| Title | : | Gold Standard |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 241 pages |
Gold Standard Reviews
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Auifers45 stars Awesome YA story dealing with race class religion sexuality and family matters but it never got maudlin So freaking adorable and Foxy Kory are the best In Between5 stars This is the first part of the novel Out of Position featuring a sweet large football playing tiger named Dev the gorgeous smug smart activist fox named Lee Features their first meeting their first intimate night and their reunion after that first night when Dev can't resist Lee Adored it Secrets5 stars Love the continuation of In BetweenDon't Blink3 stars Cute but the superhero plot line didn't really interest me as much as some of the other storiesJacks to Open4 stars The flirting and potential was awesome Loved the supernatural element as well Race to the Moon25 starsDrifting4 stars Um THAT WAS THE MOST DEPRESSING STORY EVERHow to Get Through the Day35 stars A sort of cute story about how a poly relationship can move towards 2 of them becoming a couple and it's ok with all 3 people Slightly depressing but hopeful at the endThe Prisoner's Release3 stars A darker story the most of these and it had potential but it got a bit confusing at times
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15 StarsThis was a compilation of furry mm stories Let me repeat Furry mm Hmmm okay first the positives I think that the author did a good job with the world building It's commendable that she was able to accomplish what she did in the short stories Also the stories were fairly well written My BIG hang up I tried a bunch of different tricks to wrap my head around the furries but I Just Couldn't Do It So sadly I had a hard time connecting with the characters Although not all the stories were YA I'm not a huge fan so there's that And I really didn't care for Drifting Ugh That was depressingBottom line On the whole the stories were fairly well written but just not my cuppa
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OverallFurries aren't really my thing I feel like I've said that before but I've heard good reviews about this author from other people who didn't really think they'd like a novel centered around furries Furries the anthropomorphic animals not the humans who dress up like animals and have sex just to clarify I was looking at 's free reads and found this and decided to give it a shot The writing throughout these stories is excellent which I think is necessary for success especially for reaching readers who are less comfortable reading about this type of character Gold not only has a mastery of language but also does an excellent job of describing and developing characters and plot Gold is comfortable and familiar with the created world and confidently strides through it building things along the way to create visually stimulating masterpieces Definitely worth looking in to this collection introduces the reader to various series without forcing the purchase of said series in order to understand what is going on If you're willing to dip your toes into the world of anthropomorphic animals this is a great place to beginAuifersA good start to the anthology we are eased into Gold's world and the sexuality that exists there For most this will be a good indicator if you really can't stand the thought of two furries being in love and having sex I fell in love with the characters who are awkward sometimes impossibly sweet and pretty much standard high schoolers trying to find themselves and love I love the themes of racism class differences and acceptance that are the secondary focus of the story outside the main character's exploration and self acceptance A good strong piece that is a perfect introduction Although this story is continued into a novel this one stands alone satisfying the reader while creating interest in the rest of the taleIn BetweenThis story has sex and older characters as we're bumped up to college Here a fox playing as a female seduces a tiger and gets him to thinking beyond his heterosexual desires Perhaps a little too well as he comes back unable to get the fox out of his head The sex scenes are well done although the author doesn't let the reader forget that these are animals as things such as claws and tails are taken into consideration A classic tale of a jock realizing he's not as straight as he thought and struggling to come to terms with it I found the characters enjoyable and the fox is smart witty and a perfect foil to the tigerSecretsA continuation of In Between this story works heavily with flashbacks doing lots of time skips which could be confusing but it was well handled Most of the events don't rely too heavily on when they take place so the shifts aren't too discombobulating Because I read this and the previous story back to back they flowed easily into one another and I don't remember exactly what happened in each but the main focus of this story is that the tiger has a secret and as the story progresses different secrets are revealed until the big one at the end is displayed I think the time jumps were handled well in this story and it made me even curious about where the rest of the tale goesDon't BlinkThis story was weaker than the previous ones Revolving around a young superhero trying to prove himself both to the police and the league of superheroes Blink Coyote wants a nemesis and gets what he wants when his girlfriend