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Petrichor
A collection of stories ranging from sweet to spicy, about men loving and lusting, struggling and pining.
In Breaking the Rules Greg is getting back on his feet after overcoming cancer, and asks his crush to go with him to a photoshoot for moral support—and a chance to act on his feelings.
Cherry Bomb is about Carl, the only openly gay member of a frat, and his brothers have played a prank on him by sending him alone to a gay bar with a twist.
In Love with Zeus's Son forces Eros to help his best friend learn whether or not he has a soul mate, and learning the answer may well break the heart of the god of love.
Love and Cake brings sweet treats and sweet surprises when Rowan agrees to make cupcakes for his sister's engagement party.
In Lover's Lane Danny runs afoul of some greasers and is saved by his brother's best friend, who takes him to Lovers Lane to hide—and reveals some intriguing things Danny never expected.
Luck of the Irish brings good fortune to Jamie, who is more than happy to spread the joy around—especially to the best friend he's secretly in love with.
Nurse Levi has heard it all about being a male nurse, and he has no time for stereotypes and clichés. Not until a hot, cute fireman shows up suffering wounds from saving a kitten, anyway.
And in Will You Be the Wolf to My Captain Dee a day of cosplaying his favourite character goes better than Bennett could have ever imagined.
In Breaking the Rules Greg is getting back on his feet after overcoming cancer, and asks his crush to go with him to a photoshoot for moral support—and a chance to act on his feelings.
Cherry Bomb is about Carl, the only openly gay member of a frat, and his brothers have played a prank on him by sending him alone to a gay bar with a twist.
In Love with Zeus's Son forces Eros to help his best friend learn whether or not he has a soul mate, and learning the answer may well break the heart of the god of love.
Love and Cake brings sweet treats and sweet surprises when Rowan agrees to make cupcakes for his sister's engagement party.
In Lover's Lane Danny runs afoul of some greasers and is saved by his brother's best friend, who takes him to Lovers Lane to hide—and reveals some intriguing things Danny never expected.
Luck of the Irish brings good fortune to Jamie, who is more than happy to spread the joy around—especially to the best friend he's secretly in love with.
Nurse Levi has heard it all about being a male nurse, and he has no time for stereotypes and clichés. Not until a hot, cute fireman shows up suffering wounds from saving a kitten, anyway.
And in Will You Be the Wolf to My Captain Dee a day of cosplaying his favourite character goes better than Bennett could have ever imagined.
- GenresAnthologies
172 pages, ebook
First published July 24, 2017
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19 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 26, 2017
this was quite a straightforward collection of short stories with straightforward writing, but despite its unremarkability (is that a word? well, it is now) i found it quite enjoyable. the relationships were both fluffy and sweet, and hot and steamy at the same time, which is always a good combination! i also liked how there were a couple of fantasy and historical stories thrown in with the contemporary ones, which provided some nice variety.
July 30, 2017
Great introduction for a new to me author. These short stories have a wide range from friends-to-lovers, established couples, and a strangers-to-lovers.
Breaking the Rules - 4 stars
Greg and Ian are members of a cancer support group. They're best friends and Greg sees his chance to act on his feelings for Ian when he asks Ian to go with him to his nude photoshoot. Little does he know that Ian has also been waiting for the right time to pursue Greg. The epilogue was sweet and it was a great start to the anthology.
Cherry Bomb - 4.5 stars
This was by far my favorite story. Carl is in a fraternity and his fraternity brothers have convinced him to go to a gay club for the first time. However, when he arrives, he quickly realizes that he is the only one there, and it's a BDSM club. He meets Kristian, a dom, and after a misunderstanding, the two go back to Kristian's place. There's only a light bondage scene, but I thought it was perfect for Carl's first time. It had a satisfying HFN ending.
In Love with Zeus's Son - no review
I'm not into mythology, so I skipped this one.
Love and Cake - 3 stars
Ash and Rowan have been dating for a while (I'm not sure how long since it's not mentioned). They run a bakery together, and they have been tasked with baking goods for Rowan's sister engagement. The ending was sweet.
Lover's Lane - 4 stars
Danny is a greaser, which immediately made me think of the movie Grease. When he's ganged up on, he's rescued by Francis, his older brother's best friend. Francis decides the safest place for two guys to go is lovers lane. Danny never expected Francis to confess to having feelings for him. The only thing that bothered me was Francis seems to hooking up with multiple guys, so I didn't feel like this was a HEA or HFN.
Luck of the Irish - 4 stars
This was another friends-to-lovers story, but this one takes place around St. Patrick's Day. Jamie has been in love with Hunter for a while. He finds a four-leaf clover while he's cleaning up from his lunch with Hunter. As he picks up the four-leaf clover, it begins to shimmer and glow. Great things begin to happen immediately for him. The two find out how magical the four-leaf clover is and that love is closer than you think.
Nurse Levi - 4 stars
Levi is a nurse and he's had a hard time maintaining relationships with his work schedule. After meeting Ash, a fireman, he starts to believe he can make a relationship work. The timing of their relationship flowed perfectly and provided me with their wonderful HEA.
Will You Be the Wolf to My Captain Dee - 3 stars
Cosplay introduces Bennett to Hartley, and the sparks fly immediately. The two hookup, but there's potential for more. I wish this one was a little longer since they were strangers. The ending felt like a sort-of HFN.
Breaking the Rules - 4 stars
Greg and Ian are members of a cancer support group. They're best friends and Greg sees his chance to act on his feelings for Ian when he asks Ian to go with him to his nude photoshoot. Little does he know that Ian has also been waiting for the right time to pursue Greg. The epilogue was sweet and it was a great start to the anthology.
