This free ebook is a collection of 27 short stories celebrating love, sex and romance between men. It is a product of the Goodreads M/M Romance Group Hot Summer Days event and features authors attending the GayRomLit Retreat 2011 in New Orleans; if you like what you read, come join our group!
Read these stories online or download the anthology from ARe.
Note: These stories contain sexually explicit content and are intended for adult readers only.
J. P. Barnaby – IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT = First Love L.C. Chase – OPEN TACKLE = Friends to Lovers Jaya Christopher – CODY AND THE HERMIT = BDSM/Cowboys Poppy Dennison – BLINDSIDED = Hurt/Comfort Taylor V. Donovan – HEATSTROKE = Angst Rachel Haimowitz – JUNGLE HEAT = Military Jambrea Jo Jones – WILD BLUE YONDER = Military Lissa Kasey and Xara X. Xanakas – SINK OR SWIM = Established Couple K-lee Klein – OUTFOXED = Rock Stars Marguerite Labbe – TEARS OF THE SEA = Paranormal/Fairytales Clare London – SAY A LITTLE PRAYER = Paranormal/Angels Belinda McBride – FREE TO FLY = BDSM Michele L. Montgomery – TEARS FROM ABOVE = Paranormal/Angels Cherie Noel – KISS AND TELL = Mild Kink Lydia Nyx – MOON OVER MONTANA = Shifter/Cowboys M.J. O'Shea – BRIDGES = First Love S.J.D. Peterson - INNOCENCE TO THE MAX = Paranormal/BDSM Devon Rhodes – HIS LAST RESORT = Coming Out Jaime Samms – MOURNING = Hurt/Comfort P.D. Singer – THE BOY NEXT DOOR = Friends to Lovers Andrea Speed – MY BLOODY VALENTINE = Paranormal/Sorcerer Damon Suede – SEEDY BUSINESS = Sci-Fi V.J. Summers – LIAR, LIAR = Friends to Lovers Bryl R. Tyne – ALIPIO = Fantasy Piper Vaughn – WANTING = First Love Missy Welsh – YOU AND BILLION BLUE TILES = First Love Eden Winters – SWEET DREAMS = Coming Out
Clare took the pen name London from the city where she lives, loves, and writes. A lone, brave female in a frenetic, testosterone-fuelled family home, she juggles her writing with her other day job as an accountant. She’s written in many genres and across many settings, with award-winning novels and short stories published both online and in print. She says she likes variety in her writing while friends say she’s just fickle, but as long as both theories spawn good fiction, she’s happy. Most of her work features male/male romance and drama with a healthy serving of physical passion, as she enjoys both reading and writing about strong, sympathetic and sexy characters.
Clare currently has several novels sulking at that tricky chapter 3 stage and plenty of other projects in mind . . . she just has to find out where she left them in that frenetic, testosterone-fuelled family home.
All the details and free fiction are available at her website. Visit her today and say hello!
Clare also writes as Stella Shaw and launched a new series of rent boy romances in 2021.
How do you rate or even attempt to review something like this??? Well, I haven't read all of them, but I have to say I had a blast picking them out through the summer and even now I'm having fun with them. The majority were pretty great. Thank you so much to all the authors and thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to everyone who worked to put this together for us. :D
As with the last Event, I admit, upfront, as a co-moderator of the group I had no intention of disliking any of these stories and I wasn't dissapointed. :)
Wow, there are a lot of good stories in here. It is easy for me to digest these huge anthologies because I can read a story or two while on breaks at work or in the car and I don't have to worry about remembering what happened when I last read, etc. Plus, I am able to knock out short books in between reading these stories. This one has a good variety of themes.
Jungle Heat by Rachel Haimowitz - 1.5-2 stars My primary complaint about this was that it was too short. There was no plot. Just a little off-screen action, a raping scene Pete was too drugged to realize was occurring, and a kiss.
Open Tackle by L.C. Chase - 3 stars I really liked how the author incorporated the picture into the story. It was a really sweet story, if a bit unrealistic, in my uninformed opinion.
