Product Description

New York City is the world's capital, and every day people fall in love on its streets and in its restaurants, its high rises and even its subways. No matter the season, no matter the borough, there's no better place to find love.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1091972 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

About the Author
Brad Nichols has edited Best Gay Love Stories: New York City, and is also the series editor for "Tales of Travelrotica for Gay Men." His erotic fiction has been seen in both "Travelrotica 2" and "Fast Balls."

Customer Reviews

Indeed The Best, In the opinion of an outsider looking in...
It's true. I've never even been to New York. Only know of what I've seen in the movies and on TV, or read about it in newspapers and books. I'm not writing this review to promote the fact that a short story of my own is included in the anthology, but rather to give kudos to the overall theme of the book and to the other magnificent stories also included.

I love anthologies because just after reading a few pages, you have satisfaction. It's easy to read a story or two and have some closure, and you don't feel as guilty if days pass without you picking the book up again. That's the magic of short stories, although sometimes they leave us wanting more.

Almost every story here neighboring my own was indeed like that. I found myself wanting to get to know the other authors just so they could tell me in person more about their story and where it came from. Did it really happen? Were they writing about themselves? I love a good book or story that indeed captures that perfect setting. After I close the book or turn the page, I indeed feel like I've been there.

It's neat to read of a place you've never been before. You can relate to some of it because you've heard about it before, and there are some parts that are new to you. You make a mental note to check it out if you ever go there. Again, you want to ask the author if it's real or fictional. A short story to peek one's interest in such a way has indeed done it's job.

There are some stories that totally lost me. I definitely felt like an outsider because they don't even mention the city or tell you where you are. It is understood that a particular reader will know exactly what the author is talking about, but that's okay. How else does one learn? We are all new to our surroundings at one time or another, right?

I want to mention one particular story written by Jay Starre. It's called The Afternoon I Believed. Jay's story touches on the subject of 9/11 and is told through the eyes of a New York tourist who meets Aiden. Aiden works in the Twin Towers and offers to show the narrator the city for the day. They make love that night and the narrator leaves with sincere fondness for his day in the city. Then, 9/11 happens. The narrator emails Aiden again and again, but there is no answer. The last lines say it all..."In time, I healed. Now, years later, I think I may be ready to go back to New York City. I may find Aiden there, by magical accident, just like I did before. I still believe."

If you are looking for a bit more substance than porn, and don't have enough time to devote to a full novel, definitely add this collection to your nightstand. New York is waiting!

Love New York Style
Nichols, Brad, editor. "Best Gay Love Stories: New York City". Alyson Books, 2006

Love New York Style

Amos Lassen and Literary Pride

I stopped loving short fiction my freshmen year in college. After reading William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" and Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery', I was sure that no short story could do for me what those two did. Short stories never gave me the depth or the characterization that I like so much and even though I would try every once in a while to read short stories for pleasure, I just never got into them again. There were exceptions along the way, of course. I thought Aaron Hamburger's "The View from Stalin's Head" was brilliant and I like Lev Raphaei's short stories but they just don't do it for me. When my friend Arthur Wooten told me had a new story published in a book from Alyson Books, I decided to give short stories another try and I am not sorry.
Brad Nichols edited "Best Gay Love Stories: New York City" and he has done an admirable job. New York, being one of the gay capitals of the world, undoubtedly has a lot of love stories and I am sure it was not easy to choose which stories to include. People fall in love everyday in the Big Apple and Nichols who has traveled and read widely had a rough job.
New York is one of those cities that has a special something. Whenever I go there I feel proud of the place. There also seems to be something special about falling in love in a place like New York. The electricity of the town is carried over into the electricity of the people who live there.
Twenty-four stories make up the anthology and I must say I enjoyed each and every one of them. Every kind of love is covered--first love, unrequited love, sexual love, platonic love, love lost. He book is a celebration of love and it is one that you really want to read.
I realize that I am writing a generic review of a book that has so much in it but if I were to tell you about each and every story I would be defeating my purpose in trying to get you to read. I will say one thing about one of the stories, however and that is about "Stroke of Luck" by my friend, Arthur. His descriptions are so real, his characterizations so true to live that you actually feel as if you are watching a story and not just reading in. Alejandro and Chip may be two of the sexiest men I have ever encountered in a short story. Now this is a hot story and I really enjoyed it (How is that for a shameless plug). But Wooten's story does not stand alone. It is one of a group and perhaps I am prejudiced toward him, I think all of the stories hit their mark. If you like love and eroticism, this is a great collection. What a great idea for Valentine's Day.