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Archive for March, 2012

Bear It All by Deanna Wadsworth

Posted in Authors: V-Z, Contemporary, Romance, tagged , on March 26, 2012 | 2 Comments »

Title: Bear It All
Author: Deanna Wadsworth
Length: 18,000 words (52 pdf pages)
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Genre: m/m contemporary
Rating: C+

Blurb:

Travis hired 1 Night Stand hoping for a hot encounter with a sexy older, hairy man, someone to make him feel safe and cherished, and John looks custom made to order.

After losing his partner three years ago, John needs to learn how to open his heart and live again. He thinks a one night stand in the Caribbean might be the answer, but when he sees the young, thin and much smaller Travis, he thinks the agency sent the wrong man.

Can desire overcome misunderstanding when these two bear it all? Or will both men walk away from exactly what they need and desire?

Review:

After reading the last story in the 1 Night Stand series by this author, I went and sought out this installment. I still enjoyed the story and the author’s style, however the insta-love ending rather put a damper on my enthusiasm. Travis has written his bar exam and to celebrate has booked an encounter with 1 Night Stand agency at a resort in the Caribbean. He knows what he wants, a big bear who will make him feel safe. He’s got instructions to wear a particular shirt and wait by the pool and pretend it’s an unexpected meeting. His excitement about the whole experience, along with a bit of trepidation, was well done and when John shows up at the pool, Travis’ drool almost shows up on the screen. John is everything he wants, but the guy doesn’t seem to be clueing in that Travis is the one. When he finally makes it clear, he’s the guy’s date, he gets a rather unexpected reaction when the guy storms off, obviously not interested, crushing Travis.

However Travis is pissed, and wants his money back and to talk to Madame Eve, and also go and have it out with John and find out what his problem is. When he finally goes to talk to John, it seems he’s not quite what John asked for, and John is sure a young hottie like Travis doesn’t want an old hairy guy like him. He asked for someone similar to his dead lover, older, bigger, less twinky, but he’s strangely drawn to Travis. Finally they chat a bit and before long, the pull is there and they are making out.

This was where things went a little wonky for me. I get that insta-lust can happen, but Travis’ feelings, and even John’s, who wasn’t looking for someone like Travis, just moved too quickly for me. While neither said I love you, Travis at least was thinking it. Apparently one of the hallmarks of Madame Eve, is you get what you need, not necessarily what you asked for, hence Travis, not a dead ex duplicate. I liked that John was cautious of his size (in all senses of the word) and self-conscious about his body. He was not some big “I’m in charge and the boss” type guy. Travis had BTDT and had not great results. Travis was the one who kind of pushed them forward.

So on the whole I enjoyed it, but I would have preferred if the author hadn’t tried to rush the connection as they had a week to spend together and I would rather have seen them make that strong connection a bit later. Still, it was sexy and sweet, as John was perfect for Travis, and I do enjoy reading about Caribbean resorts.

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Want, Love, Need by Mike Shade

Posted in Authors: S-U, D+, Historical, Romance, tagged , on March 26, 2012 | 5 Comments »

Title: Want, Love, Need
Author: Mike Shade
Length: 6,100 words
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: m/m fantasy
Rating: D+

Blurb:
Eoan is a hunter, who lives happily in the woods. It’s a simple good life, one that’s changed forever when a mage appears in his path from a place and time not here. To Eoan’s surprise, Daniel not only survives as they face the Red Dragon and other difficulties, but Eoan begins to enjoy the mage’s company. Enjoy it and more. Could it be that Daniel feels the same way?

Review:
I picked this up because I fancied a fantasy short. It tells of a hunter Eoan who has picked up a strange companion in Daniel, a mage who suddenly appeared one day. The story follows the pair as they develop their relationship whilst fighting off the nasties that can appear in the woods.

