A More Perfect Union
Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5
This is a collection of four stories that explore the real life implication of the Supreme Court’s ruling on June 26; 2015. In the future no one will ever have to live with the indignation of not being allowed to marry the one they love. In the coming years gay and lesbian relationships will be different because of the possibility of marriage.But what about those who shied from the thought of marriage because they thought they would never be allowed to or those who fought every step of the way so that there would come a day when their marriages to the ones they loved would be legally and lawfully recognized by all. This anthology explores some such stories.
Flames by J. Scott Coatsworth – 2 Stars out of 5
Alex and Gio have been together for years but the night that Gio plans to propose, they get in a fight and Alex leaves the house only to later find out that Gio is in a coma. As Alex waits for Gio to open his eyes, he looks back on their life together and regrets the fact that they didn’t get married when they had the chance…
This story has good bones but it isn’t very engaging. A lot of the times the story read like an itinerary of events devoid of the emotions that the main characters must surely have experienced during said events.
This story is written from the perspectives of both characters but Gio’s character is not very well fleshed out and this is most definitely because of the fact that he doesn’t know who he is for most of the story. While the unique circumstances of Gio’s coma fascinated me they failed to establish Gio’s character and since Alex’s character is very well established the fact that Gio’s character is not creates an inherent imbalance in the story.
This story has an interesting premise but it failed to get me invested in the characters mostly because of the fact that the core of this story is mostly hollow of emotions which considering the subject is surprising.
Jeordi and Tom by Michael Murphy – 3 Stars out of 5
Jeordi and Tom have to fight for their love every day in the face of Jeordi’s family’s disparage. When Jeordi’s parents try to keep Tom away from Jeordi while he is admitted in the hospital, Jeordi realises that he needs to do something such that no one can ever keep Tom away from him.
I liked this story, it had much more of a fight in it. Jeordi and Tom are two youngsters in love while everyone around them is against their relationship.
This story has multiple plot lines which are threaded together with a really nice theme of passing on the love.
Destined by Jamie Fessenden – 5 Stars out of 5
This is the story of Jay and Wallace. It chronicles their journey from the time they first met till the time they get married.
This was an awesome story. I loved the introduction and premise of the story.
I really loved Jay and Wallace. Jay is a really vibrant guy and really easy to like but I really loved Wallace. Wallace is a quiet guy, not known to emotional outbursts and appears to be kind of detached from their relationship but the author presents him in such a light that you know that while Wallace may appear detached his heart is very much in the relationship. Despite Wallace’s shy exterior looking at him from Jay’s eyes made sure that we got a good look into the person inside.
Jay and Wallace felt very real and I loved their story and how they ended up together. Moreover I loved all the domestic things they did together like shopping, trying to figure out how to live together, buying a house and learning to live together with a particularly over enthusiastic dog.
Their marriage was a dream and I loved the destiny angle in their story. I wonder if they ever figured out that they had met years before their first meeting.
On the whole I loved the story, it was beyond awesome.
Someday by B. G. Thomas – 5 Stars out of 5
Lucas and Dalton have known each other since they were kids and while life has sent hurdles their way they have always managed to come out on the other side stronger. But Dalton refuses to marry Lucas till marriage equality becomes a reality everywhere in the United States.
This one was so beautiful. I loved Dalton and Lucas and their love which was amazing. This was one couple whose story I didn’t want to see end.
It was a perfect story about love and marriage and how this particular one came to be. This story also highlights how things have changed in the last 25 years or so… in 1990 no one would have thought that marriage equality would have been a thing of the past come 2016.
This anthology has been one awesome read with some amazing stories.
Cover Art by Reese Dante. I loved the cover. It is a perfect representation of what this anthology is all about, two men professing their love by vowing to belong to each other forever.
Book Details:
ebook, 350 pages
Published June 26th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634773322 (ISBN13: 9781634773324)
Edition LanguageEnglish
URLhttp://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7854
Published June 26th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN 1634773322 (ISBN13: 9781634773324)
Edition LanguageEnglish
URLhttp://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7854
On the run from his old-blood werewolf family, Tim Dirus finds himself in Wolf’s Paw, one of the last surviving refuges from the days when werewolves were hunted by humans and one of the last places Tim wants to be. Kept away from other wolves by his uncle, Tim knows almost nothing about his own kind except that alpha werewolves only want to control and dominate a scrawny wolf like him.
Four men in need of a helping hand….
When Sandy Nixon’s conservative Catholic parents discover he’s had sex before marriage, they are furious. But when he blurts out he’s bisexual, they go ballistic. After they threaten him with conversion therapy, Sandy does what many queer kids long to do—leaves his homophobic parents in the dust. He moves in with his Uncle Phineas and Phineas’s partner Cody in Portland, Oregon, and is finally safe to be himself. Sandy misses his siblings, though, and decides to visit his former home in Rockford for Thanksgiving. On the train, he runs into Jade Byrne.
When he arrives at the scene of a raging fire with his unit, Morgan doesn’t waste any time going in to rescue a disabled man from his burning apartment. The moment the family who owns the house tells him about their trapped tenant, Morgan notifies his captain and goes. Getting permission isn’t as important to him as saving the man’s life, and it’s a good thing he didn’t hesitate because he manages to pull Richard out of the apartment with no time to spare. Morgan cares about the people he pulls from burning buildings and always checks on them the next day, so when he heads to the hospital to check on Richard, he’s shocked to find that Richard is Richie, his childhood best friend. 
When you find your family, you’ll do anything to keep it.