gets captured There were several things I enjoyed in this including many of the side characters and Blink's general desire to be noticed Other elements and turn of events fell flat and while they didn't necessarily feel forced they didn't feel like a natural progression More like they came from far left field Still it was an overall enjoyable story for what it wasJacks to OpenInitially this story's focus is on gambling which doesn't really interest me but as everything unfolds it becomes apparent that there is there than some playing cards I really enjoyed this story and the path that it took although I admittedly wanted and the author made no mention of this story continuing The characters are shady without being bad and they can hold their own with one another which I'm noticing is a theme with this author's relationships There is an underlying magical ish world that the reader just gets to dip toes in something I'd like to see of especially with these two characters although I can see the advantage of the mystery being half the fun Race to the MoonA cute little story that is styled much like a fable following a coyote and raven which has a touch of romance in it This was enjoyable and I couldn't guess where it was going completely aside from obvious things that fables tend to have A nicely done effortDriftingThis was a difficult story for me to read since it involves a relationship where at least one member of the couple is unhappy with certain aspects I think everything was well handled whether I liked the content or not and I definitely felt for all the different characters My main niggle with this story was that we never find out what is going on with the other person in the pair even after he admits that it is my problem I would have liked development there even if it wasn't the focus of the storyHow to Get Through the DayThis story was written as a bonus story as an addition to another work by the author While this story stands alone fairly well it's obvious that it's building off of something that already exists and there are a lot of uestions that I want answers to which if this is used to tease the reader into purchasing Gold's works it's a good thing I liked the insecurity of both characters especially the main one and the construct of the story as a list that the main character goes through as his to do list of every day There are plenty of teases in the story but it's also self satisfying and good in its own right The Prisoner's ReleaseA very different story from the others this one is dark most of it takes place in a prison cell and inhabits a historical and royal infested world I felt that the story overall was good although some parts at the end confused me since it seemed to conflict with what the main character had said at the beginning though he could have been lying then as is likely but I was still confused about who was being loyal to whom etc I liked the two main characters and their dynamic bouncing between wary trust and tentative emotions Although not my favorite it was still enjoyableBe sure to check out my other reviews on my blog
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An anthology of MM romances and one fable featuring furry characters This is my first foray into the genre and whilst it was clearly outside my comfort zone I enjoyed the experience than I had anticipatedHowever there was no way around the reuired adjustment period It wasn’t until I was about half way through the anthology that I realized the fur paws and muzzles no longer bothered me and that I was actually starting to appreciate the author’s imagination and ingenuityLike most anthologies this was a mixed bag in terms of length and engaging charactersstoriesI plan on reading books by this authorsince it seems I am no longer creeped out by furry love view spoilerAUIFERS Main Characters Kory James and Samaki RodenKey Themes Coming of Age GFY YA Location Alternate UniverseA sweet high school romance between an otter and a fox IN BETWEEN SECRETS Main Characters Devlin Miski and Wiley FarrelKey Themes GFY In the Closet SportsLocation Alternate UniverseI enjoyed both these stories A cross dressing fox seduces and keeps a “straight” tiger college football star DON'T BLINK Main Characters Jake Kellin Dr Charles GoldsteinKey Themes Humor SuperheroLocation Alternate UniverseA coyote superhero who can blink himself in and out of places discovers his true sexuality when his controlling girlfriend think Jessica Rabbit sets up a special birthday surprise involving a possumJACKS TO OPEN Main Characters Jack SeanKey Themes SupernaturalLocation Alternate Universe A wolf PI spends one night with a “gifted” fox who works as a Las Vegas card dealer This story was way too short It’s obviously the beginnings of a book It also had the most discomforting sex scene of the anthology RACE TO THE MOON Main Characters Noc OmberKey Themes FableLocation Alternate UniverseThis is a short fable about a wise and well travelled raven an egotistical coyote and their race to the moonDRIFTING Main Characters Tobias and DylanKey Themes Established CoupleLocation Alternate UniverseAn established couple a black panther and a lemur drift apart from each other Poignant moving and a bit depressingHOW TO GET THROUGH THE DAY Main Characters Fin AmirKey Themes MenageLocation Alternate UniverseTwo members a fennec and a fox of a regular threesome have a twosome for the first time at the reuest of their third and find out that two is the magic numberTHE PRISONER'S RELEASE Main Characters Streak VolleKey Themes Kidnapping Imprisonment HumorLocation Alternate UniverseA historical furry romance featuring a wolf and a fox This was easily my favorite story of the anthology There was something about the setting of this story that seemed to lend itself to furry charactersit could also be that by the time I got to this story I was already used to the furriness of the characters and was able to enjoy this story hide spoiler