I liked the initial idea of this book and was interested to know how Daniel had managed to magic himself across time and also what Eoan’s life entails as a hunter. Unfortunately this story turned out to be PWP. There are four sex scenes crammed into the story and all my questions are left unanswered. We never discover where Daniel came from or how he managed to appear (except that it was a spell gone wrong). The pair exist in a bubble and I wondered how Eoan manages to survive alone or whether he has friends and family. I quite liked the first sex scene which bridges that tricky move from companions to lovers with a certain amount of aplomb, but each sex scene after that lost my interest further until I all but skimmed the last one. I was disappointed that what could have been a mix of erotic content and some story to the characters, sidelined the story for the sex so we know nothing about them at the end, except that they have fallen in love and become possessive. The tired and overused use of the phrases ‘mine’ and ‘yours’ during sex as asort of shortcut to reasoned discussion of feelings was another aspect of the book which I found disappointing.

Those of you who are looking for one of those typical TQ PWP stories will be happy with this one. I was in the mood for something more in terms of character development so this one was a bit of a flop for me.

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The Winter Garden by Hayden Thorne

Posted in A-, Authors: S-U, Historical, YA, tagged , on March 24, 2012 | 2 Comments »

Title: The Winter Garden
Author: Hayden Thorne
Length: 5,028 words
Publisher: JMS Books
Genre: m/m historical YA
Rating: A-

Blurb: Fifteen-year-old Nicholas’ fragile health forces him into a life of isolation and loneliness, his connection to the outside world nothing more than a glimpse between the bars of an iron gate in his family’s spacious and paradise-like garden. His life changes when a bold young stranger not only befriends him but also dares to trespass into Nicholas’ quiet world.

The two boys’ friendship deepens as Adrian’s visits increase, their connection strengthening in defiance of too-real dangers posed by the coming winter on Nicholas’ health. It’s a bond that withstands the sting of separation, bringing both boys back to each other again and again, weathering time and ensuring that the impossible is, in the end, very much attainable.

Review:I will say this up front. While this story was sweet and constantly made me smile, it also made me cry. I leave it up to you! I do recommend this one though. LIke always, Hayden Thorne knows how to tell a story.

Nicholas is sick. It is 1822 and he’s confined to his parent’s garden as he always has been. It is a refuge and a prison. His wasting illness has kept him sheltered, yet also innocent and pure. He’s stifled. He can’t live the life he wants. He’s confined to the garden with no hope that he’ll ever leave it.

One day another boy comes by the garden and starts to talk to him through the iron bars. Adrian says to him:

“Are you a prisoner?”

“Well, no. I live here.”

“What’s the difference?”

“I haven’t done anything wrong.”

Smelling of wine and never asking permission, Adrian sweeps into Nicholas’ life and becomes his lifeline. Through their daily meetings in the garden they grow quite close. They’re almost complete opposites. Where Nicholas feels trapped and restless while simultaneously weak and fragile, Adrian seems to dazzle Nicholas with his experience and knowledge. They liken themselves to a tree and the wind.

What is so wonderful about this story are the characters. Hayden Thorne knows how to write young characters and this is especially shown in this story. While their disparate qualities seem to feed a need in the other, they’re often quite alike, though they don’t recognize it. Through the idealism and romanticism of youth, they both seem to ache for some things they other has. They envy one another.

The story is told by Nicholas, but even though I ached at times for his character, Adrian’s came through to me just as well. I think that style of writing, heavy on narration and voice, works well for Hayden, and also well for the character in this story. The first person past tense works well to bring forward that romanticism in the prose, which is what drew me in — and ultimately broke my heart just a little bit.

I really don’t want to discourage readers, because I know a lot of you don’t like “bittersweet” stories. I wouldn’t classify this story as such, because I think the sweet so outweighs the bitter. Yet, I will warn you that there is some. I think it worked very well for the story, yet it is the way in which Hayden wrote the transition between the two (which I won’t go into further) that so affected me. It might not be that way for other readers. I suppose that is what I love about her writing — I’ve yet to read one of her books or stories where I didn’t sink so far into the characters voice.

