Griffin has just popped
the question—yes, that question—and Michael doesn’t have an answer. He
flees town for New Orleans to see his confidante and sometime-Domme,
Mistress Nora. Will a weekend of beignets and beatings help him untangle
his knotted-up heart?
Thus begins Michael's Wings, the eponymous novella that kicks off the latest entry in Tiffany Reisz's LAMBDA Literary Award-winning* Original Sinners series.
This companion collection to fan-favorite The Angel also contains six previously-published stories starring Mistress Nora's favorite angel and Griffin—his master, his true love, and the sexy-as-hell bane of Michael's existence.
*The King (LAMBDA Literary Award 2015 Winner — Best Gay Erotica)
Thus begins Michael's Wings, the eponymous novella that kicks off the latest entry in Tiffany Reisz's LAMBDA Literary Award-winning* Original Sinners series.
This companion collection to fan-favorite The Angel also contains six previously-published stories starring Mistress Nora's favorite angel and Griffin—his master, his true love, and the sexy-as-hell bane of Michael's existence.
*The King (LAMBDA Literary Award 2015 Winner — Best Gay Erotica)
There are many reasons I love The Original Sinners. I won't go
over them now because I've done that so many times, I've started to
sound like a parrot. Suffice to say one of those reasons is that over
the course of eight books, and who knows how many novellas and short
stories, I've grown to love each and every one of the main Sinners,
Michael and Griffin included, of course. The beginning of their romance
was my favorite part of The Angel, so I couldn't be more glad
that over the years since that book came out Ms. Reisz has been giving
us stories about the couple with updates on how their relationship was
progressing. Michael's Wings is a collection of those stories.
Five of them used to be available on the author's website or elsewhere,
one still is, and one story is new. They cover the start of Michael and
Griffin's relationship, their first fight, the break, and their
engagement. There is also one story without Michael, which
chronologically comes first, so I'll start with that one.
Griffin in Wonderland takes place six years before the series' first book. In the story Griffin had left rehab too early, partied hard, punched an asshole, passed out and woke up hungover and with a man's boots on his chest. The man in question was Kingsley and he had some good advice: Griffin needed a new hobby. I do so love the stories where Kingsley invites people in need of a new hobby into his kingdom. His notorious townhouse and the kinksters in it are so much fun to read about from the perspective of a newcomer which Griffin was here. He was in Wonderland, and he was Alice, and by the time Kingsley with Eleanor's help demonstrated what his new addiction could be, Griffin had a heady feeling without having taken any substances and his mind was made up: he was in!
Seven years or so later, Griffin met Michael and they fell in love. Gauze takes place during this amazing book named The Angel, just after Michael and Griffin finally declared their feelings for each other. Griffin's gift to Michael — beautiful tattoos to cover ugly scars were fresh so his wrists were wrapped in gauze. It was a sight that led Michael down bad memory lane. Luckily, Griffin was there to bring him back to reality that was almost too good to be true: Griffin and Michael were officially a couple. And as the thoughtful master that he is, Griffin made sure Michael had a good association with gauze from there on. Like everything with these two characters, it was super sweet.
A Better Distraction , The Theory of the Moment and The Couch take place shortly after The Angel when Michael and Griffin were still figuring their relationship out.
In A Better Distraction they learned to communicate better. The previous weekend there was an incident, and ever since things were awkward between them. It was high time to put an end to the awkwardness. Plus, Griffin needed a distraction, and what better distraction than his beautiful sub. While Mick worked on his school assignment using Griffin as the subject, Griffin revealed something from his past which was pertinent to their current situation. The air was cleared and everything was right between them.
In The Theory of the Moment Griffin met Mick's mom Melissa, and it's actually told from her perspective. Over the lunch where she was going to conduct an interrogation to find out what she could about her son's boyfriend, she actually learned something very important about her son that allowed her to understand him better. Griffin painted an amusing picture of the kinky world he and Mick lived in for Melissa, and made it clear he would always be there for Mick. All in all, it was a beginning of a beautiful friendship.
The Couch marked Mick and Griffin's first fight. Michael wanted to blame the couch, their new, very expensive couch, but he couldn't. Not really. After the fight Griffin went out, and Michael was left in the apartment to freak out. What Micheal did whenever he was freaking out about something concerning his relationship with Griffin was talk to Nora, so that was what he did. His wise mentor calmed him down, and Griffin came back. They made up on the couch, of course.
Christmas in Suite 37A is 2014 Original Sinners Christmas story, and it's set during The White Years. Since the books in The White Years are primarily prequels, and have only small parts depicting the lives of the Sinners after The Mistress, I was glad this story started with Griffin visiting Nora and others in New Orleans. It was great to find out how happy they are in their HEAs, and I can't say how much I loved the scene where Griffin hugged Søren, saying "Cuddle me, big guy." Hilarious! Griffin, however, wasn't in the best of spirits at the beginning of the story. He was visiting Nora because he couldn't stand to be home without Mick. Mick had gone to Rome to spend a semester abroad, and they were on a break. With his relationship with Mick in question, he went to Nora to hide out at her place. Of course, Nora nudged him in the right direction. Griffin reached out to Mick, and Mick responded. Back in New York Griffin went to great lengths for his Michael to show how much he missed him, how much he loves him, without pressuring him. It was wonderful, sweet, and... magical.