Tears of the Sea by Marguerite Labbe - 3.5 stars I really liked this story. I didn't like so much how the picture was incorporated. To me, it didn't really make sense nor seem to fit naturally with the story. But I loved the use of the fairy tale/folklore. If anyone has recommendations for a selkie story with the same feel as this one (i.e. slight feeling of magic and fairy tale), please leave a comment! Thanks!
Bridges by M.J. O'Shea - 3 - 3.5 stars I liked this sweet story of young love. I was charmed by the voice of the narrator, Dallas. I liked the introductory paragraph as Dallas related his earliest experiences with Brooklyn. I appreciated how the author showed Brooklyn's change in middle school. I felt so bad for him when he was rebuffed, and yet, it felt natural that this should occur as I read on in Dallas's 1st POV. And when Brooklyn tried being nice again when they were older, I felt as awkward as Dallas - and Brooklyn. I continued to enjoy the story to the end, but I liked the first half better than the 2nd half. It was the second half of the story, when they are older, that I began to have doubts about whether the voices sounded appropriate for their age. They sounded a little young, but it's been a while since I was 18-19 years old, and I was never a 18-19 year old male so what do I really know? Maybe 18-19 year old guys who had grown up hating each other, then discovered that perhaps the other was not the devil incarnate one summer, and that the other was gay could also believe that they loved each other - in a summer - and that they didn't want to be with anyone else ever again. Maybe they do start calling each other "babe" that summer although for years they had both been locked tight behind the closet (small town in Texas, you know). I don't know. I just found the second half's gooey sweetness hard to believe - and take in. And finally, I ran across a typo and my grammar pet peeve of the nominative "I" in the objective case. This completely threw me out of my happy place and the story as my body physically reacted to reject this detestable grammatical error. Don't. Just...don't.
Wanting by Piper Vaughn - 3.75 to 4 stars Sink Or Swim by Lissa Kasey & Xara X. Xanakas - 2.75 stars Open Tackle by L.C. Chase - 3.5 stars Outfoxed by K-lee Klein - 4 stars Say A Little Prayer by Clare London - 3.5 to 3.75 stars Bridges by M.J. O'Shea - 4 stars Innocence To The Max by S.J.D. Peterson - 3 stars Mourning by Jaime Samms - 4 stars My Bloody Valentine by Andrea Speed - 3 stars You And A Billion Blue Tiles by Missy Welsh - 4.5 stars It's the End of the World As We Know It by J.P Barnaby - didn't finish. The writing was good, but I couldn't get past the fact that one of the MCs was 16 and the other 30. Even if it's the end of the world, that still crossed the line for my comfort. Cody And The Hermit by Jaya Christopher - 3.25 to 3.5 stars Blindsided by Poppy dennison - 3 to 3.25 stars Heatstroke by Taylor V Donovan - 4.5 stars Jungle Heat by Rachel Haimowitz - 3.75 stars Wild Blue Yonder by Jambrea Jo Jones - 3 to 3.25 stars Tears Of The Sea by Marguerite Labbe - 3 to 3.25 stars Free To Fly by Belinda McBride - 3.25 stars Tears From Above by Michele L. Montgomery - 2.25 stars Kiss And Tell by Cherie Noel - 4.25 to 4.5 stars Moon Over Montana by Lydia Nyx - 4 to 4.25 stars His Last Resort by Devon Rhodes - 4.25 stars The Boy Next Door by PD Singer - 3 stars Liar, Liart by VJ Summers - 4.25 stars Alipio by Bryl R. Tyne - 2.75 to 3 stars Sweet Dreams by Eden Winters - 4 stars
This is the second of the five Don't Read in the Closet anthologies that I've read. Overall it was a very nice collection of stories. There were a couple I didn't care for, quite a few I liked and some I really loved. I'm not going to do individual reviews but I will note the ones that really appealed to me.
I enjoyed all 27 stories, ranking range average is 3 stars to 4 stars. There are two stories that stand out, and they are 5 star all the way.