So, it is short and well worth reading. I’ve yet to be let down by this author and I have a feeling that I will always enjoy her stories. Definitely Recommended!

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Salvage Operation by Kathryn Scannell

Posted in Authors: S-U, BDSM, C, Contemporary, tagged , on March 23, 2012 | 4 Comments »

Title: Salvage Operation
Author: Kathryn Scannell
Length: 7,700 words (28 pdf pages)
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: m/m contemporary BDSM
Rating: C

Blurb:

An environmental emergency response takes Josh Ferguson back to the small Ohio town where he was miserable thanks to homophobic classmates. He’s now a man with a successful career and a good marriage, but is that enough to overcome old habits? And Alan is angry because their anniversary plans were cancelled at the last minute so Josh could take this job. Can Josh still count on Alan’s support to get through his anxieties?
 
Review:
 
This story sets you down into the life of established couple Alan and Josh’s relationship. They both work for the same employer, however Josh is often in the field, leaving Alan home. Josh is called away to oversee the recovery of a satellite coming down that has classified parts and could leave environmental contamination. Alan flips his lid, and it comes out that he had arranged with Josh’s boss for him to have the week off and Alan had planned a surprise trip to a BDSM resort in Canada.
 
However, Josh must go, and when he arrives, he finds out he’s going to be stationed in his old hometown, and he is NOT thrilled. His high school days were hell, and he’s not been back since. Despite my first suspicions, Alan is the Dom and he send Josh’s collar with him to wear when he’s at the hotel. This helps him relax somewhat but he’s feeling stressed about work AND the whole high school thing.
 
Josh gets a surprise when Alan volunteers for assignment and joins him. He’s happy, but the pizza delivery woman is an old acquaintance, and word soon spreads that he’s back, WITH a husband. He then runs into his old high school nemesis, whose security company is contracted with the military/Josh’s company and he gets in Josh’s face the next morning about him being gay. Josh finally has the chance to stand up to the guy, and finds out that his team has his back, including the military commander whom he didn’t really care for much.
 
So while I didn’t have any major issues with the story, one of the downsides of leaping into an established relationship couple is that you don’t know how they came to be where they are. How does the BDSM fit into their life, how did they meet. That aside, I found the ending rather abrupt. Old nemesis gets snotty, big boss says fire him I have your back, nemesis sputters, the end. It just seemed there should have been something more. I think a scene later that day back at the hotel where Josh could have truly processed that he’d faced his childhood demons and kicked their ass, would have been nice to see and wrapped it up more nicely than just ending the confrontation.
 
Still it’s a well-written story and Josh and Alan’s relationship was sweet and kinky, so not a bad story for a quick read between longer books or on a break.

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Reasonable Force by Meredith Shayne

Posted in A-, Authors: S-U, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, tagged , on March 23, 2012 | 7 Comments »

Title: Reasonable Force
Author: Meredith Shayne
Length: 7,811 words
Publisher: JMS Books
Genre: m/m paranormal, urban fantasy
Rating: A-

Blurb: Daniel is a demon hunter, a member of an ancient order with God-given powers sworn to protect humans from these creatures. Grieving the sudden death of his fellow hunter — and secret lover — David, Daniel is bent on self-destruction, craving casual, back-alley sex with strangers and plunging into danger without thought for himself or the Order brethren who come to his rescue.

His antics attract the attention of more than just his Order members; the demon Korim, a warrior and an Earl of Hell, commander of demon legions and more than a match for Daniel, has his eye on the hunter, and his is an interest not easily discouraged.

When circumstances throw demon and hunter together, sparks fly. Soon beating each other to a pulp becomes their favorite sport, and Daniel hasn’t felt so alive since David died. When their aggression turns to lust, Korim begins to open Daniel’s eyes, causing him to question the long-held beliefs that have fuelled his reckless behavior.

But when a mission goes horribly wrong, Daniel finds his change in attitude may have come too late to save him.

Note: Originally published in the Torquere Press anthology The Care and Feeding of Demons.

