M/M Anthologies

A MelanieM Review:Love in Every Season by Charlie Cochrane

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Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Four seasons, four stories, one connection – finding love.
Two men who hate Valentine’s Day discover they might have been wrong.
A Paralympic swimmer gets an unusual incentive to win gold.
Love and lust flourish under desert skies, but nature’s cruel.
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night gets a new twist.

When Charlie Cochrane wants to deliver a collection of stories, I listen and am there because I just love this author’s writing no matter what era her characters are visiting or narrative the story thread is taking.  Here in Love in Every Season, the reader is given a true mixture so there is something for everyone.  A little bit of Shakespeare mixed with steampunk!  Love under the desert skies with a archeological dig in the past.  A mere jog back to the 2012 London Olympics and also a story firmly with its foundation in the near  present.

While I enjoyed them all, three were more firmly my favorites. And  while I really didn’t understand why each story was exactly given the season it was located under.  The first was Spring but the men and the story was focused on their anti Valentine (February) sentiments.  So for me Spring was a stretch.  So I pretty much ignored the season, unless Charlie was talking about fresh new starts which then yes indeed, that worked.

Here are the stories in the order they are presented in the book:

Spring:

Horns and Halos:  Rating: 4 stars out of 5

February 14, 2011.  Both  Jame and Alex are attending a Workshop on (as best I could figure out) Human Resources, LGBT, Recruiting, and Rights for their respective schools/or school districts in England.  Not sure how it works over there being from the US, but as I said I was still trying to figure that part out from their conversations.  They end up as workshop partners and the electricity flows while they try to see if each is gay.  The chemistry is cute and the story an adorable HFN as is all the tales here.  Both are anti Valentine and that gets worked into this and resolved as well.

Autumn

Sand: Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

The time frame is nebulous as is the exact location but you can certainly lock it down slightly  by certain references that Charlie Cochrane is so great at.  We’re pre WWI somewhere in a region that used to be part of the Seleucid Empire, loads of sand obviously  Poor Charles Cusiter has been sent along as a companion/babysitter to grown  manchild and heir Bernard Mottram to whom the female sex has proven an magnetic attraction he cannot stay away from.  It’s been the cause of many scandals and his wealthy mother is tired of it.   Bernard (and Charles as his guard dog  against the fairer sex) has traveled to an archaeology dig in Dahmalia run by Dr. Andrew Parks and his male assistant Yaseen, a place void of women.  Something Bernard’s mother made sure of prior to sending her son there.

Of course, there are slight complications.  While Bernard is dispirited about the lack of women, Charlies fears he has to hide his immediate attraction to Andrew,  Charlies’ homosexuality and the manner in which it is handled here is distinct to that era and “certain types” of gentlemen aboard.  It shows in the language the author uses and the references within the story.   That would include mentions of Mrs. Jellyby, a character in the novel Bleak House (1852–53) by Charles Dickens and Daphne Du Maurier who wrote in the early 1900’s.

The relationship proceeds slowly and only a dramatic event lets the men drop their guards fully.  It ends as only it could, a HFN, with a slight bittersweet knowledge from them (and from us) that they will stay there for only as long as the British are still welcome.  Something we know will be ending soon.  So yes, I guess you could say it is the Autumn of the Empire here. That’s my application for Autumn here.

Summer

Tumble Turn:  5 stars out of 5

Yes, this is my favorite story.  It starts out with the childhood friendship of Matty White and Ben Edwards, who has S9 CP, that would be Cerebral Palsy.  The first chapter is titled Nomination July 2005.  That’s when London is nominated as a possible location for the Olympics in 2012.  The boys desperately want London to win (and of course we know it does).    Ben wants to participate in the Olympics, no matter what anyone says…including the bitter somewhat unpleasant Mrs.White, Matty’s divorced mother. As the story moves forward, the boys age, move apart physically into college and apart in friendship. All the while Ben trains as a Paralympic Swimmer, moving closer to achieving his goals.  No Matty is not the romantic interest here sorry.  But there is one.  For a while I thought he was too.  Nope.  But Matty is the connection.

But the romance that does play out is sweet, heartwarming, authentic, and real.  So too is Ben swimming towards his long held goals.

Everything about this story just connected with me.  Ben’s family, the boyfriend, and the Olympics.  Loved it.

Summer was easy to apply to this story. Summer Olympics.  Why of course!

Winter

What You Will (A Shakespeare and Steampunk fusion): Rating 3 stars out of 5

Charlie Cochrane’s version of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night given a steampunk twist with airships versus sailing ships that wreck.  A m/m romance with Captain Antonio and the airship-wrecked Roderigo who is also looking for his twin sister (and all the usual twists you find within the story), excerpt that Olivia had to go off and find another love. Somehow I never connected with any of the characters and the romance here.  I did with the original version, mind you.  But here, something, perhaps, the language itself is lacking.  Neat idea though..  Just didn’t work for me.

