Back in one week

No, I haven't disappeared. August has been absolutely awful for personal crises, and as my first and biggest responsibility will always be to my family and my real life situations, I took a brief break from the blog and mostly away from online.

However, it finally appears that life and all its tribulations is sorting itself out. School starts this week for the kids, and I'm almost ready to get back on the wagon. So to give myself a running start, I'm coming back full steam ahead one week from today on Labor Day.

Have a good week, everyone!

Toy Box: Collar by Lee Benoit, Zoe Nichols & Allison Payne

TITLE: Toy Box: Collar
AUTHOR: Lee Benoit, Zoe Nichols, & Allison Payne
PUBLISHER: Torquere Press
LENGTH: Anthology (roughly 15k)
GENRE: Gay erotic romance
COST: $2.59

A trio of gay erotic romances featuring D/s relationships and a collar.

This anthology of erotic short stories featuring a collar of some sort starts out with “Beloved” by Zoe Nichols. The shortest story in the collection, it’s an interlude between Hohru and his Master, Lucian, as Lucian bestows a new gift upon his slave. There’s really not that much more to it; in fact, I almost thought this was going to be a straight erotica anthology because of this story. The focus is on Hohru pleasuring his Master, and while there are declarations, it just never rose above the erotica for me. That was hot enough, but really, not altogether memorable once it was over.

The second story is Allison Payne’s “Stay.” Chris is a young man obsessed with the collars and leashes at the local pet store, and when he buys a collar on a whim, his older lover decides to take it one step further. The characters are more unique than those in the first short, with a gritty charm that carries what is otherwise a fairly light story. The two men are already in a relationship, but the emotion between them is palpable. Witnessing Chris’ submission to Sam, and Sam’s recognition of what his sub needs, is satisfying. One note, though. Chris refers to Sam as “Daddy” whenever they’re alone and in his thoughts. Though I think it fits perfectly with the characters, some might take offense. So be warned.

Rounding out the anthology is “Master Preston’s Bright Bottom” by Lee Benoit. Paolo is a slave, with an obsession for the Master he had one amazing encounter with. When he has the opportunity to start showing Preston just how he can serve him, Paolo jumps at it. All it takes is time and dedication. Benoit’s story is as long as both the stories preceding it, which means I had far more time to get to know and fall for her two heroes. This one is the strongest romance. Paolo is sweet and determined, while Preston has an appealing world-weariness about him. The two complement each other as the best D/s participants should. Even better, this story feels like a true seduction, as Paolo proves to Preston just how much they need each other.

As a whole, this is definitely one of the better edited Torquere anthologies that I’ve purchased. Benoit’s is the anchor that holds it all together, but the others offer a little something as well.

Readability	8/10 – Surprisingly clean for this publisher, swift and simple
Romance	7/10 – Benoit’s is the only one that feels like a true romance
Characterization	7/10 – Benoit’s story anchors this category.
Entertainment value	7/10 – Each has their own strengths, though Benoit’s is my favorite
World building	7/10 – A variety of settings, though obviously the focus is on the D/s scene than anything else
TOTAL:	36/50

Circle Star by Tatiana March

TITLE: Circle Star
AUTHOR: Tatiana March
PUBLISHER: Resplendence Publishing
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 75k)
GENRE: Historical western romance
COST: $6.50

When Susanna Talbot discovers her father has died, she returns to the ranch upon which she was raised – to discover the only way she can inherit is if she marries Connor McGregor, the boy who disappeared from their lives thirteen years earlier. The boy who professed to want to marry her until she threatened to have him kicked off the ranch he’d come to love. Nobody has seen him in all that time. Now she has three months to find him, or risk losing everything…

It’s not an original plot. The have to get married to satisfy the condition of a will device has been overused to the extreme. But the blurb didn’t make me cringe, and there was a lovely calm glow about the cover that sucked me in, so I read the excerpt. It’s actually the prologue of the book and captures time when the hero and heroine are teenagers, when he is becoming aware of her as a girl and not just the boss’ daughter. It held a distinct charm and nostalgia that appealed to the warm fuzzies in me, so I bought this in spite of the unoriginality of the idea. In retrospect, I’m glad I took the chance.

It’s not perfect. But for as long as the story remains focused on Susanna and Connor, it’s certainly engaging. Susanna isn’t a wilting flower, in spite of being sent to Philadelphia at thirteen to “become a lady,” and Connor is appropriately damaged and alpha. Both have been pining for the other for most of the time they’ve been apart, though neither is keen to admit it. Susanna is willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure she doesn’t lose her home and livelihood, and I have to admit that her plan to get Connor back to the Circle Star – while extreme and maybe not in Connor’s best interest – made me appreciate both her determination and spirit. The frustrations of keeping these two apart worked double time for me; more than once, I just wanted to grab both of them and shake them out of their obstinacy. Not in a bad way. In a heavily invested in seeing these two happy way. When it finally happened, I had a huge smile on my face.

But then things start shifting. Halfway through the story, Susanna’s best friend from Philadelphia arrives for a visit. Claire is spunky and entertaining in her own right, but as the resolution comes in sight for Susanna and Connor’s misunderstandings, Claire takes more and more of the stage. Her scenes are what drive the last third of the story, and while I liked her – and more importantly, liked the romance she was given – it ultimately meant losing time with the two characters I’d spent the first 2/3’s of the story falling in love with. It was towards the end, too, that the story starts taking more saccharine turns. Even scenes between Susanna and Connor don’t hold the same bittersweet edge they’d carried earlier. I think it’s probably to counter the drama inflicted upon mostly Claire, but it felt out of character for me and wasn’t what had invested me in the story in the first place.

Though there are very minor editing issues throughout the story that niggled slightly, and the author’s propensity for confusing loose with lose is something that should have been caught, it didn’t end up detracting from my enjoyment of the story. I just wish there might have been a different way of sustaining the conflict, rather than introducing a new character halfway through and creating drama for her rather than the ones I started out with.

Readability	8/10 – In spite of minor editing errors and a jump of story focus 2/3’s of the way through, I devoured this.
Hero	7/10 – As damaged and alpha as they come
Heroine	7/10 – Smart and spunky
Entertainment value	7/10 – This would have been higher, as many of the scores, if the story hadn’t shifted focus away from the characters I wanted to care about most.
World building	8/10 – Though there’s nothing extraordinary in the prose, upon reflection afterward I realized just how immersed I’d been in its reality
TOTAL:	37/50

For Life by Sam Cheever

TITLE: For Life
AUTHOR: Sam Cheever
PUBLISHER: Red Rose Publishing
LENGTH: Short story (roughly 7.5k)
GENRE: Contemporary romance
COST: $1.99

Zoe is nervous about meeting her fiance’s parents for the first time. In spite of his assurances, she is convinced that the fact she is black and Brian is white will be a problem for them. As it turns out, Zoe’s the one with the problem.

In spite of how short this story is, I almost didn’t finish it. I read the opening exchange between Zoe and Brian – bantering in an elevator – and immediately went back to the website to look at the excerpt to see how on earth I had been suckered into buying this. Because this, Zoe laughed. “What exactly is it that makes you crazy, vanilla man? Is it my café au lait skin?” She let her tongue slip out from between her lips and tap against his mouth invitingly. He groaned and opened up to let her in. But Zoe wasn’t done playing. She yanked her tongue back. “Or is it my beautiful, curvaceous booty?” just reads awkwardly, not banter-y. The publisher’s blurb is also kind of vague about what the story exactly is about (I’d taken a gamble after being mildly charmed by the very brief excerpt), so when the story launches into Zoe’s anxiety about meeting his parents because she’s black, I almost stopped again. Because this, The first thing they heard as they entered the impressive penthouse was a high pitched voice screaming, “Black, black, black!” Zoe turned pale., makes Zoe look overreactive as hell.

But I kept on. Until the next point where I almost stopped. When Zoe takes a huge leap and accuses Brian’s father of not wanting them to get married when he came onto the scene teasing Brian’s mother about not scaring Zoe away before they got rid of Brian for good. She’s so wrapped up in her own paranoia and issues, she becomes completely irrational.

But for some reason, I kept going. Zoe has yet another over the top, unnecessary reaction to something after they leave the party, at which point, she proceeds to cut off all communication with Brian for a week. Doesn’t take his calls, doesn’t answer her door, nada. He’s forced to show up at her job to try and find out what the hell is going on, and lo and behold, there is the slightly charming scene I read on the website! Too little, too late.

Oh, and when they make up? We get lines like this: Zoe moaned as her body reached for that elusive peak, strained toward it, while pulling him along with her in her clenching, lust soaked womb. Why do female authors insist on confusing womb for vagina?!? The womb is the uterus, people. It doesn’t get soaked. It can't pull a penis along. Now, if this was the orgasm of the scene, I wouldn’t quibble about it clenching, but they don’t reach orgasm for another two paragraphs, so…I’m quibbling. And if someone wants to say that it's a romance euphemism for vagina, I'd like to point out that there are actually plenty of euphemisms that are actually accurate that could have been used instead, like "channel" or "passage."

Maybe I should’ve stopped at those first few paragraphs after all.

Readability	4/10 – A lack of commas, laughable dialogue, winceworthy phrasing…it adds up.
Hero	4/10 – Too perfect to be interesting or well-rounded
Heroine	2/10 – Overwrought, irrational, and makes me want to slap her.
Entertainment value	2/10 – I barely finished this. Only the fact that it was so short kept me going.
World building	5/10 – Too much time preaching to do anything else.
TOTAL:	17/50

Trilogy No. 111: Speak Its Name by Charlie Cochrane, Lee Rowan, & Erastes

TITLE: Trilogy No. 111: Speak Its Name
AUTHOR: Charlie Cochrane, Lee Rowan, and Erastes
PUBLISHER: Linden Bay Romance
LENGTH: Anthology (roughly 72k)
GENRE: Gay historical romance
COST: $6.99

A trio of gay historical romances, each offering love amongst Englishmen.

The anthology starts out with “Aftermath” by Charlie Cochrane. The story of two young men attending Cranmer College in England in 1920, it describes how two men of supposedly opposite demeanors and upbringings can come together and find love, in spite of the societal and cultural pressures. Edward Easterby is a chemistry student, awkward and antisocial, while Hugo Lamont is revered by all on campus as the man to be. Discovering they share a secret is both the best and worst thing to happen to them. As sweet as the potential of this romance is, however, it’s characterized by a device that very rarely works for me. Sections of the story are told in third person omniscient POV, which, while it’s reminiscent of other classic historical works, is always something I’ve struggled enjoying. For me, the intrusive narrator that both describes backstory as well as makes blatant connections for the reader distances me from getting involved. I’ve always found the need to draw lines within the text mildly patronizing, like I can’t do it myself. In this story’s case, since it happens as early as the third page, I’m shoved out of experiencing the story almost right away. I never find that footing with it. Dialogue that makes me cringe, even for the setting (I've fallen in love with you, Edward; I knew it from the moment you laid your precious head on my manly chest, that day by this same river.), doesn’t help that.

I moved on to the second story, Lee Rowan’s “Gentleman’s Gentleman,” with mild trepidation, then. If all three stories employed this device, I very likely would have set the entire thing aside. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. Rowan tells the tale of Lord Robert Scoville and his valet, Jack Darling, as they undergo a diplomatic assignment for the Crown. Darling served under Scoville in the armed forces, and took the post of valet afterward because he’s in love with the man. For his part, Scoville is very aware of his own proclivities, and though he’s always held a desire for Darling, he hasn't, and never would, acted upon it. Because they’re of different stations, the last thing he would ever want is to force a man to accept his advances, so they live comfortably in this stasis for over a decade. There’s an elegant charm to this entire tale, as the plot thread about their assignment wends along, that sucked me in. I delighted in both characters, chuckled along at their camaraderie, and was more than pleased with how they eventually found the truth of their feelings.

The final story is “Hard and Fast” by Erastes. Major Geoffrey Chaloner, the third son in a family of means but not title, has returned from the Napoleonic Wars to find his father determined to marry him off. The most recent candidate is Lady Pelham, but first, Chaloner must get through her cousin, Adam Heyward. Heyward is a very mystery of vexation, driving Chaloner to distraction more than once, and when their odd relationship explodes in an entirely unexpected direction, Chaloner is left adrift at what to do. Where the first story left me cold, this final offering thoroughly and utterly enchanted me. Told in 1^st person from Chaloner’s perspective, I found myself tumbling along with his confusion, charmed by his responses, and just as eager to find a resolution to all the madness of his feelings as he was. Adam is suitably enigmatic, and provides an interesting foil for Chaloner. Ultimately, it was the romance I got swept up by the most. This story is different in tone and focus than Rowan’s, reflective of the various environments they chose for their heroes. Where Rowan’s story focused on the escapade as a means of breaking down the walls between them, this one utilized more internal monologue in order to accomplish the same feat. Both succeed, just in different ways.

Readability	7/10 – My difficulties with the first story are the only thing holding this back.
Romance	8/10 – I invested in varying degrees with the romances, though all have something to offer.
Characterization	8/10 – The best overall aspect of the anthology.
Entertainment value	7/10 – It’s hard for a multi-author anthology to be perfect, and my difficulty with the first story illustrates that.
World building	8/10 – A reverse here, I actually had the best sense of place and time with the first story.
TOTAL:	38/50

Renegade by Natalie J. Damschroder

TITLE: Renegade
AUTHOR: Natalie J. Damschroder
PUBLISHER: Amber Quill (Heat)
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 31k)
GENRE: Contemporary suspense erotic romance
COST: $6.00

Giving her best friend refuge is nothing new for Trex. Including the stranger who’s his new partner is. When Jake and Dan show up in the middle of the night seeking sanctuary, Trex doesn’t hesitate to take them in. She’s loved Jake her entire life. There’s nothing she won’t do for him, including offer solace from the nightmares that plague him with his work. What she doesn’t expect is the force of her desire for Dan, and what starts out as a need to help the two men clear their names quickly devolves into an emotional quagmire she’s not sure they’ll survive…

Sometimes, I’m in the mood for simple action-oriented fare. A fast read, something to escape with. Buying Renegade seemed to satisfy that need with a romantic triangle on the side, since it had two men on the run and the women who protects them. Toss in the fact that the men have psychic abilities that help them save abducted children, and I’m a goner. I confess, it’s part of my soft underbelly.

Ultimately, the story ends up satisfying what I needed. The prose is tight and action-oriented, pushing the story along at a comfortable speed. The three leads are likable, and if they fit a little too comfortably into stereotypes, I’m surprisingly okay with it. They don’t do anything despicable or too annoying, and actually, Dan is quite appealing in his broken alpha ways. Jake and his motivations are more of an enigma, but that is likely because the entire story is told from Trex’s POV, and frankly, she wears rose-colored glasses in his case. She has been pining for this man since she was three. She’s not exactly a reliable witness to his character.

The story breaks down a little for me near the climax as Trex pulls a dumb stunt that fully deserves the repercussions that follow, but there is one thing I do have to say for this story. I literally had no idea which one she was going to end up with until the second to last chapter. I kept seeing cases for her to end up with either guy, and I could never make up my mind about which one would get the HEA. It was nice to be left guessing that long, especially since the suspense angle of the story kind of fell apart in the last third, too. I was able to get caught up in the emotions when some easy fixes and telling not showing sullied the action for me a little bit.

All in all, it’s an escapist read with some hot moments, tight action, and an alpha male who got to me. Pretty much what I was looking for.

Readability	8/10 – Swift, tight prose that throws you through the story
Hero	7/10 – Broken and appealing, without losing his alpha edge
Heroine	6/10 – I liked her a lot more until she pulled a stunt at the climax that had me shouting at my computer.
Entertainment value	7/10 – Frankly, it kept me guessing about which guy she would end up with, in a generally entertaining way, and any time I can do that is good.
World building	6/10 – The psychic aspects aren’t developed very clearly, nor is the heroine’s professional career, except when it proves advantageous for jumpstarting the plot when it stalls out.
TOTAL:	34/50

Captain's Surrender by Alex Beecroft

TITLE: Captain’s Surrender
AUTHOR: Alex Beecroft
PUBLISHER: Linden Bay Romance
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 60k)
GENRE: Gay historical romance
COST: $6.99

Midshipman Joshua Andrews knows his lustful desires for other men will have him hanged should anyone discover the truth, but from the moment he lays eyes on First Lieutenant Peter Kenyon, his heart is lost. He maintains the utmost of professionalism, though the two become friends under a brutal captain many would like to see fed to the sharks. When tensions run high onboard the Nimrod, everything about their world changes. It’s up to them whether or not they can survive, and whether or not they wish to survive together.

As far as recreating a historical setting and putting you into the middle of the action, Captain’s Surrender is at the top of its class. There is no denying the author’s knowledge on her subject matter. The detail is dense and evocative, calling to mind some of the classics I studied in college. When she writes a battle between two ships, as a reader you are right in the thick of the action. You can hear the roar of men and cannons, and smell the blood and sulfur. This is, by far, the novel’s greatest strength. The author has created a world of honor and seamen, and submerged you within it, right from the very first page.

Curiously, one of the other novel’s strengths has left me divided emotionally. She incorporates multiple POVs throughout her storytelling – one chapter will be from Josh’s perspective, one from Peter’s, another from Summersgill, the Englishman riding aboard the Nimrod. On one hand, this helps to both make the world even more vivid and to flesh out what might otherwise be flat, background characters. On the other, it ended up giving me distance from the two male protagonists so that I couldn't better get involved with their romance. Of the first 10 chapters, only 3 are actually in the perspective of either Josh or Peter. In fact, we get 3 chapters alone in each of Summersgill’s head and his daughter Emily’s. While it engages me with the overall action and thrust of the story, it keeps me from really understanding either Josh or Peter, or gaining more than a passing sympathy for them. My feelings for Emily and her father are as strong, if not stronger, by that point, and that, inevitably, holds me back from investing more in the romance.

I have to admit, the other thing that held me back was Josh’s over-effusiveness when he first sees Peter in the first chapter. He has decided, by the end of the chapter, that he’s in love with the man, though he’s barely said a word to him. It’s difficult for me to take love at first sight seriously anyway, but this is hindered by the lack of insight into Josh’s thoughts (we don’t get his perspective again until chapter 7).

Overall, though, the book is a solid read. Though the romance in and of itself didn’t resonate emotionally for me as well as it probably could have, there was enough meat in the rest of the arc to keep me entertained, and to care about everyone, not just the two heroes.

Readability	9/10 – Dense, evocative prose.
Hero #1	6/10 – Proud and honorable, but a little too self-righteous for my tastes
Hero #2	6/10 – Competent and likeable though his highly emotional inner thoughts when we finally got them felt over the top for me
Entertainment value	7/10 – A solid read, I only wish I could have engaged with the romance more.
World building	10/10 – Superlative detail that makes you smell the salt.
TOTAL:	38/50

Sex and Love by Lauren Hawkeye

TITLE: Sex and Love
AUTHOR: Lauren Hawkeye
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 18k)
GENRE: Contemporary erotic romance
COST: $3.99

Four college friends, inseparable for life regardless of who is dating who. Two men, two women, too many relationships. When one of the men announces he’s a virgin at twenty-eight, boundaries get broken when the other three decide to help him out. Nothing after that is ever the same…

Though the publisher’s site has this marked as a ménage, it makes me wonder just how they define the word, if they consider the inclusion of a solitary menage scene enough to label the entire story as such when, at its core, the story is a het romance. Desi, the 1^st person narrator, has had a thing for Jude, one of her best friends from college, for a long time. The arc follows her, and while the issue of Trevor’s virginity spurs a ménage between him and the two women, with Jude as a very odd fourth who only watches and helps orchestrate the whole thing, it also sparks the het romance between Desi and Jude. The ending is a het pairing, too. The emotions are complex and interwoven, but for me, it’s just not a ménage. The two women have sexual contact in the ménage scene, but it’s done more because it’s what the men want, to titillate them, than it is for their own desires. There is also some confusion on Jude’s part on what he might feel for Trevor, but even there, the ultimate answer doesn’t lead to a ménage.

Readers of m/m might not be as satisfied with this story, either. The sole m/m scene is fairly aborted, and since it’s in 1^st person, we’re also subjected to Desi’s thought processes during the entire thing. She is the one emotionally entangled with Jude, and it’s her hurt and confusion that overlays it. Her entire reaction to the climax of the story is overwrought and not quite in character with the rest of her actions.

