Carved in Flesh ed by SL Armstrong & Kristen Pavka

Carved in Flesh ed by SL Armstrong & Kristen Pavka
Stars: 3/5

Length: 193 pages
Blurb
People often say that the true perfection in the human form is in its imperfections. Scars are visceral reminders of a person's past, a sign of an event that can never fade. Whether it was gained in combat, a traumatic experience, or part of a ritual with a lover, scars are the ultimate labels. They leave a permanent mark on the body and spirit that, one way or another, change a person forever.

Overall
Anthologies are always tough, and once again I found a wide range of quality, both in writing and storytelling. How much you enjoy the stories will really depend on what you want out of them: Are you here purely for the carving kink? Then they all will probably satisfy that. For those who want more depth and exploration, there are a good number for that as well, and even the ones I considered weak were still enjoyable.

I must admit that the creation of scars always made my skin crawl, but after reading "Oren's Right" and "Sojourn Home," it has become beautiful. These stories definitely opened my eyes, and it was interesting the different ways the authors interpreted the theme.

Oren's Right by Blaine D. Arden
Stars: 3.5/5
This was an interesting story that continued in the world of Arden's short "The Forester." I found the characters compelling, and I love the world we're provided, but I wasn't wild about the plot. While it fits in and explains some points in the story, it also feels completely unrelated to the romantic strain of the story and the narrator's near-obsession with Oren and his marks. I enjoyed the description of the scarring ritual and Vern's own marks—and his love of Oren's marks. I wanted more of that and less of the mystery, but overall still an enjoyable read.

Tiofaidh Ar La by Angelia Sparrow & Naomi Brooks
Stars: 2.5/5
Initially I wasn't too wild about this story. It felt rushed through the meeting and the courting and the sex. The time skips jumped through massive amounts of development and potential for character building, and while I can understand why, it all went too fast. This would have been better told in a full novel to better explore the bond between the characters and to explain why a young man would go to such lengths for a man he's only known a few months/a year.

I liked Joe's difficulties with his scars and how Ryan reacted to them, recognizing them, adoring them, but not forgetting that they still hurt. The romance worked well, despite what I felt were underdeveloped characters, because of the strong emotions Joe felt about his scars and Ryan. So a nice story, but really could have been explored more completely.

Faded Love by MA Church
Stars: 3/5
This one started rough for me, as the opening scene is sex and felt rather porny. It took me a while to get into the story, and I wasn't wild about the narration jumping between the two main characters constantly, but the end was sweet and made me go "Aww." So that was worth it in the end.

The plot (pretty boy loses his looks) isn't necessarily new, but some interesting things were done with it here, although again it felt like too much story was pushed into a short piece.

Scar Therapy by Logan Zachary
Stars: 2/5
This one really didn't do it for me. I like the concept of the injured young man coming in for scar therapy and the bond between man and therapist, but too much was told not shown and I never really got a good sense of the characters and their bond over the story.

By the end I was so irked by the patient/practitioner questionable-ethics issue that the sex just felt like porn. There were also several things that just felt weird, like Tim's mother coming to his first therapy session (which made me think Tim was much younger than he was [he's out of college]) and Tim just showing up at Larry's house (which was just kind of creepy and a porn setup).

Gift of the Goddess by Kaje Harper
Stars: 5/5
Loved this one. The incorporation of scars was fantastic for both men, and the drama and plot were riveting. It was amazing to see how far Garvin was willing to go in order to save Nyle. It was intense, and I appreciated that while Garvin was all strong about everything, it still affected him, despite his 'choice' in the matter.

This feels like it is the start of something, with the fickle goddess's attention now turned on Garvin, but the end resolved all the current issues and felt complete, leaving the reader at a compelling point. Overall this story quickly fleshed out the history of the two characters and threw me right into the action. Absolutely recommend it.

Sojourn Home by TC Mill
Stars: 4/5
I struggled with this one, not because it was poorly written or boring, but because it was so emotionally charged that it hurt to read. I have difficulties with open relationships though, so some people may not be as affected as I was, although I felt the narrator was compelling in both his desires and his restraint.

Not only did it make me ache, but it also made me rejoice. The ending was near perfect (only not perfect because I like my endings oozing a sugar-laden chocolate center). But I felt happy with how things went and it fit both the characters, which can be difficult with stories of open relationships where one is maybe not so happy with that setup. Not much happens action-wise, but this is worth reading just for the compelling emotional story.

Received this book for review.

"Thigh to Thigh" by Angelia Sparrow and Naomi Brooks

"Thigh to Thigh" by Angelia Sparrow and Naomi Brooks
Stars: 3/5

After reading "Paying Forfeits" by the same pair and dealing with the same men, I wasn't looking forward to "Thigh to Thigh." But I already owned it and I hoped that some of my problems with the first story would be resolved in the second. I was pleased to see my faith rewarded.

The writing seemed to have improved, but it could be because instead of showing snapshots from different weekends, the reader was given one short but continuous story, creating a solid idea of characters and emotions. While the writing didn't blow me away, it did improve enough that I'd consider reading another story by one or both of these authors.

The flesh of the first story was sex sprinkled with some internal and external emotional conflict that was never really addressed. This story skips ahead two years to where most of the issues have been resolved and they are in a functioning threesome. While in the first story William played favorites to Billy and often jilted Sam, in this one they receive equal 'punishment' and 'pleasure' by being equal in all things--quite literally thigh to thigh!