Cherry Bomb - 4.5 stars
This was by far my favorite story. Carl is in a fraternity and his fraternity brothers have convinced him to go to a gay club for the first time. However, when he arrives, he quickly realizes that he is the only one there, and it's a BDSM club. He meets Kristian, a dom, and after a misunderstanding, the two go back to Kristian's place. There's only a light bondage scene, but I thought it was perfect for Carl's first time. It had a satisfying HFN ending.
In Love with Zeus's Son - no review
I'm not into mythology, so I skipped this one.
Love and Cake - 3 stars
Ash and Rowan have been dating for a while (I'm not sure how long since it's not mentioned). They run a bakery together, and they have been tasked with baking goods for Rowan's sister engagement. The ending was sweet.
Lover's Lane - 4 stars
Danny is a greaser, which immediately made me think of the movie Grease. When he's ganged up on, he's rescued by Francis, his older brother's best friend. Francis decides the safest place for two guys to go is lovers lane. Danny never expected Francis to confess to having feelings for him. The only thing that bothered me was Francis seems to hooking up with multiple guys, so I didn't feel like this was a HEA or HFN.
Luck of the Irish - 4 stars
This was another friends-to-lovers story, but this one takes place around St. Patrick's Day. Jamie has been in love with Hunter for a while. He finds a four-leaf clover while he's cleaning up from his lunch with Hunter. As he picks up the four-leaf clover, it begins to shimmer and glow. Great things begin to happen immediately for him. The two find out how magical the four-leaf clover is and that love is closer than you think.
Nurse Levi - 4 stars
Levi is a nurse and he's had a hard time maintaining relationships with his work schedule. After meeting Ash, a fireman, he starts to believe he can make a relationship work. The timing of their relationship flowed perfectly and provided me with their wonderful HEA.
Will You Be the Wolf to My Captain Dee - 3 stars
Cosplay introduces Bennett to Hartley, and the sparks fly immediately. The two hookup, but there's potential for more. I wish this one was a little longer since they were strangers. The ending felt like a sort-of HFN.
November 23, 2017
Petrichor (the scent of rain) is a collection of nine short stories of m/m (or in one case god/demigod) romance.
I enjoyed eight out of nine. Only the final story, “ will you be the wolf…” did not work for me.
They mostly have a gentle, slightly ironic humour to them which I liked. Some serious issues are dealt with. One story has cancer recoverers getting together, others deal with stereotyping and harassment.
There are quite hot sexual scenes and there is a lot of love.
Some deal with established relationships, most with new ones. A few characters are first-time, most are experienced.
They are easy to read, but not facile. I thought they were much better than Paint a Story on your Skin which I read recently. They are the kinds of tales which leave you with a warm glow, wishing the characters a happy future and hoping the author will write more about them.
Thoroughly recommended.
I enjoyed eight out of nine. Only the final story, “ will you be the wolf…” did not work for me.
They mostly have a gentle, slightly ironic humour to them which I liked. Some serious issues are dealt with. One story has cancer recoverers getting together, others deal with stereotyping and harassment.
There are quite hot sexual scenes and there is a lot of love.
Some deal with established relationships, most with new ones. A few characters are first-time, most are experienced.
They are easy to read, but not facile. I thought they were much better than Paint a Story on your Skin which I read recently. They are the kinds of tales which leave you with a warm glow, wishing the characters a happy future and hoping the author will write more about them.
Thoroughly recommended.
August 12, 2017
Petrichor is short story anthology featuring the cutest romances I have ever read. If you didn't already know, petrichor is also the name for the smell of the earth after it rains. It's a pleasant image for a pleasant read. The book did a good job of keeping me floating on a cloud of "wow that's so cute." L.J. Hamlin has a distinctive voice and style, which helped the collection feel cohesive. In addition to being cute, some of the stories were also quite funny.
Characters were also levelheaded for characters in the romance genre and some were unconventional romance leads which was a refreshing change of pace. This might be a limitation of the short story format, but I didn't always feel like the characters themselves were brought to life. Instead of resonating with the characters, I resonated with the story itself.
The dialog in the anthology isn't traditional. Some of the stories feature long-winded, run-on sentences which reflect how people actually talk (seriously, try transcribing your next conversation and you'll see what I mean) but could be jarring or awkward to read.
I love books that make feel, but the dialog and simpleness of the plot prevented this book from being a 5 for me.
I received a review copy of this book.
Characters were also levelheaded for characters in the romance genre and some were unconventional romance leads which was a refreshing change of pace. This might be a limitation of the short story format, but I didn't always feel like the characters themselves were brought to life. Instead of resonating with the characters, I resonated with the story itself.
The dialog in the anthology isn't traditional. Some of the stories feature long-winded, run-on sentences which reflect how people actually talk (seriously, try transcribing your next conversation and you'll see what I mean) but could be jarring or awkward to read.
I love books that make feel, but the dialog and simpleness of the plot prevented this book from being a 5 for me.
I received a review copy of this book.
July 29, 2017
4 stars!
A very sweet short collection of stories. There was no angst and it went straight to that happy end (faster than I expected). So while I enjoyed the fluff, the lack of substantial plot made me take off one star. But nonetheless, I enjoyed the stories.
Overall, a very sweet read.
A very sweet short collection of stories. There was no angst and it went straight to that happy end (faster than I expected). So while I enjoyed the fluff, the lack of substantial plot made me take off one star. But nonetheless, I enjoyed the stories.
Overall, a very sweet read.
August 27, 2017
In Lover's Lane was my favorite of the stories.
October 30, 2018
I love short stories, and I love collections of short stories for the times when I need a quick read without all the novel length brouhaha. I found this collection quite enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews