Riding Double Anthology by Anne Regan

Riding Double Anthology Reviews

• 
  Jane Stewart

  4, 3, and 2 stars for twelve stories. These are cowboy related, men with men, and erotic.
  
  This anthology includes 12 short stories from 12 to 36 pages each. Many are set in the late 1800s. A few are contemporary. All of them are cowboy related. There is at least one sex scene in each story, except one story has none. These are male-male sex scenes, many with rear door activity. There are twelve different authors. I bought this because it included a story by Jane Seville, the author of “Zero at the Bone” (a favorite of mine). My biggest problem with the anthology was that the stories were too short. Some were good, but I wanted more depth and length. My three favorites follow.
  
  4 stars to In Temperance by Jane Seville. She has good taste. I gave a surprised and happy chuckle at the end of her story - a nicely done ending. In this story Seth runs a saloon. Ichabod is one of the bosses on a cattle drive coming through town.
  
  4 stars to Courtin’ Trouble by Rowan McAllister. Two men who have never been with men before follow their feelings toward each other which I liked. Peter is a half-breed Chinese man who helps Pop (an older drunk) avoid bullies. Peter then escorts Pop to his home where he meets pop’s son Owen. Owen and Peter are attracted to each other.
  
  4 stars to Surviving the Crossing by Maria Albert. Grady is injured and unconscious in a river. Brody is on the run from an abusive father. He sees Grady and rescues him.
  
  The above three stories are about men meeting each other for the first time. A couple of other stories are about men who knew each other in the past, were separated, and now get back together or who have been together for a while. Those weren’t as good. I gave 2 stars to three of the stories. The rest were 3 stars.
  
  DATA:
  Story length: 287 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: most stories have one or more. Settings: late 1800s and current day U.S. Copyright: 2011. Genre: Erotic Gay Male Romance. Various Authors. Anne Regan is the editor, not an author.
• 
  Alina

  There wasn't a single story in this anthology I didn't like! Some of them were really great, some just nice, but I really enjoyed every one of them and I'd love to read a second volume.
  
  I love short stories, so I sure won't take any stars, because they weren't full-on novels ;)
• 
  Marlobo ♥ epilogues

  Overall: 2.65 stars
  
  Trial By Fire by Lacey-Anne Frye - 2 stars
  
  Rode Hard and Put Away Wet by Kate Sherwood - 4,5 stars
  intense, no five stars because last line was a little too much
  
  Courtin’ Trouble by Rowan McAllister  - 3,5 stars
  A nice fairy tale
  
  Mr. August by K.R. Foster - 1.5 stars
  
  Surviving the Crossing by Maria Albert - 3 stars
  
  Cowboys and IT-ians by Xara X. Xanakas - 3 stars
  funny
  
  Facing Up by J.M. McLaughlin - 4 stars
  
  The Real Thing by B.G. Thomas - 1,5 stars
  
  In Temperance by Jane Seville - 2,5 stars
  nice little twist in the end
  
  Deluge by Zahra Owens - 2 stars
  
  Hitting the Trail by Maggie Lee - 2 stars
  
  Out on the Range by Ariel Tachna - 2 stars
• 
  Lesley Hastings

  I thoroughly enjoyed this anthology of cowboy themed m/m short stories. As with any anthology, the stories did vary in quality somewhat, but the overall standard was high. In the case of many of the stories, my main criticism was only that I wanted MORE.
  
  The anthology starts very strongly with Lacey-Anne Frye's "Trial by Fire", with other highlights being Rowan McAllister's "Courtin' Trouble", and "Hitting the Trail" by Maggie Lee. I really enjoyed the diversity of the characters in this anthology; these authors have all taken care to ensure that stereotypes don't overshadow the individuality of the characters.
  