Review: A story that surprised me with it’s minimal style. With pretty much no exposition, this story gives lots of clues but little fact, which I enjoyed. I read this story without remembering the blurb, which I actually enjoyed. The blurb gives away much more information than the story does. Though the story isn’t a puzzler, I liked that I had to keep my brain a bit active to understand the characters.

Daniel is a priest and demon hunter. He’s mourning the loss of David, who the order he belongs to thought of as his best friend. The secret that they were much more close, fighting partners and lovers, still haunts him in his grief. That grief has grown into a empty gulf that Daniel tries to fill with reckless fighting and dangerous encounters in seedy neighborhoods. He’s a very strong hunter, one of the best, and his overconfidence combined with grief is a bad combination. It’s strange, then, that a demon is the one who might bring him back to a life he wants to live.

Like I said before, what I most enjoyed about this story is the fact that I’m not given the answers. It’s not great, vast plotline. It’s a pretty simple short story actually. But that style of storytelling lets the reader’s imagination become more active in the story. I like a story that is different to me than anyone else, and I have a feeling that that might be true with this story. That is also the reason I bumped my rating from a B+ to an A-. I like that the story is open to a bit of interpretation.

Daniel is also quite an interesting character. Though no secret from the blurb, it isn’t actually clear that his recklessness comes from grief until a bit of the story has passed. He was once a man of passion and righteous belief in his ability and order. Yet, through his grief he is open to seeing a different side of the world in which he had pledged to fight, though it comes with quite a fight itself. Korim, though we do get his point of view occasionally, is much less known to the reader. A higher demon, he’s almost a hunter of his own kind, or a kind of wrangler. Seeing the two come together, flirt with fighting, and slowly get to know one another forms an interesting and dichotomous bond that is almost a reversal of their proper roles — Korim becomes the savior.

The two have a very strong connection to one another, and that came through very much in my reading of the story. Their sex scenes together were quite steamy :) I liked them as a couple very much, although I will acknowledge that the story ends in, well, I’d say an HFN. That’s open to interpretation too. After all, Daniel is pretty screwed up and Korim is a demon. Still, it fit with the story, so I liked it.

I’d recommend this one and I hope everyone who reads it enjoys it as I did!

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Few Are Chosen by Storm Grant

Posted in Authors: G-I, C, Fantasy, Romance, tagged , on March 22, 2012 | 4 Comments »

Title: Few Are Chosen
Author: Storm Grant
Length: 12,700 words (46 pdf pages)
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Genre: m/m fantasy interracial
Rating: C

Blurb:

Sparks fly between virgin teenage demon hunters when the Chosen One turns out to be the Chosen . . . Two?

Apprentice warrior Blake St. Blake is the Chosen One, raised by an ancient order to defend the world against evil. Well, maybe not the whole world, but at least his neighborhood in downtown Detroit. When a dreaded reflux demon is sighted in a local cemetery, Blake is sent off to his very first battle, armed with his sword, his super-senses, his black leather duster, and a few well-rehearsed one-liners.

But another Chosen One gets in Blake’s way—an apprentice wizard named Shadow. While the boys argue about who’s the more chosen of the two, the demon escapes.

Blake wants to be angry, but it turns out he and Shadow have a lot in common. Besides, Shadow’s pretty cute, and Blake can’t help but think that the wizard’s skills (and hands and lips and other bits) might make the perfect complement to his. Blake and Shadow are brave enough to challenge the reflux demon in a second battle, but will they have the courage to tell each other how they feel?

Review:

This is a light-hearted humourous look at the demon hunter trope. Blake is heading out on his first solo demon hunt now that he’s of age, when he runs into another demon hunter/wizard. They have words because Blake always was led to believe he was the only one in the world. While the two teens are busy squabbling over who is or isn’t the rightful Chosen One, the demon escapes. Despite the suggestion by his guardian that he team up with Shadow, Blake is not interested, more out of contrariness than any real reason, as he did think Shadow was hot when they met.

