Mara IsmineCritiques

If, like me, you prefer stories with a happy end, this is one for you. I really liked it because, while it was very sweet, it's also about being honest about your feelings and healing old wounds.

Jase and Rai have been best friends for years. It takes a tragedy in Rai's life and pressure from Jase's friends, and, oh yes, a bottle of Scotch, for them to open their eyes and find out they both want more.

I really liked this second instalment of watching Jase and Rai re-define their years of 'just being friends' to a new relationship as lovers. Including a lot of talking (which Rai wants) and a lot of kissing and snuggling (which is Jase's preference).

This short story is written with a sense of humor and very playful.

A short, fun read about a man who loses his job and is miraculously offered not just another job but the chance of finding a lover...

A very unusual story in style, this reads more like poetry than prose. There isn't a single line of dialog, it is told in first person present tense, and we hear from both main characters.

The sensual description of a morning blow job kicks this off, and the truth of the situation only gradually emerges. The fear of repeated loss after Sebastian and Andrew have found each other again after years of separation is palpable. So is the will to do things differently this time.

If you like your stories to be poetic and somewhat mysterious, if you want to experience what it's like to find the over you thought lost to 'a normal life' years later, and if you enjoy slow-paced yet passion-filled tales, you will probably like this short story.

British Flash by UK-MAT (published by JMS Books at 24,660 words) is a free download, an anthology of flash fiction written by several British authors and edited by UK-MAT, the UK-Meet Acquisitions Team, which is involved in writing and promoting GLBTQ fiction in the UK. The clever cover art is by Alex Beecroft.

You might be wondering what flash fiction is. According to Wikipedia, no set word-count defines it – but it’s short. It could be 1000 words, 300 words, or even only 55 words. The average length in this collection is about 1000 words. Of these twenty-one flash fictions, seventeen are gay romance, two are lesbian romance, one is gender-fluid, and one is a ménage à trois, with a gay male couple focusing on a woman. Each story is categorized into one of three levels of sexual explicitness: Perfectly Decent, A Teasing Glimpse, and The Full Monty!

Standouts include Clare London’s story “Our Place”, which shows how the right phrase can end a story on a perfect note. Josephine Myles’s story “Giving It Up” is subtle and complex, with a funny twist. “Thoughts in Spring” by Mara Ismine features some intriguingly weird interaction between bird and man that builds to a delightfully unexpected conclusion. “Like a Girl” by JL Merrow, which centers on two female karate students, features such a strong narrative voice that I can hear the British accents in my mind like a movie soundtrack. “Sunshine Superman” by Elin Gregory effortlessly covers a huge span of narrative time, and makes a powerful emotional impact. British Flash is a terrific introduction to several of the leading British authors in the GLBTQ romance field.

Val for AReCafe

3.5 stars.