ANTHOLOGY REVIEW
TITLE: Heart2Heart: A Charity Anthology
AUTHOR: Anthology – authors listed below
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 595 Pages
RELEASE DATE: February 5, 2018
BLURB:
Once upon a time, a bunch of M/M authors wondered… What if a dating app that guaranteed you a love match broke down just in time for Valentine’s Day? What if you found yourself on a blind date with a random guy who might be your opposite in every single way? It could be a disaster. Or… When the code breaks down, fate just might take over.
Eleven of your favorite gay romance authors have joined forces to light up your Valentine’s Day with a collection of sweet, sexy, silly, and hot short stories, featuring a wacky cast of characters chosen from your reader suggestions! Morticians and magicians, superheroes and spies, lawyers and lobstermen, will all learn that love has nothing to do with algorithms… and sometimes you find it in the least-likely places.
And the best part? All proceeds from this collection will go to the authors’ favorite LGBTQ charities (The Trevor Project, Bisexual Resource Center, and one-n-ten), to ensure that love in all its incarnations will be celebrated and protected every single day of the year!
REVIEWED BY ANNIKA
The Set-Up and The Fallout
REVIEW:
Bailey is almost done with the Heart2Heart app and is just about to make a final check before the launch to make sure the matchmaking works as it should. But he’s a little distracted by the gorgeous window washer that’s been outside his office for the past few days. When Window Man asks him out on a date he decides the algorithm would be just fine without that final check.
The date was the stuff of dreams, and so was Ryder. Bailey couldn’t have been happier. That is until he arrives at work to find that the algorithms have failed in a spectacular way. Instead of finding the perfect match for the people using the app, it set them up with their polar opposites! Scrambling to correct the mess and fully expecting to be fired in the after-math Baily anxiously waits for the Fallout of the launch.
He also realises that following your heart might just be the best decision of your life.
Rating: 
REVIEWED BY BECCA
The Baker and the SEAL by May Archer
REVIEW:
What an adorable story. Ash and Cal experience lust at first sight. Overwhelmed by the attraction for each other, Baker and store owner Cal misunderstands quickly Ash’s relationship with the bride to be looking for cake in his shop. Little did they know at the time the met, they were the perfect matches for each other from a little dating app called Heart2Heart. When it comes time for their date, Cal is furious thinking Ash is cheating on the bride only to find out the bride is to be Ash’s sister in law. Putting the misunderstanding behind them, the chemistry between them sparks high and fast, consuming both of them. And what started out as a misunderstanding, led to a lifetime of love.
RATING: 
REVIEWED BY BECCA
The Assassin and the Dog Walker by Charlie Cochet
REVIEW:
This anthology had some really good stories in it. This was another one. Lymond was an assassin formerly of the CIA. He is not a happy man at the moment having just found out his brother set him up on a blind date from the Heart2Heart app. Daniel has had enough of of one night stands and people not wanting a relationship. He wants to settle down. He decides to give the app a try. When he meets Lymond, he libido takes quick notice, but Lymond is an asshole. But what Daniel doesn’t know is Lymond is just trying to protect himself. He’s used to being alone because of his job and he doesn’t want to get hurt, because Daniel is exactly what he’s looking for. But someone is trying to kill Lymond and it sets their date on a bad note. After the adrenaline comes down, they spend a passionate night together. After a bad next morning, Lymond realizes he has shoved away the only man he’s ever felt this way for and he has to do his best to make up for all he’s done wrong.
RATING:
REVIEWED BY ANNIKA
The Electrician and the Event Planner by Poppy Dennison
REVIEW:
As a favour for his boss, Harvey agrees to help Abe’s cousin out with her faulty electricity. When he arrives at the location he did not expect to find a young man alone, standing high up on a wobbly ladder. Sensing the ensuing disaster Harvey rushes forward and rescues Theo when he falls. Only to end up with a broken nose in the process. To add insult to injury, the man he saved faints at the sight of bloody injuries, so the could’ve been meet-cute turned out to be a bit of a disaster. To top it off, the cute event planner would never be interested in an older man like him, so he signs up to the Heart2Heart in hopes to combat some of the loneliness.
Theo was not too happy with his boss for the moment as she’d signed him up for the Hart2Heart Valentine special, told him to meet with the electrician to fix the wirings before the weekends weddings and then leaving him completely alone. To make matters worse he breaks Harvey’s nose, when the poor guy only tried to save him.
Then Valentine’s Day arrives and the subsequent blind date. Against all odds they realise the app has set them up with each other. After a few awkward moments they realise they are both very happy with the matchup and decides to give it a go.
This was such a sweet and fun may-december love story, and I loved every word of it. There is no insta-love, and it ends with a solid HFN with high hopes for a wonderful future.