However, in spite of all that, I have to say I really, really enjoyed the first two-thirds of the story. Desi’s narrative voice has a quirky charm, and the sexual scenes are both sensual and erotic. I committed to the complexities of their interpersonal relationships, probably because they seemed completely and utterly familiar. I believed them. What started out as types took on genuine personalities very quickly, and I was rushed into the swell of their lives by the time Trevor made his grand announcement about being gay. It felt like getting invited into the lives of four very good friends, a trip I welcomed until the last third of the story. Even then, I’d think of them with a smile.

Readability	9/10 – Engaging first person voice, though long, convoluted sentence structures tend to weigh heavy after a while
Hero	5/10 – I never really understand what the big deal is about him, because the narrator is so much about the whole group than just him for so long.
Heroine	7/10 – If she hadn’t freaked out over the climactic emotional moment, this would be higher. I really enjoyed her voice for the first two-thirds of the story.
Entertainment value	7/10 – The pivotal event that sets the emotional climax of the story grated me, and ends up spoiling what would have been a higher score.
World building	8/10 – Some really great phrasing and details, though bigger picture tends to lapse.
TOTAL:	36/50

Survival by D.J. Manly

TITLE: Survival
AUTHOR: D.J. Manly
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: Novel (roughly 56k)
GENRE: Gay paranormal erotic romance
COST: $6.99

A bad break-up has completely derailed Russell Thompson’s life. For the past three years, he has mourned the loss of his ex, Gray Wiese, and the band they formed together, watching from the sidelines as the band skyrockets to fame without him. When Eddie, a high school acquaintance, shows up and offers to get him back into the band, Russ jumps at the opportunity. But the contract he signs promises more than his devotion to Eddie. It promises his very soul…

The publisher’s blurb for this story doesn’t do it any credit. At over 300 words, it’s a mishmash of too many names and too much backstory that forces a potential buyer to read more than once in order to get even a rudimentary understanding of who the players might be and what is actually going on. Ultimately, though, the story itself is very simple. Boy loses boy and band. Boy meets powerful demonic creature willing to give at least the band back to him for a price. Boy has to fight not to break the contract that will damn him forever. Much of the detail provided in the publisher’s blurb is extraneous and confusing, better left for readers to find out on their own as the story progresses.

That being said, what starts out as a promising horror erotic romance never quite reaches the potential of either the premise or the opening chapters. The author’s voice is simple and direct, with little challenging or exciting to differentiate it from other stories. Details that would have helped build the horror and suspense of what Russ is going through aren’t shared until far too late, and without those, the constant scene-cutting back and forth between POV – Russ, Gray, and Eddie – makes it harder to connect or respond to any of them. Russ is the easiest to connect with, and for me the most likeable character, while Gray’s emotional arc is all over the place, with melodramatic reactions that don’t endear him to me at all.

Because the thrust of the novel is keeping the two heroes apart, for the first two-thirds of the story, the eroticism is presented in other ways. Eddie has done this for Russ because he’s wanted him since high school, but Eddie’s sexual tastes have changed over the years, in accordance with what he’s become. These are the scenes the reader gets to witness, almost all of them BDSM scenes with bondage and pain. Russ only does it because he has to; saying no is not an option, so the level of consent in this dubious at best. We’re supposed to believe that Russ becomes addicted to the sexual release he gets from these types of scenes, but frankly, I didn’t get it. If they’re so pleasurable, why do his thoughts outside of those scenes never reflect that? They always seem to linger on how much he hates it all, how much he wants out of it, how much he’d rather be with Gray. I can’t buy that he gets much satisfaction at all from Eddie’s games, which ultimately keeps them from ever being arousing.

The most interesting aspect of the story is the last quarter, where the action and tone take a definitive shift away from the more contemporary ambience straight into paranormal. In a lot of ways, it felt like an entirely different book. These were characters far more interesting to me than the ones who had started out the story, with details painting a world that engaged and entertained me. Russ has far more depth, and I could even tolerate Gray’s drama queen tendencies better. I would have much preferred seeing this style of storytelling throughout the novel. It’s engaging and nuanced; unfortunately, it takes three-fourths of the book to get to that point.

