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A review by indiekay
Heart2Heart: A Charity Anthology Volume 5 by Lucy Lennox, A.M. Arthur, Leslie Copeland, Leslie Copeland
4.0
Ok here's a quick review for each story in this as I finish them:
1. ...Fallen in Love by Lucy Lennox ⭐️⭐️ 2.5 stars
This is a story about a writer travelling to Alaska to write a "Never have I ever" article, and he has a romance with the pilot he meets there.
I got a little annoyed at this one because it cuts the story right in the middle and the rest if it is right at the end of the book. I wasn't going to read through 800 pages of other stories just to get the end of this one, so I just skipped to the back and read it immediately. This story was fine? The second half just felt really rushed and I didn't feel very connected to the miscommunication or the big love confession scenes.
2. ...Cold-Called a Stranger by A.M. Arthur ⭐️⭐️ 2 stars
This one is a college/roommates story about a nerd who lives with a jock, and the jock dares the nerd to phone a number he finds in a book he got from the library.
For a short story this story is INCREDIBLY over-written. There were chunks of paragraphs that I just skipped because they were so unnecessarily detailed. I don't need to know what kind of hotdogs each character orders and eats for lunch, for example. And as much as I love a good story about roommates falling in love, the whole lying to someone to get them to spend time with you thing didn't really work well for me. Plus the confession scene fell flat for me. Both characters quote lines from the book while confessing to each other, and I'm sorry, but having only read a book once and you already know all these lines by heart? How?? Also referring to each other by the names of the characters in the book while confessing was just odd to me, I didn't really find that romantic at all.
3. ...Ridden a Bike by Alice Winters 0 stars
The POV character has been in love with his roommate/childhood friend for years and just keeps dropping unsubtle hints about it. The they accidentally open post that was meant for the neighbour and shit goes to hell.
This story is just farcical and stupid. It's one of those "LOL so quirky" sort of stories where shit hits the wall, the characters make really weird and dumb decisions, and the high stakes are treated like a game of pretend. It's basically crack fanfiction that could have been written by a child for a writing assignment. I was waiting for this story to end with it being a day dream or a nightmare or something.
I probably should have just skipped this one after getting a few pages in, but I kept at it because I love friends-to-lovers angst so much. But that didn't do too much for me, either. The confession scene fell flat, and I skipped the entire sex scene because there was no point to me reading any further than I already had. Can't believe I didn't just DNF this.
4. ...Dyed My Hair Flaming Red by Daryl Banner ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5 stars
A shy stagehand decides to dye his hair bright red on a whim, and catches the eye of the famous playwright he admires.
Finally a story I actually liked! This one is lovely and really encapsulates the theme of this book, with the main character Zakary putting himself out there and trying something he never would have tried before, and his life changes for the better because of it.
5. ...Worn that for Holloween by E.M. Lindsey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
In a small town near Brighton, Dom has been pinning over his best friend Shiloh for almost 20 years, and while everyone in town might know about that love, Shiloh himself doesn't.
I am a complete sucker for two things: childhood friends pinning over each other for years, and boys in dresses. This delivered both of those things for me. That pinning angst got me right in the feels! I really enjoyed this and I'm definitely going to be reading more by this author in the future.
6. ...Sung in Public by Jodi Payne ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 stars
This one is about a dentist who runs into his high school crush on a dating site, and surprise! That crush he always thought was straight is actually gay, and wants to meet up for drinks!
This one was sweet but didn't really do much for me, feels wise. I could have done with a little more pinning, and angst, or anxiety around signing, but things happened pretty easily between these two. But, that all said, it was sweet and I did enjoy it.
7. ...Gotten Lost by K. Webster ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars
Two characters meet up after talking in the Heart2Heart discussion thread, with the plan of getting lost together.
This one was really sweet, and I really enjoyed it. It's set in Norway, where one of the character's parents had originally met, and so he wants to find the exact place they met. This story deals with grief and low-self-confidence - both characters feel like they're unlovable and they're never going to meet The One, until then they meet each other. This pulled at my heartstrings and I really loved it.
8. ...Taken a Vacation by Kate Hawthorne ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 2.5 stars
A frequent flier meets a flight attendant while on a trip to New Orleans. When the flight attendant's connecting flight gets cancelled, he ends up staying in New Orleans overnight and finding the frequent flier on Grindr.
This one started off strong, and I love me some men in lingerie and discussions of polyamory, but it ended so abruptly I can't give it any more than 2.5 stars.
9. ...Spent the Night With Blanche by Louisa Masters ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
A character who has never watched The Golden Girls meets a character that loved The Golden Girls, and they live happily ever after.
That's basically the just of it, plus making some friends and a little public indecency thrown in. It's sweet.
10. ...Had A Makeover by Mia Monroe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
A history professor with some self-esteem issues goes to get a makeover, and falls for the stylist.
A sweet story, with more boys in lingerie, which I've said already I love. Some fun playing around with gender expectations, which I also love.
11. ...Flown In An Airplane by Neve Wilder ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
Another story of two strangers meeting on an airplane - one character on his first ever flight, and the other a flight attendant using his frequent flyer miles to go on vacation. They hit it off at the bar at the airport, are seated next to each other on the plane, and decide to continue their time together once they leave the plane. Short and sweet.
12. ...Gone Skinny Dipping by Riley Hart ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
A nerdy erotica author writes in a local cafe every day, and has a huge crush on the owner of said cafe. The owner has a huge crush on the writer. They have something in their past that connects the two of them, though they don't know it yet.
Cute story. I do like the stories about characters with self-esteem issues finding love, and this one had a tiny bit of exhibitionism thrown in, as well as a connection from the past.
13. ...Watched the Godfather by S.E. Harmon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5 stars
A character has to take a holiday from his demanding job at his dad's law firm, and since his cousin gives him a hard time about the fact that he knows 0 pop culture references, he decides to ask on the Heart2Heart forum if anyone wants to go see a movie with him at the park. Th man he ends up meeting turns out to be one of his old professors, and someone he always had a crush on.
This is cute. It didn't really hit all the notes I wanted it to, but I still enjoyed it.
14. ...Kissed Someone On The Lips by Spencer Spiers ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 stars
The main character is debating going to a neighbour's black-tie party when suddenly a robber from the party crawls into his window. He decides to black mail the robber into kissing him, but things escalate from them.
I was worried this one was going to go a similar direction as the third story in this collection, but luckily it never got that ridiculous. But it doesn't have a happy get-together ending, and you never find out what the robber's deal is, so it feels a little incomplete compared to all the other HEA stories in this collection.
15. ...Gone On A Date by Tal Bauer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5 stars
A palaeontologist working in the Arctic has a crush on one of the pilots, but he thinks he's blown his chance with him. Until they're forced on a mission together to go and find the body of a missing astrologist. Shit goes south very quickly after that.
I was waiting for Tal Bauer's story throughout the whole collection, and it did not disappoint! This story is a horror set in the Antarctic, and the horror bits are gripping. I could not put it down. The romance aspect of this story is sweet too, though not as strong.
In conclusion, I'm glad I picked up this anthology. I didn't like the first 3 stories, but everything past those were varying degrees of lovely, and I am excited to read more by some of the authors I was introduced to via this anthology.
1. ...Fallen in Love by Lucy Lennox ⭐️⭐️ 2.5 stars
This is a story about a writer travelling to Alaska to write a "Never have I ever" article, and he has a romance with the pilot he meets there.
I got a little annoyed at this one because it cuts the story right in the middle and the rest if it is right at the end of the book. I wasn't going to read through 800 pages of other stories just to get the end of this one, so I just skipped to the back and read it immediately. This story was fine? The second half just felt really rushed and I didn't feel very connected to the miscommunication or the big love confession scenes.
2. ...Cold-Called a Stranger by A.M. Arthur ⭐️⭐️ 2 stars
This one is a college/roommates story about a nerd who lives with a jock, and the jock dares the nerd to phone a number he finds in a book he got from the library.
For a short story this story is INCREDIBLY over-written. There were chunks of paragraphs that I just skipped because they were so unnecessarily detailed. I don't need to know what kind of hotdogs each character orders and eats for lunch, for example. And as much as I love a good story about roommates falling in love, the whole lying to someone to get them to spend time with you thing didn't really work well for me. Plus the confession scene fell flat for me. Both characters quote lines from the book while confessing to each other, and I'm sorry, but having only read a book once and you already know all these lines by heart? How?? Also referring to each other by the names of the characters in the book while confessing was just odd to me, I didn't really find that romantic at all.
3. ...Ridden a Bike by Alice Winters 0 stars
The POV character has been in love with his roommate/childhood friend for years and just keeps dropping unsubtle hints about it. The they accidentally open post that was meant for the neighbour and shit goes to hell.
This story is just farcical and stupid. It's one of those "LOL so quirky" sort of stories where shit hits the wall, the characters make really weird and dumb decisions, and the high stakes are treated like a game of pretend. It's basically crack fanfiction that could have been written by a child for a writing assignment. I was waiting for this story to end with it being a day dream or a nightmare or something.
I probably should have just skipped this one after getting a few pages in, but I kept at it because I love friends-to-lovers angst so much. But that didn't do too much for me, either. The confession scene fell flat, and I skipped the entire sex scene because there was no point to me reading any further than I already had. Can't believe I didn't just DNF this.
4. ...Dyed My Hair Flaming Red by Daryl Banner ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5 stars
A shy stagehand decides to dye his hair bright red on a whim, and catches the eye of the famous playwright he admires.
