Hollis Shiloh, the Way to Joe

[Ulysses]

The Way to Joe

By Hollis Shiloh

Four stars


Recommended to me by a friend who knows…well, knows I’m old and have a thing about everyone in m/m novels being too young.

And yes, Emilie, I loved this long story. Thank you. I loved Seth and I loved Joe, and the loved the honest, feeling, emotionally true way she writes her tale.

Shiloh has a sense of humor. Her characters are real, amusing, sometimes awkward people, familiar to me even if I haven’t met them. The whole thirty-year gap in their ages is dealt with in exactly the right way with just the perfect touch. The stupid things we do in spite of love; the generous things we do because of love.

And, I was very glad there was no on-screen sex in this. Didn’t need to be. The passion was there, it was understood. This is a lesson the m/m world can learn, I suppose, if we’re patient.

It’s official: I’m a Hollis Shiloh fan.

[Emilie]

Ulysses wrote: "The Way to Joe

By Hollis Shiloh

Four stars


Recommended to me by a friend who knows…well, knows I’m old and have a thing about everyone in m/m novels being too young.

And yes, Emilie, I loved ..."

I'm glad you liked it, Uly. It seemed to me just what would strike a chord for you.

Many of Shiloh's romances are sweet ones, with the characters perhaps just kissing on screen, and the bedroom door closed. Really, I find it a nice change.

I enjoy Shiloh's characterizations. The characters do feel real to me.

[Meghan]

I love Hollis Shilloh. They do tend to be sweet romances with sweet characters without a lot of direct sex in it. The Shifters and Partners series has gotten too long in my opinion- up to 21 stories now!

[Emilie]

Meghan wrote: "I love Hollis Shilloh. They do tend to be sweet romances with sweet characters without a lot of direct sex in it. The Shifters and Partners series has gotten too long in my opinion- up to 21 storie..."

I especially like the stories set in the steampunk and magic world, set in a historical period shortly after an alternate version of World War I. I am one for fluff, so in general I like stories that are low-angst and sweet, with kind-hearted protagonists. Sometimes I can deal with angst, and stories that make me cry in a good way. (lol) Apparently the sort of sentimentality that Uly has called "schmaltzy" here and there in reviews really strikes a chord for me. :) Also, I suppose I'm a sucker for those stories in which someone needs a bit of help and could really use a chance to improve their lives, and gets that little bit of help, and that chance. It's emotionally satisfying to me to see at least in fiction how a little bit of kindness can make a big difference to someone who is struggling.

I like the Shifters and Partners series as a whole, and like some of the individual stories quite a lot. There are stories here and there in the series where one of the protagonists (often the "shifter" one) is very badly damaged and treats others in vile ways as a result, or the human partner is quite an alphahole, but in most of them the protagonists are reasonable people. (I have mentioned in other places that I'll forgive a lot about a book if the protagonists are good-natured people.) Ms. Shiloh has taken the series in various directions, with characters with a range of personalities.

As I said, I don't necessarily mind a closed bedroom door in a romance, as long as the mutual affection is clear. There was a sort of YA story with non-predator shapeshifters where both were asexual, but emotionally very fond of each other. That worked for me. Another story with adult characters where one was asexual and one wasn't seemed very unbalanced to me. Personally I'm not looking for romances with asexual characters, but there are some romance readers who really appreciate that.

Most of Ms. Shiloh's stories are emotionally satisfying for me.

I will mention that I've been a Patreon patron of Ms. Shiloh's since the beginning of 2018. I had read dozens of her stories before I signed up to be a patron, though.