short, but the concise yet exploratory writing used every inch of the page to draw out the dynamic of characters and the relationships and show glimpses into a world that the reader wants to see more of:

He looks so sad, standing over there all by himself. Lost, too. This isn't his world, and until he has his letters, it never can be. But the way his calloused fingers caress the books, I know it won't be long. He wants to be one of those boys studying at the table in the corner, surrounded by history and politics and current events.

Characters. While each story is a small glimpse at a life, there isn't a lot of plot to speak of. These short stories are mainly character drawings, snapshots of Daniel's life and the men in them, whether they be friends, future lovers, or keepers. We don't see much of them, but what we do see says a lot about them.

Psychology. The character studies are so interesting because humanity and psychology are studied in each vignette as the characters, mainly Daniel, struggles to cope with the idea of being a slave and how people view him because of this and, incidentally, how he views himself. A good, if brief, look inside the mind.

Weaknesses
Nothing in the stories was weak (aside from the fact that, as it always is when the stories are good, I want more). The only complaint I would bring up as being an issue is format, and it is for the "bonus" content:

For people already familiar with Anchored, the two chapters taken from that will seem unnecessary. While I can understand why it made sense to put them before Voinov's contribution, I can see some readers frustrated with having to skip over those two chapters to get to the boxers. However, having not read Anchored, it didn't bother me, although I did read all the prequel stories, skip to Counterpunch then return to the Anchored content.

Master of the Revels by Andrew Grey

Master of the Revels by Andrew Grey
Stars: 1/5

Overall
Having previously enjoyed Grey's work, I felt confident in picking up this book when I happened to find it in a bookstore on sale. I started reading it on the train ride home and wasn't impressed. The writing felt amateur, the dialogue stiff and the characters flat. At home I checked on GoodReads and saw it had over 4 stars, so I had the glimmer of hope that things would improve--some stories just have rough beginnings.

It didn't. While there was potential for a good story, it was destroyed by straw men conflicts and poor writing that left me finishing the novel only because I can't give a proper review without giving it a proper read first. I struggled through and had to skim the last half to a third just to get it over with.

While this book was a complete dud, it wouldn't keep me from reading more of Grey's works in the future since I'm already familiar with his other, better, works.

Strengths
Plot. While I wouldn't necessarily say this is a strength, it is the strongest part of the book. A lot happens (see below why this can be bad), opening up the potential for character growth and deeper understanding that I don't feel was ever realized.

Weaknesses
Writing. While my previous exposure to Grey's writing never left me amazed at his talent, this book left me in amazement at its difference compared to his other works. It felt like it was porn, even when it wasn't describing sex, as the dialogue was stiff, the actions were listed instead of described (often with unnecessary information) and the tenses changed from past to present any time a constant was described (eg, "My house is blue" while the story was "I sucked his lip into my mouth"). My only concession to the writing is that maybe Grey was trying to imitate the narrator's voice--but if that was the goal, it wasn't successful.

Characters. This suffered from two problems: Insta-love and flat characterization. Bill and Tom meet, fall in love, face some problems and everything is okay. While I can handle some Insta-love, this felt almost too instant. Part of this could be due to the flat characters not lending themselves to forming a bond with the reader. I wasn't involved when they fell in love, had lots of sex, or had fights.

Plot. There was "too much" plot and all of it was easily resolved. The start of the book (Tom going to The Room, getting caged and defeating the previous master of the revels to be the new master) sets up how every challenge is faced. Problems are resolved quickly (within the chapter in most cases) and sometimes in unrealistic ways, often with people doing whatever they can to help Tom and Bill. The couple faces plenty of challenges, which would seem like a great way to develop character and make this an action-packed book. Sadly, it only ended up making it feel very fake and unrealistic.

How They Met and other stories by David Levithan

How They Met and other stories by David Levithan
Stars: 4/5

Overall
A compilation of short stories, some shorter than others, crossing between straight and gay. Some are simple, some complex, some sweet, some fun, some heart breaking and beautiful, some romantic and eternal, these stories are much like all the different forms that love takes. All the stories have a happy ending of some sort, but some of the stories aren't a romance and are about a different sort of love. The style of writing varies between tale both in writing style and format, but most stick to a traditional format. This was a cute, fun collection of short stories that often peeked into deeper emotions and made me ponder the wonders of life and love.

Although some of the stories didn't "speak to me," there were no real weaknesses among them aside from the fact that they weren't good enough to earn a five-stare score, mostly because only one of them was extremely deep and emotionally touching.

The writing was excellent, most of the characters were charming and age appropriate, and the stories were sweet. Overall a good book of good stories, nice and strong but not amazing. Book cover bumped it to 4 stars.

Stuff My Stocking by M/M Romance GoodReads' authors

Stuff My Stocking by M/M Romance GoodReads' authors
Stars: 4/5

Overall
Normally with an anthology I like to break down the individual stories, but there are too many to do that here, plus I read them over a long period of time (6 months). A good chunk of these stories (if not a majority) are written by well-known authors in the genre, so unlike some other free anthologies (assuming there are some, somewhere, aside from Wishing on a Blue Star), the majority of these stories are well written, well edited and overall very enjoyable. Aside from a general Winter Holiday theme, the stories don't have much in common--they really run the gamut--so everyone can find at least one story that they really enjoy.

Strengths
FREE! It's free, it's long and it's various authors, many who are published (aka, competent writers). Overall it is a very enjoyable set of stories, most of which have happy Christmas story endings. This is what they're meant to be and they fulfill that role perfectly.

Weaknesses
Being a free work compiled by a large number of authors, the writing quality varies between the stories. For the most part this isn't a problem, but for a few it was more noticeable and is the greatest weakness of those stories. Along these same lines, the topics, which vary greatly, won't appeal to every reader, but it's easy to skip any story that isn't to taste.

Review: Wild Passions, an anthology

Wild Passions, an anthology
Stars: 4/5

Overall
Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

Even if furries aren't your thing (they aren't mine), if you're comfortable with some anthropomorphic and human-crosses, then this anthology will be worth a read. If you like furries, then this is definitely the book for you. It covers various types of crosses, including one alien, and unless you're completely grossed out by humans with animal traits having sex with humans, there is nothing particularly offensive in this set. The stories that unfold are excellent, looking at social expectations and prejudices while including a romance and happy endings.

City of Foxes by Cornelia Grey
A strong story to start the collection, we are sunk into a futuristic world where fox/human crosses have evolved and humans, as they tend to do, want to destroy them. Our narrator is a human who saves one of the fox people and is in turn saved by the fox people who take him to their shelter to rest. The story unfolds as the two main characters learn to tease and trust one another while unrest builds in the fox community. Along with an interesting plot, there are dynamic characters who worm their way into the heart, all topped off with a strong writing style.

Trust Me by Elizabeth Hyder
A strange combination of funny and serious, this story started off a little weak but strengthened as the main character stopped being a player (and a selfish jerk) and met his foil in the form of a love interest. While who it ends up being didn't come as a surprise to me, I imagine the reader is supposed to be in on the joke. The story was good for what is was--an attempt to be slightly humorous with some more serious (but not dark) undertones. While it left me with very little impression (I had to go back to re-read a bit for this review), there was nothing so wrong with it that I'd mark it as bad. Maybe just not to my liking.

Alpha's Pride by SL Armstrong & K Piet
This story starts hot and heavy and ends hot and heavy, with love and pain as its filling. Aside from one moment of "I hope those claws are retractable," it was a well-executed story about the good of the clan overcoming the individual's pride and the benefits the individual can reap from that. The main characters struggle through their personal emotions and what they know they need to do while still loving one another. It is a touching, and at times heartbreaking, story.

I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside by Wayne Mansfield
This is the weakest of the anthology both in story and writing. Initially I would have ranked the writing as mediocre, but after the first sex scene, the weaknesses become apparent as the characters became cardboard cutouts whose emotional trials were too easily solved by hand waving and a quick paint job. The characters had potential—an interesting back story while facing a difficult problem--but too quickly trusted one another and fell in love, leaving me to start to wonder if this was supposed to be a comedy.

Opening Worlds by Cari Z
In this futuristic space story, there aren't so much animals as aliens, but the important parts all work the same. This well-written story explores sex vs. love, the different social requirements of different planet societies, and the individual's required duties to society. This story made my chest ache with the longing that the narrator felt and it was superbly constructed. While the end may be considered to "work out too perfectly," I found it good--especially since the alternative would have made me cry. I think if this had been a novel, the author would have explored things more in depth, but as it stands, the ending worked. This was one of my favorites.

Songs for Guitar and French Harp by Angelia Sparrow
This was an interesting story, a sort of alternative history during the 1930s/1940s where creatures called constructs exist. In essence they are animals with souls, although how much of them (physically) is human, I'm not exactly sure. They are animal enough in appearance that no one would mistake them for what they are. The story is surprisingly dark (compared to other Sparrow works I've read), and I thoroughly enjoyed the look at carnival life and the struggles the main bear goes through to get his mate back. Some things at the end tugged me from my suspension of disbelief--I just didn't feel they needed to be told in the story--but for the most part this long story is an excellent tale of misfits banding together and protecting one another in the sweetest way they can.

