Authors: Various, see below
Forward by Alex Beecroft
Edited by Kris Jacen
Publisher: ManLoveRomance Press (MLR Press)
ISBN: 978-1-934531-70-9
Publish Date: 2009
Format: eBook
Length: 307 pages
Reviewer: Sassy Brit
Alternative-Read.com
"I Do" is an anthology in support of marriage equality. Not only do 100% of the proceeds go to the Lambda Legal fund, to help in their fight against the passing of California's Proposition 8 (a vote to make only a marriage between a man and woman legal), but you also get twenty erotic stories of love and commitment from an elite and popular list of M/M, F/F and GLBT writers. Now that's putting your money where it counts!
Included is a table of contents which provides a heat rating for each story - sweet, spicy, or scorching - so you can go directly to your favourite type. Talking of favourites, I would love to mention all twenty stories, they really are all very good, and here are some thoughts on a few.
When Nicole's car breaks down, she turns to Maggie, the owner of Bellweather Inn, where memories are made, as the two women make the most of a chance meeting in Making Memory by Lisabet Sarai. A tender f/f read, where sparks fly. And I'm not talking spark plugs.
After the death of his wife, Gloria, Richard is having to deal with severing past connections. Luckily for him, love finds no bounds in the guise of a patient and understanding, Neil. A sad, yet heart-warming story of one man's insecurities and his struggle to learn to love again. And this time it feels so right in Swansong by Sharon Maria Bidwell.
Joe, once an unemployed drop out from a council estate in England, has a new future as a soldier in the disciplined military world of the French Legion. But is he running away from what he is - what he hates about himself - straight into the arms of Sergent Roux? Perhaps now he will stop fighting against what he really wants in life. Code of Honour by author Marquesate, is a wonderful tale which makes you wonder how far Joe will go just to prove to himself he is a man.
In Tango and Temptation, author ZA Maxfield, writes about Gabriel Aimar, who is selling himself as a time stepping Tango Master. Xander Farmington and his fiancee request Tango lessons in preparation for their wedding, and out goes everything Gabriel has tried to hide as he pours out his heart and soul on the dance floor. But he is not the only one who at first is putting on a show, hiding his true self from the world. How should he play this - Slow…slow…quick-quick-slow…?
They say a happy trick is a generous trick, but when handcuffed to a bed and the police walk in one cop, Rusty Donaldson, has a trick of his own up his sleeve. When one door shuts another one opens, or should that be, when one cuff opens another one shuts? Great fun for an unlikely couple awaits you with this story, The Mistake, written by P.A. Brown. Not so much a mistake, but a blessing in disguise, if you ask me. This cop is certainly not as "Rusty" as his name leads you to believe.
A few lines about these tales is really not enough to fully portray the sensitivity, love, vulnerability, and adoration the couples in these stories show for each other. It's a big book, which covers a variety of flavours with elements of conflict, emotion and surprise to keep you flicking through the pages at top speed.
From a fairytale theme, to the contemporary lives of two housemoving lovers, we take a stroll down Sodomite's Walk, meet the stars of Landseer Studio, have tea with the not-so-silly, Aunt Queenie, and envisage snowy scenes in The Ice Queen, by Erastes. Incidentally, the latter will warm the cockles of the most coldest of hearts. This selection of well-written stories is for a good cause, and like many of the characters, this book is well worth getting your hands on.
Includes stories by ALEX BEECROFT, CHARLIE COCHRANE, FIONA GLASS, JEANNE BARRACK, P.A. BROWN, ERASTES, TRACEY PENNINGTON, CLARE LONDON, SHARON MARIA BIDWELL, LISABET SARAI, STORM GRANT, MARQUESATE, LEE ROWAN, ZA MAXFIELD, MOONDANCER DRAKE, MALLORY PATH, EMMA COLLINGWOOD, ALLISON WONDERLAND, JERRY L. WHEELER, ZOE NICHOLS AND CASSIDY RYAN
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I've got a "sassy" comment - marriage is between one man and one woman, and I am sick of people trying to make it otherwise - I started to follow this blog when you were giving away a Christian book - now you're promoting same-sex marriage?! The same God who your Christian books talk about is the same God who said sex between people of the same gender is a sin. Adios
ReplyDeleteand I bet you won't approve my comment
ReplyDeleteDear Mark,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment and for no longer coming to my site. While you are free to express your view, it is not acceptable to be rude and vulgar. This is a review site and we strive to cater for all walks of life, whatever race, creed, religion or sexual preference.
Sassy
:)
Adios, Mark, and good riddance! Don't forget you're a guest on this site and you should learn to mind your manners. There are plenty of political blogs where you may have a frank and open discussion to spew your views. This is a review site and will not be censored by the likes of you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great review.
ReplyDeleteInteresting first comment. I wonder if the commenter realises several of the authors who participated in the anthology are deeply committed Christians?
:)
Charlie
Carry on your important and wonderful work, Sassy. You are a treasure and to be complimented and encouraged. You are the best.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for reviewing our book! I'm in Canada, where marriage is between two consenting adults and the government doesn't consider it their business to peep in our bedrooms. My wife and I moved here two years ago, and though there are still people with prejudice, the change is almost indescribable. You don't realize you're carrying a heavy weight until you have the chance to put it down and breathe free.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, besides saying thanks I wanted to remind all your readers who are writers that we're accepting submissions for I Do, Two! until December 1, 2009, and while we have some stellar m/m stories, we'd love to see more LBT.
More info here: http://bookworld.editme.com/I-DO-TWO
Thank you!
There's one in every blog, isn't there...
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for your lovely review, Sassy. Much appreciated! :)
Thanks for such a lovely review, Sassy. I'm really glad you enjoyed the book :) And yes, as Charlie mentions, quite a few of the authors involved in the project are Christians of the "do unto others as you would wish to be done by" sort. I wouldn't like to be banned from marrying the person I loved, so I don't like to see it happening to other people either.
ReplyDeleteI must say that the attitude of those professing to be "Christian" don't truly follow God's word,do they? I believe that as God created all of us that everyone is entitled to love whomever they choose and you do a wonderful job of non-prejudicial reviewing. It takes this type of attitude to allow the freedom for all authors to be able to have their work read and reviewed by people who read simply for the joy of reading.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for such a lovely review, Sassy! Sorry to have lost you a reader though :(
ReplyDelete