Review: His Hero Anthology by Total E-Bound

I picked up this anthology because I like stories about men in uniform and so I was looking forward to reading this collection. Unfortunately, apart from a couple of stories, I wouldn't recommend reading this collection of shorts for various reasons I shall set out below.

 Let's start with the positives. The one reason for reading this anthology is for the story A Ring and a Promise by Devon Rhodes. It tells of two Navy men (one a marine and the other a pilot) who have been lovers for a couple of years, and the difficulties which arise when they come to the end of their training and are posted away from each other. I really liked this realistic portrayal of not only the difficulties in being gay in the military, but also the hardship of being the partner (gay or straight) of a military lover. I liked that there was no easy answer to their situation, and that the two men were sensible in not only how they conducted themselves but also with their pragmatic approach to their relationship. Very moving, well written and definitely a 'Very Good' read.

The other story I liked was In the Name of the Law by Sue Holston, which tells of two vice detectives, Mitch and Ivan. Mitch has been in love with Ivan for a long time and as the story progresses he becomes more and more caught up in wanting to confess his feelings. The story was a touch melodramatic on occasion, but I liked Mitch and felt for his situation and was happy when things worked out well for him.

Only Sam by Em Woods and Wings of Fire by Kit Sams were what I would consider 'OK' stories. There wasn't anything to dislike about them too much except that the men fall a little too fast for each other and they also, rather bizarrely follow a similar storyline which becomes almost identical towards the end.

The other two stories didn't work for me at all. I found the characters hackneyed and one dimensional and the stories unbelieveable. Any story which has the main character announcing to his family that he's found 'the one' after knowing the other guy less than 12 hours is going to lose me as a reader. One of the stories so thoroughly lost my attention, due to the lack of chemistry between the pair and the ridiculous situation, that I skimmed the last few pages because I wanted it to be over.

One thing that struck about the anthology as a whole was that many of the stories relied too much on sex and less about a realistic plot or romance and substituted sexual desire for true intimacy of feeling. Too many times feelings of lust or protectiveness were used as a short cut for love. This just didn't work for me because whilst there was often that zing of initial chemistry between the characters, the reader is often then just told that love is happening rather than being shown it in scenes other than the bedroom.  There were also too many over the top villains who behaved in baffling and irrational ways, and too many couples who fell in love too quickly and didn't act in a rational or consistent manner. It's not that the writing was bad, but more that the characters and situations didn't work for me as a reader.

Overall, this anthology is not really worth reading except for the Devon Rhodes story. Fortunately you can buy that one as a separate story, and I suggest you do that rather than spend money on this anthology.  Grade: Poor.

Buy this book HERE.