Happy Saturday, folks!
Today, I’d like to catch you up on the Make Believe Blog Tour and let you know what I thought of J. A. Belfield’s short story. First off, on Thursday, J. Keller Ford interviewed Jennifer Eaton, her fellow anthology buddy who not only has a story in Make Believe, but is also launching a seasonal Christmas story in the anthology, For the Love of Christmas by Still Moments Publishing. You’ll also find out what Jennifer and some of the other authors of Make Believe have in common! Jennifer’s story, Last Winter Red was also reviewed on Kaiden’s Seduction, in case you want to learn more about the Dystopian tale created by this talented writer, as well as the other stories in the anthology.
Here’s my review, with further links to follow below:
Escort To Insanity is a wonderful romp through Hereford and surrounding areas, just east of the Wales border. It begins with Nicole Harrington, daughter of wealthy man, who hires an escort to a huge charity auction that her parents expect her to attend. Her escort, Benjamin Gold, is a tall, yummy (ahem! clears throat) . . . I mean, handsome man, who demands attention when he walks in a room. I especially liked Julie’s description of another woman’s appraisal of him: “her attention roamed over him like a wave across a beach.” Benjamin plays his part well, jumping in with some impromptu quips when asked about their relationship and he was very intuitive and attentive to Nicole, going well above and beyond the call of duty, which I loved. (It doesn’t hurt that Julie’s humor is impeccable! 🙂 ) Benjamin was especially helpful in dealing with Cole’s ex-boyfriend, who was especially sleezy – everything that Ben was not.
After overhearing a disturbing conversation in the ladies washroom, Cole quickly drags him away from the pretentious affair – and then the fun really begins. Nicole discovers Benjamin’s true nature in a heart-racing adventure through Mersian Park and outlying areas of the city. I had to chuckle at her reference to the children’s song with the line, ‘If you go down to the woods today…’ Ironically, Cole does end up with a ‘big surprise’, but certainly not anything like the song or the nursery rhyme might suggest!
Although I don’t usually read this particular type of story, I quite enjoyed Escort To Insanity. Julie has a way of quickly drawing in the reader to empathize with her main character. I really have no idea how it must feel like to be from a filthy-rich family, but I think everyone can relate to the obligation Cole felt to do a favor for her parents, something she really did not want to do. As far as the romance part goes, Julie certainly created the perfect leading man for this story, as you can see by this quote: Cole was “trying hard not to get distracted by the sweet, sweet curve of his bum as it tick-tocked with each step”. As you may have guessed by what I’ve told you already, Benjamin Gold is breathtakingly handsome, strong and has a wonderful sense of humor, as well as a strong sense of responsibility for his friends, which comes out later in the story. Cole has her reservations about the man, but soon finds herself quite taken with him, until she learns his dark secret for which she is totally unprepared.
I highly recommend getting your own copy of Make Believe, and not just because of this particular story, which was enough to make me want to read her other books and I hope we see more of Benjamin and Cole at some future time.
All the shorts in this anthology are excellent, I must say. I will review the others later in the month, as well as provide interviews of their authors. In the meantime, I hope you will look forward to my interview of J. A. Belfield, scheduled for Monday. However, in case you can’t wait to learn more about this author, pop over to Kelly Said‘s site and learn more about how she (maybe) gets some writing done and what her workspace looks like. Kelly also gives us a peek into J. Keller Ford’s ‘writing lair’ , here. 🙂
Over at Terri Rochenski’s blog, Scribbler’s Sojourn, you can read an interview of Kelly Said, as well as Lynda R. Young, so please drop around to give them a gander.
Have a great weekend! 🙂
Thanks so much for spreading the word! You are awesome!!!! Loved the review, too. Ben is a huge hunk of yummy goodness.
He certainly is! lol
Thanks for the review! Totally appreciated.
My pleasure! Yours will be up just before your interview, too. 🙂
Awesome review & LOVE how you’re linking the poopy out of your posts! Rock on. 🙂
You guys are awesome! It’s the least I can do to help. 🙂
Isn’t she awesome!!!
You’re making me blush, Jenny! 🙂
Oh, wow! Thank you so much for the generous review, and for all the hard work you’ve putting into help promote our anthology. It’s very much appreciated. 🙂
You’re welcome! I sure hope it helps! 🙂
Fascinating! A wonderful review…looks like it is a delightful anthology.
Thanks, Kathy! Yes, all the stories are very different from each other, but they are all well-written and fun to read! 🙂
Sounds great! (Although I had to look up the nursery rhyme. Does that mean I wasn’t a very good child? :D)
Actually, I didn’t hear the rhyme until I got Ann Murray’s kids song record for my kid. On it she sings the nursery rhyme, so I would sing along to it with my kids! 🙂
This anthology sounds very good. I might even buy it now, although I’m not much of an anthology reader. 😀
You’re going to love it. Ok, I know that might sound a little biased coming from one of the authors, but …you’re going to love it. 🙂
I’m sure they’d be thrilled if you did, Misha. Actually, these days, short stories are about all I have time to read! 🙂