Don't Try This at Home by Anne Regan

Don't Try This at Home Reviews

• 
  Irina Elena

  I expected fun! I got clumsy and overly horny people – and 2 typos.
  Here you have the rating and a short comment for every story, in the order in which they appear in the book.
  
  - Basil's Luck – 3.5
  lol
  - Midnight Caller – 3
  sex in weird circumstances
  - Boy Next Door – 3
  takes short and underdeveloped to a whole new level
  - Gremlins in the Works – 3.5
  super funny, but the sex was a fail
  - Attack of the Hedgehogs – 2.5
  ricky-boy? *gagging*
  - Gordon's Cat – 4
  hilarious and totally lovely – with cats!
  - Slippery When Wet – 3
  *giggles* cute!
  - Boys, Toys and Carpet Fitters – 2.5
  brit dude is beyond horny
  - Good Food Gone Bad – 2.5
  really? -.-
  - Desperate Measures – 2.5
  “forgot to prepare him”?! wtf?
  - It's Not What You Think – 3
  every-fucking-body is horny beyond all reason; completely absurd, but mildly funny and with well-written sex
  - Tyler Wang Has a Ball – 4
  funny and sweet!
  - Snapshots – 4.5
  yes! yes! awesome! thank fuck for this one!
  - Photo Finish – 4.5
  awesome idea! -thumbs up-
  - Outbursts – 5
  ffs, she's only written two shorts: one is this one and the other one is a “bittersweet dream”...what is my life?!
  I actually laughed. Out loud. Very loudly. To the point that I was out of breath and had tears in my eyes. Awesome characters (both the MCs and the side characters), awesome plot, awesome one-liners. And although I was initially stark raving mad about the fact that it glossed over the first date, as soon as I understood what the author was trying to do I went crazy with glee. You see, she does two things: 1, she lets us imagine. (I know, it's freaking amazing.) What did they talk about? How? For how long? All up to us. 2, she then lets us know what happened through the MCs' words. Who, this bears repeating, are among the most adorable characters ever in the history of books. Aaand the sex was supermaximegaultrahot. Honestly, I want a full-length book.
• 
  Ro

  Reviewed for
  Hearts On Fire Reviews
  
  As in any anthology there are clear favorites. While I thought most of the stories here were humorous in one way or another, there were two stories that made me laugh out loud at the endearing ridiculousness of it all.
  
  My all time favorite of this anthology has got to be Good Food Gone Bad by Verona Keyes. Besides the fact that the whole thing to an established couple who seemed so comfortable together and happy (and secure enough to get though this!), there is also the fact that I have been in the situation with the hot peppers and completely understood their pain! All they wanted was a little together time, a respite from their busy life. They should have known, since all their romantic trips end badly. This one, a foodie weekend, just made me laugh, reread, and laugh more. When Colum has an olive oil bottle nearly jammed all the way up his ass as the two fall onto the floor (medicinal, you have to read it), I sent a silent thank you to the author. Scott and Colum? I hope they stay together (and safe!) forever.
  
  Outbursts by Bell Ellis, the story of the awkward, socially inept but really very sweet Matt and the perfect salesman Roe was another story that had me laughing and rereading. From the “oh my God, vagina” to the just random Mattaclysmic moments, the story is sweet and entertaining. The “Na55” cracked me up. So random, so typical for a Matt. The obscenely perfect Roe, who takes the time to see in between the verbal diarrhea to the intelligent man underneath. And when Roe’s façade of perfection cracks, it’s a Roepocolypse. Giggles.
  
  There are likeable moments and characters throughout, from the chubby clumsy Basil to the stuck up a ladder freaking out Kyle (who plans to live the rest of his life up there) to David and Jake’s broken dick and arm shower sex and random dirty Harry Potter references.
  
  I was less enamoured of some, such as Gordon and his weird relationship with his cat, how drunk was Micah to not realize what was going on or Michael the beanpole. But this is all subjectively funny, so others may love those two. All in all, an entertaining fluffy read, better if you read just one or two at a time so as to not overdose on clumsy!
  
  
• 
  Audrey

  3+/3.25 stars overall. The anthology had some gems - I particularly liked the last two stories - but overall had more 3 star (or, in a couple of instances, 2 or 1 star - eeks!) stories than 4 or 5 star winners for me. As such, I'd give it a 3+.
  