5 Stars for -- Heatstroke by Taylor V. Donovan ... this is a story of a young man seeking answers to questions of his identity when a drama teacher likens him to a famous 50's movie star that dropped out of the public eye. Michael finds photos of the star and is amazed as had the photo been taken today it could have been a photo of him. This sets Michael on a path of discovery, and learning the love story of the man in the photograph, his grandfather.
5 Stars for -- Kiss and Tell by Cherie Noel ... this is a story of love and innocence. Kevin is an nurse in the ICU and he befriends Tony who is abused by his lover. Tony is very trusting and naive, and is easily taken advantage of. When Kevin takes Tony in, he quickly realizes that to Tony needs constant attention and that to protect him from his own trusting nature, they need a third. Finding another man who will love and treasure Tony like Kevin does, proves to be a challenge.
Most of the stories included deserved 5 stars but a few were not that great. i liked that each story was based on a different picture that captured a moment between 1 or 2 or in one case 3 lovers. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words, to bad i could only read the description of the photo and not see it for my self.
I truly enjoyed reading this anthology, reading the description of the photo, trying to image it, then continuing to the story that unfolded after...
There is a story for everyone here, cowboys, BDSM, Angels, first love, friendship.... Some I loved, some I liked overall I really enjoyed reading it. The readers’ requests are related to a picture prompt and each author has to create the story behind the picture. It´s a great way to get to know different authors.
1. J. P. Barnaby – END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT (First Love) 5/5 PERFECT
2. L.C. Chase – OPEN TACKLE (Friends to Lovers) 3.5/5 Sex was amazing, plot needed a bit more depth
3. Jaya Christopher – CODY AND THE HERMIT (BDSM/Cowboys) 1/5 Long, slow and boring.
4. Poppy Dennison – BLINDSIDED (Hurt/Comfort) 1/5 "sex scene" just wasn't enough to make up for this slow dramatic story
5. Taylor V. Donovan – HEATSTROKE (Angst) 5/5 OH MY GOD THIS WAS AMAZING I AM IN AWE JESUS CHRIST PROBABLY THE BEST STORY IN THIS COLLECTION
6. Rachel Haimowitz – JUNGLE HEAT (Military/Dub-con) 1/5 how can someone ever like this story? it was horrible , I kept thinking it was a weird joke I didnt get. Non-consensual sex scene.
7. Jambrea Jo Jones – WILD BLUE YONDER (Military/Coming out) 1/5 Boring. When I read the tag "DADT" I thought it might have potential but It didn't live up to it
8. Lissa Kasey and Xara X. Xanakas – SINK OR SWIM (Established Couple) 5/5 This is the sweetest thing I've read this year. The HEA I so desperately needed. I loved this so much.
9. K Lee Klein – OUTFOXED (Rock Stars) 4.5/5 The ultimate rock-star fantasy/love story. Amazing
10. Marguerite Labbe – TEARS OF THE SEA (Paranormal/ Fairytales) 1/5 (I tried but I couldn't even finish reading the damn thing. I don't like the whole paranormal thing. I like my shit to feel realistic, but maybe someone else that enjoys this kind of stories would like it I dont know)
11. Clare London – SAY A LITTLE PRAYER (Paranormal/Angels) 1.5/5 i really don't like paranormal very much x.x it was sort of sweet i think but not my thing at all
12. Belinda McBride – FREE TO FLY (BDSM) 1.5/5 everything happened way too fast. It wasn't believeable.
13. Michele L. Montgomery – TEARS FROM ABOVE (Paranormal/Angels) 1/5 Angels again. But more angels.
14. Cherie Noel - KISS AND TELL (Mild Kink) 2/5 Too long and not so believable. Although I don't know if I can have a proper opinion, it was my first poliamorous/MMM story. The sex scene was ok.
15. Lydia Nyx – MOON OVER MONTANA (Shifter/Cowboys) 1/5 didn't even finish it
16. M.J. O'Shea – BRIDGES (First Love) 4.8/5 Oh my God this was so good. Gorgeously written and sweet and sexy. I really really REALLY loved how this author wrote it!
