Anne ReganCritiques
Auteur de A Brush of Wings (Anthology 15-in-1)
Critiques
Queening Out by Mari Donne - 4 stars
Granddad's Cup of Tea by Amy Rae Durreson - 2 stars
The Way to a Fisherman's Heart by Tray Ellis - 2.5 stars
No Place Like Home by Kim Fielding - 3 stars
Ivory Black, Flecked with White by Laylah Hunter - 2 stars
Loving Again by John Inman - 2 stars
Full Circle by Rhidian Brenig Jones - 2.5 stars
Straight Shooting by Maggie Lee - 3 stars
Hero Worship by Sam C. Leonhard - 2 stars
Curtain Calls by Pinkie Rae Parker - 2 stars
The Bodyguard's Dilemma by Chris Scully - 3.5 stars
Picture This by Dottie Stratton & Linda James - 2.5 stars
Hunting Season by AC Valentine - 4 stars
Waiting for the Light by Layla M. Wier - 3 stars
Morning Glow by Taylor Lochland - 2 stars
A Trail of Feathers by Sarah Ann Watts - DNF
Heart's Salvation by Réve Garrison - 2 stars
In the Hands of the Gods by Jana Denardo - 3,5 stars
A Voice in the Darkness by Patric Michael - 4 stars
Some Comfort by S. Blaise - 4,5 stars
Ascension by RJ Scott - 2 stars
Sariel by Mary Calmes - 2 stars
The Platypus Learns Astrophysics by Matthew Vandrew - 5 stars
The Angel Blues by Cornelia Grey - 3 stars
Redemption by Clare London - 2,5 stars
Herbal Tea by H.J. Brues - 3 stars
The Tenth Avatar by Roland Graeme - 3.5 stars
Santangelo by Zahra Owens - 4 stars
The Archangel of Castro by Diana Copland - 4 stars
My contribution is titled Barefoot.
Started reading 19th Aug.
Loved BG Thomas' intro. Made me laugh and made me think.
My favourites:
The Bear King of Snowbird Mountain
Golden Bear
My contribution is titled Barefoot.
Started reading 19th Aug.
Loved BG Thomas' intro. Made me laugh and made me think.
My favourites:
The Bear King of Snowbird Mountain
Golden Bear
Fucking.
Loved.
It.
4.5 Stars
It was Mary Calmes goodness wrapped together with history - I love history. Yep, there's an alpha angel who possessed the hell out of Jacob, a regular grad student who almost raped by bad guys. We don't know a lot of Jacob's back story. I didn't think it was needed so I am happy. It's instalove but it surpasses it because for angels in this story, there is no in between. They can see your inner most desires and wants . it's either black or white. No gray. So I won't gripe with the binding declarations made because it was inevitable. But also made from free will.
Hot stuff.
Angels are not my fave paranormal read. I lump them together with psychics. (Bottom of the totem pole for me) I might read more stories from the anthology, I might not. *shrugs*"
4 stars. For the most part, I enjoyed the majority of these stories. Though I was anticipating May/December romances for all of them, there was surprisingly few of those. Most of the male leads are over 50 and so are their partners.
Nachos on Saturday - 4 stars. I liked this one. Guy spends his birthday with his younger neighbor and he realizes he's not as boring as he thought.
Full Circle - 3.5 stars. Former student meets up with his old professor he had the hots for and confessed his love to years later. Good story, but I couldn't see them hopping into bed when they haven't seen each other for so long.
Hunting Season - 4.5 stars. I loved this one! Think it was one of my favorites in the book. Older writer finds himself being courted by younger handyman.
Ivory Black, Flecked With White - 1.5 stars. Basically just sex between an artist and his patron.
Loving Again - 3 stars. Another good story ruined for me with insta-love. (ok, not insta-love, but one week your grieving your partner of 40 years, and a month later your in love with someone else?) I think I would of liked it better if it ended as a HFN.
Curtain Calls - 2 stars. So-so romance between an aging stage actor and his younger replacement.
Straight Shooting - 4 stars. Good and sexy story about a gun instructor and his protegee.
Picture This - 2.5 stars. Good start, but the insta-love after years and years of not seeing each other brought down my rating.
Hero Worship - 3.5 stars. Well written story about a wizard and a scoundrel, though low on the romance. I wouldn't of minded reading more of this couple.
The Way to a Fisherman's Heart - 3 stars. Easy, patient wooing between two fishermen.
The Bodyguard's Dilemma - 4 stars. My second favorite of the book! Great romance between an unsure bodyguard and ex-porn star.
Queening Out - 3.5 stars. I enjoyed this romance between two middle aged men. Big misunderstanding is the plot, but still a good read.
No Place Like Home - 3 stars. Two older men find each other and romance via a library book. Good story.
Waiting For the Light - 3 stars. Two older men find romance after their spouses pass away. Sad in the beginning but I enjoyed it by the end.
Granddad's Cup of Tea - 4 stars. Took me a little while to warm up to this one for some reason, but I ended up loving Ewan by the end. Everyone should have a granddad that awesome. :)
Guardian spirits walk among us. They are heavenly beings who grant courage, unknown benefactors who offer help, best friends who lend their strength, and celestial beings who embody inspiration. You might not recognize these everyday angels or messengers of mercy, but the men in this anthology are touched by their purity and light and sometimes blessed by love.
BOOK REVIEW:
I should probably confess up front that I have a certain fondness for winged wonders, so jumped at the chance to read and review this angel-themed anthology, and my expectations were high. I wasn't disappointed, either. I had some reservations about the sequencing, but the overall quality of the stories is very high. This is a generous collection - fourteen stories, and none of them felt like they were being crammed into a limited word count, and there are a good variety of tropes, styles, and voices.