  
  I won a copy of this anthology from
  www.reviewsbyjessewave.com. Thanks, Dreamspinner!
• 
  Kate

  I won't be rating my own story in this anthology, obviously, but I'd like to say a few kind words about two stories that really tickled my imagination. The first one was "Tyler Wang has a Ball" by Kim Fielding. I loved the characterizations of not only the guys, but also of the environment and the inevitable culture clash. A vegetarian's justification of eating bovine testicles being that no animal lost their life during the process of obtaining them had me, a former vegetarian, laughing until I had tears in my eyes. The story was sweet, and it felt both complete "for now", and taunting in that "wow I hope she writes more about these two guys". I'd love to see the handsome cowboy adjust to the big, bad Bay Area... that could be a lot of fun.
  
  My other favorite story (not second...I just read it later in the sequential sense) was "Outbursts" by Bell Ellis. Ellis does a masterful job of characterizing not only a handsome young man of great cybernetic talent, but also of his general behavior, quirks, and accident-prone verbalizations. He's a hyperbole of every awkward, lovable geek I know and love. His love interest is his diametric opposite in so many ways, they are bound to attract. Seeing his fall from perfection to humanity was satisfying, because I walked away convinced that he is not just another pretty-man poseur. He does not judge a book by its cover, nor by its reputation. There are too many lines and situations in this story to cite anything without giving it all away. Just swallow your coffee diligently as you read in order to protect your keyboard! Even though the story felt complete in itself, I wouldn't mind seeing their relationship develop further, or even glimpse their adventures in a separate work.
• 
  Beck

  This book was funny but I found it too much to read in one sitting...there is only so many broken penis'; psychotic cats; food poisoning; carpet burn; and other slap-stick disasters you can read about before they all start blurring into one painful, homogeneous, whole. This anthology should be savored in small doses so I read 8 other short books in-between these tales of erotic disaster. This book should be recommended reading for all those cynical and incredulous ER nurses who don't believe the tales they hear...and for all those who have suffered from 'The. Worst. Date. Ever.' syndrome, take heart by reading these stories and realising it could have been worse...
• 
  Kira

  1.5 stars
  
  the first 10 stories are awful.
  
  while there are such things as well written stories about adorable clumsiness, hilarious accidents & romantic gestures gone wrong...none of them are these.
  
  the first 10 stories were so bad i almost didn't reach the decent stories. the last 5 stories were ok but they didn't make up for the disaster of the majority of the book.
• 
  Aura Steel

  Basil’s Luck by Henrietta Clarke - 2*
  Midnight Caller by Anna Birmingham - 2*
  Boy Next Door by Ellee Hill - 4*
  Gremlins in the Works by Kiernan Kelly - 2*
  Attack of the Hedgehogs by Kate Pavelle - dnf
  Gordon’s Cat by Aundrea Singer - 2*
  Slippery When Wet by K. Lynn - dnf
  Boys, Toys, and Carpet Fitters by Taylin Clavelli - 1*
  Good Food Gone Bad by Venona Keyes - dnf
  Desperate Measures by E.T. Malinowski - dnf
  It’s Not What You Think by Teegan Loy - 3*
  Tyler Wang Has a Ball by Kim Fielding - 3*
  Snapshots by Rena Butler - 4*
  Photo Finish by AC Valentine - 3*
  Outbursts by Bell Ellis - dnf
• 
  OkayKim

  A couple of these stories had me howling with laughter. So glad I didn't read this one in a public setting.
• 
  Sylvia

  3☆
  
  This anthology has some fun & quirky short stories.
• 
  Ann

  3.5 Stars
  
  There are quite a few gems in this anthology.
• 
  Beth doesn't write enough reviews

  Well, 4 stars is pushing it. Maybe an average of 3.5? Really I do want to take 2 stars off automatically simply for the cover. That however isn't fair to the authors. Is it? I hope that for some reason they didn't approve it. When I come across what I consider an awful cover I tend to pass the book by. When for whatever reason I do decide to purchase the book I hope either the author used a family member or the publisher didn't give the author a choice.
  
