Astrid Ohletz

After Happily Ever After

Renee

Out of the 11 stories in After Happily Ever After, there are five that I have not read. Instead of being satisfied with what happened after the HEAs, I've become more curious as to what happened before the HEAs. This statement is especially true for the stories written by Zett, Nolan, and Blue, who are new-to-me authors. With that being said, here is my take on some of the stories. 


  Favorites:

“The Brutal Lie” - I’ve read The Brutal Truth multiple times, and Elena and Maddie rank high on my favorite couples list. “The Brutal Lie” has a good mix of chivalry (on Elena’s part), sexiness, romance (again on Elena’s part), commitment, and the successful use of power with precision (Elena yet again). Yeah, I’m definitely reading this one again!

“Partners” - I haven’t read Under a Falling Star. However, knowing that Dee and Austen’s journey includes family drama, someone having a tree topper dropped on them, and one of the MCs going from being a tough-as-nails COO of a Fortune 500 company to co-owner of a tiny company that makes toys for pet birds, was all I needed to make Under a Falling Star my next read. (Hopefully, there won't be any hurling staplers and stress balls in the original story.)


  Bummers:

I had high hopes for “Love Is Not Nothing” by Lee and “Water into Wine” by Sinclair because they are two of my favorite authors. The stories are well-written; however, they are just too similar to have really satisfied my curiosity about what happens next with Natalya/Alison and Mir/Ari. I read “Water into Wine” last year on AO3, which I enjoyed more because of the second POV towards the end. 


  Hopefuls:

“No Going Back” by Blue was okay, but the ending did make me feel as if I missed something. Perhaps there’s a to be continued in the mix? 

Zett's "The Cat Emergency" and Nolan's "Two Hearts-One Mind" both have just enough information about the MCs' past to make me want to read how the couples met and fell in love. 

Jae is another one of my favorite authors. Damage Control has been on my "Read at Some Point" list for a while now. Grace and Lauren's sweet and sexy story in "Dress-Tease" just bumped Damage Control up my "Read Before the End of Summer 2020" list.


  Meh:

Victoria and Anna's journey in Keeley's The Music and the Mirror was just okay for me. The romance was just not there for me in the original story. As a result, "Interlude" is my least favorite in this anthology.


Overall, After Happily Ever After was a decent read, and I look forward to reading books by Zett, Nolan, and Blue.

After Happily Ever After

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