Love Has No Boundaries: Short Stories & Short Reviews Part 3

These short stories were written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.


Deep in the Count by Madison Parker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This came as close to perfection as I've seen a short story get in a long while. The plot and characterisations where there as were some of the details. I would've liked a bit more description, which I don't say often.


You Get Full Credit For Being Alive by Cari Z.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

You wouldn't think that a retired assassin falling in love would make for a good story, would you? Of course it would and thank heavens I'm not alone in thinking that. I enjoyed reading the beginning of this novella even with the gruesome details, but as the story progressed other little details started gnawing at my enjoyment.

I didn't think the tools and skills of the assassin's trade—namely wiretapping—were believable. Neither did I enjoy the bits of French dialogue that read like something I'd get from Google translate. Clunky at best—and I only know the basics of the language. And then there was the ending, which I can see being pleasing others was far from satisfactory for my taste. Such a shame.

The Brat Whisperer by J.A. Rock

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Somewhere between two and three stars. It's not a bad story at all, a character study of sorts with a dose of healthy BDSM. There's spanking and discipline, but those aren't really my thing and neither was there anything to elevate this above all the others. I'm tempted to round down due to that ending but I won't.

Dirty Boys by Kyle Adams

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

That was fun. Ridiculous but fun in a sweet, plotless, sex-addled-mind kind of way.




The Field of Someone Else's Dreams by Amelia C. Gormley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

That was really good. A story about a college student and an injured baseball player drifting, trying to decide what he wants or even dares to expect from the uncertain future. There's a secret boyfriend and there are difficult parents. Read it.

Love Has No Boundaries: Short Stories & Short Reviews Part 2

These short stories were written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.

The Touch Of Hope by Brandon Shire

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's a really good story about two homeless teens, but the sex scenes almost ruined it for me.



Friends or Lovers? by Sara York

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

"I want to feel that again. I've never felt that before. You were amazing. Like totally and completely over-the-top amazing.

Yeah. Not so much. This is a little pwp without either of the p's. It's simply without. Someone might disagree but I've blocked out the pathetic attempt at the porn from my mind.


Breathing Snow by Dev Bentham

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked this one. The author focused on the behind the scenes stuff and relationship development rather on the publicity side, which I would have liked to have seen more of. Snark is one way to my heart and there was a distinct lack of snark here. As for their competitors: Oh how I miss the days when we Finns didn't suck at keeping the doping secret ;) Nah. We've always been terrible at that.

Treasure by Kim Fielding

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm rounding up to four stars. This is where the sickly weak bookworm gets his own story. Best of all, he doesn't he already lives in a fantastical world, which gives this gay version of Tristan & Isolde like meet cute it's own flavour.

I liked it, I really liked it but there were just one too many convenient lessons in Kit's past as well as packing accidents. The vocabulary was off, which I could have ignored had it been revealed that Kit was lying about certain things. And then there was the fact that the author was obviously a keen student in the school of euphemisms. *shudders*

Brandon's Laughter by Ellen Holiday

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really liked this one but then again I do have a huge soft spot for anything angsty and borderline melodramatic. One of my pet peeves is the presence of lyrics in prose: I don't mind a line or two but a whole song no matter how original is too much. Some stories can overcome that crippling flaw but this one had a tad too sappy reunion and ridiculous ending for my taste.

Love Has No Boundaries: Short Stories & Short Reviews Part 1

These short stories were written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.

The Tail of a Dog by Summer Devon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cute. Told from the dog's point of view, and shows how two kind-hearted men find themselves through an unfortunate event. My favourite parts were where Javier was confiding in the dog, because people do talk to their pets and tell them things they wouldn't dream of saying to another human being.


Falling Away by Lisa Henry

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It was written in third limited, so that's one good thing about it. It also had that good meh-like thing going on until it promptly fell flat on its face with that ending. I liked Dark Space, but this made me doubt whether I want to read The Island or not.


Smoky Glimpses by Nicole Forcine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Left me slightly weak in the knees. It's told in third person limited but Kaden's voice is clear and personal. Also it's a paranormal that left me wanting more of the story and the world.



Last First Kiss by Piper Vaughn

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It wasn't bad but neither was it anything especially good either. An angsty short story that touched subjects far too big for its ~10k word count. Especially because a third of it was dedicated to the sex. Friends to lovers trope.


#First Impressions #Second Chances by Heidi Belleau

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another friends to lovers story. It started out really well, then took a dip with the reveal, and only partially recovered. Cute but skimpy on the reality details.