Month: October 2019

4 out of 5 stars

Kindle Edition. 1nd edition. 62 pages. Published December 1st 2018 by Dreamspinner Press

Blurb:

The festival of Tulsi Vivah ushers in the Hindu wedding season and tears away the love of Kristopher’s life. Three years of passion and tenderness are reduced to a shameful skeleton in the closet as Arjuna submits to the marriage his parents have arranged for him. His family has never even heard Kristopher’s name.

The festival, a ritualistic wedding between the holy basil plant, Tulsi, and her eternal lover, Vishnu, is as much of a play-act as Arjuna’s upcoming nuptials, but he believes the wedding will honor his parents and please Vishnu. So why is his Tulsi plant—whose leaves heal and bless the devout, who is Vishnu’s representative on earth—dying? Arjuna tends to her with all the care of a concerned parent, but it might take more than his devotion to save her. She might need Kris, with his clever green-fingers—and maybe a revived Tulsi can heal two hearts.

A Story from the Warmest Wishes: Dreamspinner Press 2018 Advent Calendar

Likes:

• Rollercoaster of emotions.
• The ending.

Dislikes:

• Kristopher’s attitude towards the Tulsi plant in the beginning.
• The distance Arjuna is willing to go to keep Kris his dirty little secret.
• Kris forgives Arjuna too quickly.

I was hesitant to read this story because of how steeped in religion the blurb made it seem. And while the religion is important, it wasn’t the central reason the two men had problems.

Arjuna is deeply closeted, to the point that he refused to give Kris a key to his apartment even though they’d been dating for three years. An apartment, I’ll point out, that no one he’s related to lives near. Arjuna didn’t just keep Kris as a dirty little secret, he was almost paranoid about never being seen together.

Despite this, Kris loves Arjuna. Which is why it’s such a shock when Arjuna breaks it off out of the blue. The reason for the breakup isn’t religious, at least not on its face. Arjuna’s mom has cancer and she wants to see him get married. Arjuna believes that his duties to his parents are more important than anything else, and he agrees.

It’s the ‘his duties to his parents supersede everything else’ part that ties into the Hindu religion and Tulsi Vivah. I learned a lot about that little corner of the Hindu faith reading this book, though I can’t say if any of it was correct or not. I actually think the plant and corresponding religious ceremony were a good way to frame Arjuna’s decisions. Decisions that are at odds with Western culture.

Choosing to make your own family happy instead of being with the person you love isn’t something most westerners can easily wrap their heads around. I’ve seen some reviews where people think that Arjuna is a horrible person. I don’t think he is. Sure, he hurt Kris in so many ways, but I do think he honestly thought he was doing what was best.

It took real courage for Arjuna to break off his arranged marriage at the end and choose Kris. Openly this time. The ending was wonderful, with a hint that, while things might not be smooth sailing, there is hope for the future.

I will say that Kris’s negative reaction to the Tulsi plant at the beginning of the story felt a little strange until it was better explained. The fact that, even after they’d broken up, Kris wanted to keep the plant alive showed his devotion to Arjuna.

Overall, this story had me on a rollercoaster of emotions, from laughter to wet eyes. I do think Kris should have made Arjuna grovel a bit more in the end, but that’s just me.  

Find the Warmest Wishes anthology review here and the full list of stories here.

2 out of 5 stars

Kindle Edition. 1st edition. 30 pages. Published December 1st 2018 by Dreamspinner Press

Blurb:

Being gay and pagan can make for a lonely holiday season, as Ian knows well. He’s used to celebrating alone. The last place he expects to meet a like-minded guy is at LAX during a twenty-nine-hour layover.

Ian’s never felt so comfortable or compatible with another man, even if there is an air of mystery to Race.

Race is no stranger to holiday isolation, and he decides they should seize the opportunity they’ve been given and observe the Saturnalia the way it was meant to be. A grand celebration ensues, where every moment is special and every meal a feast. The ancient traditions take on new meaning as the men find meaning in each other. But each of them has a destiny and for their paths to continue together, it’ll take a kind of magic that hasn’t been seen in centuries.

A Story from the Warmest Wishes: Dreamspinner Press 2018 Advent Calendar

Likes:

• Pagan celebration.
• Ending was interesting.
• The clues to Rase’s real identity were well placed.

Dislikes:

• Didn’t keep my attention.
• Started off with a scene from later in the story.
• Lots of jumping around.
• Didn’t develop the characters.
• Too much telling and not enough showing.
• Insta-love.
• Not enough info on the paganism.
• The outside violence.
• The blurb didn’t hook me.

The blurb didn’t interest me, so I put this story off for a while. I wish I could say that my feelings of disinterest were proved wrong, but I can’t.

I am not a fan of stories that start off with a scene from later in the story, otherwise known as prolepsis. Frist of all, they’re almost never labeled as such, so I end up confused. Second, it feels like the author doesn’t have the confidence that the reader will continue to the end unless they’re shown something flashy right from the start.

Technically, this book did label the prolepsis by saying it started 6 minutes before eternity. But, as this came at the very beginning of the story, I assumed the time was counting up from 0 to 29 hours, instead of down from 29 to 0, so the labeling didn’t help at all. I still ended up confused, thinking I had somehow missed the part when the two main characters met.

Still, the prolepsis did make me wonder how a happy ending was going to be achieved given the amount of outside violence. It should have clued me in that destiny and magic referenced in the blurb weren’t just hyperbole.