RATING: 
REVIEWED BY CINDY
The Professional Gamer and the Paranormal Photographer by Alison Hendricks
REVIEW:
Lawrence and Allen can’t quite figure out why they were matched up by Heart to Heart. They seem to have absolutely nothing in common at first glance. But they gamely sit down together for dinner, willing to take a chance because if nothing else, they have a nice time with a cute date.
Everything seems to be going down the drain when one of them bends a little and they find their sense of adventure.
Both men are completely adorable and I found myself smiling and cheering them on. Watching them make their way together was endearing and the sweetness combined with a little mystery made the story an easy one to finish.
There’s not a lot I can say without giving too much away, but if you like a sweet story, with characters that are easy to love, then this is definitely the story for you.
RATING:
REVIEWED BY KAT
The Florist and the Lawyer by Sloane Kennedy
REVIEW:
Oh my goodness gracious I didn’t know I could love a short story as much as this!
Nate is exactly who he is – inside and out. Bright, colorful, sparkly, bubbly. Harrison is the exact opposite – black and white, serious, afraid to show the real him. Both men have had a hard go of it. And both men have some serious trust issues. But when the Heart2Heart app says that the are a solid 92% match they set up a date…or at least Nate thinks it’s a date and isn’t sure the app got the numbers right. This sweet romp takes us through the ups and downs of these two incredible men getting to know and trust each other.
Finally, an author who writes a short story that embraces everything and gets it on paper. Most of the time I am thinking, why couldn’t this be the preview of a book? Don’t get me wrong, I would openly embrace this being the prequel to Nate and Harrison’s lives but if I don’t get that I will not feel cheated. The author, Sloane Kennedy, put everything you needed to feel like you got the whole story and not just left hanging.
Great, no fantastic, short story that grabbed hold of me and captured my heart from the moment I started reading it. I knew this was the right choice for me. If you want a feel-good story to lift your spirits and make you smile hard then this is the story for you!
RATING:
REVIEWED BY DONNA
The Uber Drive and the Phone Sex Operator by Lucy Lennox
REVIEW:
I know that Lucy Lennox has a huge fan base. Well, this short story showed me why.
Our two main characters here are Azrael and Trent. The first time they meet Trent is pretending to be a deaf Uber driver and Az climbs into Trent’s car while graphically telling “Big Daddy” just how many fingers he has up his well-lubed ass. Az continues his filthy phone sex throughout the entire drive, even faking his way through a very vocal orgasm, secure in the knowledge that his driver can’t hear a thing. But of course, Trent can hear every word and every phony moan, so it’s fair to say that Az leaves a lasting impression. When Trent turns up for his Heart2Heart blind date and discovers that he’s been paired with Az…and Az realizes that Trent heard EVERYTHING during the uber ride…things turn awkward despite the instant attraction between them.
I loved the perfect connection between these two men. The author takes a moment to show the pair becoming friends before throwing them into bed together. Normally I’m not keen on fully fleshed out sex scenes in such short stories, but the sex was a very important part of the tale for Az and Trent. Can you say virgin? Ms. Lennox also fits in a coming out, some family drama and several holiday worthy coincidences that ensure the story ends in absolute perfection.
RATING:
REVIEWED BY ANNIKA
The Lawyer and the Lobsterman by Ruthie Luhnow
REVIEW:
First dates are awkward, blind dates even more so. But who decided that connecting an uptight and overworked lawyer and a lobsterman would be a good idea? But not just any lobsterman – The Lobster Man. A professional mascot for the Lobstermen football team….
The only reason Isaac signed up to the Heart2Heart dating app was to placate his sister. Then when he and his date won a dinner at the trendiest restaurant in town he figured he might as well go on the date. He didn’t have any high hopes for the evening, but a good meal. When the guy he is supposed to be meeting, lobsterman69, still hasn’t shown up after 20 minutes he is miffed. Seriously so. Just as he is deciding to go ahead and order without him (there is no sense wasting a free meal after all) a tornado by the name Will shows up – and he’s wearing a hoodie from his college days of all things. Things are not looking good for his blind date. When the appetizers, forgive me first offerings, are served something changes between them, and just maybe they have more in common than what they originally thought.
This story is all about that first date, first impressions and being open to something new – like forgoing the trendiest restaurant in town, for a bar called The Roach. There is no insta-love, and not really a HFN, but there is that thrilling start of something new tinged with a lot of hope.
I for one am not usually fond of insta-love stories so this fitted me perfectly. I believed in it. I enjoyed it quite a lot. But if you are looking for that everlasting and undying love, this is not your story.