Note: Received a copy of this story for review.

Fugly by KZ Snow

Fugly by KZ Snow
Stars: 3/5

Overall
I wanted to enjoy this more than I did. It had more potential than Snow allowed it to realize in the short amount of space it was given. While the concept is pretty straight forward, the story needed more character development to really become a complete story.

Strengths
Idea. While the general idea of beautiful people being cursed with disfigurements in order to be taught a lesson and the way to cure it is to reform, Snow made the idea come to life with the main characters. Seeing inside their heads as they struggled to realize that people in their lives--good people--liked them for more than their appearances was touching and my only complaint is that I would have liked to have seen more.

Writing. The writing was fairly strong and kept together would could have been extremely choppy jumps in time and perspective.

Weaknesses
Length. One of the biggest blows this story suffers is that it is not long enough. Since it's dealing with a classic concept, it needed more room to spread out and become its own. What already exists is enjoyable, but could be fleshed out into a truly amazing piece. The three characters who get cursed are all mentioned to have an internal problem that they have to face once they are no longer beautiful, but the problems are only seen after the fact, making them feel false in light of the changes on their face, or perhaps because the changes seem to come up and flip over so quickly. I wanted more struggle with the characters and their identities, and coming to terms with who they really were.

Broken by Dawn Kimberly Johnson

Broken by Dawn Kimberly Johnson
Stars: 3/5

Overall
A perfectly acceptable and enjoyable novel, it did nothing to entrance me or amaze me, although it did entertain.

Strengths
Pacing. Although the pace is slower, it worked for the style of story being told as the relationship develops and then faces its conflict. while not a page turner, it is enjoyable in its own right. It feels more like a lazy day with an old friend than a day out on the town.

Ending. Despite feeling this book was unremarkable, I did enjoy the ending and the overall events that led up to it. It wasn't enough to leave me enraptured with the completed text, but did redeem the slow beginning.

Characters. The characters were interesting and definitely struggling with themselves and the circumstances. They were both fairly likable, although Eli was more difficult to like since he made everything more complicated, even if he had a reason.

Weaknesses
While I really wanted to enjoy this book, it did nothing to entice me to do that. It was acceptable, maybe even good. But it took a long time to create a bond with the characters so that the beginning of the book was a little slow as the characters took the stage. It neither thrilled me or repulsed me, leaving me to finish the novel and go, "Oh" and that was that.

Tech Support by Jet Mykles

Tech Support by Jet Mykles
Stars: 3/5

Overall
A nice emotional ride, there isn't much of substance to keep the reader coming back for more. But if you're looking for hot, heavy and heart-warming, then this will fit the bill.

Strengths
Evoking emotion. While I wasn't particularly attached to the characters in the beginning, when the climax of the story happens, I was emotionally moved by the events.

Good writing. It wasn't amazing, but it was pretty strong and fulfilled the need of the type of book (erotica).

Weaknesses
Trope. The classic bumbling virgin with the rich suave guy. For me this was a slight weakness, as I've read plenty, but if you want that in the story, it will work. That said, it was a well structured version of this trope and it was very sweet.

Originality. While this was a perfectly acceptable story, if you want fresh and new, it won't be here. You get exactly what you expect with no surprises.

Sublime: A Collection of Shorts by Rachel Haimowitz

Sublime: A Collection of Shorts by Rachel Haimowitz
Stars: 3/5

Note: This review does not include the last part of the collection, which is the first chapter of the novel Counterpoint.

Overall
This collection is more like an album of snapshots than a series of stories. Each interaction between Sir and Nicky takes place in the span of a couple hours. The writing goes in depth detailing what is happening in each act of submission, but the characters never blossom into fully developed beings. While we are shown brief glimpses into their lives outside of the bedroom (or the kitchen, the living room, etc), it isn't the focus of the story. No plot (not really), but that wasn't the aim of the stories either.

Strengths
BDSM. The stories contained here cover a wide variety of kinks and give fairly good details on the scenes. Much like a variety pack of chips, I liked some more than others, but ended up eating them all anyway. Worth it, if just for the education, with the bonus of no calories to burn off.

Good, strong writing that explained some rather difficult concepts (for the un-initiated) in ways that were accessible. I don't get pony play, but I was happy for Nicky and understood it a little better.

