First off, hope everyone who celebrates it is having a wonderful Independence Day! One of the great things about working on the blog has been that I have read so many new stories and new authors. Promising Author: Wrathofmagneto has been around for a little while, but I had never read his work. I'd heard a lot of good things and finally had a chance to check out two stories by him, "Captivated" and "Consequences". I wasn't disappointed and I hope you won't be either! Comicfan was in much the same boat when I asked him to help me out by writing a review on an Author story. He asked around for a suggested story and was pointed towards a story by Author: TMcCallahan called "Dust & Ash". Hope you enjoy these reviews and take a moment to check out the stories!

Reviewed By: Renee Stevens
Status: Complete
Word Count: 4,089 & 4,889

Well, it's that time of the week again, and since I didn't have any reviews in reserve, I thought I'd scroll down the list of Promising Stories to see what would catch my eye. I’d heard good things about WrathofMagneto so pulled up his page and the description on “Consequences” looked interesting, and since I've never read Magneto's work, I thought I'd give it a try. I was a little unsure because in the story notes it says that it is a sequel to an earlier anthology entry. Then after reading Consequences, I just had to go read “Captivated” to find out what I had missed! So because of that, you get a two for one deal!

The two stories follow Justin and Tyler through their first meeting, which happens when Tyler gives Justin a ride home after finding him standing in the pouring rain. Things develop between the two, and while Tyler knows what Justin goes through at school after having been outed, he doesn’t know the whole story of what Justin’s life is like. When push comes to shove, Justin has to make a decision, but he’s not the only one who has to live with the consequences.

These two stories are heart wrenching as they really allow you to feel for Justin and there were multiple times I wished I could just reach out and hug him. Captivated is from Tyler’s viewpoint, while Consequences is told from Justin’s viewpoint and is honestly the more agonizing in my opinion. While they could easily be read separately, it’s definitely beneficial to read both stories in order to get the full scope of what has gone on and what has led Justin to the decisions that he has made.

There were a few minor editing mistakes, but they didn’t really detract from the story and I continued on despite of them. I wanted to know what happened to these two characters. It deals with some of the darker sides of human nature but also does have a few lighthearted moments that make you smile. After reading these two, I am sure I will be checking out more by this author in the near future!

Reviewer: Comicfan
Status: In Progress

Every once in a while I take a look through the stories going on and something will catch my eye. Other times I will talk to different people on the site and find out what they are reading and enjoying. It is through that means I came to find Dust and Ash.

The story begins with Ash in bed. Ash is a hedonistic man who enjoys sex and his own sexuality. Male or female he has fun, but he leans a bit more toward taking a man to bed for his pleasure. Add into this picture the fact that Ash is basically sex walking. He is described as having “the face of a fallen angel, just wickedly innocent and sexy all at once”. To go with that face he has a body of sin and he knows the affect he has on everyone he encounters. Ashley Redvers is the lead singer of a group called the Boys of Summer, which is a wedding band that he is the lead singer of.

Problems for the band begin because the drummer has rolled his truck and is seriously hurt, forcing the band to find a replacement. Enter Dustin, one ultra blonde match hottie. He too has a body to die for and when he arrives it is with as much hair care and skin care products as any person might ever need.

For Ash one look at Dustin and it is over. The pull is immediate and the tale has barely begun. The problem is Ash will admit to being bi but gay? He won’t even come out to his fellow bandmates or family as being bisexual, but Dustin refuses to be a summer fling or hidden affair. What will this do to Ash? How will he handle the tension that even Jared, the one member of the band who knows all about Ash, cannot stand to watch after one afternoon.

The author of this tale continues to weave an incredible tale that only gets better with each new chapter posted. Presently he is eight chapters in. All I can tell you is if you are in for an interesting read, one that is well crafted with fully realized characters and a plot that isn’t a total rehash of the same old stories, give Dust and Ash a try. If you enjoy it, leave him a review and feel free to click that like button for him.

Note to Authors: Remember, we can only feature reviews if we have them. We are completely out of ALL reviews at the moment... Hosted, Promising, and Author. I won't be around much this week, so please PM Trebs if you are willing to volunteer to write a review for the blog! Thanks!!!