Review: Then and Now by GS Wiley

As a reader I often find that there are certain authors whose writing naturally appeals to me. It may be something about their characterisation, use of description or even just the way their ideas and stories seem to stand out from the rest of the other books in the m/m genre. GS Wiley is one of those authors for me, so when I discovered that she was self publishing a print anthology of her previously published ebook short stories, I jumped at the chance to review it. I was also pleased to find that, despite having read many of the author's stories in the past, I'd only read one of the stories from this anthology.

The anthology is made up of 14 stories and structured into two halves.  The first half, Then, is made up of stories from the past.  For those of you who aren't really too keen on historicals, I feel I ought to point out that, apart from one story set in ancient Rome, the stories are set in the twentieth century and take us right up as far as the Millenium.  The second half, Now, is made up of stories set in the present.

One of the things I like about GS Wiley's stories is that they often take you to unexpected places.  This means that they rarely contain the conventional HEA or even HFN that many romance stories have.  Don't get me wrong, all the stories have happy endings and are satisfactorily concluded, they just may not end in the way you might anticipate.  Many of the stories are 'slice of life' stories about an established couple, or a story about two men who come together only to part, or a couple who are just embarking on a relationship.  Many stories contain themes of the outwardly straight man who falls in love/is attracted to a gay man.  The characters span all ages from the college age through to the very old.  This mix of different themes, characters and plots meant that each story was unique and I was never sure what I was going to expect when I started to read.  The settings of the stories are also varied, with many of them set in Britain, but also a fair few set in other European countries and in the USA/Canada.

Canada is the setting for one of my favourite stories, Connections, which also happens to be the final story in the anthology.  The story begins six months after Bryan's lover, Max, was killed by a car.  He's stuck in a "paralyzing depression" and can't seem to move on when he is struck by an idea of how to help himself feel better.  Bryan begins to text Max, initially telling him how much he misses him, but also to fill Max in with what is happening in Bryan's life.  After a year of doing this, the inevitable happens and Max's mobile number is reassigned to a lady called Sarah, who turns out to be the one person Bryan needs to help him move on from Max. This is one of the chastest stories in the anthology, with not even a kiss, but I was moved by the emotional development of Bryan and the way that the focus was very much on character.  There's little action in the story with everything concentrated on how Bryan feels, his grief over his lover and the odd friendship he starts with Sarah.  However, that didn't matter because I was so caught up in the emotional intensity of the writing and the overall theme of hopefulness.

In fact, if I had to describe the anthology in a phrase then 'emotionally intense' would be the phrase that springs to mind.  All the stories are focused on the development of character and relationship rather than action, except for one story set in the 1920s Chicago, It Had to Be You, which was a mystery and perhaps my least favourite story in the anthology, despite the accurate and dangerous setting of US under prohibition and mob rule.  This meant that I was drawn into the worlds created by the author and the situations the characters were placed in, to such an extent that I felt a genuine sadness when I finished the anthology because there were no more stories to enjoy.

If I have any niggles about the anthology at all it comes from having read the stories one after the other.  I found that all the sex in the book was basically the same.  GS Wiley doesn't usually have very explicit sex in her stories anyway, with some of the stories having the sex behind closed doors, and so when the sex happens in the book it often followed the same pattern.  If I hadn't read the anthology all in one go but left a gap between the stories, then I probably wouldn't have noticed this at all, so it's only a very minor niggle and certainly not enough to spoil my overwhelming enjoyment of this anthology.

If you like anthologies, like well written stories which are heavily focused on character and setting then this anthology will be just the sort of book you will enjoy.  I found it a delight and a treat to read and can't recommend it highly enough.  Grade: Excellent.

Buy this book HERE.