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A review by iam
Heart2Heart: A Charity Anthology, Volume 3 by Annabeth Albert, May Archer, Leslie Copeland, Leslie Copeland
4.0
Great anthology with a wide variety of wonderful stories!
There is something for everyone in there, from fake-dating and enemies-to-lovers to second-chance and friends-to-lovers and a variety of meet-cutes. The order of the stories was a bit weird though, placing some similar ones right after one another which was unfortunate in my opinion.
All characters are gay, with one or two maybe being bi and one possible demisexual. I would have wished for more diversity there, since this is an anthology for a LGBTQ charity after all. Also all protagonists were cis which kinda sucked, with the exception of one (1) side character who uses they/them pronouns.
All stories have content warnings for sex on-page. Overall there are not a lot of CWs, but I included the most important ones for each story together with the individual ratings and short comments.
The Closet - Eden Finley: 4 stars
Great start for the anthology. It sets the scene, but it has a bittersweet undertone, and a bit of a self-discovery theme.
CWs: cancer, homophobia.
The Book - Aimee Nicole Walker: 2.5 stars
Cute but too cliché at parts.
The Date - Annabeth Albert: 5 stars
Suuuuper cute, loved the characters, the premise and the execution!
The Yarn Wrangler - Charlie Cochet: 1.5 stars
This one started out very interesting with a lot of potential, but the execution and combination of the particular elements really didn't work out for me. There were super weird time skips that threw me off and I hated the conflict and the way Bonner was portrayed. I've had similar issues with other books by this author, so maybe her style just doesn't click with me.
Dork Lord - Damon Suede: 3 stars
Whacky and weird. Loved the D&D parts, but the writing style, while intriguing, mostly confused me. Another case of the author's particular style just not clicking with me.
The Top Shelf - Hailey Turner: 4 stars
This one was super funny and cute! There was no drama, which I appreciated, and the title is descriptive and meant exactly what I thought it would.
The Family Reunion - K.M. Neuhold: 4 stars
Has a bit of a more serious tone than the others but it was still fun. I liked the opposites attract theme a lot and it was well executed. The ending was too abrupt however.
The Last Drop - Layla Reyne: 3.5 stars
Cute, I liked the chemistry between the characters, but I couldn't have cared less for all the alcohol - and there was so much talk about it and about drinks, and since I don't drink and have no interest in that area I didn't understand any of it, which quickly got tedious.
CWs for lots of alcohol, obviously.
The Dog Walker - Lily Morton: 3.5 stars
Would have liked it better if it didn't start in the middle of the story when the characters had already met. On the one hand this was refreshing as most stories are about first meetings, but I just had a hard time getting invested in the relationship this way.
CWs for homophobia, small town setting; mentions of: family died in fire, car accident, pet gets hurt, child becomes orphan.
The Treehouse - Lucy Lennox: 5 stars
Tooth-achingly sweet in the best possibly way! Moved rather fast towards the end and I would have liked an epilogue but I loved all the little details of this story.
The Restoration - Mary Calmes: 5 stars
Oh my god all the stars for this one. Totally unexpected and totally different from all the others, and this is my personal favorite of the anthology. I adored the way it played with the assumptions of the reader about what would happen, just to turn it all around again. I loved how well established the background characters were for a short story.
CWs: separation of established couple, mentions of cheating and violence, as well as spouse being deployed.
The Vase - May Archer: 4 stars
Sounded boring at first but then turned into a pleasant surprise! I wish some details had been handled more in depth though.
The Helping Hand - Nora Phoenix: 5 stars
Not gonna lie, I was super wary of this one. I read a book with a smiliar title by this author and had huge issues with it, but I'm happy to say that this short story was great!!! It turns stereotypes around which I'm always a fan on, was very cute, and has fat rep!
The Dream Machine - Piper Scott writing as Emma Alcott: 3.5 stars
So sweet it was almost cheesy! I liked the characters together, but I didnt really understand what was going on in the background - the dream machine itself was cool but felt so inconsequential?? I also wasn't sure if this was supposed to have a vague mystery/supernatural touch or not.
The Wedding Date - Susan Hawke: 3 stars
Started out as the calmest and most laid back story and had a wonderful atmosphere, then turned 180° and absolutely ridiculous (and not in a good way, but in a way that took me aback, a problem I've had with this author before.) It could have been 5 stars if not for that. Loved the kitties and the rest otherwise though, there was so much going on in the background that I wish it had been longer.
CWs: hostile small town setting, mentions of cancer and being wrongfully accused of cheating.
The Wrong Guy - Sloane Kennedy: 4 stars
The only story with a protagonist who didn't realize his attraction to other men before. The overall vibe wasn't really my jam, but it was nice and very different from the other stories, which I can appreciate. I think it would have worked better to have this story in the middle of the anthology rather than at the very end, though.
CWs: homophobia, small-minded small town setting.
I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
There is something for everyone in there, from fake-dating and enemies-to-lovers to second-chance and friends-to-lovers and a variety of meet-cutes. The order of the stories was a bit weird though, placing some similar ones right after one another which was unfortunate in my opinion.
All characters are gay, with one or two maybe being bi and one possible demisexual. I would have wished for more diversity there, since this is an anthology for a LGBTQ charity after all. Also all protagonists were cis which kinda sucked, with the exception of one (1) side character who uses they/them pronouns.
All stories have content warnings for sex on-page. Overall there are not a lot of CWs, but I included the most important ones for each story together with the individual ratings and short comments.
The Closet - Eden Finley: 4 stars
Great start for the anthology. It sets the scene, but it has a bittersweet undertone, and a bit of a self-discovery theme.
CWs: cancer, homophobia.
The Book - Aimee Nicole Walker: 2.5 stars
Cute but too cliché at parts.
The Date - Annabeth Albert: 5 stars
Suuuuper cute, loved the characters, the premise and the execution!
The Yarn Wrangler - Charlie Cochet: 1.5 stars
This one started out very interesting with a lot of potential, but the execution and combination of the particular elements really didn't work out for me. There were super weird time skips that threw me off and I hated the conflict and the way Bonner was portrayed. I've had similar issues with other books by this author, so maybe her style just doesn't click with me.
Dork Lord - Damon Suede: 3 stars
Whacky and weird. Loved the D&D parts, but the writing style, while intriguing, mostly confused me. Another case of the author's particular style just not clicking with me.
The Top Shelf - Hailey Turner: 4 stars
This one was super funny and cute! There was no drama, which I appreciated, and the title is descriptive and meant exactly what I thought it would.
The Family Reunion - K.M. Neuhold: 4 stars
Has a bit of a more serious tone than the others but it was still fun. I liked the opposites attract theme a lot and it was well executed. The ending was too abrupt however.
The Last Drop - Layla Reyne: 3.5 stars
Cute, I liked the chemistry between the characters, but I couldn't have cared less for all the alcohol - and there was so much talk about it and about drinks, and since I don't drink and have no interest in that area I didn't understand any of it, which quickly got tedious.
CWs for lots of alcohol, obviously.
The Dog Walker - Lily Morton: 3.5 stars
Would have liked it better if it didn't start in the middle of the story when the characters had already met. On the one hand this was refreshing as most stories are about first meetings, but I just had a hard time getting invested in the relationship this way.
CWs for homophobia, small town setting; mentions of: family died in fire, car accident, pet gets hurt, child becomes orphan.
The Treehouse - Lucy Lennox: 5 stars
Tooth-achingly sweet in the best possibly way! Moved rather fast towards the end and I would have liked an epilogue but I loved all the little details of this story.
The Restoration - Mary Calmes: 5 stars
Oh my god all the stars for this one. Totally unexpected and totally different from all the others, and this is my personal favorite of the anthology. I adored the way it played with the assumptions of the reader about what would happen, just to turn it all around again. I loved how well established the background characters were for a short story.
CWs: separation of established couple, mentions of cheating and violence, as well as spouse being deployed.
The Vase - May Archer: 4 stars
Sounded boring at first but then turned into a pleasant surprise! I wish some details had been handled more in depth though.
The Helping Hand - Nora Phoenix: 5 stars
Not gonna lie, I was super wary of this one. I read a book with a smiliar title by this author and had huge issues with it, but I'm happy to say that this short story was great!!! It turns stereotypes around which I'm always a fan on, was very cute, and has fat rep!
The Dream Machine - Piper Scott writing as Emma Alcott: 3.5 stars
So sweet it was almost cheesy! I liked the characters together, but I didnt really understand what was going on in the background - the dream machine itself was cool but felt so inconsequential?? I also wasn't sure if this was supposed to have a vague mystery/supernatural touch or not.
The Wedding Date - Susan Hawke: 3 stars
Started out as the calmest and most laid back story and had a wonderful atmosphere, then turned 180° and absolutely ridiculous (and not in a good way, but in a way that took me aback, a problem I've had with this author before.) It could have been 5 stars if not for that. Loved the kitties and the rest otherwise though, there was so much going on in the background that I wish it had been longer.
CWs: hostile small town setting, mentions of cancer and being wrongfully accused of cheating.
The Wrong Guy - Sloane Kennedy: 4 stars
The only story with a protagonist who didn't realize his attraction to other men before. The overall vibe wasn't really my jam, but it was nice and very different from the other stories, which I can appreciate. I think it would have worked better to have this story in the middle of the anthology rather than at the very end, though.
CWs: homophobia, small-minded small town setting.
I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.