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Start Here: Short stories of first encounters Kindle Edition

by Brigitte Bautista (Author), Motzie Dapul (Author), Agay Llanera (Author), Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 out of 5 stars 21 ratings
There’s a first time for everything. Gatecrashing a KPop concert with an oppa in a business suit. Taking shelter from the storm with the girl you’ve been meaning to shake off. That kiss that blurs the line between friendship and something more. A one-night stand (or, is it?) with your best friend from across the hallway.

Dive into these 10 stories of first encounters – unapologetically queer, happy endings required, with a smattering of that signature #romanceclass kilig. Whether you’re recalling your own firsts or out there looking for one, there’s a story in here for you.

So, go on.

Turn the page.

Start here.

(Edited by Ronald S. Lim and Brigitte Bautista. Featuring short stories by Agay Llanera, H. Bentham, Ella Banta, Danice Sison, Yeyet Soriano, Barbie Barbieto, Katt Briones, Bobbi Moran, Motzie Dapul, and Brigitte Bautista. This anthology contains M/M, F/F, F/NB romance stories with happy endings. Some stories have a high heat level.)
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  1. Print length
    280 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    January 27, 2018
  4. File size
    1.7 MB
  5. Page Flip
    Enabled
  6. Word Wise
    Enabled
  7. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B078V9PSN3
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ (January 27, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 27, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.7 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 280 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 21 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Agay Llanera

    Agay Llanera

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    Agay Llanera is a freelance writer for television and video, and a published writer of children's books based in Manila, Philippines. Get in touch with her through the following:

    http://agayisagirl.blogspot.com

    https://www.facebook.com/AgayLlanera

    https://twitter.com/agayskee

    See more on the author's page
  2. Yeyet Soriano

    Yeyet Soriano

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    Yeyet Soriano has been writing her entire life, first as an angst-ridden teenager, then as a single working woman, then as a married working woman with kids. Though the themes of her written works have changed over the years, she held on to one truth--she needed to write to keep the voices in her head at bay.

    Based in Manila, Philippines, her day job is that of an IT manager for the Asia-Pacific region for a multinational corporation. She is married to a man who reads only to fall asleep, and they have three wonderful kids--two of whom love to read and one, only starting to learn to read.

    www.yeyetsoriano.com

    See more on the author's page
  3. H. Bentham

    H. Bentham

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    H. Bentham lives in the Philippines, somewhere North, but don’t ever ask him for any directions. He writes stories where the gays will always get their HEA, collects books that he promises to read (eventually), and brings tarot cards everywhere because he has absolutely no sense of the future.

    Despite now living with two energetic cats, he prefers the unhurried and easy-going life of turtles. That’s probably why his reading and writing pace is perpetually set to low speed.

    He is @bentchbites everywhere on the internet.

    See more on the author's page
  4. Katt Briones

    Katt Briones

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    Katt Briones writes contemporary romance. When not writing or thinking about happily ever afters, she tries to find said happily ever afters in books, series, and movies.

    Her passions include reading, cooking, writing code (sometimes), screaming at the compiler (most of the time), and numbers. She runs on coffee and pure spite. 🤣

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
21 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers love the anthology's storytelling, with one noting its powerful narrative style. They appreciate the sweetness of the stories, with one customer describing them as ranging from sweet to smoldering.

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3 customers mention "Storytelling"3 positive0 negative

Customers love the storytelling in this anthology, with one noting its powerful narrative style.

"Start Here is a powerful anthology and ALL of the authors should be incredibly proud of their work in this one! *..." Read more

"...Each author’s style was easy to sink into and I absolutely enjoyed reading their stories." Read more

"...events had had more attention paid them, but overall it was an alright story. Gorgeous by Motzie Dapul..." Read more

3 customers mention "Sweetness"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the sweetness of the book, with one customer noting it ranges from sweet to smoldering, while another mentions it has less steam than expected.

"...steamy romances, they got you covered.. If you like something sweeter with less steam, they got you covered.. And they are ALL swoony and bring the..." Read more

"From sweet to smoldering to meet cutes, this anthology has a story for almost everyone...." Read more

"...was perfect for a lively Friday night place and the bar food sounded delicious. Even Tala's cooking: maple bacon and chocolate chip pancakes, anyone?..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Kristy Mauna
    5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful anthology that everyone needs to read!
    Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Start Here is a powerful anthology and ALL of the authors should be incredibly proud of their work in this one! *bravo #romanceclass bravo* Thank you for bringing to life so many stories that needed to be told!

    There is a story for everyone in this anthology. If you like steamy romances, they got you covered.. If you like something sweeter with less steam, they got you covered.. And they are ALL swoony and bring the f e e l s! What more could you want in a romance, am I right?

