In Sunshine or in Shadow

Short Stories: Volume I

By: Josh Lanyon

Narrated by: Adam Chase, Rob Granniss, Michael Oaks, JM Badger

Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

A listener's delight. Thirteen short stories, five never before collected, written between 2007 and 2013. Sexy, sweet, and occasionally strange, these brief but emotionally powerful stories encapsulate everything listeners of Male/Male romance have come to love most about Josh Lanyon's work.

©2013 Josh Lanyon (P)2013 Josh Lanyon

Great!

Since discovering this author I have endeavoured to read as many as I can of his works. That says it all, he is a fabulous writer.

Awesome!!

This is a collection of maybe a zillion of Mr. Lanyon's short stories. Every one I wish was longer. This author just has an amazing gift for creating MCs that are smart, witty, vulnerable, endearing and any other adjective you can think of. There are different narrators for each story and they were all fantastic; not a bad one in the lot. How is that possible?! Does he have a stable of great narrators on retainer? Mr. Lanyon, please share them with the rest of the audiobook world!! Anyway, as I said, my only complaint was that the stories were not longer and were all HFN endings. Josh Lanyon doesn't believe in HEA; he just leaves you satisfied, but still wanting more.

An exceptional group of stories...

This is a book of short stories by the fantastic writer, Josh Lanyon, and he continues to entertain and enthrall me with his story telling. I'm hoping to meet up with Chance someday and try some of his chocolate's. Almost 14 hours of storytelling and the narrators did a fantastic job. They credit four narrators but with the mix and mingle of the characters in the various stories, I would have suspected even more. A definite must read/listen. Lanyon is an excellent writer and he does it again with this culmination of intriguing stories...

A nice collection of short stories

Always a fan of Josh Lanyon, I like this collection of short stories. Perhaps there's a longer book somewhere in there - Sweets for the Sweet?

Sweet

This book provided so much needed soothing distraction during my Easter stay at home vocation.

Just fantastic

Funny, mysterious, moving. I love all these short stories. They are so delightful and very satisfying dosage of the many ways love comes. the narrators did such a wonderful job! Josh's characters are further brought alive by the extraordinary narrations.

Hope 2 Young Hearts & Chicken Soup 2 Old Souls

What did you like best about this story?

There are thirteen stories. Two stories I liked better then the rest. But my choice should not be yours. Choose your own favorites.

Which scene was your favorite?

I found some scenes rang less true then others but they were all plausible enough on the surface. I recommend you don't question the logic of each story too closely or you will spoil it for yourself. These are romantic confections not rocket science.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

This collection of works would not work as a movie.

Any additional comments?

This book is a collection of 13 man on man, bodice ripping genre romance stories, all bound up in a confectioners sampler box of individually created, supplely seasoned, palate pleasing chocolates, straight from the authors favorite chocolatier shop, “Sweets to the Sweet” and his chocolatier Chance. Actually only the last five short stories contain the reoccurring location of Sweets to the Sweet chocolate shop and its proprietor and owner Chance. But as a sampler box of the works of this author I think it is fair to extend the metaphor to the entire work. The first eight stories seem to be drawn from other works the author has written.

What a joy it is to be able to read, or listen to, these sweet charming preposterously romantic, happy ever after ending, fantasy stories. If there were such books in my youth they certainly were not widely available or accessible in the Midwest. Man to mam relationships stories available then, were generally tragic in their endings of death, suicide, or stoic bitterness of submission into the salvation of heterosexuality or closeted avoidance. Only in Hellenistic historical novels, like Mary Renault, “The Persian Boy”, could authors hint that there was a time long ago and place where man to man relationships were considered socially normal and on occasion admirable or even noble. Thank goodness stories like these are now commercially successful enough to exist in their own right for their target audience; without a socially disapproval mask being riveted over its simple plain and beautiful face of love in bloom. Once more out of Pandora’s Box of pestilence and evil the butterfly of HOPE can emerge and inspire ones heart for a better world. Are these stories great literature? No! However, they will be hope to young hearts in need of it and provide chicken soup to old souls who thought it would never happen.

This author pseudonym Josh Lanyon conceals a much more experienced author. One can sense it from the workman like construction of the stories and the tool box favorite phrases; tools skillfully employed to tweak and shape the story as flawlessly as a professional writer’s workshop show piece. It is filled with a virtuoso performance of here we need a plain descriptor to set the mood; there we need a sensory phrase appealing to smell or taste or sound; and here we climb inside the character to tell the listener what the character is feeling. With a little googleing the interested reader/listener can find this mystery chocolatier and see what other genre kitchens in which he labors under other names.

Like any sampler box of chocolates not every one of them will totally please the readers’ or listeners’ palate. Yes, they are all sweet and expertly rendered but not everyone will like a hint of mint, or a dash of cinnamon or the heat of cayenne or wasabi or a cream filled center reeking of coconut or lemon. However, there is enough variety in this box for most any, and all but those with the most exotic fetish tastes, to find something to please their literary taste buds. If the reader/listener, after finishing the box finds a longing for a more developed and in depth experience as in grand literature and starts tugging at the loose threads of the stories demanding more; I beg them to remember, after all, this is only a box of chocolates. If you want that kind of a feast you will have to visit a different genre. As for me, I found the box very satisfying even the one with the coconut cream center. I highly recommend it.

Great collection

not a fan of whoever narrated "Until We Meet Once More" among other stories in this collection. just sounded flat.

other than that, great collection, great narration

Excellent stories, great narrators

Very enjoyable! I highly recommend this collection to Lanyon fans. The narrators were well chosen for the stories.

Such a surprise!

I was rather despondent when I got to the end of all of Josh's FBI series, thinking it'd be at least a year before anything new will come out in that trope. So I was absolutely delighted to find this anthology of short stories! How does she squeeze so much juicy emotions into each sentence? And how wonderful are those narrators...from the first story I was so hooked. I was listening while de-cluttering my house and the raw voice of Wyatt had me sit down and work through his unrequited feelings with him. Though it's nearly 15 hours of pure Josh, this time, I had to pace myself. Short the stories may be, I found myself loving them as much as I love the longer full-length ones. I can't believe I found this.