Contributors: Tina Pollick, Krystle Anne, Alexa S. Chase, Adera Orfanelli, Jessica Hartman, Dominica Malcolm, Nulli Para Ora, Yuri Bellamy, Elizabeth Rose
Where to Buy
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"A Beautiful Horror" by Krystle Anne
★★★★
A cute story with a decent amount of characterization despite the short length. Josie's personality defintely comes through, though Dominick's remains a bit vauge in some ways. We're given enough bits about his past to give us the outlines of a much larger story than the one at hand and the characters are interesting enough that if it were ever developed into more I'd be interested in reading more about them and seeing if Dom could overcome some of the problems he's been dealing with.
"The Ritual" by Alexa S. Chase
★★★½
An interesting story, but a little bit disjointed. It's hard to get a good feel for the main characters as everything moves so fast and jumps from one point of the story to another often without much lead in or explanation of how we got there. I think this story would have been much better if it hadn't been constrained so tighly by the word limits of the anthology. It also would have benefited from a bit more editing as there are a few missing words and gramatical errors that I spotted and a bit more polish would have helped it flow a lot better.
"Convince Me I'm Yours" by Adera Orfanelli
★★★★
An intriguing but confusing story. The tone of the writing bemuses from the outset and pulls you in, teasing you with bits of information but never quite telling enough to let you fully undertand what's going on. What is revealed here makes you want to know more of the story - hints are given about their background, but key details are left vague or left out altogether in a way that makes you want to know the whole of it. Then just when you think things are finally going to come to a head and the whole thing will start to makes sense, it ends, leaving you hanging. Still, the writing is beautiful and the chemistry between the two is smoking, making it definitely a worthwhile read.
"Haunted" by Dominica Malcolm
★★★
A well written story, but also a very confusing one. I'm really not entirely sure what I read here for the opening statements didn't seem to be fully connected with the rest of the story. The opening lines set up an expectation that we're going to be told one story, but then we're told another one that, while it certainly is related to the one expected, doesn't have any obvious direct connection with what was expected. Because of this, it left me with a furrowed brow at the end wondering what I'd just read.
"The Ties That Bind" by Nulli Para Ora
★★★★½
Hot! Wonderful, deeply emotional story about a couple having marital problems because of lack of communication. The frustration they both feel is so real you feel it right along with them, though the desire to smack Jessica for being silly is strong as well. When they finally break down the walls between them, look out, cause they set the screen on fire!
"Against the Tide" by Yuri Bellamy
★★★★
A sweet tale of forbidden love. The lovers' consternation at having to do the "right" thing and deny their love is very real, and it's easy to feel Asa's heartbreak along with her, as well as her determination to do what she's supposed to do in order to keep her lover safe. When the solution to their problems comes it's perhaps a bit too easy, but with such a short length it's difficult to sustain a conflict for very long I know. The language, particularly when describing body parts is slightly too clinical for my tastes at times, but that's my only quibble with the writing here.
"The Horseman's Heart" by Elizabeth Rose
★★★★½
A powerful story about undying love that spans time and space. The tone throughout is very poignant and almost wistful and sad at times, but also full of humor in places as well. We don't really get to know much about the lovers, or their story, yet the emotion of it comes through clearly nonetheless. The ending will likely bring a bit of a tear to your eye but then leave you with a smile.
"A Tragic Tale" by Tina Pollick
★★★★
A quaint and quirky fairy-tale-like story with a few surprise twists. For the majority of the tale it seems to be a simple Romeo and Juliet type story, but then it makes something of a left turn and takes you to an ending that will leave you blinking with astonishment. While much of it is predictable in many ways including, to a certain extent, the ending, still it all goes down in a way that's a bit shocking. This one gets applause from me for that alone.
