Forbidden Love by Stormy Glenn, H.C. Brown, Anna O’Neill & Aleksandr Voinov
This is a historical anthology, with a bit of paranormal in one of the tales, and with plenty of different approaches on the same genre, the historical romance. With more or less 25 pages each, all the stories should be considered "shorts", but what struck me (positively) is than no one of them has the feeling to be rushed, all of them are well plotted and the characters have a good development, almost an impossible thing to achieve in a short story, and here we have 4 examples of that.
My Outlaw by Stormy Glenn: I was curios to read this short story, I'm used to a "futuristic" Stormy Glenn, with a push on the erotic side, and maybe with a bit of Alpha/omega play. How was it possible to shift all of it back in time, to the late nineteen century in the wild wild West? When Daniel is kidnapped by the notorious outlaw Black Bart, I didn't feel like he was so upset by his captive condition. From the first moment he sees the handsome outlaw, Daniel seems more than eager to play catch and go with the man, and even if he has a meaning behavior, Black Bart actually doesn't do anything to hurt the younger man. My Outlaw is a romp in the desert, with all the element I was used to find in other Glenn's books, and with a final twist that gives thuthfulness to all the tale.
Forbidden by H.C. Brown: set in the 1075, Middle Age and Norman conquest period, this would led the reader to believe that it was a savage romance, with the damsel (in this case male damsel) in distress who will be saved by his knight in shining armor, a big and strong, and maybe stranger man, more used to the battle field than the bedroom... right? Wrong! Our "damsel" in distress is Renoir, the younger son of a Norman baron; even if he looks like the right weak partner in a savage romance, blonde hair, fair skin, Renoir is not exactly an innocent. He is living in sin, and his father is tired of that, more King William himself wants for him to marry an older woman with plenty of lands but no man around. Instead of rebelling to the imposition, like every "damsel" in distress would do, maybe even run away, Renoir accepts to marry the woman and leave with his male lover to live in blissful isolation. And now another side of Renoir comes out: maybe he is so aloof and unromantic, since he has a broken heart? And his lost lover maybe is the knight in shining armor we were all expecting? As I said, this tale has a plot and characters development that is impressive for how short the story is. The overall approach on the story is that of a farce (word used not in a derogative way), it reminds me some old plays with the trick of the exchanged character; the story is more heavy in the plot twists than in the historical accuracy, but I think that was the aim of the author.
Poisoned Heart by Anna O’Neill: here is the slightly paranormal tale. In Edo-period Japan, Raiden is seeking vengeance against is guest-brother, a man his family welcomed and who killed Raiden's parents. Now Raiden has managed to learn the magic to travel back in time, and he wants to kill Masashi before the man could kill his parents. But even before starting his travel, Raiden seems unwell with the idea to kill an unarmed Masashi, it seems like he wants to give a chance to the man. I don't feel so much hate inside Raiden's heart, more betrayal, but not the betrayal of a guest-brother, more that of a lover. And so it's, when Raiden steps back in time, he can see the old Raiden, the fifteen years old who looks upon Masashi with starstrucked eyes. Only that now Raiden can see Masashi also with different eyes, those of an adult and not of a teenager. More Raiden has now the knowledge to understand that maybe Masashi was a victim like him.
Deliverance by Aleksandr Voinov: the last tale is setting during the Crusades and William is a medieval knight who wants to do penance for his sins, the sin to have loved a man. In the Templar order William suppressed all his secret desires, not only for men but for anything that is mundane. He thinks to be at peace, to have finally found his path. But William is in denyal, he is not repentant, he is only far from any temptation. As soon as he is faced with it, in the form of Guy, his past lover, all William's hidden desires are freed. I like Guy's approach to the problem: he didn't near William with a broken heart or recriminations, he didn't try to convince William that what he is doing is wrong, he simply states that William was not free to take a decision regarding both of them, he had obligations that prevented him to join the Templar. It's a very logic and effective way to face the problem.
3 out of 4 of these authors were new to me, and so I can't say if this work is better than any other previous work. I don't even know so well their background to understand if they are newbie or not... What I can say is that I think this is a good quality product. BTW, in no one of the short stories is played the card of the "blushing" virgin, so common in so many other historical gay romances... a coincidence or a choice?
https://www.nobleromance.com/ItemDisplay.aspx?i=61
Setting the rules for the Rainbow Awards, first phase will start soon: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/799266.html