Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Say Their Names: A World AIDS Day Charity Anthology

AUTHORS:  A.M Arthur, Ana Ashley, Lee Blair, L.C. Chase, Courtney W. Dixon, Aries France, J.L. Gribble, AE Lister, Evie McGlynn, Shane K. Morton, Breanna Rae, Marie Sinclair, Essie Sloan

PUSLISHER:  self-published

LENGTH:  666 pages

RELEASE DATE:  December 1, 2024

BLURB:

Say Their Names is an anthology of short stories about living and loving with HIV/AIDS by authors of gay romance. Proceeds from the sale of this anthology will be donated to The Names Project which oversees the preservation, maintenance, and display of the AIDS Quilt.

Featuring:
Solving the Puzzle by A.M. Arthur
Bittersweet by Ana Ashley
Under My Skein by Lee Blair
And Then Came Bliss L.C. Chase
The Kiss by Courtney W. Dixon
Summer Fling by Aries France
To Be Bold by J.L. Gribble
A Friendly Prescription by AE Lister
Dawn by Evie McGlynn
My Uncle Charlie by Shane K. Morton
Worse Things by Breanna Rae
Phoenix by Marie Sinclair
Feels Different by Essie Sloane

REVIEW:

The first story in this anthology is by A.M. Arthur.  In present day, a reseller named Atticus, aka Atty, buys a storage lock and begins to sort through the contents.  His best friend Jessie who has a shop helps him.  As he sorts through the cartons of old belongings, he discovers loads and loads of puzzles.  He doesn’t want to have to put them all together to determine if everything is there, so they find a group at a community center where people do puzzles and exchange puzzles.

Atty’s first time at the puzzle group introduces him to a guy named Trace.  Trace is in recovery.  He’s had a difficult life but his sister never gave up on him and helped him get it together. He works as a barista and of course he’s gorgeous.  He and Atty get off on a bit of the wrong foot because Atty is a little too nosy for his own good.

When they meet up again, Trace is happy to see him and shares that the man who picked up one of his puzzles found a letter in the box.  A letter from the 80s.  Together they decide to see if they can find more letters in the boxes and puzzles from the storage units contents.  They do.  It’s clear that the two men who corresponded were friends – and maybe more.  A mutual friend is dying and while it’s not spelled out, it’s definitely AIDS.  The two work together to piece together the past, put the letters in order and then try to find the owner.

This is a beautiful story that doesn’t gloss over the reality of those living with and dying of AIDS while the powers that be stood by silently.  It has a wonderful hopeful ending though that bookends the inglorious past and the positive future.

The eighth story in the anthology is from Evie McGlynn. It takes place in the same world as her Down the Shore series with some crossover characters.  However, it works completely as a standalone (although I heartily recommend the series 😉 )

Seth’s husband has passed away two years prior.  He’s been fighting his husband’s family over the estate but has finally won his case 🙂  He’s donation money to several charities that help LGBTQ+ communication and those living with HIV/AIDS.  David, Seth’s husband, was a successful artist.  He had been living with HIV for many years and had been on the streets after being thrown out by his family.  When he met Seth, he was in recovery and doing well.  Then his art career took off.

Seth meets Jon and nurse practitioner at one of the nonprofits that he’s donating too.  The director and his husband invite Seth out to dinner.  He also invites Jon 😉  Can you say matchmaker?

Jon is coming off a bad relationship with a cheater.  He and Seth really connect.  But both have baggage and Seth hasn’t been with anyone since David died.  Jon puts the pieces together and realizes that Seth’s David is an artist whose work he has collected.  As they grow closer, Seth has to deal with his delayed grieving and loss.  But Jon is willing to stay in it.

I love the Down the Short series and this world built by this author.  Seth and Jon are so perfect for each other.  While sad because he lost David, Seth knows how to honor him and also rebuild his life.  It’s truly a chef’s kiss story.

I look forward to earing more stories in this anthology from other favorite authors and I highly recommend picking this up.  There is a lot to enjoy here and also a great fundraising opportunity.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon