Saturday Shorts

On Call: Afternoon by PD Singer
Dr Keith is a new doctor in a local practice.  His first patient of the day is vet Dante, who turns out to be suffering from cat scratch fever.  Keith finds Dante very attractive and considers asking him out on a date but isn't sure that Dante is gay so chickens out at the last minute.  Fortunately fate in the form of Keith's fearsome cat, Harpo, throws them together once more.  In many ways this is the story of the beginning of a relationship and all the awkwardness of that first attraction, the getting to know each other.  Then there's one potential complication in that Dante is black and Keith is white.  Neither men mention it during the story, except for one challenging comment by Dante that contains hints of defensiveness, but Keith is aware that interracial relationships can be problematic and it's a niggling worry at the back of his mind.  I really liked this aspect of the story because all too often interracial romance stories either make too much of the differences or pretend that it's not a problem.  Keith strikes me as a very thoughtful and careful man who has been burned by lovers in the past.  This makes him cautious, but he's honest with himself about his physical attraction to Dante.  As this is written in the 1st person, we only get Keith's thoughts, but he is a likeable and sympathetic narrator.  The plotting is gentle with the focus very much on the relationship.  I liked this and very much enjoyed this strong character based story.  There's another sip coming out later this month which continues Keith and Dante's story and I'm very much looking forward to reading that.  Grade: Excellent.

Buy this book HERE.

Everybody Fucks Raymond by Kris Klein
I saw this at ARe and thought that it looked like a hot little story.  It was.  Aaron is a temp at a gay friendly accountancy firm.  Each lunchtime he sits on the table with the other gay employees and the fag hags.  On this day a hot guy walks into the cafeteria and when Aaron asks who he is, the others tell him that the guy, Raymond, is the company slut and that he's slept with all the gay men in the company.  Aaron's a little confused about this because the guy didn't seem to be flirting or exude enough confidence to fit with what the others were saying about him, so he goes to the guy's office and tattle-tales on his co-workers.  I liked the initial set up of the gay friendly lunch table with its array of different types of workers, especially the way they discuss TV one minute and then spread gossip the next.  The next part stretched my incredulity a little when Aaron approaches Raymond to make him aware of the gossip, particularly when what happens next could be seen as reinforcing that gossip.  In the end I just kicked back and enjoyed what was essentially a nicely written piece of office sex.  Aaron was a cute character and the end was sweet so I finished the book quite happy.  A good quickie for filling in time between books.  Grade: Good.

Buy this book HERE.


The New World by GS Wiley
Toby works for his brother and sister-in-law at a tavern.  It's a busy evening and the place is full of a mix of regulars and soldiers from the King's army.  One of the soldiers gives Toby the eye so he isn't surprised when the soldier follows him out into the yard later.  He is surprised to find out that the soldier is his old friend, and first love Matthew who has changed almost beyond recognition in the 10 years since he joined the army and left Toby behind.  Like many GS Wiley stories the beauty in this short is in the detail.  There's much description of tavern life, of the play in the relationships between Toby and his brother and sister-in-law, of the way he copes with his lonely homosexuality.  Matthew coming back briefly into his life makes Toby remember the good times - but those times are also tinged with bitterness at the way Matthew left.  I found myself sympathising with Toby as he reflects on the lack of adventure in his life compared to his friend.  There's a wealth of emotion tied up in the story but the writing is understated and beautiful.  The ending leaves us hanging - and again this is not unusual for GS Wiley stories, but I was happy to use my own imagination as to what Toby decides to do with his life.  If I have any niggles it is that I thought Toby and Matthew were rather indiscreet towards the end and I worried about them being discovered.  However, this was not enough to spoil my enjoyment of a great little historical story.  Grade: Very Good.

Buy this book HERE.