Some genres lend themselves better to the short story format than others. Horror, for example, makes for a good short story, because you can have a fun scare without having to spend too long immersed in the creepy atmosphere. Romance, on the other hand, is a little more difficult because the writer doesn’t have a lot of time to develop a full emotional arc.
Someplace Generous, edited by Elaina Ellis and Amber Flame is subtitled “an inclusive romance anthology” and I think it’s important to consider this a collection of romantic and erotic fiction, rather than expecting it each story to adhere to the capital-R Romance genre. Most of these stories are a meeting, or a snapshot from an existing relationship. There’s not necessarily an HEA, because there’s not necessarily an ending.
That’s not to say that this isn’t an enjoyable anthology. Like most anthologies, it runs the gamut. There are some great stories, some that didn’t appeal to me, and a lot that were just fine. They range from sweet to sexy to even a little scary! And most importantly, they’re very diverse. There’s a variety of genders, sexualities, abilities, races, cultures, and more on display in these stories. There’s also a variety of genres on display: contemporary, historical, horror, and fantasy/sci-fi or supernatural. Mostly contemporary, which makes sense; short stories don’t leave a lot of time for world-building, either!
I keep finding myself thinking back to Jess & Daya by Pamela Vaccariello, a single day in the life of a newly-together disabled couple, showing each other care, compassion, and patience. It’s not just a beautiful portrait of disabled intimacy, but of the tenderness that I think we all deserve from our loved ones.
Less successful for me were Unstoppable by ronni tarlet (a queer sexual/gender awakening story about a very young teen; I think teens should have access to this sort of content but I don’t think it’s appropriate for my 40+ year old self to read about literal children having their first sexual thoughts and explorations); and The All-Night Deluxe Tea Room by Temim Fruchter and Magdalena by V. Ruiz which involve married queer women cheating on their husbands with other women — infidelity will never be sexy or romantic to me.
One thing I like about the book is at the end, there are short synopses of each story, which include comp titles and a heat rating. I was a bit surprised to see they didn’t include content warnings! There’s also a glossary that covers a lot of things people might not have come across before, from non-English words to medical terms and pop culture references.
If you’re looking to discover a diverse array of new-to-you authors, and maybe see yourself representing in a glimpse of a beautiful love story, Someplace Generous is worth checking out.
CWs and TWs: Sexual content; strong language; racism; homophobia; transphobia; ableism; infidelity; blood; references to violence and trauma. There might be more than I’m forgetting, there’s a lot of stories in here.
Source and Format: I purchased a paperback copy from Charlie’s Queer Books.
Reading Challenge Prompts
SAL/SPL/KCLS: Suggested by an Independent Bookseller. I picked this up based on a shelf-talker at Charlie’s Queer Books.
Reading Challenge Progress
Nook & Cranny (Card 1): 10 of 25, no bingos.
Nook & Cranny (Card 2): 15 of 25, 1 bingo.
Book Riot: 12 of 25.
Physical TBR: 6 of 12.
World of Whimm: 18 of 24, 3 bingos.
SAL/SPL/KCLS: 13 of 23, 1 bingo.