17. SJD Peterson - INNOCENCE TO THE MAX (Paranormal/BDSM) 1/5 this is the stupidest thing I've ever read in my entire life :(
18. Jaime Samms – MOURNING (Hurt/Comfort) 3/5: WHOA FEELS. Polyamorous lovers deal with the fact one of them died. It was nicely written and sweet.
19. Devon Rhodes – HIS LAST RESORT (Coming Out) 3.5/5: I think it was the first of the stories that tackled homophobia, and it did it nicely, I would say. It was sweet and sexy.
20. PD Singer – THE BOY NEXT DOOR (Friends to Lovers) 1/5: This was so poorly written...I couldn't understand the relationship the main characters had at all.
21. Andrea Speed – MY BLOODY VALENTINE (Paranormal/Sorcerer) 1/5: Say hello to the worst story in the entire collection
22. Damon Suede – SEEDY BUSINESS (Sci-Fi) 1/5: Unrealistic sci-fi. It has the phrase "designer-testicles" at the very beginning of the story. Also has the word "homo-pheromones" a bit later on. I didn't finish reading it.
23. VJ Summers – LIAR, LIAR (Friends to Lovers) 3/5: a little painful at the beginning but sweet at the end, I liked it.
24. Bryl R. Tyne – ALIPIO (Fantasy) 1/5 GOSH FANTASY (...)
25. Piper Vaughn – WANTING (First Love) 4.8/5 Almost perfect balance between sweet hot. I loved this.
26. Missy Welsh – YOU AND BILLION BLUE TILES (First Love) 5/5 Well shit.
27. Eden Winters – SWEET DREAMS (Coming Out) 4/5 Yes.
I only read about half the stories in this anthology. It's mostly a mixed bag. There were a couple I really like (one particular stand-out story is Clare London's "Say a Little Prayer"), most were just ok. With such short stories, I felt a lot of the sex scenes were totally unnecessary, and some stories seemed to be set up around the sex scene, with character/plot background just to pad it out so it wouldn't be totally about gratuitous porn. Meh, most of these were not really my taste, I suppose.
J.P. Barnaby, "End of the World As We Know It". Did not finish. The age gap involving a minor really puts me off.
J.C. Chase, "Open Tackle". 2 stars. The relationship between best friends and football teammates Owen and Rory change when Owen confesses his feelings for Rory, then runs off after taking Rory's stunned silence for a rejection. A basic misunderstanding plot, really common in yaoi manga, which I find rather unrealistic and gets resolved fairly quickly.
Jaya Christopher, "Cody and the Hermit". 2 stars. Cowboy Cody pines after a former childhood friend and longtime crush when said crush returns to his hometown after several years away. I didn't really find this one believable at all. The sex scene was also clearly tacked on and didn't really add anything to the story.
Poppy Dennison, "Blindsided". 3 stars. Boxer/fighter Noah is nervous about his upcoming fight, his fellow boxer comforts him. This is a plot that I like a lot and wish I could read as a full novel. As a short story, the ending is too easy and unsatisfying and would be better if it was more developed.
Rachel Haimowitz, "Jungle Heat". 2 stars. American Ranger Pete gets captured by a drug cartel, is given cocaine and raped. The story completely falls apart at the end when the love interest (a fellow Ranger) comes to save him, confesses and suddenly everything's ok???
Jambrea Jo Jones, "Wild Blue Yonder". 2 stars. Bruce leaves his lover and fellow soldier Rick when it seems like Rick can't offer him the commitment he wants.
Marguerite Labbe, "Tears of the Sea". 2 stars. David is tied up by Liam, his crush and the husband of his husband's twin brother, in an attempt to make him remember memories he lost. An interesting enough idea but terribly executed. It dragged on way too long and wasn't particularly well-written.