Cover art is a bit innocuous for a Charlie Cochrane story.  Bland but I’m not sure what you could do for such a wide variety of stories.  But I would never have chosen this..

Sales Links:  Amazon Precorder

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 158 pages
Expected publication: July 22nd 2019 by The Right Chair Press
ASINB07SFYTPZ9

BOOK BLITZ – VARIOUS AUTHORS – HOT SUMMER NIGHTS ANTHOLOGY📚📚

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Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link 
Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited 

Seven sizzling LGBT romances to fan the summer heat

Grab a cold drink and dive into these steamy stories covering a wide range of MM romance subgenres and tropes – from friends to lovers, second chances, and sexy ménages, to May-December pairings, werewolves, and even dragons.
There’s bound to be a story to catch your eye and make your hot, summer nights even hotter. You’ll also be helping us raise money for The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention charity for LGBTQ+ youth.

Hurry up and get your copy of Hot Summer Nights right now to enjoy seven stories guaranteed to get your heart racing.

Butterfly Wishes by Teodora Kostova

In school, Nico and King are best friends, and each other’s first love. But their lives take a different path and they lose touch.
Now, King is a famous musician and Nico is trying to make a name for himself as a journalist. When King’s life starts falling apart, fate brings them together on a private island, and reignites old feelings.
Can they make it work this time? Or are their worlds too far apart?

Alpaca My Bags by JL Merrow

Silver fox Scott Riley is holidaying on the Isle of Wight with his newborn granddaughter and her parents following the breakup of his relationship. A bit of fun in the sun with rugged alpaca farmer, Ryan, could be just what the doctor ordered. But when both men realise this holiday fling could be the start of something more, they’ll need to work hard to counter Scott’s family’s misgivings—not to mention their own.

Alpha Mine by Aimee Brissay

Away from home and its escalating conflicts, the last thing Andrei needs is to fall for the newest member of the pack. But he can’t help lusting after Sorin.
As the alpha, he can’t afford to be distracted, but neither he nor Sorin seem able to resist the burning attraction between them. Will this connection prove to be too much of a risk?

Everybody in the Place by Suki Fleet

Alfie Adams comes at life sideways.
After unexpectedly losing his job in television, and having the script he’s worked so hard on unceremoniously dropped, Alfie turns up at his oldest friend, Jam’s, birthday party drunk, pretty sure his world has ended, and that he’s about to hit rock bottom with a bone-cracking thud.
But it’s funny how Jam’s little brother, Benji, seems to know exactly what Alfie needs. For the past twelve months Alfie has thrown himself into his job and tried hard not to think about beautiful punk-loving Benji—tried not to see how the sweet kid he used to look out for, and who used to trail so adoringly after him, has grown up into a big lad with an even bigger heart. As Alfie sobers up, he begins to see things with a new perspective, and Benji has his full attention.
If only Alfie can admit what it is he wants.

Good Boys Don’t by K.A.Merikan

Nate doesn’t fit in with his friends from church. He isn’t all that religious. He likes music his parents wouldn’t approve of. He’s gay. He’s determined to stay under the radar, but a chance meeting with a handsome biker who flirts Nate out of his modesty might throw those plans out of the window.

Heart of the Dragon by Alina Popescu

When a power-hungry king threatens to drown the world in blood, a bastard prince and a prisoner suspected of hiding mythical beasts find themselves in an unlikely alliance. Driven together by loneliness and undeniable attraction, they struggle to trust their choices and each other. Should they fail, neither will survive.

Not so Predictable by Jessie G

Oliver Tryst yearns for excitement, fun, and a reprieve from the endless winter blanketing Upstate New York. But when a cruise with his best pals turns into a solo trip to paradise, Oliver finds himself mustering with the winter fling he wished hadn’t gotten away. With his cautious heart thawing in the Caribbean sun, Oliver will have to decide if he can leave stability behind for a chance to turn his holiday hookup into a happily ever after.

 
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Release Blitz for Come Play: An MM Erotica Charity Anthology

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Book Title: Come Play – An MM Erotica Charity Anthology

Authors: Quin Perin, A.G. Carothers, E.M. Denning, Emma Jaye, K.C. Wells,

Lynn Van Dorn, Luna David, Sara Dobie Bauer, T.M. Chris, T.S. McKinney

Cover Artist: Morningstar Ashley

Release Date: June 11, 2019

Genre/s: M/M Erotica, M/M BDSM

Trope/s: Including hurt/comfort, first time, forbidden and others

Themes: Anthology includes BDSM and erotica. It has a wide variety of tastes/themes

Heat Rating:  A mix of 4 and 5 flames. This anthology features a collection of erotic MM short stories.     

Blurb

Watch and Learn if the Coach’s Little Kitten can be Tamed.

Follow the Doctor’s Orders and read all about Brotherly Love.

Understand Abstract Love and then take a peek at A Kink Chronicles Short.

