A review by apostrophen
Best Gay Romance 2010 by David Holly, David Puterbaugh, David M. May Sr., Simon Sheppard, David Ciminello, Rob Rosen, Michael Bracken, Jerry L. Wheeler, Natty Soltesz, L.A. Fields, Jamie Freeman, Doug Harrison, Trebor Healey, Richard Labonté, G.A. Li, Jay Mandal
3.0
I'm a lover of the short story format, and find it a wonderful way to "meet" a new author. The annual "Best Gay Romance" series that Richard Labonte edits has never failed to bring me some stories that leave me smiling, or laughing, or - sometimes - even sniffling.
This year's crop of stories is quite varied in style and tone (as always, there's a dash of the erotic in some of the tales), and I did have a few "a-ha!" moments as I read.
First, the delightful David Puterbaugh gave a marvelous tale of two gay fathers-to-be trying to decide on a name when it turns out little Julia is going to be a boy. Having read Puterbaugh's short stories before, and having had the chance to meet him in New Orleans, I knew I'd be in for some witty dialog, and he delivers. I was happy to discover him in the book, and his story is sweet, and left me with a smile.
Jerry Wheeler's story is one of the rare few stories I mentioned above that left me sniffling. His tale was absolutely moving - a story about a love lost and framed with a haunting and deliberate parallel that is the very definition of bittersweet, without falling too far and becoming maudlin.
I'm sure there's something for everyone, and the tales cover a rich diversity of characters; the old, the young; the overweight, the fit; the closeted, the out; the "typical" and the extreme; and throughout all, an ongoing dialog of love and romance in its many forms.
This year's crop of stories is quite varied in style and tone (as always, there's a dash of the erotic in some of the tales), and I did have a few "a-ha!" moments as I read.
First, the delightful David Puterbaugh gave a marvelous tale of two gay fathers-to-be trying to decide on a name when it turns out little Julia is going to be a boy. Having read Puterbaugh's short stories before, and having had the chance to meet him in New Orleans, I knew I'd be in for some witty dialog, and he delivers. I was happy to discover him in the book, and his story is sweet, and left me with a smile.
Jerry Wheeler's story is one of the rare few stories I mentioned above that left me sniffling. His tale was absolutely moving - a story about a love lost and framed with a haunting and deliberate parallel that is the very definition of bittersweet, without falling too far and becoming maudlin.
I'm sure there's something for everyone, and the tales cover a rich diversity of characters; the old, the young; the overweight, the fit; the closeted, the out; the "typical" and the extreme; and throughout all, an ongoing dialog of love and romance in its many forms.