Kirjailijakuva

Anna O'Neill

Teoksen Forbidden Love tekijä

5 teosta 23 jäsentä 4 arvostelua

Tekijän teokset

Forbidden Love (2009) 15 kappaletta
Sins of the Father (2009) 5 kappaletta
Uncle Luke 1 kappale
Raju 1 kappale
Naughty Niki 1 kappale

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Jäseniä

Kirja-arvosteluja

Overall, 2,5 stars

My Outlaw, by Stormy Glenn - 4 stars

Forbidden by H.C. Brown - 2 stars

Poisoned Heart, by Anna O'Neill - 1 star

Deliverance by Aleksandr Voinov - 3 stars
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
Marlobo | 2 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Dec 24, 2022 |
Most anthologies have one, maybe two string stories and the rest pale in comparison. This one was likewise uneven, but worth the price of admission anyway. All four stories have an historical setting, but each is very different in time and place. All share the theme that M/M is forbidden and even punishable.

My Outlaw by Stormy Glenn – Set in the Old West. This story was almost like the warm-up act. Black Bart, a notorious bandit, holds up a stagecoach and kidnaps Daniel to have his wicked way with him. The ending was fun, but predictable, and so was the sex. (3 stars)

Forbidden by HC Brown – Set in Medieval England. This was my favorite story of the anthology, and the longest. It had a lot of detail, and the main character was very well developed for a short story. Sir Renoir Danier is forced to marry an aging widow since his father and King suspect he is “deviant.” This unwelcome marriage could be the unexpected key to rediscovering his first love. Tight writing, explicit sex scenes and a likeable protagonist. I will definitely look for more by this author. (5 stars)

Poisoned Heart by Ann O’Neill – Set in medieval Japan. This story was very original, with some unexpected time travel and a surprising ending. A tale of betrayal and redemption that was my second favorite of the anthology. Very strong writing, and made me want to read more! (5 stars)

Deliverance by Aleksandr Voinov – Set during Templar times. This was my least favorite story simply because it had an abrupt ending with no resolution, and wasn’t very romantic either. A Templar knight comes face to face with the man he loved but abandoned, and a temptation too great to ignore. The main character was too wrapped up in self-doubt and guilt about sin for this to be enjoyable for me. (1 star)

Overall, this anthology had two excellent stories that make is stand out and worth buying.
… (lisätietoja)
½
 
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jshillingford | 2 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Dec 14, 2010 |
The storyline has not a normal development and the reader is plunged in the lives of two shinobi in the Japanese warlord era. Sora Sanada is 19 years old and just named captain and Kaname Takeda is appointed his sempai; what apparently seems a dislike due to the fact that the captain is 10 years younger than his man, slowly becomes clear as a different dislike, there is bad blood between the two clans of Sanada and Takeda, but even that it’s not fully explained. What it’s clear is that Sora starts to see Kaname with different eyes, and even if he is the leader and higher in social status, he becomes a little teaser, trying to coax Kaname out of his self imposed isolation.

While continuing in their role of “killer” for the warlord, and never losing their ruthlessness, between Sora and Kaname blossoms a sexual relationship that is never both erotic but never explicit. The author has the men having sex in romantic places like under a waterfall or a light rain, they explore each other bodies in every possible way, but never once she uses explicit words, for example, bodily fluids become “his sempai’s secrets”.

There is no need to explain Sora and Kaname’s past, better the past of their parents that still conditions the life of their sons; there is no need since this is the story of Sora and Kaname, their love allows them to find the courage to escape their legacy, and it’s a love so strong that it’s not even necessary to acknowledge it: Kaname will allow everything to Sora, not since Sora is his captain, but since Sora, even if younger, even if inexperienced, his nevertheless the only lord Kaname will worship, the lord of his heart.

I really love the interaction between Sora and Kaname, Sora so unwillingly a teaser, all pout and temptation, and Kaname so unwillingly weak to the other man’s desires. Kaname can’t refuse anything to Sora, and Sora doesn’t even realize it, it’s enough for the younger man to look with eager eyes to Kaname, and Kaname is lost in that love.

Sins of the Father is a story out of time, it’s clear the love of the author for the era she chooses to set the novella, but the two characters seem to live in an “eternal” era, time changes, but love is always the same.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002VFPSB8/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
… (lisätietoja)
 
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elisa.rolle | Dec 28, 2009 |
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?

http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/803088.html
… (lisätietoja)
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
elisa.rolle | 2 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Oct 2, 2009 |

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Tilastot

Teokset
5
Jäseniä
23
Suosituimmuussija
#537,598
Arvio (tähdet)
2.9
Kirja-arvosteluja
4
ISBN:t
2