Scan barcode
A review by iam
Heart2Heart: A Charity Anthology by Charlie Cochet, May Archer, Leslie Copeland, Leslie Copeland
4.0
Lovely anthology about a whole bunch of mostly opposites-attract m/m couples.
All stories feature cis men who are either gay or bi, and most stories have explicit sex scenes on-page.
Programmer & Window Cleaner: 4 stars
A cute set up for the anthology, where the lead developer of the matchmaking app Heart2Heart decides to leave work early the day before release to go on a date.
Magician & Mortician - A.E. Wasp: 4 stars
I adored the idea here, but some background details were missing or unfitting and the writing style didn't click with me.
Gamer & Paranormal Photographer - Alison Hendricks: 4 stars
Once again a super fun idea, but I would have liked more gaming.
Assassin & Dogwalker - Charlie Cochet: 4 stars
Worldbuilding and background information was lacking, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. It brough in an unexpected (or maybe expected, it is a story about an assassin after all.)
Criminal & Sommelier - Chris Owen: 5 stars
I absolutely adored the wine snobbery here despite neither knowing anything nor caring about any sort of alcohol. Sadly the whole art theft thing wasn't as in-detail as the wine stuff.
Superhero & NSA Agent - Hailey Turner: 4 stars
I loved the whole superhero thing, it was very cute!
Tattoo Artist & Writer - Lily Morton: 3 stars
Nothing wrong with this, it's friends-to-lovers with lots of pining, which isn't my favourite and I just wasn't engaged at all.
Uber driver & Phone sex operator - Lucy Lennox: 4 stars
I wanted to love this because it was fun, but first of all the jobs in the title are misleading - both characters are actually dancers. Plus the whole family thing in the background was depressing.
Navy Seal & Baker - May Archer: 5 stars
I loved that the author didn't shy away from a long intro because it was perfect!!! The way the characters clicked was wonderful too.
Event planner & Electrician - Poppy Dennison: 5 stars
So many smiles and laughing, it was adorable and made me feel all warm inside. Probably my favourite of the anthology, even if there are more outlandish stories in there.
Lawyer & Lobsterman - Ruthie Luhnow: 5 stars
This one truly was total opposites attract. It was awkward and messy and absolutely wonderful. I loved how the characters made it work in the end and how things turned around. I wish it had been longer.
Lawyer & Florist - Sloane Kennedy: 4 stars
Cute but I didn't really like the ending. The opposites attract was good, but I disliked he whole "look at me I'm such a good guy because I'm atttracted to an effeminate gay man and I don't shame him for it".
Overall I enjoyed this anthology a lot. I had however wished that some elements weren't so repetetive. Obviously almost all of the stories will be about a first date set up by a matchmaking app on Valentine's Day, but I think in 99% of the stories it was a female relative/colleage who set up at least one characters' profile on the app, which quickly got tiring to me. What's wrong with both characters wanting to do this on their own?!
I'm also a bit confused by the order of the stories. It didn't feel intuitive at all to open with the rather complex storiy of the Magician & the Mortician, and close with two stories that not only both feature lawyers but also very similar personalities.
Finally, while I of course adore that this is a charity anthology for LGBTQ charities... why is it all cis m/m couples? Why not feature characters from all over the spectrum and only include two letters instead?
All stories feature cis men who are either gay or bi, and most stories have explicit sex scenes on-page.
Programmer & Window Cleaner: 4 stars
A cute set up for the anthology, where the lead developer of the matchmaking app Heart2Heart decides to leave work early the day before release to go on a date.
Magician & Mortician - A.E. Wasp: 4 stars
I adored the idea here, but some background details were missing or unfitting and the writing style didn't click with me.
Gamer & Paranormal Photographer - Alison Hendricks: 4 stars
Once again a super fun idea, but I would have liked more gaming.
Assassin & Dogwalker - Charlie Cochet: 4 stars
Worldbuilding and background information was lacking, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. It brough in an unexpected (or maybe expected, it is a story about an assassin after all.)
Criminal & Sommelier - Chris Owen: 5 stars
I absolutely adored the wine snobbery here despite neither knowing anything nor caring about any sort of alcohol. Sadly the whole art theft thing wasn't as in-detail as the wine stuff.
Superhero & NSA Agent - Hailey Turner: 4 stars
I loved the whole superhero thing, it was very cute!
Tattoo Artist & Writer - Lily Morton: 3 stars
Nothing wrong with this, it's friends-to-lovers with lots of pining, which isn't my favourite and I just wasn't engaged at all.
Uber driver & Phone sex operator - Lucy Lennox: 4 stars
I wanted to love this because it was fun, but first of all the jobs in the title are misleading - both characters are actually dancers. Plus the whole family thing in the background was depressing.
Navy Seal & Baker - May Archer: 5 stars
I loved that the author didn't shy away from a long intro because it was perfect!!! The way the characters clicked was wonderful too.
Event planner & Electrician - Poppy Dennison: 5 stars
So many smiles and laughing, it was adorable and made me feel all warm inside. Probably my favourite of the anthology, even if there are more outlandish stories in there.
Lawyer & Lobsterman - Ruthie Luhnow: 5 stars
This one truly was total opposites attract. It was awkward and messy and absolutely wonderful. I loved how the characters made it work in the end and how things turned around. I wish it had been longer.
Lawyer & Florist - Sloane Kennedy: 4 stars
Cute but I didn't really like the ending. The opposites attract was good, but I disliked he whole "look at me I'm such a good guy because I'm atttracted to an effeminate gay man and I don't shame him for it".
Overall I enjoyed this anthology a lot. I had however wished that some elements weren't so repetetive. Obviously almost all of the stories will be about a first date set up by a matchmaking app on Valentine's Day, but I think in 99% of the stories it was a female relative/colleage who set up at least one characters' profile on the app, which quickly got tiring to me. What's wrong with both characters wanting to do this on their own?!
I'm also a bit confused by the order of the stories. It didn't feel intuitive at all to open with the rather complex storiy of the Magician & the Mortician, and close with two stories that not only both feature lawyers but also very similar personalities.
Finally, while I of course adore that this is a charity anthology for LGBTQ charities... why is it all cis m/m couples? Why not feature characters from all over the spectrum and only include two letters instead?