I liked that this story has pagan overtones, but would have liked more explanation. Like when Race gave Ian a gift of two little figurines – a pitcher for merriment and “the die should be self-explanatory.” Well, it wasn’t self-explanatory for me, thanks. A lot of the other pagan moments in the story, like he holly bush and evergreen boughs, were also not explained, which gave the story an air of pagan window dressing without the substance behind it.

As for the men, they were fine. I honestly don’t know much about them since they weren’t fleshed out. Especially Rase. His history was meant to be a mystery, and that meant that he didn’t get much character definition. He was described physically, but that’s about it. Ian was a little more fleshed out, but not much.

I will give credit where credit is due. The clues to Rase’s real identity were well placed. Obvious after a while, but that’s not a bad thing. His part in the ending was also interesting. Admittedly not my favorite thing in the world, what with leaving so much pain and suffering behind as he and Ian flounce off to a happy eternity, but whatever. It was a happy ending for them, if not for all the people who died.

In the end, this story just didn’t work for me on multiple accounts. The sheer amount of telling and not showing, the jumping around in time, the insta-love. All that would have dropped the rating even without my other complaints. I think the ideas in this story simply aren’t suited to such a short page length.

Find the Warmest Wishes anthology review here and the full list of stories here.

5 out of 5 stars

Kindle Edition. 1st edition. 50 pages. Published December 1st 2018 by Dreamspinner Press

Blurb:

Lord protector of whores, thieves, sorcerers, and deviants.

Owning a parcel of land the railroad needs to cross means Edward gets to run the border town around the station as he sees fit. What starts as a place to indulge his varied appetites becomes a haven to society’s castoffs, and if Edward encourages legends about its founder to flourish, well, he’s not so much a liar as a man who wants to protect all the cultures living in peace. Being mayor means folks might ignore his vices, but they also expect him to fix what goes wrong.

When a crushing heat wave and drought threaten not only the town’s diverse holiday celebrations but its very existence, Edward must turn to the one man he’d rather french kiss a timber rattler than face—the icily elegant Cantonese mage Edward walked out on but never stopped loving.

A Story from the Warmest Wishes: Dreamspinner Press 2018 Advent Calendar

Likes:

• Completely different feel from the other stories.
• A good mashup of cultures and ideas.
• Edward really went through a transition.
• Hopeful ending.
• Well written.
• The history between Edward and Shu.

Dislikes:

• The world wasn’t well explained.
• It felt like literally anything could happen.
• I wanted more information on Shu.

I’ve had August Li on my radar for a while but never got around to reading anything by him. I’m realizing now that I should bump him up the ‘to read’ list.

This story was really interesting. It’s got a completely different feel than the other stories in the anthology. At the outset, it almost seems like the romance isn’t central to the plot. But it’s actually the other way around. The unnatural drought is what leads to Edward’s transformation, and it’s only after that transformation that he can be with Shu again. It all fits together seamlessly.

The magical/mystical elements in the story were both good and bad. It added this great dimension, but it also felt like literally anything could happen. And while I enjoy world building, I like to know the limits.

The mashup of cultures was fun, and also fit the feeling of the town. A place where outcasts and misfits could all live together, the various festivities made sense. Again, I would have loved to see more of the town and the people. The story itself is well contained, but the world its set in is interesting enough that I want to read something else set in Colina de Lavanda.

Having Edward and Shu have a history meant that the core of the romance could be saved until the end. And it was a satisfying and hopeful ending. This is definitely a HFN story. I could see a follow up of Edward and Shu. They aren’t perfect, but their chemistry was great.

Find the Warmest Wishes anthology review here and the full list of stories here.

5 out of 5 stars

Kindle Edition. 1st edition. 54 pages. Published December 1st 2018 by Dreamspinner Press

Blurb:

When Adam Tyler’s sister announced she was pregnant, Adam decided to move from Portland, Oregon, to Phoenix, Arizona, to fully embrace the uncle experience. However, he didn’t count on the move being delayed until three days before Christmas—and three days before his sister’s due date. And he definitely didn’t count on finding a scorpion in his bedroom. Cue the panicked calls to exterminators.

Garrett Strong doesn’t consider himself at all remarkable—his ex certainly didn’t think so—and Garrett’s pest-control business is circling the drain. Although Adam is his first new client in months, that isn’t the only reason Garrett goes above and beyond for him. He feels a real connection to the younger man and intends to do everything in his power to make sure Adam feels safe and welcome in Phoenix—venomous intruders notwithstanding.

A Story from the Warmest Wishes: Dreamspinner Press 2018 Advent Calendar

Likes:

• Got hooked right from the start.
• Adam was relatable.
• Garrett was sweet.
• They made a great couple.
• The kind gestures they made towards each other were perfect.

Dislikes:

• I wanted more.

There are some stories you just get sucked into the moment you start reading. This is one of them.

Adam is so relatable. I’m not a fan of creepy-crawlies, especially if they can kill you. His freak out at finding the scorpion was totally warranted, in my opinion. And despite all the scorpions and other desert dwelling dangers in this book, they weren’t presented in a gross way. I liked that Garett treated them as another part of living in the desert but also gave them the respect they deserved as dangerous animals.

Garett was really sweet with the way he took care of Adam, not only because they had a connection but because he took pride in his job. And the fact that he wasn’t comfortable or familiar with website design or branding felt realistic even in this day and age. Not everyone knows how to make a website, and sometimes the not knowing turns it into something that seems like a much bigger hurdle than it really is.

Honestly, these guys were so cute together. This story is fun and fluffy and had me smiling the entire way through. Plus, the things they did for each other were perfectly in sync with what the other man needed. My only complaint was that I wanted more. I would have happily read an entire novel about these two.

Find the Warmest Wishes anthology review here and the full list of stories here.