    I just adored these stories, the characters, and all that they represented. EVERYONE needs to read this and open their minds and hearts to how beautiful our world truly is. <3
    One person found this helpful
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  • Cande
    4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful anthology
    Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2018
    This a delightful collection of short stories set featuring queer people of color. The stories are adorable and full of hope, many different tropes, and pairings.

    My favorite stories (although all of them are good!);

    +Come full circle by Bobbi Moran. F/F pairing, friends to lovers
    +Shipping included by Danice Sison. M/M pairing, it looks like destiny wants them together.
    +Delubyo by Barbie Barbieto. F/F pairing, I can't do serious relationships but oh no what are these feelings that I have now for you?
    +Blooms and Hues by Ella Banta. M/M pairing. The sweetest and most adorable story ever
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  • Dani
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
    Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    From sweet to smoldering to meet cutes, this anthology has a story for almost everyone. Each author’s style was easy to sink into and I absolutely enjoyed reading their stories.
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  • H. DeFilippis
    3.0 out of 5 stars Love, sex, sweetness, and amazing visuals in this collection of romance stories.
    Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Collection Rating: 3.5 Stars

    There's a lot of love and sex and beauty in this collection. Some of the stories had me wanting to read them again and some less so. There's heat levels for everyone, I think, that enjoys a little bit of steaminess to their romance stories.

    In the Moonlight by Agay Llanera

    Rating: 5 Stars

    Caleb and Ezra are two of the most adorable boys I've read about in recent memory. Their story has everything: vacation romance, nerves, and what might be true love winning in the end. Caleb had to contend with coming to terms with feelings for someone he wasn't sure he ever see again. Ezra, though we don't hear things from his side, seemed to have to deal with potential feelings for an ex. Would he hold onto the past or would he look to the future with Caleb?

    The writing was excellent and though it ends, it ends on a sweet note and smiles all around.

    Come Full Circle by Bobbi Moran

    Rating: 3 Stars

    The story of unrequited love has potential for sadness and hurt. There was some of that in this tale, but there was also a nice enough ending wherein things blossomed over the years for Alana and Marion.

    The reason this isn't rated higher is for a couple of reasons. Primarily, I felt the writing style was stilted and told in a manner that suggested Alana was relating this tale back to Marion when she no longer remembered it herself or had passed on. There was no such conclusion, though, so it turned out to just be an awkward storytelling style.

    The second reason is that I didn't realize that Alana, unnamed up to a certain point, was female. Her character is introduced as playing Captain Von Trapp to Marion's Maria and without any other identifiers, I thought she was male. We only find out that their school was an all-girls academy at the end of the story, so I couldn't have used that to deduce Alana's gender.

    The friendship was certainly enduring and the locales were nicely described. I wish some events had had more attention paid them, but overall it was an alright story.

    Gorgeous by Motzie Dapul

    Rating: 2.5 Stars

    I can't decide if I liked this story very much or if it falls on the lower end of the scale for me. The writing was alright, perfectly adequate, but I didn't get a spark of interest while I was reading it.

    The character whose point of view is our window into the story, I wasn't sure of her name even at the end of everything. There was one person, CJ, that called her mars, but that seemed more like a nickname or a pet name than her name with a capital N. Mars was an interestingly described character. She was plus size, sex positive, and her aesthetic was attractive (pink hair, unique hairstyle, piercings, etc.).

    Jays, Mars's love interest, was the most complex character, I think. Apparently an old classmate of Mars, Jays had a certain manner in high school that was adverse to Mars and now, in their mid-20's, not realizing who she is, has fallen in love. Coming to terms with their feelings tugged a bit on my heartstrings and I wish we could have heard more from their point of view.

    As much as I liked these two, I couldn't really get into Gorgeous. I didn't feel the soul of the story and while it might technically written well, it fell flat for me.

    Shipping Included by Danice Sison

    Rating: 5 Stars

    Kiko was the best brother. He might be the type to tease Kyra, his sister, for her love of K-Pop, but he was supportive. He watches K-dramas with her, he gets into liking some of the songs and bands even! When Kyra wants to go to a mega K-pop concert, he protests at the price, but is impressed when Kyra is determined to get there by saving her allowance, even going so far as to take whatever side jobs he can so he can help her with the balance. Such a supportive sibling relationship was refreshing.

    What I loved, besides the passion for K-pop that was evident, was that this was the story that brought in both points of view from the intended couple. It was easy to get into both Kiko and David's heads, see what they were thinking or feeling, whether it was working extra hard to give their sister a gift (Kiko) or embracing their kind-of-secret interests and sharing them with their niece (David).

    There was so much energy in the writing, in creating KPOPOCALYPSE as the main setting, that I was brought back to the anime conventions that I attended until a couple years ago. It brought a smile to my face, feeling like I was immersing myself in that world once again.

    Delubyo by Barbie Barbieto

    Rating: 2.5 Stars

    To start, I can tell this writing was not for me. The style is objectively good, but to my mind it didn't fully embrace the story it was trying to tell.

