Painting Stephen by Jayne DeMarco (115 pages)
GLBT Rummage Sale
John is a talented 40 year old painter who is recovering his girlfriend running off with all his money. His agent tells him that while his work is good, it's not commercial. What sells are nudes, male nudes and send him a 23 year old model named Stephen. Stephen is broke and attracted to John but he can't see why since he's so old. Eventually he gives in and things are going well and he's painting amazing stuff. Stephen refuses to speak about his past but it catches up with them when they are out one night and high drama and danger ensues. I liked the idea of it, I'm just not sure I connected with the style of writings. It's very, artistic, for lack of a better phrase. I tend to appreciate more straightforward writing I guess, but I could see John as an artist thinking that way. I thought it was a bit of insta-love but on the whole it was an okay story and if you like very descriptive stories it would probably be of interest.
Taction by J. Rocci (30 pages)
Torquere Press
This is the prequel to Army Green which I didn't realize existed until Jen mentioned it in the other thread. It would have helped to make a bit more sense of Army Green. Evan was badly injured in Iraq and is recovering from having his left leg amputated and hearing loss in one ear and many other scars. He doesn't get along with his father, but his grandparents invite him to stay with them on their horse ranch, recover and help them. He meets Cam who is very hostile to him arriving but Evan's not sure why. Eventually over time they become friendly and Cam eases up. When Cam and his Grandfather tell him about their plans to start a riding therapy enterprise he jumps on board and he and Cam finally get together. It was a very nice story about recovering from a catastrophic injury and growing friendship turning to love.
Like a Prince stories by: Julie Cox, Alexandra Erin, Kiernan Kelly, Monique Poirier, Elizabeth Schechter (68 pages)
GLBT Rummage Sale
This is an anthology of short m/m twists on fairy tales.
Captivated by Julie Cox - This is based on Beauty and the Beast but it was a fresh take in my opinion and probably my favourite. It's almost like I don't want to tell you the story because I want you to read it and I don't want to ruin how it's different. :-) But I'll say there is no transformation of the beast at the end into a beautiful prince so Kris should like that.
Two Balls by Alexandra Erin - This is the Cinderella tale and Cinderella really does have two balls, not only dancing ones. LOL A little cross-dressing fairy tale fun.
Le Petit String Rouge by Kiernan Kelly - This is Little Red Riding Hood and a wolf-shifter (for lack of a better word) takes a male stripper to his hotel room and ... well, lets just say the ending totally threw me off. 0_0 Not what I was expecting.
Goose Boy by Monique Poirier - I vaguely remember the fairy tale The Goose Girl. A young prince, sent to study with scholars in a neighboring kingdom, is bewitched into silence by his servant girl who takes his place. He is then forced to herd geese until he comes to the attention of a high born man. It was well done and I think it followed pretty faithfully from what I remember.
To Market by Elizabeth Schechter - This is based on a poem The Goblin Market, I had to look that up as I'd never heard of it.. A young man can do small spells tries to find the goblin market to cure his best friend who is ill after visiting the market. What you get at the market is a good shot of goblin spunk. Yeah, really. Although he gets his own taste, he befriends the goblin who helps him. It was interesting and the goblin was humanoid but very different.
I enjoyed this collection. I've read other fairy tale spins and this was an enjoyable one. They are all fairly short so quick reads when you want a little fantasy.
12 comments:
Oh, I have that collection! Haven't read it yet.
Looks like we have rain in the forecast. Blech.
It was quite good Chris and just little short read.
We might get rain tonight but lately it seems we get rain more often than not. Kind of depressing.
Somehow none of these appeal to me... Maybe it's the weather ;)
Just be happy you're not tempted to go shopping Janna. :-) I had some really outstanding reads and these were good, just not blow my socks off good.
I might have to get that anthology just so I can say I've read a story entitled "Two Balls." *snort*
I hope the rest of your weekend is fabulous, Tam!
That's a better reason than some I've used to buy a book Eyre. LOL It's only $3, 50% off, so cheap you can't afford NOT to buy it. Only until the end of the month though.
Not sure about the first two but I've got the antho on my reader.
Have a great Sunday!
The anthology is cute Lily. Taction and the follow-up Army Green are cute but I know it's hard to keep up with the TBR. :-)
Some bits of the first one appeal to me - will look at later...
I still have not read Army Green - so glad now, I can read this one first..
For some reason that cover on the last one makes me giggle - is that pout....
I hate fairy tales and always have a problem with new ways of retelling them...
Glad it worked for you...
;)
LOL He does look a bit pouty EH. The retelling doesn't always work but on the whole I enjoy it. Different strokes. :-) Definitely read Taction first, Army Green will be a lot more engaging that way.
It's sad when I'm reading the Weekend updates and it's for LAST weekend! lol
Anyway, the Like A Prince anthology sounds good - thanks!
Came back to an e-mail box full of comments from you. LOL It was pretty good Tracy. :-)
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