Michael's Wings is the new novella. Griffin had popped the question, and ordered Mick not to give him an answer right away. As is the tradition, Michael flew to New Orleans to talk about it with Nora. Micheal figured it was better to obsess over his answer at Nora's than to obsess over it at home. He knew he did the right thing when he found himself in the dungeon with words The floggings will continue until morale improves hanging on a wall. His Mistress knew how to make her Angel feel better, and knew which questions to ask to help Michael find out what he truly wanted. After a thorough flogging and wax play his morale had indeed improved, and his answer was crystal clear. Decision made, he went back home and waited for Griffin to tell him what that answer was, and he found a perfect way to do it.
This year I reread The Red Years which includes The Angel, and it was better than the first time, and the second time. I could say the same about the stories from this collection. I've said this before, but it doesn't hurt to repeat it: I've always gotten more than I expected from these shorter stories. That's not an exaggeration. Every single one was better than I expected, and believe me, I expected a lot. They've been quite helpful in getting to know the Sinners better, and understanding their actions, especially in the beginning. Now they're a great and I guess the only way to find out what's going on with the Sinners, so I hope there will be many more of them in the future.
***ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
Griffin in Wonderland takes place six years before the series' first book. In the story Griffin had left rehab too early, partied hard, punched an asshole, passed out and woke up hungover and with a man's boots on his chest. The man in question was Kingsley and he had some good advice: Griffin needed a new hobby. I do so love the stories where Kingsley invites people in need of a new hobby into his kingdom. His notorious townhouse and the kinksters in it are so much fun to read about from the perspective of a newcomer which Griffin was here. He was in Wonderland, and he was Alice, and by the time Kingsley with Eleanor's help demonstrated what his new addiction could be, Griffin had a heady feeling without having taken any substances and his mind was made up: he was in!
Seven years or so later, Griffin met Michael and they fell in love. Gauze takes place during this amazing book named The Angel, just after Michael and Griffin finally declared their feelings for each other. Griffin's gift to Michael — beautiful tattoos to cover ugly scars were fresh so his wrists were wrapped in gauze. It was a sight that led Michael down bad memory lane. Luckily, Griffin was there to bring him back to reality that was almost too good to be true: Griffin and Michael were officially a couple. And as the thoughtful master that he is, Griffin made sure Michael had a good association with gauze from there on. Like everything with these two characters, it was super sweet.
A Better Distraction , The Theory of the Moment and The Couch take place shortly after The Angel when Michael and Griffin were still figuring their relationship out.
In A Better Distraction they learned to communicate better. The previous weekend there was an incident, and ever since things were awkward between them. It was high time to put an end to the awkwardness. Plus, Griffin needed a distraction, and what better distraction than his beautiful sub. While Mick worked on his school assignment using Griffin as the subject, Griffin revealed something from his past which was pertinent to their current situation. The air was cleared and everything was right between them.
In The Theory of the Moment Griffin met Mick's mom Melissa, and it's actually told from her perspective. Over the lunch where she was going to conduct an interrogation to find out what she could about her son's boyfriend, she actually learned something very important about her son that allowed her to understand him better. Griffin painted an amusing picture of the kinky world he and Mick lived in for Melissa, and made it clear he would always be there for Mick. All in all, it was a beginning of a beautiful friendship.
The Couch marked Mick and Griffin's first fight. Michael wanted to blame the couch, their new, very expensive couch, but he couldn't. Not really. After the fight Griffin went out, and Michael was left in the apartment to freak out. What Micheal did whenever he was freaking out about something concerning his relationship with Griffin was talk to Nora, so that was what he did. His wise mentor calmed him down, and Griffin came back. They made up on the couch, of course.
Christmas in Suite 37A is 2014 Original Sinners Christmas story, and it's set during The White Years. Since the books in The White Years are primarily prequels, and have only small parts depicting the lives of the Sinners after The Mistress, I was glad this story started with Griffin visiting Nora and others in New Orleans. It was great to find out how happy they are in their HEAs, and I can't say how much I loved the scene where Griffin hugged Søren, saying "Cuddle me, big guy." Hilarious! Griffin, however, wasn't in the best of spirits at the beginning of the story. He was visiting Nora because he couldn't stand to be home without Mick. Mick had gone to Rome to spend a semester abroad, and they were on a break. With his relationship with Mick in question, he went to Nora to hide out at her place. Of course, Nora nudged him in the right direction. Griffin reached out to Mick, and Mick responded. Back in New York Griffin went to great lengths for his Michael to show how much he missed him, how much he loves him, without pressuring him. It was wonderful, sweet, and... magical.
Michael's Wings is the new novella. Griffin had popped the question, and ordered Mick not to give him an answer right away. As is the tradition, Michael flew to New Orleans to talk about it with Nora. Micheal figured it was better to obsess over his answer at Nora's than to obsess over it at home. He knew he did the right thing when he found himself in the dungeon with words The floggings will continue until morale improves hanging on a wall. His Mistress knew how to make her Angel feel better, and knew which questions to ask to help Michael find out what he truly wanted. After a thorough flogging and wax play his morale had indeed improved, and his answer was crystal clear. Decision made, he went back home and waited for Griffin to tell him what that answer was, and he found a perfect way to do it.
This year I reread The Red Years which includes The Angel, and it was better than the first time, and the second time. I could say the same about the stories from this collection. I've said this before, but it doesn't hurt to repeat it: I've always gotten more than I expected from these shorter stories. That's not an exaggeration. Every single one was better than I expected, and believe me, I expected a lot. They've been quite helpful in getting to know the Sinners better, and understanding their actions, especially in the beginning. Now they're a great and I guess the only way to find out what's going on with the Sinners, so I hope there will be many more of them in the future.
***ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
XOXO,
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