Review: Something Like Stories: Volume One by Jay Bell

Benjamin Bentley and many other beloved characters from the Something Like... series make their triumphant return in this collection of short stories and bonus material. Something Like Yesterday travels to the past where Eric Conroy attempts to find love against a backdrop of intolerance and political upheaval. In Something Like Fall , Ben meets Jace's family and tries to cope with many changes in the years that follow. Allison Cross finally gets her dues in Something Like Tonight , examining the relationships in her life during a girls night out. Something Like Eternity takes the series where it has never gone before as Victor Hemingway seeks out his ultimate destiny. Also included is a character guide and a timeline of key events thus far. Laughter and tears await you in this very special anthology!

Simply wonderful.  

Fans of Jay Bell's Something Like series are in for a TREAT. If you haven't read any of the series yet, I wouldn't suggest you start here. I don't think these stories would pack the same emotional punch without reading all six of the previous books first. And what an emotional ride it was! All four stories brought out The Feels. I had also just finished up listening to Something Like Autumn... so yeah. It was a tear filled day. 

To the stories!

In Something Like Yesterday Eric tells Tim of his past loves and heartbreak. I've always wondered about Eric's past and of his feelings for Tim. And now we know! And from Eric's POV, no less. While parts of his past were heartbreaking, he did have years in a relationship full of love. If anything, this proved his feelings for Tim even more. He wasn't bitter about his breakup with Gabriel, instead he was thankful that everything led to having Tim in his life.  He certainly didn't have the same kind of love for Tim as Gabriel, but there is no doubt that he loved Tim. 

Something Like Fall felt like a series of extra scenes from Ben's POV. It started with him and Jace visiting Jace's hometown, which resulted in Jace opening up about some things from his past he had kept from Ben. Which was great because I wondered how much Ben knew about Victor. Then the story moves forward to Ben saying goodbye to Jace. To say this scene was beautiful would be an understatement. The final section is all about Jason and how Ben and Tim cope with inviting him to live in their home. All the scenes were from very different points in Ben's life, but fit together so perfectly. 

Something Like Tonight was just fun. Of course it was also emotional, because duh. I can't seem to be around any of these characters without feeling all the feels. But it was mostly fun. Allison is worn out and tired. Tired of taking care of everyone else, so her wonderful hubby suggested she take a night out all by herself. Prior to her night out she happens to see Michelle and they decide to have their girl's night together. The drank, got into some shenanigans, and went home to their loving families. I loved seeing this side of Allison.

And then... and then came Something Like Eternity. Like I said earlier, I had just finished listening to Autumn the same day I read this, so there were tears. LOTS OF TEARS. Amazing, happy, hopeful, wonderful tears. Victor is in the afterlife. He's in the same afterlife Jay writes about in Hell's Pawn (another must read). Victor has made a space for himself here that feels like home. It resembles the clearing where he stayed by Jace's house. He starts to feel a pull, like a calling. He knows he's meant to be somewhere else, but can't pinpoint where that somewhere else should be. So he runs into some helpers. I'll let you read the story to find out who those helpers were, but Jay Bell took Victor's story to a place that I never even dreamed it could go. I'm in tears again as I'm thinking about Victor and the feeling of hope his story left me with. 

At the end there's a character guide and timeline, which is a fantastic addition. But now I have to go reread Hell's Pawn! Seems I missed a few things the first time around. 

I went in knowing I would love this and I did. The new POV's, how different all the stories were, revisiting these characters, everything. I loved everything.

A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

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