  This one comes highly recommended.
• 
  Mandi

  3.5-4 stars. Usually with anthologies, I like a few stories and feel kind of 'meh' about the rest. I actually liked most of the stories in this one, so that was a nice treat. :)
  
  Recommended for cowboy fans. ;)
• 
  Carrie

  Overall, about average. There were a few I couldn't get through, and one with an established couple I didn't read at all. I didn't discover any new authors which is usually what I look forward to in these anthologies. My favorite (maybe 4/5 stars) was the Xara X. Xanakas cowboy/geek one which was kinda adorable and pretty funny.
• 
  nisie draws

  This was a great anthology! I would say 4/5 were GREAT with only one or two bad ones. Most of the stories were set in the Old West, which I prefer to modern times, which was an added bonus.
  
  Would recommend to any fan of gay cowboys.
• 
  Manfred

  Some great, some good and some okay stories in this anthology.
  Overall it was a nice read, even if most of the stories were too short to really get into them. 3.5 stars overall
• 
  Natalija

  Trial By Fire by Lacey-Anne Frye (historical) - 4*
  I wish it was a full-length novel. Still, I highly enjoyed this story of love, forgiveness and new beginnings.
  
  Rode Hard and Put Away Wet by Kate Sherwood (contemporary) - 3*
  This story featured three explicit scenes and it was way too much for such a short story or my liking. On the positive side, it's well-written and gave me a hope that there might be a future for the two of them.
  
  Courtin’ Trouble by Rowan McAllister (historical) - 4*
  A very enjoyable read and probably my favourite story in the anthology. I'd love to read more by this author.
  
  Mr. August by K.R. Foster (contemporary) - 2*
  It started off promising enough, but disappointed in the end.
  
  Surviving the Crossing by Maria Albert (historical) - DNF
  There were too many names to remember who's who, so I l gave up trying after about 3 pages.
  
  Cowboys and IT-ians by Xara X. Xanakas (contemporary) - 2*
  I couldn't connect with the story or the characters.
  
  Facing Up by J.M. McLaughlin (historical) - 3*
  There was more telling than showing, but I'm pleased nonetheless.
  
  The Real Thing by B.G. Thomas (contemporary) - 2*
  Not my cup of tea.
  
  In Temperance by Jane Seville (historical) - 3*
  I quite enjoyed this story.
  
  Deluge by Zahra Owens (contemporary) - 2*
  It felt like a scene in the middle of a longer book.
  
  Hitting the Trail by Maggie Lee (historical) - 3*
  Romance isn't a focal point of the story. Still, it made a great addition to the anthology.
  
  Out on the Range by Ariel Tachna (contemporary) - 2*
  Sadly, it did nothing for me.
• 
  Melanie~~

  Trial By Fire - 3.5 stars ~ Some of the language seemed a little anachronistic. Likable story. Lovably cantankerous MC paired with a sentimental rogue.
  
  Rode Hard and Put Away Wet - 3 stars ~ Hot sex scenes but I had some trouble connecting with the MC. The ending was sweet in just the right way for these characters. A believable scenario.
  
  Courtin' Trouble - 4 stars ~ Very sweet, a good bit of plot for a short story. I really liked Peter and Owen. I think Owen's acceptance was quicker that it would have been for the time period, but it's a story. Who am I to tell the author how her characters feel or would react? I enjoyed it.
  
  Mr. August - 4 stars ~ I really liked this story. There was just something about the gruffness of Colby that drew me in. I think this could have been a little longer with a bit more exposition about how Colby had been hurt by his city slicker. The resolution is very, VERY quick, but that's to be expected with a short story.
  
  Surviving the Crossing - 4.5 stars ~ The gentleness of both of the main characters really drew me into this story. It sure would be nice for there to be a Tolerance in this day and age. I'd love to see Grady and Wade again.
  
  Cowboys and IT-ians - 3 stars ~
• 
  Kira

  
  I rarely read anthologies for some reason. I read almost every story in this one and will read all of them eventually, but I still wanted to review already.
  
  I'm not a big fan of historical stories, and this has quite a few of those. To my surprise, the ones I already read were wonderful.
  
  Now, I will probably review the stories individually later when they show on the authors pages, but I want to give a shout out to Jane Seville and Kate Sherwood. They are among my favorite authors in general, and I was so happy to see them in this anthology. Their stories were so, SO good...
  
