Rainbow Reviews

BOOK BLURB:
Who doesn't love a wedding? The three stories in Going to the Chapel prove that everyone has a special day. In Don't Ask by JJ Massa, Captain Zachary Smith has always wanted to find out what boils behind Agent Falk Thayer's calm exterior. Falk, on the other hand, isn't looking for anything long-term. Never has. Never will. When things get hot and heavy between them, Captain Smith has to decide if he's willing to take less than what he needs or sacrifice everything.

In Building a Life by Alexa Snow, when Levi goes to his best friend Cooper's engagement party, he doesn't expect to meet someone fascinating ~ and he definitely doesn't expect that someone to be Cooper's five-year-old niece Ashley. It comes as an even bigger surprise to find that Ashley's father Philip is both fascinating and hot. But Philip is married, even if his wife is mysteriously out of the picture, so this ready-made family can't possibly have room in it for Levi ... or can it?

Finally, in Apples and Gin by Jenna Jones, country singer Sawyer Shaw loves photographer Noah Kingston and is tired of hiding it. He's kept his sexuality hidden for the sake of his career and his family, but over the past ten years Sawyer has come to realize what matters most to him is Noah and his happiness, and Sawyer is ready not only to make it public but also to make it permanent.

BOOK REVIEW:
If you are looking for a way to pass the time while waiting at the post office or to cleanse the reading palate between bigger, beefier stories, this is a good anthology to do it with. Each author had a clear voice and strong writing skills, different from each other and diverse enough to make an anthology interesting. With three stories to tell in this book, I found a diamond, a cubic zirconia and a rhinestone.

In "Don’t Ask" by J.J. Massa, the story did not know what it wanted to be. It started off with a strong D/s theme that was abandoned half way through the story where both characters underwent unbelievable 180 degree changes in character, job and lifestyle. Additionally, I found a bit of a problem with research. In the vein of cops going to a cop movie and finding all of the procedural flaws, real or imagined, with a military background of my own, I did this with the military information in this story. Much was inaccurate, or at least not likely, and this also threw off my enjoyment for this story.

In "Building a Life" by Alexa Snow, the characters were all likable, the romance is nice with a touch of angst, some tension, and great sex and the story is just long enough to give enough background to empathize with each character. As a short story goes, this one has all the right elements except for a weak premise. Levi is attending his best friend Cooper’s engagement party and meets Cooper's brother-in-law, Phillip and his niece. The story wrapped around the two was very well written but I could not put aside a few plot holes. Levi and Cooper are BFF's that live in the same town and yet in 6 years he had not met the BIL or niece before and Levi had no idea that Cooper's sister had been missing for two years. The relationship between Levi and the best friend aside, I was rooting for all the characters in this story and was happy to be a voyeuristic guest at Levi and Phillip's wedding.

In "Apples and Gin" by Jenna Jones we find a country star in love with his photographer. This is a diamond. The story is well told; the information comes in real time and back story. It paints a detailed and interesting picture of how Sawyer and Noah turned a first meeting into a quiet but devoted seven year relationship. In today’s world of paparazzi and intrusive digging into personal lives of big stars, it’s nice to think that any star could keep a secret like that for so long if they chose. The paparazzi do dig it up and Sawyer's reaction is very romantic and satisfying. The lyrics in some of the songs are perfect; both ambiguous and obvious at the same time. For this story, I would love to see a follow up of the wedding. It is the only story that stops before we get to the chapel in this anthology.

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