RATING:
REVIEWED BY ANNIKA
The Tattoo Artist and the Writer by Lily Morton
REVIEW:
Ink Sprinkler meet your perfect match; Picture Man
Horror writer Noah has been in love with his best friend Sage for forever and hiding those feelings has become second nature. Never dreaming his feelings might be reciprocated, he signs up for the Heart2Heart app, promising his perfect match in the hopes of finding someone to share his life with. The app matches him with Picture Man and they set up to meet at a local coffee shop. What he finds when he arrives is his best friend, and the man he’s hopelessly in love with.
Deciding to give the match a chance, they decide to take each other out on one date each. One date specifically planned for the other, where just anything might happen and the outcome might change their lives forever.
The tattoo artist and the Writer is a friends to lovers story, with a lot of UST, a clueless guy and a great friendship with lots and lots of shared memories. In theory it’s everything a friends to lovers story should be, but it felt a bit lacking to me and for the life of me I can’t put my finger on why. Enjoyable for the moment, but not my favourite.
RATING: 
REVIEWED BY CINDY
The Criminal and the Sommelier by Chris Owen
REVIEW:
Phillipe and Angelo are two men who enjoy the finer things in life, no matter they happen to find them.
Phillipe is enrolled in Heart to Heart by his well-meaning sister and while he’s not sure he’s going to find love, he’s definitely going to enjoy his dinner experience at the high-class restaurant he’s meeting his date at.
Angelo is a mystery that Phillipe can’t help trying to unravel.
The author paints a very detailed and beautiful picture of this story, making it easy to imagine the world it takes place in. The descriptions of the restaurant and the mean and the wine are all spectacular and did leaving me drooling in jealousy a time or two. The author seems to know not only their wine but their food as well and their love of the subject shines through.
Its definitely a different kind of meet-cute story.
It left me a little cold however. It’s beautifully done, but both characters come off as pretentious to me and while I can appreciate the excellent writing, I just couldn’t connect with either character. Call me cliché, but I would have much rather have had one of the characters be taken down a peg or two to add a little balance to the story.
However, if high class is something that does it for you, Chris Owens talented writing and sumptuous prose will definitely whet your appetite.
RATING:
REVIEWED BY DONNA
The Superhero and the NSA Agent by Hailey Turner
REVIEW:
Superheroes, law enforcement, and sex. Three things I’ve come to expect from a Hailey Turner story. But the superheroes and law enforcement agents have never been like…this…before.
Damian has the muscles, he has the cape, and he has the glasses which hide his true identity, but it’s all just part of a cos play costume that he breaks out for conventions and to visit sick kids at the hospital. It’s during one of those hospital visits that he receives a message from his Heart2Heart Valentine date needing to cancel because his date has ended up in the emergency room. Luckily, Superman is just a few floors up and can swoop down to kiss any booboos and make them better. There have been whispers that kissing may be his superpower.
Shane is a grumpy NSA Agent who got hurt in the line of duty after a grenade launcher was aimed in his direction. I absolutely loved the fact that Shane wasn’t the tough fearless law enforcement agent that we typically get in books. As soon as he sees a hint of a gun he’s out of his chair and hiding under the desk – although he does very thoughtfully protect his female partner. Hey, simple intelligence agents need love too. Shane is so anti social that his fellow agents have placed bets on how many hours this computer generated perfect relationship might last, but even grumpy Shane can’t resist Damian. Who could, seriously!? He’s one of those sexy nerds who volunteers with sick children and has a cat named Tiana McTail! I would love him for that cat alone.
Bonus points to the author for getting in a “Man of Steel” reference while Damian has Shane impaled on his…hmmm…rod? Pole? Let’s go with pole. It sounds much longer. And steelier.
RATING:
REVIEWED BY DONNA
The Magician and the Mortician by A. E. Wasp
REVIEW:
This story was one of my favourites from the anthology because it was simply… magical.
Professional magician, Beto has been out of the game for five years, ever since the love of his life died of cancer. Magic and romance, two words that he wants nothing to do with, but a meddling friend signs him up for a blind Valentine date through Heart2Heart and suddenly he’s forced to confront both ideas again. Mikey is a young man who is fascinated by the mystery and showman ship of magic – he doesn’t want to know the secrets because then the magic wouldn’t be real. Both men arrive at the magic club much earlier than the time set for their date and happen to make a connection – without realizing that they’ve just met the partner they’ve been electronically paired with.
This was everything you’d expect from a Valentine’s Day short story. It was sweet, it was sexy, there was sassy banter and most importantly – there was a fluffy white magician’s bunny. Because why have a magician boyfriend if he can’t magic you adorable pets out of a hat? I enjoyed the atmosphere of the magic club setting, and the few secondary characters that came with that. I also loved that the author sold me on their “love at first sight” connection. The author somehow also convinced me that “mortician” might just be the noblest job in the world. Now I really, really want a full length novel with a mortician for a main character!
RATING: 
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