Finally a story I actually liked! This one is lovely and really encapsulates the theme of this book, with the main character Zakary putting himself out there and trying something he never would have tried before, and his life changes for the better because of it.
5. ...Worn that for Holloween by E.M. Lindsey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
In a small town near Brighton, Dom has been pinning over his best friend Shiloh for almost 20 years, and while everyone in town might know about that love, Shiloh himself doesn't.
I am a complete sucker for two things: childhood friends pinning over each other for years, and boys in dresses. This delivered both of those things for me. That pinning angst got me right in the feels! I really enjoyed this and I'm definitely going to be reading more by this author in the future.
6. ...Sung in Public by Jodi Payne ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 stars
This one is about a dentist who runs into his high school crush on a dating site, and surprise! That crush he always thought was straight is actually gay, and wants to meet up for drinks!
This one was sweet but didn't really do much for me, feels wise. I could have done with a little more pinning, and angst, or anxiety around signing, but things happened pretty easily between these two. But, that all said, it was sweet and I did enjoy it.
7. ...Gotten Lost by K. Webster ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars
Two characters meet up after talking in the Heart2Heart discussion thread, with the plan of getting lost together.
This one was really sweet, and I really enjoyed it. It's set in Norway, where one of the character's parents had originally met, and so he wants to find the exact place they met. This story deals with grief and low-self-confidence - both characters feel like they're unlovable and they're never going to meet The One, until then they meet each other. This pulled at my heartstrings and I really loved it.
8. ...Taken a Vacation by Kate Hawthorne ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 2.5 stars
A frequent flier meets a flight attendant while on a trip to New Orleans. When the flight attendant's connecting flight gets cancelled, he ends up staying in New Orleans overnight and finding the frequent flier on Grindr.
This one started off strong, and I love me some men in lingerie and discussions of polyamory, but it ended so abruptly I can't give it any more than 2.5 stars.
9. ...Spent the Night With Blanche by Louisa Masters ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
A character who has never watched The Golden Girls meets a character that loved The Golden Girls, and they live happily ever after.
That's basically the just of it, plus making some friends and a little public indecency thrown in. It's sweet.
10. ...Had A Makeover by Mia Monroe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
A history professor with some self-esteem issues goes to get a makeover, and falls for the stylist.
A sweet story, with more boys in lingerie, which I've said already I love. Some fun playing around with gender expectations, which I also love.
11. ...Flown In An Airplane by Neve Wilder ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
Another story of two strangers meeting on an airplane - one character on his first ever flight, and the other a flight attendant using his frequent flyer miles to go on vacation. They hit it off at the bar at the airport, are seated next to each other on the plane, and decide to continue their time together once they leave the plane. Short and sweet.
12. ...Gone Skinny Dipping by Riley Hart ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
A nerdy erotica author writes in a local cafe every day, and has a huge crush on the owner of said cafe. The owner has a huge crush on the writer. They have something in their past that connects the two of them, though they don't know it yet.
Cute story. I do like the stories about characters with self-esteem issues finding love, and this one had a tiny bit of exhibitionism thrown in, as well as a connection from the past.
13. ...Watched the Godfather by S.E. Harmon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5 stars
A character has to take a holiday from his demanding job at his dad's law firm, and since his cousin gives him a hard time about the fact that he knows 0 pop culture references, he decides to ask on the Heart2Heart forum if anyone wants to go see a movie with him at the park. Th man he ends up meeting turns out to be one of his old professors, and someone he always had a crush on.
This is cute. It didn't really hit all the notes I wanted it to, but I still enjoyed it.
14. ...Kissed Someone On The Lips by Spencer Spiers ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 stars
The main character is debating going to a neighbour's black-tie party when suddenly a robber from the party crawls into his window. He decides to black mail the robber into kissing him, but things escalate from them.
I was worried this one was going to go a similar direction as the third story in this collection, but luckily it never got that ridiculous. But it doesn't have a happy get-together ending, and you never find out what the robber's deal is, so it feels a little incomplete compared to all the other HEA stories in this collection.
15. ...Gone On A Date by Tal Bauer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5 stars
A palaeontologist working in the Arctic has a crush on one of the pilots, but he thinks he's blown his chance with him. Until they're forced on a mission together to go and find the body of a missing astrologist. Shit goes south very quickly after that.
I was waiting for Tal Bauer's story throughout the whole collection, and it did not disappoint! This story is a horror set in the Antarctic, and the horror bits are gripping. I could not put it down. The romance aspect of this story is sweet too, though not as strong.
In conclusion, I'm glad I picked up this anthology. I didn't like the first 3 stories, but everything past those were varying degrees of lovely, and I am excited to read more by some of the authors I was introduced to via this anthology.