Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: The Sacrifice and Other Stories
AUTHOR: Kim Fielding
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 404 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 27, 2015
BLURB:
A sickly man seeks recovery in a seaside cottage.
A temple slave tends a man due to be sacrificed.
A soldier releases a genie.
In seven fantasy short stories and novellas, men find passion with other men in the most unexpected places, and even the gravest circumstances may open the door to hope and love.
This anthology includes two brand-new short stories. In “The Sacrifice,” Rylo is a temple slave tasked with comforting a man who is scheduled to be killed in the morning. In “Chasing Away Cold,” Daku builds an ice sculpture of the god Jarli in order to ensure the end of winter. The collection also includes three novellas and two additional short stories, gathered for the first time in a single volume. “Treasure” introduces Jules, a young man who travels to the quirky seaside town of Urchin Cove to regain his health—and finds an unexpected treasure washed up on the beach. Xolani, a soldier in “Three Wishes,” picks up a small glass bottle and unleashes a surprise. Another soldier, Volos in “Guarded,” will risk everything to save Prince Berhanu. In the sequel, “Mato’s Tale,” an unassuming innkeeper gets a chance for adventure. And in “The Downs,” Enitan is unjustly banished and comes to discover that the demons he must face aren’t the ones he expected.
Join Kim Fielding on journeys through imagined worlds where magic is commonplace and romance lies just around the next bend. All royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontiers.
ANTHOLOGY REVIEW:
In a very rare showing, I liked EVERY story in this anthology, so well done to the author! The stories were varied both in creativity and length so there really is, I believe, something for everyone within the pages of this book. And for a bonus, every story ends in either a happily ever after or a happy for now so I felt good after each one I read. There are two stories that do, however, feature the rape of a character but neither one is terribly graphic and the scenes are short and can be easily skipped if that is a trigger for you. Regardless, this anthology was completely worth the read and I really do recommend it. The stories are broken down below in more detail and I will label the stories that featured the rape so that no one is caught unawares.
The Sacrifice: 3.5*
I rather enjoyed this one though I did think that it cut off a bit abruptly at the end; I really would’ve liked to have seen what happened to the main characters but I’m content with thinking they got their happy ending. If there were ever a sequel or an expansion of this story in the future, however, I would jump at a chance to read it.
Treasure: 5*
Oh God, I just loved this one! The blending of fantasy elements with Pirates was really well done and I adored the entire story. This is one of the novellas in the collection and it was by far my favorite story in the anthology. I loved seeing Jules come into his own, especially since he hadn’t realized just how stifled he’d been feeling before his forced vacation; I wish I could’ve seen his family’s reaction when he returned home but the story left off in a great place and I look forward to reading this one again and again.
Three Wishes: 3*
I wasn’t sure about this story at first but it had completely won me over by the end. I really enjoyed the idea that the wished granted by the genie weren’t completely free and it was nice seeing how much thought was put into each one. Cute characters with a really sweet ending.
Guarded: 4.5*
I think this one was offered free at one point because I remember reading it before but it was just as good the second time around as it was the first. I felt Volos was a strong character and I liked how determined he was to protect Berhanu despite how the other man always showed his distain towards him. The push/pull between the two men made for an enjoyable read and while the situation that led to their mutual understanding was a horrible one, I still loved how it allowed them a deeper connection than might have otherwise been achieved. This is the first story that features character rape.
Mato’s Tale: 3*
I was so excited to see this as I really enjoyed Mato from the previous story and I felt that he really did deserve his own story. This was unfortunately the one I was the most disappointed with, however, as it was so short I felt as though I lost out on Mato really getting what he deserved/needed. I was honestly really surprised that it had ended so abruptly…I did enjoy what was there but I was left feeling a bit unfulfilled at the end.
The Downs: 4.5*
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this one at first but I loved it by the end. Both main characters are strong yet vulnerable in different ways and it was great seeing them heal each other. Enitan, for all his strengths, really didn’t think he was worth anything after the events that landed him in The Downs while Rig didn’t feel anyone could see past his physical appearance. Watching them fully come together at the end was really satisfying. This is the second story that features character rape.
Chasing Away Cold: 3.5*
I was kind of confused by this one at first and because it was one of the shortest stories in the book I’m still not entirely sure I processed it correctly, even when I’d finished it. This kind of seemed like a new telling on the story of Persephone and in that respect it was really interesting. I also liked how it featured a disabled character though I’m going to be honest and admit I wasn’t all that thrilled with how he went about ‘freeing’ Jarli. I hate to give anything away but in the interest of full disclosure, this story does include a suicide though that ends up fixed, if that makes any sense. I really wish I’d gotten to read the explanation that Daku was supposed to have gotten, or at least one with more detail anyway, but it was an interesting story even if I was confused at times.
RATING: 
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