If the Fates Allow

The five authors in this sweet anthology offer tender, gentle contemporary stories of hope and romance with a Christmas backdrop. Plots glance off serious issues such as guilt over a partner’s death, a small town’s quiet racism, or verbally abusive parents, instead maintaining a light, sentimental tone. In Killian B. Brewer’s “Gracious Living Magazine Says It Must Be a Live Tree,” Marcus Sumter’s festive spirit blooms out of control when he discovers his boyfriend’s receipt for a ring. In Pene Henson’s “True North,” basketball player Shay Williams is stranded near her Montana hometown by a snowstorm and has to face unresolved feelings for her high school crush. In Lilah Suzanne’s “Halfway Home,” Avery Puckett barely reacts to losing her job, wrecking her car, and being dumped; the only thing that gets through her haze is helping exuberant pet shelter employee Grace calm an aggressive rescue dog. In Erin Finnegan’s “Last Call at the Casa Blanca Bar & Grill,” a charming, flirtatious bartender cheers up curmudgeon Jack Volarde, who blames himself for his partner’s death the year before. In Lynn Charles’s “Shelved,” library assistant Karina Ness conspires to bring her uncle and a friendly patron together, not realizing that what she really wants is a holiday love of her own. This cozy anthology is labeled LGBTQ but only lesbian, gay, and (possibly) bisexual characters appear. It wisely stays away from coming-out drama and the like, only complicating these romances with low-key everyday hiccups. (Dec.)