Reviewed by Dan
This is a Series Review of: A Story from Bennett Bay Series
AUTHOR: Stephen del Mar
PUBLISHER: LMW Books
SERIES REVIEW:
I really enjoyed these stories which are all located in a fictional town called Bennett’s Bay on the Gulf Coast of Florida. I started with the author’s full length novel “Dark Love”, which I reviewed here recently. It was excellent and I wanted more. I was happy to find out there were these other tales which give us a whole lot more info on Bennett’s Bay and its environs. I so wish it was a real place, I’d definitely be moving north from my current location in Florida to live in an area with dragons, fairies, ghosts and everything else that winds in and out of these tales. Stephen del Mar has done an excellent job.
I recommend the stories below either on their own or as part of “Stories from Bennett’s Bay: Collection One”, which includes “The Envelope, The Three of Us, The Demise of Bobby and Clyde and The Broken Heart” all under one cover. “Slay Me”, said the dragon”, my personal favorite, is only available as a standalone.
SERIES RATING: 
TITLE: The Envelope
LENGTH: 12 Pages
BLURB:
A tropical storm is battering Bennett Bay, a small town on Florida’s Gulf coast. Tony’s trying to close a sale on a house. The commission on this property will be a life changer but it just isn’t going to happen. He fights his way home through the storm to find a mysterious envelope waiting for him. Will it add more misery to a bad day or will it be a ticket to move on?
REVIEW:
This is a very short story. A really sad man who lost his partner 6 months previously to an IED in the Middle East, a really bad stormy day and a mysterious envelope. How do they all fit together? Nice short story, but I wish it was a little longer and gave us a little more closure at the end.
RATING: 3.5
BUY LINK:
TITLE: The Demise of Bobby and Clyde
LENGTH: 26 Pages
BLURB:
Clyde really loved Bobby. He wanted to give his man the world. He thought robbing a bank would be the way to do it. That was his first mistake. The Demise of Bobby and Clyde is a short ghost story set in the boondocks of Big Cypress County, Florida. A classic haunted house tale with a couple of gay bad boys. Warning: It doesn’t end well for the guys, but there is a lot of ever after.
REVIEW:
I really enjoyed this spooky little ghost story. When Bobby and Clyde rob a bank, everything goes wrong. The guard is killed and they go on the run. The only problem, they steal a car with little gas, run out of gas in front of a spooky ass old haunted house….out in the middle of a swamp. Did I mention it is during a hurricane?
What will happen when they enter the Stark Mansion? Why has such a big, creepy old mansion sat for 80 years without anyone touching it? The boys are going to find out.
Just the right amount of suspense. I’d really like to know what happens in the few minutes after the story, but I think it ended in a good spot.
RATING: 4.0
BUY LINK:
TITLE: The Broken Heart
LENGTH: 44 Pages
BLURB:
Zach has a broken heart. He moved down to Florida to retire, restore a boat, and get over the death of his husband. However, restoring a boat is easier than mending a broken heart. He finds the dark waters of the Big Cypress River run deep and you can find family, home, and new love in unlikely places. Of course, a bit of vodou and the nudge of a ghost can always move things along.
REVIEW:
This story is set during the same storm event which occurs in both “The Envelope” and “The Demise of Bobby and Clyde”. When Zach Thorensen’s husband was killed in the street in their native Minnesota, by a gang of gay bashers while rescuing two gay youths from the gang, Zach gave up, moved to Florida and bought an old boat. He has been restoring it, and is almost ready to launch and sail off to Key West. Just him and his dog.
Someone has other ideas though. First he rescues an elderly black woman from where her truck is off the road and about to be inundated by flood waters. Then when he leaves her house the next morning, she gives him a pendant that is half a heart. What is she giving it to him for?
Later he meets a ghost, although he doesn’t know it until later. He just thinks he has met a nice young man on a dock where he tied up for the night. Only later when he passes a message on from the young man does he find out the truth, and the truth about his pendant.
No more spoilers. I really liked this story. Two ghost stories in row, but both much different. I also liked that the character JJ in this story was a cop looking into the bank robbery in the previous story, so it tied them together.
RATING: 4.0
BUY LINK:
TITLE: “Slay Me,” said the dragon.
LENGTH: 50 Pages
BLURB:
So Drake, a real twink of a college kid, is looking for his roommate. He finds him in a leather bar, except it is really a dragon den and Drake is really a Dragon Slayer. “Slay me,” said the dragon is a wacky short story about star crossed lovers and unintended consequences.
REVIEW:
I’m a huge dragon fan, so I absolutely loved this one. Drake and Flint have been roommates for the entire year at school. Both of them have been crushing on the other. But what happens we they find out that one is a Dragon and the other is a Dragon Slayer? I really liked the mix of a leather S&M Biker bar, which is really a Dragon bar, along with the requisite “back room” for sex. When Drake takes the big bad Sky Dragon “George” into the back room and “slays” him, what will happen to the lust between the roommates?
I think this story was a huge tease. I am expecting far, far, more on these characters. Like an entire book! Please, please make it happen Mr. del Mar! Since Flint’s family lives just down the road from the characters in the author’s full length book, “Dark Love”, and are mentioned in that book, I’m expecting we will see them all again!
RATING: 4.5
BUY LINK:
TITLE: The Three of Us
LENGTH: 64 Pages
BLURB:
Ever fall head over heels in love with a guy or feel like you’d jump off a bridge for him? Well that’s Sam’s problem. It’s the first week of college and he’s following his jock of a roommate around like a puppy dog. It’s pretty pathetic and he knows it. Then he sits down next to this little nerd in his English class and things change. “The Three of Us” is a story of first loves, coming of age and friendship.
REVIEW:
Another fantastic story in the Bennett Bay series! I really enjoyed how this story tied characters together from the other short stories, as well as some of the characters from “Dark Love”. Sam has just started college at Sterling College in Bennett Bay. He has been crushing on his best friend Reed for 6 years, even though the best friend is straight.
What will happen when Sam discovers something is odd between Reed and Fox Sterling, the mayor’s son? Why does Fox keep looking at Sam so strangely? What will happen when a video goes viral of Sam kissing his new friend Jeff? And finally does someone really jump off a bridge as mentioned in the “blurb”?
You are just going to have to read the story to find out.
RATING: 4.0
BUY LINK: (Please note, this story now includes The Broken Heart from above under the same cover.)
[…] Dan over at the Love Bytes review blog liked “Dark Love” so much he wanted to review the rest of the Bennett Bay series. I sent him the books and the review/s are in. Check them out. […]