Reviewed by Vicki
TITLE: Claw
SERIES: Gothika #3
AUTHORS: Jamie Fessenden, Kim Fielding, & Eli Easton
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 220 pages
BLURB:
Gothika: Volume Three
Beasts lurk in the shadows of wild and forgotten places and in the hearts and souls of men. They are the stuff of dreams and nightmares, but are they feral and savage, or just misunderstood? Creatures of myth and legend stalk these tales of dark desire and animal passions. Three men come face-to-face with such creatures and find they are much more than they seem. While there is danger, there might be unexpected benefits as well, if they can accept the impossible and dare to venture into the primordial regions where nature and the beasts still reign. Three acclaimed authors of gay romance explore the boundaries between man and beast and the place where their worlds overlap.
Isolation by Jamie Fessenden
When Sean’s marriage breaks up, he returns to his hometown, hoping to find the childhood friend who meant everything to him in his teens. He finds Jack living in a cabin, surrounded by the forest he always loved, and the two begin to tentatively repair their damaged relationship. But a large animal has been seen prowling around the edge of town, and soon Sean comes face-to-face with the beast. Jack insists the creature isn’t dangerous—it’s been coming around the cabin for years. It isn’t long, however, before Sean discovers a far more disturbing connection between his friend and the beast.
Transformation by Kim Fielding
After being caught in bed with another male student in 1886, Orris Spencer is declared an abomination by his wealthy father. Orris is promptly banished from their Fifth Avenue mansion and sent across the continent to Oregon. Now Orris must try to find a place for himself on his brother’s farm and figure out how to deal with life as a pioneer. When he’s called on to help protect the livestock from a predator, he’s not at all certain he’s up to the task. Then he meets Henry Bonn, a strange and intriguing man who lives in a cabin in the hills. Orris’s attraction to Henry may not be an abomination—but it may prove a greater danger than banishment.
The Black Dog by Eli Easton
Constable MacLairty is used to life being dull around the tiny hamlet of Laide on the north Scottish coast. They get occasional tourists, “monster hunters” interested in the local legend of the Black Dog, but Hayden thinks that’s only a myth. A rash of sheep killings, a murdered hiker, huge footprints, and sightings of the Black Dog force Hayden to rethink the matter. With the help of Simon Corto, a writer from New York doing research for a book about the Black Dog, Hayden tries to figure out why the enormous hound is reappearing. Hayden finds himself strongly attracted to another person for the first time in his life. But between the danger stalking the hills, Simon’s inevitable return to New York, and Hayden’s mother’s illness, true love may be more of a phantom than the Black Dog.
REVIEW:
Isolation – Jamie Fessenden
Sean Shows up at Jack’s cabin in the woods, hoping to reunite with his best friend and lover. The two grew up together, experimented sexually together, but Sean freaked out and married a woman instead of staying with Jack. Now, years later, he is hoping to get Jack back. Jack has other ideas though. There has been a significant change in his life, and he can’t see how Sean can fit in now.
This is a great story! A little bittersweet feeling for most of it, Sean really has blown his chance with Jack, or so it seems, there is something just a bit sad about it all. Sean tries, but Jack resists. Jack has changed, he was always in to the forest when they were kids together, but even more so now. He’s somewhat withdrawn. There is also an animal that scares Sean a couple of times, and has been scaring the locals as well, and Jack has developed an interest in werewolves…
I really need to read more books by Jamie Fessenden. I think I said that after the last anthology by this crew I read, I loved his story in that one as well. His writing is fantastic, slow and smooth. I liked that this had a limited plot and characters, it’s a short story and it worked very well. It’s not busy and frantic like some stories this length are. Jamie fits in just what he is supposed to in this one. A great story about men trying to reunite after a very long break.
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Transformation – Kim Fielding
Oh…. such a good story. This one is just a little dark too.
Kim Fielding gives us a historical story this time, set in the late 1800’s in Beaverton Oregon. Orris has been banished from his family home in New York City, after having been caught in the act with his lover Daniel. Daniel is sent to Europe, Orris sent to the wilds of the pacific northwest. Orris joins his brother Samuel and his family, on their small farm, trying to adapt to a pioneer life after his world has come undone. He’s a scholar not a farmer. But he does his best to help. Samuel has lost a lamb to a wild animal, and fears of coyotes or wolves surround the small community. Orris agrees to watch over the animals at night, even knowing he can’t shoot. He is confronted by a pair of animals one night that fascinate as well as terrify him.
I loved this story! Like Jamie’s story, it is slow and gentle, and a little sad as well. Orris has lost everything, until the end when he gets what he needs. He goes through one hell of a transformation, physically, emotionally, and mentally. I loved his relationship with his brother, Samuel really cares about Orris, and wants to help him, offering him a permanent home on his farm. But there is another plan for Orris’s future.
Kim writes a beautiful story, this one is just perfect.
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The Black Dog – Eli Easton
This story is set in a small town in Scotland, and features Hayden, the local constable, and Simon, a writer from the US. Hayden is the seventh son of a seventh son, the only one who stayed Laide, caring for his aging mother who now has dementia. He is the only constable, it’s a pretty small town, and not much happens. Until one summer day he’s called out to look at some dead sheep. A farmer has had something rip apart four of his sheep, he thinks it’s the Black Dog, a local mythical creature. Hayden isn’t so sure, but takes the sheep off to be looked at by a vet. He does decide to watch over the farm that night, to see if he can see anything…
What he captures that night is Simon!
Simon is a writer from the US, in Laide researching and writing his next book, which is on the legend of the Black Dog. Hayden realizes this may be a way to get some tourists interested in their little town, and agrees to help Simon. After spending some time with Simon, Hayden decides he needs to do his job and heads out for a drive around town. He finds a woman walking down the road whose husband has died. Hayden heads out and determines it’s an animal that has killed them man.
This gets us to the heart of this incredible story! What is the Black Dog? Is it real? How can this be? I was completely blown away by this story. I’m trying to dance around giving anything away… I didn’t see “it” coming, I was quite surprised! I loved that. So we have the mystery of the Black Dog, we have the issue with Hayden’s sick mother and how he can care for her while working, and we have the love growing between Hayden and Simon. It was awesome!
I loved this story, the plot was exciting and interesting, and Eli mentioned one of my favorite authors! The characters were fantastic, I loved the calm strength of Hayden, and the feisty spirit of Simon. There isn’t much sex, but what there is was hot and good. The solution to they mystery was perfect, I didn’t see it coming at all. The ending was exactly right. Loved it!
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OVERALL REVIEW:
WOW! I loved all of these stories! They were each unique from the other stories, and unique in their handling of the werewolf legend. All three were well written and well thought out. The length of each was perfect, I love these anthologies with fewer, longer stories. It gives us enough time to get in to a story, but we still get multiple stories around a theme. I didn’t read the first one, Stitch, I need to now. I read and loved Bones, and this one is just as good, if not better. If you are not familiar with these authors, this would be a fantastic way to read something by them. If you are in to werewolves but are getting tired of the same old stories, these stories are not like those! Read this book!
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