Review: I Kissed a Boy edited by Lori Perkins

I've had real mixed feelings about this anthology. Normally, when I read an anthology, I have a general liking for most of the stories with maybe one or two which are outstanding, one or two which are not too great and quite a few in the 'that was quite a good story' category. With this anthology, the majority of the stories were in the 'not too great' category, a couple in the 'good' category and maybe two or three outstanding ones. This made the anthology a bit of an up and down experience for me. I'd read a few stories and think 'this is not good' or 'this is rather dull', and consider giving up on the whole thing, but then the next story would be really good and make me want to keep reading.

I was attracted to the anthology by the theme, which is that of 'firsts'.  In most of the stories this translates to the first time having sex, either at all, or with another man.  This is a similar theme to that of the Cherry anthology which I reviewed here and liked a great deal, so I was looking forward to reading this anthology.  Out of the twelve stories I there were two that I enjoyed a great deal:

My favourite was Bar None by GS Wiley, which is a good thing really, as her story was another one of my reasons for wanting to read the anthology.  It followed British prosecuting barrister Jeremy, who, after losing a case, goes for a pint with friend and police officer, Nick.  They enjoy a friendly evening together and Jeremy picks up the clues that Nick might be interested in more than friendship.  Jeremy hasn't thought about sex with a man since he left public school behind him but his attraction to Nick and curiosity about what it would be like lead him to accept the feelers that Nick is giving out.  Like many GS Wiley stories the story is steeped with description of place and a depth of characterisation which appealed to me.  The story is told only from Jeremy's viewpoint and as such we follow his thoughts as he thinks through going home with Nick and whether that is something that he wants.  I liked the way that Jeremy is logical in sorting out his feelings and yet is also quite nervous and insecure about what is going to happen and about his body.  A great all round story about going with the flow and trying out new experiences.

There were a few stories which didn't have a conventional HEA or even HFN in the romance.  One of those stories even had one of the heroes dying part way through the story, which isn't really my idea of a romance.  However, my second favourite story, about two close friends, did have a happy ending - even if it wasn't a conventionally romantic one.

The Only Time by Charles Alan Long, looks at the 17 year friendship of two men, Andy and Tate, and how one night they stray into more than just friendship.  In many ways the sex isn't the important part of the story, but more how their friendship has developed through growing up, girlfriends, disappointments and the general ups and downs of life.  I found this to be quite a poignant story which is told in a series of flashbacks, and whilst I may have been slightly disappointed in the end that they remained only friends, I still felt that this was a well written and emotionally satisfying read.

Honourable mentions need to go to The Nine Virgins by Elizabeth Coldwell, which was a slightly paranormal story of a man who finds his first lover in a stone circle, and What a Piece of Work, Is a Man by Heidi Champa, which tells of a research student who falls for a visiting English professor.

The other eight stories were variable in tone, style and written skill.  Some were just an average read and some, in my opinion, were really not very well written at all.  I'm not going to point the finger at any one story, especially as what I may have found flawed, dull, unrealistic and badly written may possibly be the sort of story and style of writing another reader may like.

I've had to think long and hard about what grade to give the anthology as a whole.  In the end I've gone for 'Good' because I would say that maybe only 2-3 stories would have gained my 'Poor' grade and the rest were 'Good' or 'Very Good'.  Even though I cannot wholly recommend I Kissed a Boy, there are some stories in it which are worth reading.  I'm leaving it up to the reader to decide whether they are willing to risk spending their money on an anthology with a real mixed bag of stories.

Buy this book HERE.