Readability	7/10 – A crowded cast and odd pacing slow down otherwise simple reading
Hero #1	7/10 – Sympathetic, though it always felt like there was something I didn’t know about him.
Hero #2	5/10 – A drama queen, and hard for me to take seriously with all his melodramatic reactions
Entertainment value	6/10 – A lot of potential that never quite follows through
World building	7/10 – The paranormal aspects of the last quarter are hinted at throughout the book, but it’s sudden shift gives the story a schizophrenic feel
TOTAL:	32/50

39...and Still Holding by assorted authors

TITLE: 39…and Still Holding
AUTHOR: Donna George Storey, Barbara Foster, Melinda Carroll, Greg Boose, N.L. Belardes, chingpea, Carmel Lockyer, L.A. Mistral, Ansley Vaughan, Erin Gordon, Kate Burns, Santana Smith, Patricia Parkinson, Jennifer Mueller
PUBLISHER: Phaze
LENGTH: Anthology (roughly 60k)
GENRE: Erotica
COST: $6.00

A collection of 14 stories, each telling a story about life after 39…

One of my requirements before I buy a book is I need to read an excerpt. The excerpt isn’t always a great indication of what the writing is going to be like – I’ve been caught out too many times for that to be always true – but it’s better than going into a story completely blind, especially if it’s a new author. I’ve gone back and forth with Phaze. When I first started buying books online, they didn’t have them, then they did, then the excerpts disappeared, and now it looks like they’re back again. I stumbled upon this quite by accident because I bought this Phaze title at Fictionwise on one of my weekly Monday haunts there. So I’m putting them back on my publishers to look at, but honestly, I really wish they’d do something about their editing.

This anthology suffers from the same lack of care I’ve found in other Phaze works when it comes to technical aspects. Half the stories are riddled with spelling mistakes, and one even manages to switch person – from 3^rd to 1^st and back to 3^rd again – all within the same sentence. Then there are the non-technical things, like laughable dialogue – This tent reminds me of a womb and makes me feel safe. – and the unwieldy exposition – Juan was struck by her salt and pepper, auburn hair and her olive, almost milk-chocolate skin. Her eyes were so green, the jungle seemed rest there inside her irises and her complexion was like mint ice cream. Mercifully, not all the stories were like this, otherwise I very likely wouldn’t have finished it.

My favorite story of the bunch is a short offering called “Two Letters to Francine, the Cashier at Check-Out Counter Five at Jewel,” by Greg Boose. It’s exactly what the title says, two letters written by an enamored 43-year-old to the cashier at his grocery store he’s too nervous or shy to approach. The first letter is misleading. It describes what Brian is feeling and how he would like to be with her. The pay-off doesn’t come until the second letter, which I’ll admit had me chortling in embarrassed amusement for the narrator. Is the story perfect? No, but honestly, when I finished the anthology, this was the only one I could remember in detail with a positive response. While there were others I liked, this one was unique enough, and provoked the strongest, most genuine response, to stand out from the crowd. (As a small aside, when trying to find out more about the author, I happened across his site/blog that he writes with his now-wife. Just as funny if not more than the story.)

Other standouts include “A Rabbit Hole for Emily” by Melinda Carroll, a hot little romp about a divorced woman and the punk rocker musician on the rise she’s got a thing for, “Age Limits” by Kate Burns, a story about a woman trying to rediscover the man she married, and “What If” by Jennifer Mueller, a story of two young lovers reconnecting after forty years.

Readability	5/10 – Far too many stories in this needed some serious editing, like the one that switched from 3rd to 1st and back to 3rd person, all talking about the same character, in the same sentence.
Plot	6/10 – Some interesting ideas with a few of them, though execution almost always falls short.
Characterization	5/10 – I remember characters from only half of these, which doesn’t bode well when there are so many stories crammed into the anthology
Entertainment value	4/10 – A couple stand out as genuinely entertaining, while too many just make me wish I hadn’t bothered buying it in the first place
World building	6/10 – Better than other aspects in the book, even stories I hated had a sense of atmosphere
TOTAL:	26/50