Weaknesses
Development. While I don't mark this collection down for the lack of plot, necessarily, I would love to see more developed characters. It would make quite the hot, steamy novel to see these two develop over a time-line and get more emotional connection to them. For me, this was the weakest part and why it scored so low--if I don't feel emotional connections to the characters, it's hard for me to completely enjoy a book. People who don't need as much squishy heart romance in their books may not be bothered by this.

Paradise Found by Hunter Raines

Paradise Found by Hunter Raines
Stars: 4.5/5

Overall
Triads tend to be very good or very bad, as it's difficult enough to balance out one relationship, and adding another person just complicates things further. Raines impressed me by pulling together a very good threesome both in and out of bed, taking three different character types and exploring the challenges of their relationship all together and in pairs. The writing was steady, the story development was strong, and the characters were enjoyable. A pleasurable read that I look forward to re-visiting in the future.

Strengths
Handling of BDSM topics. Raines' approach to telling the reader about, and having the characters learn about, BDSM was unique and I enjoyed it. We see the scene from a Dom's perspective, then we see it from someone who knows nothing and is informed by someone outside the relationship about it while learning about himself. Also, while understanding the lifestyle is important, the author also takes the time to make little jokes between characters that lighten the mood at just the right moment. The scenes felt good and everyone was happy with their level of involvement, which helped the dynamic.

Handling of threesome. Raines handled the complexities of a threesome admirably by recognizing the difficulties both internally and externally (although the latter is only mentioned in passing). The spark that initially brings the three together burns through out the book, even as the characters go their separate ways. The emotional ramifications of being in a triad (jealousy, favoritism, 'there first' attitude, and being replaced) are all addressed and looked at seriously, getting to the important elements that make this particular relationship work.

Characters/development. I think I fell in love with these characters almost immediately. They are all good men who have minor faults (most of which includes being embarrassed about something and lack of communication), and by the end of the second or third chapter I wanted them happy (and preferably in a big pile of naked...which is related to them being happy). While some of the head skipping was confusing (it may be my copy, but there was no indication sometimes when we went from Philip's head to Cameron's, etc), it wasn't confusing enough to disrupt the flow of story. Fun characters to spend the afternoon with.

Weaknesses
Financial believability. There was a bit too much money floating around at times, which worked for the plot, but left me wondering where it came from. Philip obviously came from/had loads of money, but Mark and Cameron weren't in high-paying jobs (necessarily), and at one point they seemed to get a week's vacation without much notice, unless I missed a time skip. This is a minor snit, but too many stories depend on magic money that it feels necessary to mention. However, it doesn't distract from the overall story and the issue only arises once.

Note: I requested a copy to review.

Language Lessons by Jay Bell

Language Lessons by Jay Bell
Stars: 3.5/5

Overall
A funny and touching story in which a young playboy learns about love outside the bedroom. The story is light and humorous, never delving too deep but it is definitely romantic. It could be described as schmaltzy, but I think it's meant to be diabetes-inducing. At least, it worked for me.

The main character is a mix of knowledgeable/jaded and innocent; he knows everything about sex and nothing about love, except maternal and friendship. He's an interesting narrator, although he rubbed me the wrong way the beginning, partially because he came across as a little flat. However, once he started playing match-maker, I was more amused than annoyed and everything worked out.

This is worth the small price tag. Check it out!

Lee's Story by MaculateGiraffe

Lee's Story by MaculateGiraffe
Stars: 4/5

Overall
Of the three main stories (Bran's, Jesse's and Lee's), I had the most difficulty getting through this one. It had nothing to do with the writing (it was just as strong), or the story (lots going on), or the characters (still love them all), but nonetheless, I struggled about half-way through. Part of me, I think, was afraid that I wasn't going to get a happy ending, but even after I was assured on that front (and I really shouldn't have worried), I had to force myself to finish reading it. I mention this only because I read the first half of the story several months ago and then finished the book.

Strengths
Writing. Characters. Story. All the things that made the previous stories great continue to shine in this one. The writing is strong and consistent, the characters come alive and we see more variation in their behaviors/likes/dislikes than previously, and instead of rehashing the same old "rescued kid" story, which I loved and love still, the author takes that to a new level and makes it more and by doing so makes all the characters become more than they were before as well.

Plot/resolution. I won't say anything to spoil, but I'm pleased with how things turned out. There is a happy ending, but it's not too perfect, either. Very fitting.

Overall, I love these stories and the writing. Highly enjoyable and free, what more can you ask for?

Weaknesses
While I'm not sure if this was any longer than the others, it felt longer, possibly because it combined two story lines in one. This one gets more political/social, which isn't a bad thing, but it does disrupt the relationship dynamics some only because it takes time away from just plain enjoying them.