However when he sees Shadow having trouble getting the better of the demon, he jumps in to help and together they send the demon back to hell, unfortunately locking themselves in a tomb at the same time. As shadow needs rest to recover before can open the doors, they take the time to get to know each other, and admit that neither has the experience they’d like the other to believe.

This was a cute story, with a bit of a twist ending which I started to suspect, but there’s nothing too serious. My only confusion came from their ages. Blake mentions “age of majority” which I assumed was 18, but then they talk about going to clubs and since this takes place in Detroit, I figured that meant 21, as I thought bars didn’t allow under-agers (but I’m not sure) and then they are referred to as teenagers later, so I’m thinking 18. If so, their behaviour makes more sense. They are both rather concerned about their image in front of the other, Shadow trying to do the whole gangster thing, and not succeeding very well, while Blake puts on his best medieval warrior persona, again, not really getting it down.

At times I felt the humour was a bit forced and just didn’t resonate for me, but that could be my sense of humour and the author’s just not being on the same wavelength. It was cute, but not uproariously funny which I thought might have been the intention. Still, if you are in the mood for something light, with two young men, who act their age (which will either make you crazy or seem realistic) it’s a good choice with clean writing.

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Promise in a Kiss by Piper Vaughn

Posted in Authors: V-Z, C-, Contemporary, Romance, tagged , on March 22, 2012 | 5 Comments »

Title: Promise in a Kiss
Author: Piper Vaughn
Length: 6,000 words
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Genre: m/m contemporary
Rating: C-

Blurb:
At the age of ten, Darren promised he would love his friend Adam forever and that they would someday marry, and sealed the promise with a kiss. One month later, his friend was gone, and their promise lost to the passage of time.

Years later, Darren cannot forget that long ago promise, and at the urging of a friend, decides to take a chance and track down the boy he once loved …

Review:
This short begins with a really cute, sweet moment. Two kids are caught in a thunderstorm where one of them confesses, in the way typical of children, that when he grows up he wants to marry his best friend. After a charming discussion on the logistics of such a thing…

“Boys can’t marry each other.”
“Who says?”
“God, duh.”
“But my Uncle Steve married his boyfriend. We went to the ceremony and everything.”

…the pair make their promise. Fast forward 15 years and after being prompted by his friend Darren decides to make the trip to find Adam and see if he still remembers that promise.

After that marvellous start, the story begins in a promising fashion. There’s a poignant scene with Darren and his Grandfather which gave us more insight to Darren and his family situation. I found myself liking Darren a great deal and sympathising with his situation.

It was rather unfortunate then that things went a little awry after that point. There was a forced coincidence which stretched believability; a female character who set my teeth on edge and a ‘well what do you know’ meeting which again seemed forced rather than natural. All this I may have been able to handle, had not the story ended rather abruptly.

As it is, the lovely promising beginning didn’t play out and I was left feeling a little cheated out of anything approaching realistic. It’s a shame really because I wanted Darren to get his HEA but the ending relied too much on coincidence and serendipity that it stretched things too far for me and left me feeling incredulous rather than happy for the characters.  Perhaps if there had been more story with the pair together then I may well have felt happier about the way the guys meet, but that wasn’t the case.

Having said all that, the writing flows well and the story still retains a certain charm, thanks to the opening.  As such, this story may appeal to some readers who are willing to overlook the lack of realism towards the end.

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Pushing the Envelope V: Cordially Invited by Kim Dare

Posted in Authors: D-F, BDSM, Contemporary, D+, Erotica, tagged , on March 21, 2012 | 6 Comments »

Title: Pushing the Envelope V: Cordially Invited
Author: Kim Dare
Length: 8,000 words
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre: m/m contemporary erotica
Rating: D+

Blurb:
Having been given a sneak peek into Joe’s world, Scott feels it’s only right that he should return the favour.

