Another Place in Time by Various Authors

4.5 STARS

There are 6 stories in this historical anthology and every one of them is a winner.

Office Romance by Tamara Allen
Introducing Mr. Winterbourne by Joanna Chambers
The Ruin of Gabriel Ashleigh by KJ Charles
Unfair in Love and War by Kaje Harper
Carousel by Jordan L. Hawk
Deliverance by Aleksandr Voinov

The stories take place in different historical eras and each one is a little gem that I can totally recommend. WW2, Regency, Victorian, The Crusades... each story features terrific characters, actual plots, sexy and romantic interludes, real emotions, laughter and tears. I mean they have everything you'd want in a historical romance no matter the era. I'm not one for short stories usually. I find many of them lacking substance. Not these!

They were all so, so good, but if you were to demand that I choose a favourite, I'd have to say The Ruin of Gabriel Ashleigh by KJ Charles. The heat in this story, the intensity of the two characters in their dealings with each other, the moments of humour and the moments of sadness... man... it was really really really good. :)

I should add that the only author I'd not read before was Joanna Chambers and she's now on my Get More Books By This Author list. I have her Provoked in my TBR pile.

So if you want to check out some historical m/m romance, this is a terrific place to start! It's also a must-read for those that are already loving the genre. :)

Into Deep Waters by Kaje Harper

5 STARS

I unabashedly loved this simple tale of the life of two ordinary men who met, fell in love, and lived their lives. It touched my heart in so many simple, little ways that brought lumps to my throat and tears to my eyes. Jacob and Daniel could be any two men, really. I'm reminded of a man I knew many years ago, he was the pharmacist at our local drugstore. He lived together with his 'friend' a few blocks away from my first husband and I. They had been together for over 15 years at the time and I'm sure they're still together today if they're still among us. 

Kaje has crafted a simple, heart-warming story of an enduring love and I highly recommend it. :)

The Rebuilding Year by Kaje Harper

4 STARS

Oh, it was good. :) A true romance, I thought. I fell for both main characters, 

John and Ryan and even though the whole 'gay for you' usually makes my back teeth itch, it was okay this time. Both men were damaged and even though their Rebuilding Year went a long way towards healing, I was left with the impression - a good impression, mind you - that there were still going to be 'things' to crop up. (Maybe John and Ryan are whispering to Kaje that they have more story to tell? I could hope!)

So yeah, lovely main characters, a believable development of the relationship, a kid that wasn't annoying and out of place and a tantalising glimpse of Ryan's family - all very good things. And I like how Kaje writes, it's full but it's easy to read, the flow is really good. The sex and love scenes are hot and steamy and the moments of tenderness and affection plentiful - something I like very much. 

I enjoyed the secondary plot of the kids and the drugs etc, it didn't seem overdone and gave an added depth to the story. The climax of the story, where Ryan has to face his fears, I really enjoyed. For action scenes it worked really well for me, there was an urgency and a tension that sometimes action scenes in books don't have. 

The one thing that bugged me was John's ex and her new husband when they came to the house. Up until then, they were working for me, but I found the sudden anti-gay ranting and raving using all the panicked, uninformed clichés to be jarring. Okay, the reason they are clichés is that they happen all the time, I get that. I have no problem with their worries that Mark living with his gay dad and his lover was going to be bad for the boy, I just thought the ignorant hysterics took away from the character. I didn't want to hate John's ex because dammit, he did love her for a long, long time, but this argument seemed geared towards making the reader despise the couple. I'd rather have just despised the new husband. :)

So, I'm hoping that Kaje has more tales of John and Ryan to tell and would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good, heart-warming tale. :) Oh!!! And Kaje originally comes from Montreal!! Like me!!

Lies and Consequences by Kaje Harper

4 STARS

This was a fun, sexy, adventure-filled read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. What a treat for a free download!!! You can be sure that Kaje Harper is now on my list of authors to definitely buy. 

The two male leads were lovely, flawed, sexy, adorable and infuriatingly dense at times. I loved them both. :) 

The adventures were a bit all over the map and rather improbable, but hell, they were there to serve the growing relationship between Chris and Ian and they served their purpose well. I really enjoyed the glimpses we got of their families and friends and kinda wished for more... especially with Chris' sister. 

All in all, Lies and Consequences was a really good read and I would not hesitate to recommend it!