Reviewed by Carissa

TITLE: Rainbow Briefs
AUTHOR: Kira Harp
EDITED BY: Sara Winters
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 218 pages
BLURB: Have you ever looked at a picture, perhaps a photo of two guys in a tight hug, or two girls holding hands, and wondered, What happened before that moment? What will they do next?

These fifteen stories were inspired by images from the Young Adult LGBT Books Group. In these pages you’ll find LGBTQ teenagers living their lives – experiencing first encounters and long relationships, coming out, staying closeted, questioning, loving, having adventures, dealing with family, with prejudice, with magic. Author Kira Harp provides this collection of Young Adult romantic, fantasy, and contemporary short stories.

REVIEW:

It seemed like an odd thing for me to do, to willingly pick up an anthology of Young Adult LGBTQ stories.  I generally steer clear of most young adult books, I’m usually reticent about reading short stories–especially from unknown authors–and it is not very often I stray off the strictly m/m path.  To pick up a book that includes all three, well, it is not something I would normally do.  Except, I have a bit of a thing for Kira Harp (at least in her other authorial incarnation) and didn’t want to pass up the chance.  Plus, what is life without a little adventure?

What I found inside was a veritable mix of sweet young love, magical romance, and a whole host of young people striving to find themselves in a world that wishes they would simply stay in their pretty little boxes.  Practically every story I read was engrossing in its own way, leading me down fifteen different paths, with many unforeseen outcomes, but always a pleasurable ride.  The stories that focused on romance were truly heart-filled and, well, romantic.  When we were drawn into the turmoil of growing up, and coming out, it was both enthralling and heartbreaking.  I’m not going to say which story, but there was a point where I was quite literally weeping.  It is not often that a short-story, hell, any story, can make me see that maybe it is not too late to find myself.  For that, if nothing else, I would recommend this book.  But there is more.  In the laughter, in the heartache, in the pure torture of growing up, this collection of stories lets you briefly into the world of these young men and women, and believe me, you don’t normally want to leave when they have said their last words.

While I would love to sit and have an endless discussion about every one of these fifteen stories, it would take up quite a bit of time.  Instead I chose three stories, each having their own place in my heart.

Behind Door Number Two

Bri and her older brother Justin were very close growing up, but life changes, and so do people.  But when Bri starts to worry that Justin is getting beat-up, she and her best friend (and total crush) Haley, set out to save Justin.  But the truth is stranger than they know.  And finding it out will lead to some rather startling revelations.

First off, I have an older brother named Justin.  One that I used to be great friends with, but time, a divorce, and several hundred miles of Californian soil have separated us.  So I think on some level I connected to this story almost from the first word.  But even if I couldn’t stop picturing my Justin as Bri’s Justin, there was so much more to this story.  The romance between Bri and Haley was there, it was a strong pull on the plot and on Bri, but the story was focused on Bri and Justin, and I appreciated the ability to build up the chemistry, as well as mystery.  This short story was well written, and it actually felt complete–even if I would love to hear more about Bri and Haley.

In Unexpected Places

Zeke is gay, and has never really been able to hide it.  Lisa is trans (M to F) and everyone seems to be going out of their way to make sure the whole world knows it.  They’re not really friends, both too busy trying to survive the cesspool that is high school social politics, but they might have just become allies.  Or, at least, a ride home when Lisa’s car gets a flat.  But what starts as a nice gesture turns into chaos and a crazy adventure.  And what I believe might actually be the beginnings of a beautiful friendship.

This story was just a fun ride.  From cats, to monkeys, to one old-time Magician Extraordinaire, this story always seems to have something just around the corner to entertain and surprise you.  Not much romance going on here, what with Zeke being gay and Lisa being, well, a girl, but I love that whole issue with Zeke’s feelings towards Lisa, and would have loved to see more from these two, because I am pretty sure that is going to cause some wonderful issues in the future.  But the real fun here is the crazy day that these two are dragged through and how they grow closer, even if it is just the opening salvos of a relationship.  If one doomed to be platonic.  Maybe.  I’ll just have to hope that the author might just be willing to gives us more.

Future, Imperfect

Julio is a high school dropout and may have messed up a lot of things in his life, but one thing he has always got right is Mark.  Mark may not fit in the neighborhood, in his family, or with most of society, but he has always fit best next to Julio.  When he gets a chance to move to New York to go to college, he knows he needs to take it, but leaving will mean losing the one thing he has wanted more than almost anything in the world.

While one of shorter stories in this anthology, I think it might be one of the most romantically potent ones.  It is just a short scene, a goodbye that could be for months, years…or maybe even forever, but even with a fence (and society) separating them, Julio and Mark are one hot mix of love and lust, hope and heartbreak.  You never know what happens after goodbye, whether the countdown is to a welcome back, or just to mark the days that will become a nostalgic past, but you can really feel the heat and tension between these two boys.  I love that these boys, who are so close to being men, make the right choice, no matter how hard it is for them.  It is because they do this that I have hope that they might actually have a shot at a HEA.

These three stories are no means the best, or the worst, or any other category other than that they touched me in some way and I wanted to share them with you.  To get the whole experience I really recommend you pick up the book. In most places it is free e-book, and where it could not be free, the author royalties will be donated to The Trevor Project. None of these stories was really less than four stars, and some–quite a few actually–hit five stars.  I think overall for this anthology is going to be 4.5 stars.  Very good.  You really should give these stories a try.

Carissa rates it – 

BUY LINKS: Amazon :: All Romance eBooks

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Carissa is one of the official reviewers on The Blog of Sid Love.

To read all her reviews, click the link: CARISSA’S REVIEWS
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