Perhaps Scott didn’t do so many interesting and kinky things in the past, but he did have a life before he met Joe. When he was in university, Scott worked in a department store and spent many hours fantasising about the delivery men he saw from the store window. Now, Scott invites Joe to the same store after it has closed for the night, and Joe decides to show Scott what he would have done if he had found him back then.

For once, Scott’s going to be the one surrounded by the familiar, not Joe. But, does that mean the power balance is about to shift?

Review:
It’s Joe’s turn to receive a letter from Scott. The letter tells Joe to go to a department store after dark, where Scott has a confession to make about his delivery guy kink.

Spurred on by the previous story which I felt was beginning to show some character development, I read on to book 5. Unfortunately this book just reminded me, once again, how frustrating this series can be. It contains a D/s sex scene in a department store and tells us nothing about either character other than that Scott has a secret fantasy about delivery men and used to work in a department store. This was not enough for me. I long to know more about these characters and whilst the drip feeding of relevant information was frustrating in earlier books, it has almost ground to a halt in this story.

There’s really not that much more to say, other than the sex was well written, as is usual for this author. If that’s all you’re after, then by all means buy this story because the author has a distinct flair for writing BDSM sex. I’m not though, I want good, progressive characterisation along with my sex and a feeling that I’ve got value for my money. I’ve been lucky in that I’ve read all these stories for free, but if you’re a reader whose bought all five books with your hard earned cash, then so far you will have spent $15 for about 35-40,000 words (or $21 for 49-56,ooo words if you’re up to date with the series).

So, regrettably, I’m saying goodbye to this series. I can’t continue when It’s making me cross to read and I can’t recommend the stories because of the spiraling costs to the reader.

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In Teddy’s Arms by K.M. Mahoney

Posted in Authors: M-O, C, Contemporary, Romance, tagged , on March 21, 2012 | 4 Comments »

Title: In Teddy’s Arms
Author: K.M. Mahoney
Length: 11,675 words (40 pdf pages)
Publisher: Total-e-Bound
Genre: m/m contemporary
Rating: C

Blurb:

Everything Teddy has ever wanted is right in front of him, if only he can find the courage to reach out and take it.

Teddy should really know better than to agree to one of Pierce’s “great ideas,” but he’s never found it easy to say no to his best friend. Which is why he finds himself on the middle of a snow-covered road, heading into the mountains to spend the Christmas holiday in a rental cabin. And, like always, Pierce’s great plan backfires. The cabin is a dump, it’s freezing outside – and then comes the snowstorm.

Pierce isn’t sure how he’s going to handle an entire weekend trapped with Teddy. Sure, the guy is his best friend, but tell that to Pierce’s body. It’s getting harder and hard to keep his hands to himself.

Teddy doesn’t think Pierce is interested in his nerdy best friend. Pierce doesn’t think he’s good enough for Teddy. But the fire’s blazing, the wind is howling, and it’s time for some changes.

Review:

While this is technically a holiday story, Christmas itself does not really play a big role. Pierce and Teddy have been friends since grade school, and their families are super-close as well. This year, their parents have chosen to go on a cruise, and school commitments mean Teddy and Pierce are left on their own for Christmas, when Pierce comes up with this brilliant plan to rent a cabin. Teddy is not thrilled, but can’t deny his best friend, and the guy he’s been in love with for years.

However bad weather leaves them stranded, and Pierce’s plan to invite a bunch of friends to join them is dashed. Teddy sees their friendship deteriorating. They hardly spend any time together and when they do, Pierce has a whole group of people around them. They rarely talk, and despite considering themselves “best friends”, Teddy sees a future where they gradually drift apart until there is only awkward small talk at family events. Part of his decision to make a move it based on this, knowing they aren’t going to be friends eventually anyway, so what can he lose?

Pierce is one of those guys who hides his attraction by sleeping with anything that moves, no matter the sex, and partying and keeping friends around him 24/7 so he can’t cave to his attraction. When Teddy does make a move, Pierce tries to reject him because he feels Teddy deserved better. I quite like when Teddy let him have it over that. I liked Teddy and his decision to take the bull by the horns, no matter the result, however I found Pierce kind of annoying. I wasn’t sure why he felt he wasn’t worthy, sure he was a man-slut NOW, but that was a choice he made, and he came from a good family. It wasn’t a case of a street urchin or ex-con, they’d been friends for years. I didn’t quite get his reasoning.

