M/M Romance Anthology: Out in Colorado
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The Blurb…
This collection brings six talented authors from the Centennial State together under one title, all offering their take on what it means to be Out in Colorado. These stories explore the cultures and mores of the state as only native authors can, each bringing a unique perspective on the diverse peoples and changing attitudes that are quickly coming to define this state in transition.
So what did I think?
A couple of quick words on each short story……
Something Old, Something Blue by George Seaton
This started off as a really interesting look at the world of mobsters followed by an unexpected twist into the world of the supernatural. There was very limited romance and I wasn’t overly fond of the ending, wanting to understand more of what happened next.
Casual Brilliance by Cari Z
This is the story of a man who starts a new job working in a lab. It is quite a unique setting, providing just enough explanation of the lab to set the scene. The romance is a slow build from colleagues to friends to lovers with some fun parts like a midnight sled run.
Spirit’s Fire by Tabatha Heart
A man stumbles through the forest to a cabin where he and his friends used to spend a weekend each year. The beginning really had me wondering what ‘the incident’ was that resulted in the friends being separated. There were some twists and turns. The characters were cute but I would have liked to have seen some romance, some kissing or touching. Once again, I wanted to know more about how things ended. Do Ivan and Tate get together? What about Agustin’s crush on Tate?
Take a Bow by Caitlin Ricci
This is a sweet story about bisexual Brandon whose daughter arranges for him to get dance lessons from her best friend Crispin who is an instructor. This is in preparation for her wedding. Turns out that, unbeknown to Brandon, she knew he was bi – not exactly sure how as he didn’t seem to get up to much action but it really didn’t matter in this short story. There are nice characters, some hot sex and a HFN ending as Brandon dances with Crispin at the wedding.
Frozen by Lichen Craig
This is a story that shows a relationship disintegrating. Told in present tense, Trevor is in a relationship with Ethan who treats him very poorly. He is a kept man and abused emotionally but once this changes to physical abuse, Trevor has the sense to run immediately. Trev is already recovering from an accident which stalled his career, probably one of the reasons he became attached to Ethan in the first place. I hated Ethan for his infidelity but found it hard to dislike Trevor even though he was the self-confessed homewrecker. There was a sweet happy ending, flowers and all. Thank goodness for Seth, Barbara and all the other good people in the world.
Slip/Slide/Snow by P.D. Singer
This was one story that was not for me. I enjoyed the start but when I discovered it was a story about an otter shifter, I began to have my doubts. I definitely ceased to enjoy this book once Lon spent time as an otter and we see him in detail cavorting in the house. He was totally childish “Yes, Yes, fishie in a can.”, playing with cereal on the floor, having a tug of war with his lover, and forgetting the words for things “Drippy – he was drippy and shaking would make everything slippy. Corey doesn’t like slippy. He bit the soft white thing hanging off the wall and yanked. It fell over him. Fun! He could play peekies!” I couldn’t work out if he was more pet-like or child-like but either way this just didn’t work for me in a romance.
Buy Out in Colorado from Amazon.