A review by alisonalisonalison
He's Come Undone: A Romance Anthology, by Emma Barry
5.0
Five stars for Cat Sebastian! I usually rate anthologies based on the best story, rather than the average, so this gets an easy five stars because Cat Sebastian is brilliant. This was a quality romance anthology featuring both queer and het stories about buttoned-up folk letting loose. Three or four stars for the rest of the stories.
I did a thing I never do--I skipped ahead to the story I bought this for--Cat Sebastian's "Tommy Cabot Was Here," which is last (radical, I know). This story is beautiful and quiet and heartwarming and charming and so lovely. For fans of this author's [b:Hither, Page|44785311|Hither, Page (Page & Sommers, #1)|Cat Sebastian|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1558580046l/44785311._SY75_.jpg|69432362], it's more that kind of story than her Regencies. There's winter and pining and heartache and coziness in the mid-20th-century and it made me cry because it's a gorgeous story and very heartfelt. It features two boarding-school best friends, who are totally in love with each other, who lose touch for *reasons*. We meet them when they bump into each other fifteen years later, older and wiser. When I'd read the rest of the anthology, I read this story again with glee and cried again. I really connected with Everett and Tommy's story. It is so satisfying. This anthology is worth it for this story alone.
The rest of the stories were well done and well written, even if they weren't all entirely my cup of tea. "Appasionata" was a good one. The musical setting was cool and was very well done. The author clearly knows all about music. I really enjoyed the concert piano technician/concert pianist dynamic. I also enjoyed Adriana Herrera's story about two Dominican pro baseball players, called "Caught Looking." "Yes, and..." was really sad, but very real. "Unraveled" was pleasant and I learned about murder dioramas, not something I had ever thought about before. I enjoyed the easy diversity of these stories and how they were all so different.
I bought this because I'm a big Cat Sebastian fan, and her story was absolutely brilliant, but I also read four quality stories that I would not have read otherwise and it was interesting and worthwhile. Anthologies are so great in this way--I've been introduced to new authors and read stories that I would not have chosen for myself and so have learned new things. Win-win.
I did a thing I never do--I skipped ahead to the story I bought this for--Cat Sebastian's "Tommy Cabot Was Here," which is last (radical, I know). This story is beautiful and quiet and heartwarming and charming and so lovely. For fans of this author's [b:Hither, Page|44785311|Hither, Page (Page & Sommers, #1)|Cat Sebastian|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1558580046l/44785311._SY75_.jpg|69432362], it's more that kind of story than her Regencies. There's winter and pining and heartache and coziness in the mid-20th-century and it made me cry because it's a gorgeous story and very heartfelt. It features two boarding-school best friends, who are totally in love with each other, who lose touch for *reasons*. We meet them when they bump into each other fifteen years later, older and wiser. When I'd read the rest of the anthology, I read this story again with glee and cried again. I really connected with Everett and Tommy's story. It is so satisfying. This anthology is worth it for this story alone.
The rest of the stories were well done and well written, even if they weren't all entirely my cup of tea. "Appasionata" was a good one. The musical setting was cool and was very well done. The author clearly knows all about music. I really enjoyed the concert piano technician/concert pianist dynamic. I also enjoyed Adriana Herrera's story about two Dominican pro baseball players, called "Caught Looking." "Yes, and..." was really sad, but very real. "Unraveled" was pleasant and I learned about murder dioramas, not something I had ever thought about before. I enjoyed the easy diversity of these stories and how they were all so different.
I bought this because I'm a big Cat Sebastian fan, and her story was absolutely brilliant, but I also read four quality stories that I would not have read otherwise and it was interesting and worthwhile. Anthologies are so great in this way--I've been introduced to new authors and read stories that I would not have chosen for myself and so have learned new things. Win-win.