Reviewed by Vicki
TITLE: Contact 
SERIES: Gothika #5
AUTHOR: Kim Fielding, F.E. Feeley Jr., Jamie Fessenden, and B.G. Thomas
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 306 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 24th, 2016
BLURB:
Since ancient times, humankind has looked into the night sky and wondered: Are we alone? Are there other civilizations beyond the stars? Will we ever encounter these beings? Who are they, what are they like, and what might they want with us?
These questions are about to be answered, but those who discover the truth might wish they had never asked. On the other hand, some might find salvation in visitors from other planets. For while some aliens are hostile, others are benevolent. Some have little in common with humans, but for others, the need for love and acceptance is universal. Lives will intersect and otherworldly passions will ignite as four acclaimed authors of gay romance explore first contact—and where it can lead.
REVIEW:
I’ve read three of the four previous books in this series, and they walked the line between cool and creepy for me… this one will be a challenge, I’m a little freaked out by aliens! But I’ve liked the last stories, or at least most of them, so I’m going in!
Abducted by Jamie Fessenden
Oh I liked this one! It did start out creepy, Marc receives a panicked phone call from his friend Cody, and heads to the old nasty farm Cody lives on, only to get sucked in to a bizarre story of alien abductions. Cody is convinced he’s been abducted by aliens and experimented on. He convinces Marc to spend the night and see if he does get taken, if not, he’ll go to the hospital with Marc in the morning. Of course he does in fact get abducted by bad aliens, and Marc is abducted by good aliens! What follows is a surprisingly sweet and creative story about Marc learning about, having sex with, and falling in love with an alien. I loved it, it had slightly stereotypical moments, aliens, with silver skin and big eyes, the whole abduction thing, weird food and bathroom issues, things like that. Then a really hot sex scene with a wonderful explanation about alien reproductive anatomy. I loved Jamie’s solutions to issues, both with the food and bathroom moments, communications, health and safety. I loved the plot, bad guys grab the human, good guys help the human, happy ending. It worked very well! I’ve read several books and stories by Jamie Fessenden and have always liked his writing style and books. This one was just great, lots of story development within a short story, creative characters, a little snark, a little sex, it all worked for me!
Off to a good start with this story!
Rating:
Refugee by Kim Fielding
Holy crap that made me cry! So Walter is just out of the military after WWII and came home pretty traumatized. He tries to settle back in at home in Chicago, but just can’t do it. After two years of trying, he gives up, tosses his bag in the back of his car and heads west. He makes it all the way to the coast of Oregon, and realizes he can’t be near the ocean. Too many memories come up, of bloody water… He turns back in, following a sign, and manages to enter the twilight zone. He finds a small town, friendly but odd people, good food, perfect houses and flowers, a room at the local motel, and Martin, a very sweet man. But there is so much more to these people than he thinks. He is gradually accepted by the people, brought in to their lives, and shown their secret. A really bad thing happens, and I freaked out! The the ending… Ah, so damn perfect!
This story had some serious feels going on. Walter is so hurt it broke my heart. I wanted to save him! Then Martin is sweet and gentle, then the ending! Oh my heart! Kim Fielding is amazing. I love her books, several are like this, a combo of sad and sweet, but with a good ending. I’m always scared, not sure how she’s going to get her characters to the happy ending, but she manages to do it every time. I loved this story so much!
Rating:
My Final Blog by F.E. Feeley Jr
Wow! We are on a roll with this whole book! I’ve read a book by this author and it was a little too scary for me, so I wasn’t sure about this one. It was a good book, don’t get me wrong, he’s a great author, but scary isn’t my thing… This story is just on the edge of creepy, but really good!
George is also a loner, (I’m seeing a pattern with the stories in this book) also spent some time in the military, and also lives in an old farm house. He started a blog when he was a whiny teenager, and has kept it up for years, through his life changes. His followers have changed, coming and going, but one has always stayed with him. He has built up a sort of relationship with Universal47, although he knows very little about the person, he assumes is male. George has just ended a relationship with an asshole, and has gotten somewhat closer to Universal47, even going so far as to exchange names. Then things get weird! And very cool.
I liked the way this story was written, so much of the beginning of it is just George’s inner dialogue, then we follow his blog conversations with Universal47, then finally get some actual human conversation. I liked that transition, George going from so much internal focus to more external focus. There is some creepiness, just enough to start to freak me out, but then the ending was so awesome I didn’t ever really get scared. The whole blog thing was just really cool. Great writing, interesting characters, and a creative ending! Worked for me!
Rating:
Unusual Attention by B.G. Thomas
So this one was more creepy and more what I was expecting with stories about aliens… This is the story or Adam and Shane, their growing romance, and their abductions. The two meet at a pride festival, and begin a nice little romance, even though they are very different. Adam doesn’t care for men who smoke. Shane smokes. Adam does care for sports. Shane is a big fan of baseball. Adam loves the city, and not small town life. Shane lives in a small town. Adam is kinky. Shane is vanilla and inexperienced. As you can see, there are some challenges between them! The biggest one is Shane’s belief in aliens, and Adams disbelief.
I did like this story, even though it made me uncomfortable! The romance is between two humans, unlike the others which involved an alien and human. That was ok, but I did really like the blending of the humans and aliens in the other stories. I liked how this one was written, the… spacing? pacing? Not sure how to say it. I liked the way the author broke it in to… not really chapters since some sections were literally a sentence or two, but how the story was arranged worked very well for me. I liked Adam’s inner dialogue, the use of italic font, and the use of parentheses was odd at first, but really worked! I loved Adam and Shane and their story that was happening while the creepy alien stuff was happening, and I liked the ending. I’ve read just a few stories in the other books in this series by this author, and I really do need to go look at his other books. I liked this one!
Rating: 
OVERALL REVIEW:
I’ve enjoyed the other books in this series, and how the stories in each book fit the theme. Each has been a little outside of my normal reading pattern, I like the paranormal aspect, but I don’t do horror, and some of the stories are right on the edge of my comfort level. This book followed the pattern of the other books for me, just a little creepy, just a little freaky, but all really well done. The stories are the right length, a complete story in each one, not too long, not rushed. I liked the different interpretations of aliens and their interactions with humans. I particularly liked the human/alien romances, and the creative sex scenes. The writing in all of them was very good, and I liked the varying styles of the authors. If you are in to aliens stories, I’d definitely read this book. If you aren’t a fan of aliens but are curious, I’d give this one a try. I hope we see more of these anthologies, I like them!
OVERALL RATING:
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Thanks for the review!