Clare London, "Say A Little Prayer". 5 stars. While working a summer job, Jonathan finds a winged and naked man on the beach waiting just for him. This was a real gem of a short story and absolutely compelling from beginning to end. I like how the "mystery" unravels itself slowly and allowed for the development of some really delicious tension and heat. This was also one story where the sex scene felt like it was important and fit into the story rather than being a gratuitous scene added in. (Ironically, this is one story where I wouldn't have minded more sex-- I guess because I was very invested in the two characters.) Lovely writing and wonderful story overall. I will definitely check out more of this author's work.
M.J. O'Shea, "Bridges". 2 stars. I've read this one before, my review is here. Sweet but ultimately forgettable tale of two enemies turned lovers.
Devon Rhodes, "His Last Resort". 3 stars. A college freshman comes out to his roomate.
Andrea Speed, "My Bloody Valentine". 4 stars. Cody takes Drew to an abandoned house for some spooky fun. Super short but packs a real punch.
V.J. Summers, "Liar, Liar". DNF. Didn't like the writing.
Bryl R. Tyne, "Alipio". 3 stars. A very poetic and dream-like short story about an artist who becomes infatuated with the slave who is his model.
Not all the stories in this anthology received 5 stars. But overall, as a concept, this anthology gets 5 stars and more. Don't Read in the Closet is a collection of short stories published for free for members of the M/M Romance Group. The best part of this series of shorts is that they were based on a photo and a reader request for a story. I really, really enjoyed seeing the photos and reading the reader request, and then reading the story itself. It made me truly appreciate the authors attempts to bring the picture to life while conforming to the readers' requests. Brilliant. Some of the photos were absolutely gorgeous and the stories created were romantic and sweet. Other pictures were cheesy and one I thought was creepy, but it was still fascinating to see what the author would do with the photo. I realized that the artsy, beautiful photos were actually the easiest ones to write about. It was the bizarre and eclectic photo that challenged the authors the most. I was ultimately able to appreciate all the stories and admire the authors for tackling such a challenge. Kudos to all participants and sincere thanks from this reader for tackling this project as a thank you to the fans. I'm appreciative!
It is difficult to give this one rating, since it includes multiple stories by multiple authors. There are some great stories and a few O.K. ones. I think this book is a good way to become familiar with a new author.
I don't recommend looking at the inspiration pictures before reading the story. I did that and found that I would be disappointed by a perfectly good story just because I didn't think it represented the photograph very well.
I am very thankful to all of the authors for participating in this project.
I'm having so much fun reading these! I loved the concept-of the photo inspiring the story-and was really impressed with the originality and quality of the stories. I still have a few stories to read, I've been randomly picking my way through. So far some of the standouts (off the top of my head) were the stories written by J.P.Barnaby, K Lee Klein, Clare London, Belinda McBride, Jamie Samms, PD Singer, VJ Summers, and Damon Suede. Really looking forward to reading the rest!
This 842-page monster is paradise for anyone who likes gay fan fiction! It has stories for any taste. True love, feelings, drama, sex, paranormal and much more - All around the world, and mostly about young men. Some of them I found typical, some cute, some I really loved, some I found weird, and some I found boring. So I doubt you'll actually like EVERYTHING in here. But it's worth a shot! And now I'm going to start reading more books from this series.
Although it took me a while to finish this because I chose to read each short story in between other books I was reading it was really great to read some interesting stories by authors I had never heard of before and some I am very familiar with. GREAT Collection
Five Star rating because of all the amazing effort from all involved (letter writers, writers, moderators, betas, copy editors, editors, and grunts) to produces this/these amazing stories and anthologies.
Finally read this after a friend had recommended it a while ago. I wasn't disappointed. Not all did I like but there were a few that stood out. Over all enjoyable. I am sure I'll read the other anthologies.
A great collection of short stories, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Of course, as with most anthologies, I liked some of them better than others and some not at all, but there is something for all tastes to be found in here.
I had already read "Wanting" by Piper Vaughn and really enjoyed it, so that was my favorite from this volume. Another standout was "Tears of the Sea" by Marguerite Labbe. It was a unique selkie story. Then "Say a Little Prayer" by Clare London was a nice, light paranormal romance.