Book:  Read a book that takes place in December, with ice or snow on the cover, where all events take place in a single day or night, that revolves around the solstice, set in Persia / Iran, China or the American Southwest or prominently featuring Persian / Iranian, Chinese or Native American characters, or a collection of poetry.

This is a collection of short stories based on mythology and folklore from East and South Asia, so some of the stories feature Chinese characters or are based in China.

Probably my last book of the year. It was a very good anthology filled with folklore and mythologies (a subject that I really love) that I have not been usually exposed to but I enjoyed reading about very much. Some were better than others, some felt quite flat.

Rating for each story

Forbidden Fruit by Roshani Chokshi 3.5/5
Bittersweet story. Had lovely turns of phrases. Something didn’t quite click with me though. I felt the writing, while super pretty, kept me at a distance and didn’t allow me to connect with the characters or the story.

Olivia’s Table by Alyssa Wong 4/5
Sad ghost story, filled with melancholy and loss and also honor and respect. It made me feel things.

Steel Skin by Lori M. Lee 2.5/5
I didn’t like this one mostly because I kinda guessed the twist and because the end was left up in the air. Not sure if the element of the androids helped or hindered the story the author was trying to tell.

Still Star-Crossed by Sona Charaipotra 3.5/5
Creepy but good.

The Counting of Vermillion Beads by Aliette de Bodard 3.5/5
I felt lost during most of the story and had a hard time differentiating Cam and Tam until halfway through. I am glad the author retold this folktale in a way that the sisters weren’t enemies but helped each other out.

The Land of the Morning Calm by E.C. Myers 4/5
This one might be my favorite so far. It made me cry. It felt like a story, even if it was a short one. It left me feeling satisfied.

The Smile by Aisha Saeed 4.5/5
By far my favorite. It was lovely and powerful and rang true to me. This is what I expect of retelling.

Girls who Twirl and other Dangers by Preeti Chhibber 2/5
Meh. Didn’t love it. It was only ok.

Nothing into All by Renée Ahdieh 3.5/5
Well-written and very cute. 

Spear Carrier by Rahul Kanakia 1/5
Didn’t like this one. Couldn’t relate to it at all and it was too vague and emotionless for me to care.

Code of honor by Melissa De la Cruz 2.5/5
Felt jumbled and all over the place. I didn’t hate it but I couldn’t connect with it.

Bullet, Butterfly by Elsie Chapman 3/5
Man, this one made me sad. I wished it would’ve ended differently, but it is what it is.

Daughter of the Sun by Shveta Thakrar 3/5
Sometimes it rushed and the characters didn’t possess enough depth. The story itself was interesting.

The Crimson Cloak by Cindy Pon 4.5/5
I really liked this one. I loved that the author gave the weaver a decisive voice and that their tale is one of choice on both sides.

Eyes like Candlelight by Julie Kagawa 5/5
I loved this one. Probably because I’m familiar with some Japanese mythology. The story was very well-written and catches you immediately, not letting you go until the end.

This is a second chance after many years. Annabelle had to run for her life, leaving Fabyan behind. They find each other again and realize their feelings have not changed. There are surprises and danger aplenty on the way to their HEA. There are story lines from the previous stories which get wrapped up in this book. This is a quick read.

I received a copy of this story through Candid Book Reviews, and this is my unsolicited review.

So we all know I don’t do re-reads. And yet here I am, just after finishing the re-read of a book I beta-read not too long ago. And I enjoyed every single word of it. In fact I’m so glad I took the time to read this story again I may have to reassess my ‘no re-reads’ rule.

Last books in a much loved series are always a scary prospect. Of course I want to know how the story is going to end, what the universe I’ve gotten so attached to will look like when I have to say goodbye for the last time. But on the other side is the reluctance to end what has been an amazing, thrilling and exhilarating love affair with a world and characters that have become so real it feels as if they’re part of my life.

But, the main thread of this story is the coming together of JJ and Darren. JJ has gotten the job in Collars & Cuffs for reasons that have nothing to do with a taste for BDSM, but the reasons he thought he had soon turn out to be founded on nothing besides wishful thinking on his part, and between the interactions he observes in the club and meeting Darren, he soon discovers that BDSM does indeed hold charms he’d been previously unaware of.

Darren is an all round decent—not to be confused with boring because Darren hasn’t got a boring bone in his body—guy. He’s been flirting with the idea of BDSM ever since he witnessed an intimate scene between Thomas and Peter, but it takes meeting JJ to send him on his path. Something about the younger man awakens Darren’s instincts to take care and protect. And even JJ initially refusing to be helped and distrusting his motives doesn’t deter Darren.

