Guest Reviewed by Morgan

Title: Stranded
Authors: Alina Popescu, Michael P. Thomas, Kim Fielding, Asta Idonea, Rob Colton, Nephylim, Lily G. Blunt, Eric Gober, Nikka Michaels, Louise Lyons, Kirifox, Sarah Hayes, and J.N. Olsen
Genre: Various
Length: 247 Pages
Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing
Release Date: October 10, 2014
Available at: Wayward Ink Publishing and Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Stranded contains thirteen stories from a range of sub-genres. We have dystopian futures, historicals, contemporary romances, sci-fi and paranormal. We have angels, time travelers, and Vikings. We have it all!

STRANDED – DEFINITION:  adjective · (of a boat, sailor, or sea creature) left aground on a shore.  “a stranded whale” · left without the means to move from somewhere.  “he offers a lift to a stranded commuter”

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The boys in this collection of short stories have most definitely been left STRANDED!
They’ve been shipwrecked and abandoned.
Marooned and cast away.
And left helpless and high and dry.
But you should never underestimate the tenacity of the human heart…

STORIES INCLUDED:

Craving Stains by Alina Popescu
Say Cheese by Michael P. Thomas
Standby by Kim Fielding
The Raider by Asta Idonea
The Buckle by Rob Colton
Ari by Nephylim
Opposites Attract by Lily G. Blunt
Out of Order by Eric Gober
Dating for Deafies by Nikka Michaels
One Snowy Night by Louise Lyons
The Climb by kirifox
Did You Leave Any For Me by Sarah Hayes
Sweetness and Strength by J.N. Olsen

Blurb/Review:

Craving Stains by Alina Popescu
An immune compromised young man dreams of leaving his sterile world to find adventure but instead is controlled by his mother into remaining a prisoner. Through his dreams he finds escape into the arms of a man…

**

Pretty interesting idea, not developed enough in this short story, so it comes off choppy and confusing.   2.5/5 stars

Say Cheese by Michael P. Thomas
An established couple, Felix and Shep, try to re-unite for a surprise party but the airlines keep them apart. Finally, Felix can’t stand it and takes things into his own hands to give Shep the night of his life.

**

Very sweet, funny, lots packed into this short story, very well done.   4/5 stars

Standby by Kim Fielding
An angel and a man are stranded in the airport, waiting for their chance to fly. Together they find that they may be able to help one another in more ways than one.

**

Interesting, touching, fairly complete, thought it would be better in a slightly longer story.  3.5/5 stars

The Raider by Asta Idonea
A Viking is killed and left for dead, standed on an enemy island. He is healed by the enemy and rescued, they end up lovers.

**

Pretty sweet and very sentimental, interesting concept.   3.5/5 stars

The Buckle by Rob Colton
A man is “stranded” at a bar by his brother and gets the night of his life with the bartender/owner of the bar.

**

Pretty typical Rob Colton story, hot, sexy, fun, not much plot.  3/5 stars

Ari by Nephylim
A “person” goes to a convention where they meet another “person” whom they have only met on the internet. Things are chaotic, but both “people” are attracted to one another and even though neither is exactly male or female, they find love. They consider themselves stranded between sexes.

**

Strange. Kind of hard to follow. Interesting idea.  2.5/5 stars

Opposites Attract by Lily G. Blunt
An established couple on vacation stretch their personal limits to prove their love for one another and end up stranded in a cabin.

**

Mostly sweet, a little sexy, a little touching, not very exciting. 3/5 stars

Out of Order by Eric Gober
Two old lovers end up re-united after an earthquake leaves them stranded together.

**

This story crams a lot into a few pages and I think it would have been better to expand it into a novella. Too busy. Too many big topics covered in too little space.  2/5 stars

Dating for Deafies by Nikka Michaels
Super cute story about a deaf man who gets an accidental email from a fellow author that turns into a mistaken blind date.

**

Interesting story with unique MCs, well developed though short, sweet, as usual wish it were slightly longer.  4/5 stars.

One Snowy Night by Louise Lyons
A musician leaves a blind date and ends up stuck on a country road in the snow to be rescued by a man who he thinks could never be interested in a guy like him.

**

Sweet, sexy, short story about “judging books by their covers”. 3.5/5 stars

The Climb by kirifox
A man tired of the dating scene goes hiking with friends only to end up time travelling to 1791 where he meets the man of his dreams.

**

Very well written, full story, well told, happy ending. 4.5/5 stars

Did You Leave Any For Me by Sarah Hayes
An established couple are fighting and end up stranded in a hotel room together to work out their problems.

**

Ok. Not as interesting as the others. 2.5/5 stars

Sweetness and Strength by J.N. Olsen
A man is stood up on his blind date and is stranded in a restaurant by himself until he gets picked up by his waiter.

**

Cute, a little sexy, sweet story, not terribly fascinating. 3/5 stars

Overall Review:  Short stories either are or are not your thing. If you like them, you will probably enjoy this anthology as well. Most of these stories rated about a 3- 3.5 out of 5 stars. The stand outs are Dating for Deafies, The Climb and Say Cheese, which were well-told, very well thought-out and complete stories, though short, that I really enjoyed.

Overall Impression: It was good

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for a fair and honest review.*

Wayward Ink has graciously offered up an eBook copy of Stranded to one lucky winner! The giveaway starts now and ends October 16, 2014 at 11:59 pm. To enter, just click the link below!

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Good luck!