Animal Attraction 2 is the follow-up to the popular anthology Animal Attraction, edited by Vincent Diamond. These six stories are about men brought together by animals, not shapeshifters or werebeasts. Vincent Diamond’s brief introduction mentions that part of her proceeds from the anthology will be donated to the animal charities Florida Draft Horse Rescue and Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue, so you’re helping a cause when you buy the anthology.
A carnival rolls into a small town, bringing with it some rides, midway games, and a sideshow that includes a lion tamer in Kiernan Kelly’s “Elusive Blue.” The local sheriff checks out the carnival to make sure it’s safe and the carneys aren’t cheating the locals, but he keeps going back to see the lion tamer’s act. While he’s attracted to the man, he wouldn’t dream of making a move. It’s with some relief, and regret, that he hears that the carnival is ready to move on to a different town. The carnival doesn’t get far, though, when their train collides with another just outside of town. The lion tamer’s rare tiger, Elusive Blue, escapes in the confusion. Hoping to avoid any further tragedy, the sheriff and the lion tamer set out to find the tiger before someone else does.
In Aaron Michael’s “The Case of the Missing Boa,” a boa constrictor named Marty has gone missing from an animal rescue shelter, and Leo, the shelter operator, figures that a private investigator named Jake Parrot is the right man to track down Marty. Most of Jake’s work is gathering evidence for divorce cases. So when a case that’s a low priority for the Las Vegas Police is dropped into his lap by a hot guy, he takes it. Jake may be a P.I. but he has no idea how to solve a mystery. Leo’s faith in him won’t be shaken though, and Jake finally manages to get his man.
“Driven by Destiny” by Janie Davitt is, I suppose, set in Hollywood sometime in the 1940s, but it’s never clear from the character’s behavior, which is modern, to the business aspect of Hollywood, which is also inconsistent with the era. This is another big cat on the loose story. Fans of light D/s scenarios may enjoy it.
Only CB Potts would write a sexy story about snails. Not just any snails, but snails that glow in the dark. In “Slow and Steady,” a PBS crew consisting of a biologist, a cameraman, and the host of their documentary hikes through the Amazon with a guide who may, or may not, be trustworthy. While the biologist and guide go off into the rainforest for a quick blow and go, the host and cameraman discover strange snails they’ve never seen before. In the morning, the guide is gone, and so is the crew’s camera. While the PBS crew searches for their errant guide, the biologist realizes that another man has been patiently trying to get his attention.
Julia Talbot is known for her realistic portrayals of the modern west. In “Rodeo Mafia,” an enthusiastic animal rights activist is out to prove that rodeos are dens of animal cruelty. Instead, he meets a rancher who wants a chance to state his case. After visiting the ranch, the activist learns that there’s a big difference between the philosophy of some ranchers and commercial feed lots. This story is perfect for fans of modern cowboys, rodeo, and hot men in denim.
In pursuit of rare snow leopards, a biologist and a cameraman get trapped in an avalanche in “Hiding in Snow” by Sean Michael. While they wait for rescue in the small, dark snow cave they’ve carved out, they share stories of their other misadventures. After they run out of stories, their talk turns to sex. Without light, they can’t see each other, and they don’t dare strip off their protective clothing, but they can talk and use their hands to keep up their spirits as the hours pass and their situation grows more dangerous.
The stories in Animal Attraction 2 are longer than the ones that appear in most erotica anthologies, which gives the characters time to develop and for the story to unfold at a slower pace. As with Animal Attraction 1, animals bring the lovers together, although the animals are never more than secondary characters. This collection will appeal to fans of m/m erotica and animal lovers.
Animal Attraction 2 by Vincent Diamond
(Torquere Press, March 25, 2009; ISBN-10: 1603706186)
Available atAmazon.com / Amazon UK
© 2009 Kathleen Bradean. All rights reserved.