"Morning Glow" by Taylor Lochland is a super-sweet friends-become-lovers story, but I'm not sure why it was chosen to launch the anthology ~ it's an intriguing set up, but a little too neat and too easy to be one of my favourite stories.
"A Trail of Feathers" by Sarah Ann Watts and "Heart's Salvation" by Reve Garrison run one after the other, which is unfortunate, as that's three 'regular guardian angels' stories in a row, and these two are both 'as I mourn my dead partner' stories. Their proximity made that a distraction, and almost forced me to compare the two ~ Watts' beautiful, strange, almost crystalline story was much more to my tastes than Garrison's soap-like drama.
In the "Hands of the Gods" by Jana Denardo breaks out of the contemporary Christian guardian angel mould entirely, transporting the reader back to ancient Pompeii, and recasting the guardian angel theme onto Roman beliefs to create a wonderfully warm and engaging story. Completely different, but also highly rated, "A Voice in the Darkness" by Patric Michael makes incredible use of dialogue. The sense of risk and fear is palpable, the central relationship refreshingly real, and the tale as a whole completely compelling.
"Some Comfort" by S. Blaise takes a tough situation ~ a soldier unable to adjust after returning from combat, and creates something sweet, and light, and warm and good ~ but not sickly sweet. It's almost dream-like in places, but emotionally so solid.
"Ascension" by R.J. Scott, however, never quite came together for me ~ neither the setting nor the characters seemed definite enough for me to really invest in them, so even Sabreal's sacrifice seemed a little flat, while in the next story, "Sariel," Mary Calmes managed the impressive feat of making a demonic underworld far more convincing than contemporary Italy. However, all that was forgiven once I reached the heart of the action in Calmes' story, where love and kindness prove their power. This is another pair of stories that I wish hadn't been back to back, though ~ not least because the very similar character names.
The next story perked me right up ~ "The Platypus Learns Astrophysics" ~ and isn't that a title you wish you'd come up with? ~ showcases Matthew Vandrew's rich, fresh tone, adding a touch of humour to the anthology as Heaven's best laid plans don't quite go according to the script. Hardworking businessman Jonas Mason seems a bit of a caricature at first, but that's shattered ~ along with all his certainties about how the world works ~ when Micah arrives, the story picks up pace, and the net result is a joy.
"The Angel Blues" by Cornelia Grey is another five-star gem, with a very different but equally strong voice. Cop Morgan's dry, grumpy internal conversations as he tries to work out if he's actually crazy really sings. Clare London's "Redemption," the only story in the collection to consider an angel-angel relationship, also hits the high notes ~ the world building and the balance of the plot are masterfully handled, and Ziba's journey had me enthralled. "Herbal Tea" by H.J. Brues returns us to the human world, but doesn't let the quality drop off in the slightest. Like Morgan in "Angel Blues," Douglas is in law enforcement, but this is a lighter, sweeter, brightly coloured story, playing with the mismatch of expectations between the law and the lifestyle of a young herbalist, Justin, and delivering a twist that I genuinely wasn't expecting.
Like Denardo's story, "The Tenth Avatar" by Roland Graeme translates the idea of a guardian angel to a different religious context, this time in the form of a statue of Kalki who overseas the improvement of Arun's fortunes in contemporary New York. The result is both sexy and understatedly romantic, and a really enjoyable read.
"Santangelo" by Zahra Owens strikes a bitter-sweet note. A brutal gay bashing takes Michael to the hospital, where he meets Dr Gabriel, and the doctor's disabled daughter, and whist both men feel the sparks, this story makes it clear that falling in love is not that simple. The author's skill with dialogue and medical background grounds what could be a syrupy, patronising set up, and makes it instead a textured, believable, hope-filled tale.
Finally, "The Archangel of Castro" by Diana Copland brings the collection around full circle, closing as it opened with a friends-become-lovers story ~ this one a fabulous romp of a story, rooted in a neighbourhood and found-family, jam packed with deftly sketched characters.
Overall, this is a very enjoyable collection, and one that's introduced me to a number of authors I want to read more from.
(Originally reviewed for Rainbow Reviews - http://www.rainbow-reviews.com/?p=6434)
Bear Chasing by Renae Kaye - 2,5 stars
Life’s Tiny Surprises by Tara Spears - 3 stars
The Bear King of Snowbird Mountain by Michael Ruptured - 1,5 stars
Just Breathe by John Genet - 3, 5 stars
Barefoot by Lillian Francis - 3 stars
Golden Bear by G.P. Keith - 2 stars
Banyan Court by Samuel Scott Preston - 2, 5 stars
The Bear at the Bar by J. Scott Chatsworth - 3,5 stars
Amped by Zoe X. Rider - 2 stars
The Bear Next Door by Jack Byrne - 2 stars
The Bear Fetish by John Amory - 3 stars
The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Getting Over Yourself by Robert B. McDiarmid - 1 star
Hunting Bear: A Fairy Tale with a Very Hairy Ending by Edmond Manning- 4 stars
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Trial By Fire by Lacey-Anne Frye - 2 stars
Rode Hard and Put Away Wet by Kate Sherwood - 4,5 stars
intense, no five stars because last line was a little too much
Courtin’ Trouble by Rowan McAllister - 3,5 stars
A nice fairy tale
Mr. August by K.R. Foster - 1.5 stars
Surviving the Crossing by Maria Albert - 3 stars
Cowboys and IT-ians by Xara X. Xanakas - 3 stars
funny
Facing Up by J.M. McLaughlin - 4 stars
The Real Thing by B.G. Thomas - 1,5 stars
In Temperance by Jane Seville - 2,5 stars
nice little twist in the end
Deluge by Zahra Owens - 2 stars
Hitting the Trail by Maggie Lee - 2 stars
Out on the Range by Ariel Tachna - 2 stars