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. :)

Hammer and Bone by Kirby Crow

4 STARS

I will be honest, I bought this book because I enjoyed Kirby Crow's Scarlet and the White Wolf fantasy series and because I adore this book cover. I am not normally fond of short stories that are not part of an established universe and dark stories aren't my favourites either. But you know... living dangerously because that's a damned gorgeous cover.

Do NOT read the stories in this book expecting romances. They are not the HEAs you're looking for. What they are though, is damned fine writing. And dark... oooh my goodness, even the ones that have somewhat happyish endings are still dark. I felt as if I was bathing in luxurious prose while reading and it was a lovely feeling.

The stories were good. Very good. My faves were Knights of the Risen God and Sundog.

So in the end, I was very pleasantly surprised and would not hesitate to recommend this book to folks in search of dark, speculative fiction starring a nicely diverse cast of characters.

And that cover!!!

The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by KJ Charles

4.5 STARS

Simon Feximal Series

I loved this book and I'm so glad that the author decided to publish this as a collection instead of piecing them out over time as so often happens. Yes, it's a collection of short stories, but it flows so beautifully from one into the other, even if there are years in between them.

Simon Feximal is a most intriguing, dismaying, exasperating, wonderful and sensitive character and it's really not difficult to see why Robert Caldwell falls for him. And Robert himself, the light-hearted, optimistic, self-aware (The man is very quick to know and admit his fears, for instance.) journalist-turned-author is a treat. The stories are told from his POV and they never fail to hold one's interest. He never becomes pedantic or tiresome or too introspective as many 1st person narrators can. While reading, it actually felt like as if I was reading through a sheaf of servicable stationery written in ink in a sprawling handwriting - not my Kobo Aura H2O ereader. *LOL* Seriously!

Robert tells two tales really. The tale of his and Simon's work partnership, how they came to join together and learn how to work together. And it's also the tale of their intimate partnership and how they came to love one another and create their own version of a family.

I think there could be more Feximal stories, I mean we have only scratched the surface of his and Robert's paranormal adventures, but what we have in this book are the cases that affected both areas of their lives and I would be satisfied with that if that is all there is to be told. We have see both Simon and Robert grow into full, well-rounded, real characters thanks to these tales and anything else that could be written would be more for the adventure and the fun of it.

Y'know, KJ Charles is a terrific author and I could never go wrong in recommending her.

Sublime - Collected Shorts by Rachel Haimowitz

4 STARS

Continuing the tales of Nicky and Devon as they explore many, many aspects of a D/s relationship. In these assorted short stories, there's something for everyone. I think my favourite was "Milk Run". Devon is a lovely, devious, mischievous Dom, especially when his Nicky steps out of line. :) There's a sweetness to Devon and Nicky that I just love and they are just perfect for each other. Loved it!