Even though you get in both guy’s head here, I just didn’t connect with Pierce and why he was behaving as he was, and that he couldn’t see what was happening. At least Teddy seemed to know what was going on. I think that disconnected me from the story. There was an epilogue ten years later which I’m not sure I needed, because the description of their life in the epilogue left me wondering if there was long-term sustainability due to their careers.

The descriptions of the decrepit cabin, the cold, the snow and trying to stay warm were well done, but I just didn’t connect very well with the two characters or feel that delight that two friends finally made it right, however fans of the friends-to-lovers trope will probably enjoy it despite the parts that didn’t work so well for me. It’s worth a read when you’re in the mood for that, without much more to the plot than them working it out.

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Harm Reduction by Violetta Vane and Heidi Belleau

Posted in Authors: A-C, Authors: V-Z, B, Contemporary, Romance, tagged , , on March 20, 2012 | 8 Comments »

Title: Harm Reduction
Author: Violetta Vane and Heidi Belleau
Length: 17 pages
Publisher: Storm Moon Press
Genre: m/m contemporary romance
Rating: B

Blurb:
It’s 1992 in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and Magic Johnson has just gone public about being HIV+. Out of the news but right at the frontlines, Julio Torres works the streets and the parks, doing everything he can to keep more people from dying. He meets a young hustler named Linley who doesn’t stand a chance. But no matter how hopeless, Julio never gives up trying to do the right thing.

It’s 2012 in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and there’s a Whole Foods around the corner selling organic flowers for Valentine’s Day. The city has changed, and so has the world, but Julio is still holding on to his past. He’s moved on with his life, taken up new causes, but he just can’t let Linley’s memory go.

Review:
This was an unusual story about second chances and how the decisions we make when young can affect others for the rest of their lives. It tells of Julio who has gone to a basketball court to play ball with his teenage foster son. The court was a familiar haunt for drug users when Julio was a young idealistic man and he would come to the court to talk to the drug users and distribute clean needles. Visiting the court again brings back memories of a young teenage boy who Julio rejected cruelly in an attempt to shock the boy out of his spiral of prostitution and possible drug abuse, and he always wondered what had happened to Linley.

The story is structured in a back and forth style, starting in the present and shifting back twenty years so that we get the story of how Julio and Linley meet as well as the day Julio firmly, but not wholly unkindly, rejects Linley. The present day parts are at first rather melancholic as Julio regrets the way he handled his friendship with Linley all those years ago. What came across quite strongly was that Julio was young and idealistic with lots of enthusiasm but no proper training. I really warmed to his ‘save the world’ mentality, and even the parts in the present day with an older and wiser Julio there was still a strong sense of a man who wants to do good in the world, even if his grand plans have been watered down a little.

There’s a lot of ‘then and now’ comparison in the story. The setting of the basketball court and its environs is an obvious way that things have changed, but it’s also about how Julio and Linley have changed too. This was done in a subtle way with Julio but by the end there is still much more we could know about Linley who remains a little hidden to the reader. This was a little frustrating especially when we are given so little about Linley, other than his job. There’s also a little odd moment when Julio tries to touch under Linley’s hat and Linley shies away which contains a story somewhere but is left hanging. I found that I wanted to know about how Linley gets from the pathetic and unhappy young man he is in the past to the well dressed and seemingly happy man who we see in the present. Perhaps there’s another story planned for this. I hope so.

Overall, I enjoyed this story which can be found as a freebie at the publisher’s site. It managed to fit in a whole wealth of emotion and background on Julio into what was quite a short format, and I would recommend the story to those looking for a well written short with an urban setting. This is the second story I’ve read by this writing pair and I continue to be impressed.

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