Joint Review: Lashings of Sauce Anthology

UK MAT

Lashings of Sauce

JMS Books, July 22, 2012

Goodreads | Buy book here

Backblurb:
We Brits love our sauce, whether it's what we lash on our food, read on our seaside postcards, or write in our stories. Come and enjoy a buffet of tasty LGBTQ treats!
From marriages to reunions, via practical jokes and football matches, to weresloths and possibly the oddest Tarts and Vicars party in the world, join us as we celebrate the UK Meet in the best way we know: telling the story.

As a follow-up to the critically acclaimed British Flash and Tea and Crumpet anthologies, our talented writers bring you sixteen stories about gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and genderqueer characters enjoying what Britain and mainland Europe have to offer, with their wonderfully diverse range of cultures and landscapes and some incredibly colourful and quirky people.

This anthology is a souvenir of the 2012 UK Meet, an occasion for GLBTQ supporters to get together in a relaxed setting to celebrate and chat about the fiction community they love. Funds from the sale of this anthology will go towards future UK Meets, to which all are welcome.

Genre & Keywords:
Short Stories, Romance (Mainly M/M, Some F/F; Mainly Contemporary, Some Paranormal, Some Historical), Multi-Cultural, Transgender, Bdsm, Cross-dressing, Immigration, Practical Joke, Weddings, Travel, Studies, Teaching

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Reviewed by Janna & Larissa/Lis:

What an anthology! For us, anthologies always have a tendency to bore us, because the stories tend to be much of the same. Not so in Lashings of Sauce. We’ve never read such a wide variety of stories. Lashings of Sauce has it all! From m/m to f/f to transgender, from doms to confused students, from contemporary to historical to paranormal. This anthology covers all the letters in LGBT and what not!
There is a variety of everything in it, not just sexual orientation. The characters vary in age, race and background and that is what makes each of these stories an enjoyment to read.

The eroticism in each story is also different. It ranges from mild (as in no explicit sex) to scorching hot. The anthology itself categorizes each story in one of these three heat levels:

* Lightly Seasoned
** Moderately Spicy
*** Lashings of Sauce

We’re happy to follow these levels as they match with our own three flame heat ratings.

(Btw, the first 8 stories of the anthology are reviewed by Janna, the last 8 by Lis).


The anthology opens with a story by Jordan Castillo Price, called ‘Post Mortem’. There’s a practical joke and a package from Egypt involved and a cranky man who quickly warms up to the idea of unwrapping a ‘mummy’. I was a little disappointed that the story ended so quickly and at a point where all the fun started, but it certainly was a well-written short story.
3.5 out of 5 stars, 1 out of 3 flames

Next was ‘Dressing Down’ by Clare London which really started to warm me up for this anthology! Although this one had an abrupt ending as well, it was much hotter than the first story. The whole idea of a Vicars and Tarts themed party was very entertaining and the cross-dressing boyfriend was exceptionally yummy! I think this was my favorite of the first half of this anthology.
4 out of 5 stars, 3 out of 3 flames

On to the next humorous story: ‘Et Tu, Fishies?’ by JL Merrow. This was funny as well as a bit bizarre. When Marty sits house for Bill, his friend and subject of his unrequited love, he’s advised to not talk to the weird neighbor Arthur. Of course that’s exactly what he does and talking to him (about Arthur’s imaginary future boyfriend no less) makes him realize that 'finding a way to communicate' goes for him and Bill too. The ending was so sweet!
4 out of 5 stars, 1 out of 3 flames

‘Zones’ by Elyan Smith is a transgender F/F story, told from the first person POV of a transgender woman, Lisa, who still has male genitals and characteristics. It's a scene from her life in which she struggles to go out on the street because of the prejudiced looks she gets. Her new love, Katie, has two sons and encourages her in this scene to go to the park with the youngest son, a 6-year old black kid who is endearing. His acceptance of who Lisa is, is helping her. It’s beautifully described how something so ordinary as two other parents come and talk to her in the park, is so special for Lisa.
3.5 out of 5 stars, 3 out of 3 flames