  Anyway, to the stories. They were all cute in their way and even the stories I didn't particularly enjoy did at least make me smile. In my opinion the last three were the best. I can only assume the editor put this anthology together saving the best for last.
  
  I was able to identify a couple of authors I will be checking out for further reads which after all is the reason for anthologies.
  
  
• 
  Marlobo ♥ epilogues

  Basil’s Luck by Henrietta Clarke - 3 stars
  Midnight Caller by Anna Birmingham - 3,5 stars
  Boy Next Door by Ellee Hill - 3 stars
  Gremlins in the Works by Kiernan Kelly - 2 stars
  Attack of the Hedgehogs by Kate Pavelka - 3 stars
  Gordon’s Cat by Aundrea Singer - 3,5 stars
  Slippery When Wet by K. Lynn - 1, 5 stars
  Boys, Toys, and Carpet Fitters by Taylin Cleveland - 1 star
  Good Food Gone Bad by Venona Keyes - 3 stars
  Desperate Measures by E.T. Malinowski - 2 stars
  It’s Not What You Think by Teegan Loy - DNF
  Tyler Wang Has a Ball by Kim Fielding - 2,5 stars
  Snapshots by Rena Butler - 4 stars
  Photo Finish by AC Valentines - 3,5 stars
  Outbursts by Bell Ellis - 3
• 
  Liz

  Basil's Luck by Henrietta Clarke
  3 stars
  
  Midnight Caller by Anna Birmingham
  4 stars
  
  Boy Next Door by Ellee Hill
  3 stars
  
  Gremlins in the Works by Kiernan Kelly
  3 stars
  
  Attack of the Hedgehogs by Kate Pavelle
  1 star
  
  Gordon's Cat by Aundrea Singer
  3 stars
  
  Slippery When Wet by K. Lynn
  2 stars
  
  Boys, Toys and Carpet Fitters by Taylin Clavelli
  3 stars
  
  Good Food Gone Bad by Venona Keyes
  2 stars
  
  Desperate Measures by E.T. Malinowski
  2 stars
  
  It's not what you think by Teegan Loy
  4 stars
  
  Tyler Wang has a Ball by Kim Fielding
  2 stars
  
  Snapshots by Rena Butler
  1 stars
  
  Photo Finish by AC Valentine
  4 stars
  
  Outbursts by Bell Ellis
  3 stars
  
  
• 
  Tamela

  I love my anthologies, but lets face it. In a collection of short stories there is usually one or two which don't strike my fancy.
  
  So not true with this fantastically funny group of stories. I laughed through the whole book from Basil's Luck (bad and otherwise) to the Roepocalypse (the best was saved for last in this case).
  
  Totally enjoyable and one of those books where I hated to see the end.
  
  Recommended.
• 
  E.T. Malinowski

  I loved a lot of the stories in this anthology. My favorites were "Outbursts" and "It's Not What You Think". I laughed and cried with them and that's what a good story should do. It should get you to react on an emotional level, engage you in the characters' lives and make you feel for them. The authors did that in spades and I highly recommend this anthology.
• 
  Amanda C.

  Oh my word I was crying laughing reading these! These are hysterical shorts that (if I were a guy) would totally be my life. I love funny stories like these where there is a happy ending despite the crazy struggle to get there. Highly recommend this anthology! Such wonderful shorts, I hope these authors put out more work in the future.
• 
  Rissa

  I shouldn't laugh when people are hurt but that was hilarious! I love how the authors really stuck to the theme! That was awesome! Each story was unique too, I enjoyed them all! I really do truly love anthologies! :) Now, need to go look up some new authors! ;)
• 
  BTina

  It had its length but I really enjoyed the last two stories, both deserving 4 stars:
  
  Photo Finish by A. C. Valentine
  
  Outbursts by Bell Ellis "A Master of Tact Fu, facing the King of Oops. Who would win?"
• 
  Carrie

  Faves:
  Boy Next Door by Ellee Hill, Tyler Wang has a Ball by Kim Fielding, Snapshots by Rena Butler, and Outbursts by Bell Ellis.
  
  All the stories were pretty good though, first anthology I've read in awhile that I finished every story.
• 
  Nico Jaye

  3+ stars. Reviewed it
  here.