  Anyway, if you love cowboys, then this is a must read.
• 
  Maya

  Maria Albert - Surviving the Crossing: 3/5
  K.R. Foster - Mr. August: 1/5
  Lacey-Anne Frye - Trial By Fire:1/5
  Maggie Lee - Hitting the Trail: 1/5
  Rowan McAllister - Courtin' Trouble: 4.5/5
  J.M. McLaughlin - Facing Up: 1/5
  Zahra Owens - Deluge: 0/5
  Jane Seville - In Temperance: 1/5
  Kate Sherwood - Rode Hard and Put Away Wet: 3.5/5
  Ariel Tachna - Out on the Range: 2/5
  B.G. Thomas - The Real Thing: 3.5/5
  Xara X. Xanakas - Cowboys and IT-ians: 2.5/5
  
  The ones with 3.5 and above would have gotten higher marks if they were a tad bit longer....
• 
  Aidee Ladnier

  This is a good cowboy anthology. I especially liked Courtin' Trouble with Peter and Owen who finds him mesmerizing. Another favorite was Surviving the Crossing which had a dangerous river and an offer of hope that inspires love. Cowboys and IT-ians was sweet and silly. The Real Thing was a great story about going after what you want - I adored Bryan researching the perfect look to catch his man - and miniature cows are so cute! Deluge was wonderful - I wanted to live with that extended family.
• 
  Sandra

  
  http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/stor...
  
  Maria Albert - Surviving the Crossing
  K.R. Foster - Mr. August
  Lacey-Anne Frye - Trial By Fire
  Maggie Lee - Hitting the Trail
  Rowan McAllister - Courtin' Trouble
  J.M. McLaughlin - Facing Up
  Zahra Owens - Deluge
  Jane Seville - In Temperance
  Kate Sherwood - Rode Hard and Put Away Wet
  Ariel Tachna - Out on the Range
  B.G. Thomas - The Real Thing
  Xara X. Xanakas - Cowboys and IT-ians
• 
  Anna

  Overall rating: 4 Stars! I enjoyed the mix of Old West and Modern Day Cowboys. The editing was decent and the characters were full bodied. My only gripe would be that each story could've easily been twice as long, and even more enjoyable! A couple 5's in the bunch, and some new authors to be explored. I would love to see all of these stories expanded to either full length novels or at least novellas.
  Happy reading!
• 
  Vanyel Kane

  I never understood some fetishes and cowboys was one of them. Now I understand a fair bit better. This collection of short stories is not porn without a plot and it is not at the other end of the spectrum with only innocent group of love stories with only a chaste kiss. Its people forming relationship that are hot, wonderful, messy and above all make for good reading.
• 
  Cerulean

  I only read three of the stories. 3.5 stars for each of them. The stories are too short for more stars, but all of them are engaging and well written.
  
  Rode Hard and Put Away Wet by Kate Sherwood
  In Temperance by Jane Seville
  Courtin’ Trouble by Rowan McAllister
  
• 
  Jackie

  I bought this just for the Jane Seville story (which was excellent!), but it turned out to be a great purchase in general. There was only one story I couldn't really get into. Well worth the purchase price.
• 
  Jilrene

  The stories alternated contemporary and historical. I'm not a big fan of historical. I liked all the stories to some degree, my favorite was Out on the Range by Ariel Tachna. Overall this is a great anthology to introduce you to other authors.
• 
  Blue Bayou .

  I was in the mood.
• 
  Nan Hawthorne

  Lots of fun, but a couple of the stories were just plain silly.
• 
  CL

  I had to give up on this. The writing is terrible.
• 
  Gavin Stephenson-Jackman

  A wonderful collection of short stories of life on the range, whether based in times past or the present. Life and love can be be wonderful when it knows no bounds.
• 
  BTina

  Well, that was not as interesting as expected. My favourites are Rowan McAllister's Courtin' Trouble and B. G. Thomas's The Real Thing.
• 
  OkayKim

  3.5
• 
  Tiferet

  Very hit and miss in terms of quality but a couple of stories were really cool.