From this more serious story we go to the hilarious story ‘Sollicito’ by Charlie Cochrane. I was sucked into the humorous diary-like narrative of a were-sloth who has trouble finding a boyfriend and who can't control his shift, which causes some problems (as we can imagine). When he meets Graeme things look good for his love life until he starts to unexpectedly shift again. It’s the narrating voice that made reading this story an unforgettable experience.
4 out of 5 stars, 1 out of 3 flames

After that we get a cute story - ‘A Few Days Away’ by Elin Gregory - about a fairly new couple, Hugh and Tom, who don't have much opportunities to be together for uninterrupted sex. So, Hugh decides to take Tom away to France for a few days. But Tom gets very seasick when they cross the Canal and on top of that Hugh runs into an old flame when they arrive at their destination. It doesn't seem to be Tom's lucky day. However, with a nice twist to the story everything turns out fine for the couple in the end.
3.5 out of 5 stars, 2 out of 3 flames

In ‘Vidi Velo Vici’ by Robbie Whyte it’s all about the build-up and although there’s no explicit sex scene, it’s rather sexy. In this very entertaining and humorous story we follow hot-shot lawyer Evan who’s battling traffic every morning while ogling a hot motorcyclist. The hot guy, Cameron, pops up in another part of Evan’s life quite unexpectedly after one week of ogling the man from afar. I regretted that the story ends at the beginning of something good.
3.5 out of 5 stars, 1 out of 3 flames

The last story of my half is ‘Shelter From Storms’ by Sandra Lindsey, a historical romance set during the French Revolution. It’s about two former lovers, Louis and Daniel, who haven't seen each other in years. When Louis has fled from France to England the only person he can turn to is Daniel, but Daniel is married with kids now, which is a disappointment for Louis. However, Daniel still wants him. This story was well written and I found myself engrossed in the journey of these men to a happy end.
3.5 out of 5 stars, 2 out of 3 flames

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My half started off with Rebecca Cohen’s ‘Faulty Genes’ a f/f which I found well written, but not really my thing as f/f is not for me, so it was a bit hard for me to read the story as it didn’t pull me in. However, objectively it was well written with a strong characterization.
No rating, 1 out of 3 flames

It was then on to one awesome story by Tam Ames: ‘Lost in London’. It almost had me rolling on the floor while reading about Kevin’s adventures in London. It was a short humorous story about Kevin who has not only trouble navigating London, but also his life. Luckily, there is Benjamin to help him!
5 out of 5 stars, 2 out of 3 flames

‘My Husband’ by Zahra Owens is an insightful story to read about a transgender male. I never would have read a story like this on my own, but as part of this anthology it gave me an interesting insight into the journey of being born in the wrong body.
4 out of 5 stars, 3 out of 3 flames

Lillian Francis combines romance with the heavy theme of immigration in ‘Waiting for a Spark’. Also a very thoughtful story with a good, solid romance that I enjoyed reading, even though the writing was at times a bit stilted.
4 out of 5 stars, 1 out of 3 flames

Then it was onto ‘Social Whirl’ by Emily Moreton, another f/f story that was very different from ‘Faulty Genes’ as it was more light and funny, focusing on two women who keep meeting unexpectedly at weddings.
No rating, 1 out of 3 flames

‘School for Doms’ by Anne Brooke was such a cool story. Mmm, maybe cool is not the right word as it is one very hot bdsm story. Think screen melting hot and very sexy with a touch of serious.
5 out of 5 stars, 3 out of 3 flames

Then it’s back to multicultural with Josephine Myles. ‘Dragon Dance’ focuses on two friends becoming more than just friends, Chinese traditions and living in England. ‘Dragon Dance’ is a story that is nicely written and placed well after the screen melting of the previous story.
4 out of 5 stars, 1 out of 3 flames

Last story in the anthology is Becky Black’s ‘Reclaiming Territory’. This story has the theme of love lost and found again, but also focuses on what it was like to be gay in previous decades and the fears of coming out.
4 out of 5 stars, 1 out of 3 flames

We enjoyed reading these different stories that dragged us into new territories and forced us to look at certain things differently.
There is nothing left to say but: Go out and get a copy!
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