Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Candy Hearts: An LGBTQIA2S+ Charity Anthology Volume 1 (Part 2)
AUTHORS: Linden Bell, ‘Nathan Burgoine, Nic Starr, Rain Carrington,
Riley Long, Stella Rainbow, Susan Scott Shelley, Toby Wise, Victoria Gillilan
PUSLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 1179
RELEASE DATE: February 1, 2024
BLURB:
What’s sweeter than a low angst queer romance at Valentine’s Day? How about sixteen of them brought together in one anthology to help support a good cause?
Each novella in the Candy Hearts Anthology is overflowing with red-hot romance and all the good feels. And this time around, every story has a secret—a secret admirer.
The Candy Hearts Anthology will be available for a limited time, and all proceeds will benefit the Transgender Law Center and the National Center for Transgender Equality.
Participating authors in this inaugural volume are:
Becca Seymour
Beck Grey
Bix Barrow
Chantal Mer
D.K. Sutton
Finn Dixon
Lee Blair
Linden Bell
‘Nathan Burgoine
Nic Starr
Rain Carrington
Riley Long
Stella Rainbow
Susan Scott Shelley
Toby Wise
Victoria Gillilan
REVIEW:
When We’re Together by Chantal Mer – 4.75stars
I really really enjoyed this story of Robbie and Emerson who are mature college students. They have been circling each other for some time. Robbie is just figuring out that he may be bi, but he has no idea what to do. Emerson keeps trying to get Robbie to get comfortable around him. Neither one of them has figured out a way for them to have a more meaningful conversation. When they finally are kind of pushed into a study group, it turns out that they have maybe been giving mixed signals. Robbie has turned his life around and he wants to go for things he wants now after spending his childhood and his 20s worrying about this little brother. The secret admirer is no real mystery to the reader and the resolution is sweet. Very well written characters and a believable romance. Highly recommend.
Inconveniently Yours by D.K. Sutton – 3.5 stars
Sadly I didn’t connect with this story very well. Remi and Julian are sort of frenemies? Not really friends, not really enemies. Both have baggage and were not good at communication. The mystery is around who is sending notes and gifts to Remi and Julian volunteers to help because he is obsessed with Remi. There is a tie in to Julian’s past experiences – both with Remi and dealing with grief and other issues in his life. Remi is sort of a grumpy character who never seems to get what he wants. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t know what he wants? As usual YMMV.
Swim Crush by Finn Dixon – 4 stars
Mike is a college swimmer and has just come out. He wants to lose his virginity. His BFF and his teammate want to help him. He’s been getting secret admirer notes and he’s not sure who it could be. It’s cute to watch them try to figure it out. The reader knows who it is and it’s very cute really – the jock and the nerdish guy trope is well done here. The characters are good guys and I liked the way the author brought them together.
Love is in the Ear by Lee Blair – 4.25 stars.
This is a Dahlia Springs crossover story. Oscar, former child star turned backer has moved to Dahlia Springs to take over a business after his uncle’s passing. Calvin works at the local Dahlia farm. There are mutual crushes and lots of sexy times 😉 I have enjoyed other books in this series and this is a nice addition. Personally I could have done with fewer sex scenes, but that’s just a personal preference. These guys were lovely and I enjoyed their romance.
It’s All You by Linden Bell – 4 stars
This is a childhood friends to lovers story. Gavin and Beau are childhood friends. Gavin moves to NYC and Beau stays in Georgia and gets married. They stay in touch though. Beau’s marriage ends and he shows up in NYC. While he’s there, he definitely begins to have feelings for Gavin – and not friendship feelings 😉 It’s a low angst sort of bi/demi awakening that leads these two to their newfound relationship 🙂 It was cute and remarkably low angst. An enjoyable short story 🙂
RATING: 
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