JJ has issues with trust, HUGE issues with trust, and it will take patience, care, love, and unconditional honesty on Darren’s part before JJ can truly accept that he has found the love and safety he’s always longed for.

While the main story line in this book belongs to Darren and JJ, every other couple we’ve come to love over the years makes an appearance. Their stories may have been told in previous titles, but that doesn’t mean their lives ended when their books did. Loose ends are tied up, things hinted at in the past come to fruition, and happy endings become even happier.

As such, I’m not sure what my favourite parts of this book were. As much as I enjoyed Darren and JJ’s journey, I couldn’t help being delighted every time the story stepped away from them for a moment, allowing me to spend time with Alex and Leo, Peter and Thomas, Scott and Ben, Pietro and Miles, Jarod and Eli and Jeff and Damian. Those moments, combined with the ups and downs of JJ and Darren's journey, brought me smiles, made me laugh and brought tears to my eyes, both of the happy and sad variety. I have to be honest and admit that both times I finished the book I felt as if I’d been put through an emotional wringer, but in the best possible way.

And so the story has reached its finale, because all good things must come to an end(ing). But don’t despair too hard. The clue is in the title, Endings and Beginnings. Or as Eli says it:

“This might be the ending of one story, but I promise you, it’s the beginning of another”

The ‘beginning’ of what exactly is for me to know and for you to find out when you read this wonderful book. I couldn’t possibly reveal all the secrets here.

It's always bittersweet, when a beloved series comes to an end. It's especially bittersweet when said series end captures all the perfection from its previous books, and leaves the reader, while sad that it's over, happy that it happened.

Such is the case with Endings and Beginnings, the 8th and final book in the Collars & Cuffs series, set in and around a BDSM club in Manchester, England.

The two authors did a fantabulous job letting me reminisce about the previous books, in which we met Leo and Alex, Thomas and Peter, Ben and Scott, Eli and Jared, Dorian and Alan (my favorite book), Andrew and Gareth, Damian and Jeff, and then introduced me to Darren and JJ.

Darren is the owner of the beauty salon where Peter had his "rebirth", and ever since that moment, he's been intrigued with the intimacy and connection he saw between Thomas and Peter. He wants that for himself, but doesn't quite know how to get it. His last relationship was unfulfilling, and while he knows what he needs, he's unsure of whether there is someone who could be his counterpart.

JJ is a new bartender at Collars & Cuffs, and he has a secret. No, I'm not going to reveal that here - you read this for yourself and find out. Let it suffice that when I saw the words on the page, my mouth was hanging wide open and my eyes nearly popped out of my head. Yes, the authors went there. And it was perfect, because it shows that evil has far-reaching consequences. JJ sees the connections between the long-time couples at the club, and this has him questioning all kinds of things.

So Darren seeks what Thomas and Peter have, and JJ seeks something else. And then their paths cross...

There's a wedding, there's Peter growing by leaps and bounds, there's a nasty wanna-be reporter trying to fuck things up, there's holy hot boysecks, Batman, and there's love, so much love. That, to me, is the underlying message in each of these books, aside from clearly and effortlessly explaining most if not all aspects and varieties of BDSM - that love and respect are at the core of these relationships. Love is what binds these men more than ropes or cuffs ever could.

I adored the two main characters for this book much like I adored the main characters in previous books, and as we get to revisit with them all, none of them ever lose their voices they've been given throughout the series. It was wonderful to see Alex and Leo on screen, and check in with Dorian and Alan, as well as Thomas and Peter and Eli and Jared. Changes are coming for some of them, and a beloved couple is given a wonderful opportunity to grow and find a new home.

I had a great time watching Darren and JJ grow close, with Darren instinctively understanding how skittish JJ was and adjusting his pursuit of the young man accordingly.

JJ has some hard lessons to learn, one of which is that not all is what it seems, and the other one is that pride comes before the fall. And that maybe he was wrong all along.

This was a fitting ending to a great series, and while I'm sad that it's over, I am able to re-read these books any time I want to. And I will. Each one is written with such emotion that I can't help but form a connection with the characters, smile and laugh and cry and fear with them. There's no pointless drama - each step forward and each step back has a purpose - and the characters communicate (well, for the most part) with each other, and when they don't, they quickly realize that they need to if they want the relationship to succeed.

Even though not all eight books are collabs between KC Wells and Parker Williams, the two authors' writing styles mesh seamlessly, and they gave us a magnificent send-off to this series.

I hope they will write more books together in the future, even if those aren't about Collars & Cuffs. Maybe as the title seems to indicate, this is only the beginning to a prolific series of books we may look forward to in the future.


** I received a free copy of this book from one of the authors. A positive review was not promised in return. **