All the negative emotions of the first story are fixed as we head into this story, and while the move is done with a magical hand wave, it's enough to allow the reader to enjoy this story after so much of the first was unbearable. I feel like these two stories combined make a novel with all the bits in the middle missing. We have the awkward beginning that causes the rise in conflict and the happy ending with a hot, sensual sex scene. No idea what happened in between, but I'm glad I read this story! Very tasty.

Note: The way I rated this story may have been influenced by my negative feelings toward the previous story.

"Paying Forfeits" by Angelia Sparrow and Naomi Brooks

"Paying Forfeits" by Angelia Sparrow and Naomi Brooks
Stars: 1/5

Maybe this just isn't my type of book, but I enjoyed nothing about it. The basic premise is two lovers (Sam and William) have a game they play every Friday. Every Friday it's a different game, and each week they place forfeits--what they get if they win and what they'll give if they lose. I can get around that, it's fun and makes for plenty of sex.

But I didn't enjoy the sex. It was PWP and it wasn't written well enough to be enjoyable for me. And that's just the beginning. I was willing to give it a chance, because sometimes stories just start off rough. And then a third man (Billy, William's nephew) is introduced.

While threesomes are difficult for me to understand, if well written, I can accept them. But here Billy is thrown into the mix without a moment's thought, he forces Sam to have sex with him while he's in a Sub position (not that Sam couldn't have said 'No') and then Sam gets punished far more thoroughly than Billy. (Regardless if he "enjoys" it or not.) First point of contention. Sam is jealous (I would be too), but begins to cope with these feelings, although they never really seem to leave. Even by the end there is a fight between Sam and William! Finally, facing the drama! But no, Billy threatens to leave, Sam says it's his fault that he's jealous and he'll work through it and thus ends the story.

In addition to not enjoying the "storyline," I also found the writing to be awkward, clunky and more what you'd find in porn than erotica. I really didn't enjoy this piece, but I'm still going to give "Thigh to Thigh" a chance, both because I already have it and because maybe I'll find some of the resolution I'm looking for. If you're interested in reading "Paying Forfeits," you can have my copy.

Anthology: Flipped Fables

Flipped Fables edited by SA Clements
Stars: 3/5

Overall:
Anthologies are always tricky because you can get such a mix of authors writing such a mix of stories, but I think in this case, it paid off. Not every story is a shining star, but none of them are folding in on themselves either, plus they cover a range of tastes so there should be one story sure to satisfy everyone.

The Man Who Cried Werewolf by Kiernan Kelly
A cute, if not completely predictable tale. Since this story is probably one of the most familiar among an American audience, I'm glad it started the series as it held the fewest surprises. It's a straight forward piece that plays out like you'd expect. Who's up for a romp in the hay?

A Sheepherder in Fabulous Clothing by Rob Rosen
If you like fabulous, you'll like this one. It's not completely to my taste, but it does give a good consideration of what makes a man, men who love men who dress as women, and forming your own identity. I feel like I should be more familiar with the tale this is based on, but nothing comes to mind. Still, it stands alone without requiring prior knowledge, except for maybe about drag queens.

Shifter 2.0 by Winnie Jerome
Rather than be a retelling of the Mouse and the Lion, this story just goes with the vague gist of a lion and a mouse in the same story. Daniel doesn't fit the old-school style of shifter that his families believes he should be, but he doesn't fit alot of stereotypes about shifters. He's a vegetarian lion who rips mattresses, clogs the drain with his hair, and requires odorless soaps. Good thing he's met Alex, owner of one mouse and chef at a vegetarian restaurant. He doesn't seem to mind Daniel's quirks, as long as Daniel won't mind his...

Bad Hair Day by Clare London
Rapunzel gets a gender swap and an attitude in this take of "Let Down Your Long Hair." The Prince is persistent through to the end, even if he starts of as a tender whippersnapper and ends up a hero (or, well, you tell me). The end is rather cheesy, but these are fairy tales, so I suppose it's forgiven...this time! ^Insert witch cackle here.

Wild Fox Chase by Misa Izanaki
This particular story is based on a Chinese tale and I like the concept and most the writing. The sex was kinda awkward though, and the dialogue during the sex worse. But other than that a perfectly enjoyable story, and our kitsune (but of course), is playful and keen and has an inner dialogue that fits the fox.

Sweet Persuasion by Angelia Sparrow
In which Zeph and Apollo, two gods of old (Greek, I think, but I'm always confusing them), challenge each other to see who can get a shepherd to remove his clothes first using their gifts. It doesn't really matter who the winner is, as they decided to pursue the boy that evening, which the both have off. For having a threesome, it's an incredibly sweet tale with some hot hillside sex.

The Nature of Love by Anah Crow
This is one of my favorite stories among this group. I wasn't familiar with the tale it was based on (The Cat and Venus), but I'm not sure familiarity would help/hinder the story since it was changed rather thoroughly in very excellent ways. I never knew what to expect next and the author never disappointed. This actually has me interested in what more she wrote.

Court and Country by GS Wiley
A new take on Country Mouse and City Mouse, we have two boys who grew up together, one who stayed in the country, preferring farming and hard work, while one moved into the city and joined the court. Before they part ways, they share a kiss, but nothing else, and then many years go by. They meet up together when the Courtier comes to visit the country and their tale unravels from there. How can two lovers with so very different tastes survive? It's a cute story. You won't be surprised by the ending, but I don't think we're meant to be.

The Cock and the Jewel by Sean Michael
Michael is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. He brings such great characters to life and explores facets of life that I don't face while still making the characters accessible. Here we meet a tattoo artist who is too inked and pierced for his last boyfriend, who he is still trying to get over. So the question is, will the cock give up on the jewel, or will he find his true worth?