5 Stars for The Firebird and Other Stories (Beings in Love #5) by R. Cooper #MM #Fae

Title: The Firebird and Other Stories (Beings in Love #5)
Author Name & Publisher: R. Cooper (Dreamspinner Press)
Publication Date & Length: September 18, 2015 – 350 pgs

Magical creatures known as beings emerged from hiding amid the destruction of the First World War. Since then they’ve lived on the margins of the human world as misunderstood objects of fear and desire. Some are beautiful, others fearsome and powerful. Yet for all their magic and strength, they are as vulnerable as anyone when it comes to matters of the heart.

A firebird in 1930s Paris is drawn to a writer with a haunted past. Upon returning from fighting in the Pacific, a jaguar shifter finds a third-gender human on his doorstep. Early rock ‘n’ roll DJ Hyacinth the fairy shocks his listeners with his admiration for his quiet assistant. During the AIDS crisis, a gruff, leather-wearing troll dreams of a settled life with a mixed-species elf across the bar. An imp, who remembers only too well how cruel the world can be, tells himself he’s content to stay behind the scenes—if only his chaotic, impish magic would stop getting in the way. And a shy human tending his poisonous and carnivorous plants is convinced no one will ever want him, certainly not the handsome werewolf grieving for a lost mate. Human or being, all must overcome fear to reach for love.

My words are no match for the exquisite language of The Firebird and Other Stories. At 350 pages, it takes a long time to read. Every word must be poured over, examined, experienced. The stories themselves aren’t short, either. They rise and fall, starting with Human or Other and ending with Us.

Most of the stories are historical and sweep me into the past with intoxicating feelings. The fairies and imps and jaguars are out of Place, but in Time. There’s more sensuality than sex, and it isn’t missed. Cooper writes with great care.

Just one of these stories would be worth the price of admission. Cooper gives generously and days later the characters still live inside me.

C. E. Case

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I write strange but shiny things, like steampunk spies and detectives, and pirates, and cowboys, and dragons, and fairies, firebirds, and, well honestly, even my stories set in the here and now are a little broken and weird too. Because I am a messed up weirdo and that’s who I like to write about.

I fall in love with my characters when I’m writing them, so I have a lot of self-written fanfiction about them that uh…I really have no excuse for, but oh my god how cute are they?

You can find all that and a lot more at my livejournal. (Which is, incidentally, where I am originally writing the blog posts that repost over here at Goodreads.)

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