By Lara Zielinsky
An anthology is often a mixed bag. However, with its tight “mission” of sharing stories about bi+ characters falling in love, Bi the Way: I Love You gets mostly good marks. All the stories (except one) were well-developed novellas. Characters identify in a wide variety of ways and the pairings are identified at the start with the nomenclature FF, FX, XX, FFM, MM, MF, etc., and the stories included content notices to allow a reader to select the type of story to read without surprises.
The majority of the stories feature bi+ persons who identify as female, non-binary leaning female, or genderfluid, again leaning into feminine energy. Except for one bi-awakening character in “The To-Screw List” by Julie Brydon, their identities are firmly established, even if some other characters are not supportive of that.
While many of the stories feature characters in the new adult range (18-25), as is typical of the romance genre in general, “Petty Roots” by Cozy DuBois and “Do It for the Plot” by Rochelle Wolf have characters whose lives could be considered well-established. Both also feature wonderfully drawn non-binary main characters: Eris and Blake in “Petty Roots,” and Iris in “Do It for the Plot.” “Good Things Come in Unexpected Packages” by Amelia Lascaux has my all-time favorite type of date: let’s go out, talk books, and read.
All the stories, except for the short story teaser “Love on the Airwaves” by MK Owens, have complete romance arcs and well-conveyed sex on the page suited to the characters’ personalities and burgeoning relationships. The teaser is tempting and well-written, but it is out of place with the other fully developed stories around it, so that’s a little jarring.
All in all, I give it 4 out of 5 stars. Or 8 out of 9. (There are 9 total stories.)
Bi the Way: I Love You proceeds are destined for two charities: Bi Pride UK and Rainbow Railroad. The ebook is exclusively available through Amazon’s Kindle bookstore worldwide, so search for it today!
Lara Zielinsky, she/her, bisexual, is a fiction author and editor, and lives in blue-for-now Central Florida in the U.S. She, her spouse, and her girlfriend chalk rainbows on pavements on the weekends wherever they go.