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When I was a kid here in Sweden there was a very popular TV show called I fablernas varld when it was broadcaseted in the UK it was called The Daily Fable Anyway this was a series about different animals living together in a community in mostly harmony They had human style clothes human style jobs went to school they all spoke the same language in short they might as well have been humans but they weren'tThis is the case with the furries animals in Gold Standard in many ways they might as well have been humans and their problems are very human They aren't human though and that was my problem with this book I'd like to point out that these animals are not shifters they are animals all the timeThe book consists of nine short stories a format that wasn't a huge success with me I thought they felt rushed and some of them didn't really get a proper ending However the author tells us in the foreword that these were short stories written over some time the author's early writings and some of these stories have been elaborated into novel length That sound like a good thing because I enjoyed Mr Gold's writing and even though I'm coming to the stuff I didn't like the world building is very thought out the writing is flowing nicely and I actually cared about the charactersThis being being said I'm sorry but sex scenes between two animals is so not my thing I didn't know that before since I hadn't even heard of furries a few months agoI read this book for a challenge and to me challenges are about getting to know new friends get introduced to new authorsbooks that I might never have heard of otherwise and also to see if I can push my boundries When It came to this book which in many ways is a book about young men falling in love for the first time and they might as well have been humans but they weren't I was really put out by the animal sex It's wasn't so bad that I felt I couldn't read it it was like Eeeewwww Had it been about humans I might have enjoyed it but then again Mr Gold clearly writes for people who enjoy furries and their sex life and it's hardly his fault that I'm not into that stuff so it's a solid 3 stars from me
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This anthology has a little bit of everything You have first love college jock super hero's some funny and some angst I thought about rating each story seperately because a couple were definitely the favorites for me but I decided to average them outI never would have thought furry critters would be my thing but honestly you don't notice your reading about animals except in the best possible way and what I mean by that is the worlds the author spins and all the tiny little details I loved it I love it when an author can make me believe another world exists even if it's only for an hour or two I know the first two stories have novels they're attached to and I'm planning on buying those as soon as possible
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REALLY great introduction to Kyell Gold I can't wait to get some of these in paperback Auifers45 stars In Between5 stars omg I can't wait to finally read Out Of Position Secrets5 stars Don't Blink3 stars Took a while for me to get into I enjoyed where it ended upJacks to Open4 starsRace to the Moon35 stars cuteDrifting5 stars um wow that was just depressing How to Get Through the Day3 starsThe Prisoner's Release35 stars
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These short stories are populated by endearing characters and relatable factors The characters may be non humans with their own perceptions of scent light etc but they're also very ordinary people who need to explore their sexual identities or otherwise change their lives Lots of gay sex scenes which may not be everyone's cup of tea but these scenes nearly all pull their weight in character development I thought the book was an overall enjoyable read and an interesting sampler of Gold's body of work
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Was in the free romances through kindle Decided saying no to something completely different would be silly Besides the roleplays I write in I have never read any furry fics So this was different The sex in the stories was worked in well it didn't seem out of place or forced everything flowed well An enjoyable read for anyone who wants to read outside their normal genres
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Kyell never seems to disappointWhile not the skilled wordsmith that Kyell is I'll try to do this review justice He's always had a way with making you fall in love with his characters and this book makes for a fantastic sampler platter of characters to do that with Yet even with these stories each being a small part of a greater story they still excel at being standalones So even if you aren't looking to get into a full novel or series in many cases don't be afraid to pick this one up for the occasional short story Trust me it won't disappoint