It’s all about Pretty Boys, The Kiss, and Particular Tastes bundled up in this must-have erotic anthology.

Come, play with us.

Abstract Love by Sara Dobie Bauer

A Kink Chronicles Short by Luna David

Brotherly Love by Lynn Van Dorn

Coach’s Little Kitten by Quin Perin

Doctor’s Orders by Emma Jaye

Particular Tastes by T.S. McKinney

Pretty Boy by E.M. Denning

Tamed by T.M. Chris

The Kiss by A.G. Carothers

Watch and Learn by K.C. Wells

** All proceeds from this anthology will be donated to

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 https://www.thetrevorproject.org **

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW

Universal Buy Link

Facebook Link for each Author

Quin Perin

A.G. Carothers

E.M. Denning

Emma Jaye

K.C. Wells

Lynn Van Dorn

Luna David

Sara Dobie Bauer

T.M. Chris

T.S. McKinney

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A Lucy Review : The Forever Kind Of Love by LA Bryce

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Rating: 2 stars out of 5

You never forget your first love … especially when they cause you pain. Chase thought he was doing the right thing when he left Liam years earlier, but when he finds out he was wrong, it might be too late. The trust they once shared may be past the point of repair.

The Forever Kind of Love is a story of second chances that asks the question — is a good reason enough to wash away the years of hurt it caused? Chase comes home from the military ready to start his life with Liam. But he discovers Liam’s life has already started without him. Is there a place for him in it? Is the possibility of more pain worth the risk for Liam?

If that isn’t hard enough, they only have the week Chase is on leave to come to terms with their future. Can they find forever in seven days?

First off, the blurb is a little misleading.  “…when he finds out he was wrong, it might be too late.”   A bit inaccurate, since Chase’s plan from the beginning was exactly what he did.   He never thought he was wrong, he just never bothered to consider things from Liam’s point of view.

I was worried when I started this book due to the length.  While I love second chance tropes, I also need enough time and detail to make me want them to get back together and to really understand why they were apart.  Forever Kind of Love is only 44 pages long and I didn’t get what I needed to make the story work. 

Chase and Liam were in love, telling each other they were in love, and then Chase just up and leaves with no word, no message, no nothing for four years.   Now he’s back and expecting Liam to open arms wide, take him back and then move the life he’s built in Chase’s absence to be with Chase, because Chase hasn’t left the military, which is where he went.  It’s not really clear why the first four years were a turning point because even though Liam works for Chase’s mom at her art gallery, where he also shows his own art, Chase has never asked about Liam.  We know this much because he was surprised Liam was showing his art work at the gallery, as well as not knowing that Liam no longer lived with his dad.  No one knew about Chase and Liam back then, so Liam didn’t discuss it with  mom either.

“And now it was time to finally go home and get his man.”  He just shows up at his mom’s, where they happen to be throwing a party for Liam.  He didn’t even do the courtesy of a phone call, a message, nothing.  Then he is so shocked with Liam’s reaction because really, he didn’t bother with how Liam would have felt.  “Just what? Explain what you were thinking? You didn’t think enough of me to explain at the time.”  “Chase took a deep breath.  This wasn’t going the way he planned.”  There were so many WTF moments for me but I continued on, waiting for the groveling to happen.  Which didn’t. 

“Again, he’d known Liam would be mad about him just leaving, but he’d hoped that after four years some of that pain would’ve subsided.”  What???  How does the pain subside when now Liam is faced with Chase, who has done absolutely nothing to make things better. Add in that it is really Chase’s mother who does the explaining to Liam and Chase gets no respect from me.  Let’s also mention that throughout the book, Chase NEVER ONCE says he is sorry to Liam.  Liam says sorry a few times but never Chase.  Liam is still expected to give up his job, his house, his friends, his relationship with Chase’s mom as his boss, and with a day or two to decide, just move on.  Chase doesn’t grovel at all during this time and for two days just mopes but makes no effort to clear up the mess he made.

The ending, which is supposed to make us feel good about them, just made me more aggravated with it.   This is where the length of the book really worked against the author.  We don’t get the sense at any point that Chase really loved Liam.  Yes, the high handed reason for leaving (who knows why in four years he couldn’t be bothered to reconnect) is supposed to be for “Liam’s sake” but communication is more important and there is none. We are told that he loves Liam but nothing shows that he does.  There needed to be more time between his return and the inevitable magical rekindling.  “Did he really have a picture of Liam jumping up and proclaiming his undying love?  Even after all Chase had done to hurt Liam?  Yep, Chase did.  Maybe I also needed to see how they were four years ago to make it seem like Chase really did love Liam and wasn’t just claiming him, as he says. 

This is my first time reading this author and while this story absolutely was not for me, I would give her another try with a different type of story line.

Cover art, showing a naked male torso with dog tags, is simple but effective.

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | JMS Books

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 44 pages
Published March 2nd 2019 by JMS Books LLC
ASIN B07NVZ8HJD
Edition Language English