    The author tells us that Pebbles has a policy regarding relationships, but it didn't feel like we saw that. It was more "tell tell tell". Whatever relationship Pebbles was intended to have with Gab in the end, it didn't feel fully formed. Her about face in terms of relationship length and intimacy was sudden and I didn't get the sense that it was authentic.

    The Other Story by H. Bentham

    Rating: 3 Stars

    Marcus and Pablo's story was more than a little bit steamy. After meeting at a sex club, and hitting it off rather well, they find they have things in common and begin a long and seemingly lovely relationship.

    It's clear that they're together for a long time and I think they were really nice. I think this story could have benefited from some more detail because the scope of their relationship was painted with broad strokes. It was the one story that I think I could have seen as being a full length novel and would have been pleased to see it.

    I'll admit the sex scene made me a bit uncomfortable, but that has to do with my personal identity & preferences. It seemed well written and could be enjoyed by people who like their stories hot and steamy.

    Blooms and Hues by Ella Banta

    Rating: 4 Stars

    I loved the visuals in Blooms and Hues. From the paper Pat used in his sketches to the endless kinds of flowers in Haya's shop and garden, the scenes unrolled before my eyes and enveloped me. Flowers, their scents and colors, are a powerful too in storytelling.

    Things moved rather quickly and while that would usually be off putting, Pat and Haya didn't become the end all be all couple. The beginning is there and you could see how things might develop, but for now, a sweet beginning was all that was needed.

    Another First by Yeyet Soriano

    Rating: 2.5 Stars

    Another First was another story in this collection that I found embraced the setting and described it beautifully. From Jesslyn and Lily Rose's zip lining adventure to the animal sanctuaries they visited, I enjoyed really seeing the locale and seeing how interested the characters were at the newness of it all.

    That being said, the characters overall didn't appeal to me. The relationship difficulties that existed between Jess and Matt felt like they blew over and were resolved too easily, like it was a convenience that they weren't getting on well and Lily Rose was conveniently there to be a new love interest. They all three fell flat for me, though Lily Rose did have a bit more personality and uniqueness that the other two.

    Luck From the Skies by Katt Briones

    Rating: 2.5 Stars

    A lot of stuff that went on in this story seemed to be crammed into a too small space. While the behind-the-scenes look at a reality competition and modeling work was interesting, the dates and the interactions between Asher and Chan afterwards felt like a little more time could've been put into developing a terrific story. It was hard to distinguish just how much time passed and thus had both the feeling of rushed into "love" and a bit of a dragging development.

    The locations where the story started out and where the commercial shoot took place was a bit confusing. The running around, seemingly added for drama, was more confusing that atmospheric.

    Asher and Chan could've been a really good couple to read about, but I rather felt that they were okay.

    Lemon Drop Friday by Brigitte Bautista

    Rating: 5 Stars

    I don't like bars and yet, the author's description of Tala's work place had me giving seconds thoughts to the idea. The atmosphere was perfect for a lively Friday night place and the bar food sounded delicious. Even Tala's cooking: maple bacon and chocolate chip pancakes, anyone? Yum.

    The tension following the Friday night in question made me sad rather than frustrated. Tala's position was understandable, but it was also hurting Liv, so Tala's confusion was understandable. Short as this story was, I was engaged with these women and loved their energy, despite the sad circumstances in the middle.

    The ending, the vision of couch cuddles and breakfasts to come, was sweet. Maybe I'll even try a Lemon Drop sometime. ;)

    I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • L. Jones
    5.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 stars
    Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2018
    4.5 stars. This anthology was so cute! A couple of the stories, I didn't really like that much, but the majority I enjoyed immensely! I read a lot of LGBT books and surprisingly, there aren't a lot of diverse books like this, at least, I haven't seen them. I loved this collection and I am considering buying the paper version because that cover is so beautiful! 😍
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • l.i.h.
    4.0 out of 5 stars Cute and queer antholoy
    Reviewed in Germany on July 2, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This was a super cute anthology with 10 queer stories by #romanceclass authors about first meetings.

    The stories were fun and diverse, with a mostly lower heat level safe for one or two stories. There were m/m, f/f and one f/enby stories with one featuring a bit of m/f on the side. The settings and background stories were different, but most stories played in the Philippines.

    While I enjoyed the anthology overall, the writing was sometimes confusing to me, and scene breaks could have been marked more clearly. I found it interesting that while each story was written by a different author, the writing was often similar, even if the styles (like POVs) and settings were different.
    One "problem" I had with several of the stories was that they started our really great and then just turned south. This was partly because the writing style didn't click with me, partly because I just didn't like the decisions the characters made.

    Content warnings for the entire anthology include: real-person shipping, ghosting, past bullying, fatphobia, deadnaming of a trans character, sex on-page, misogyny that is partly challenged.

    My ratings, thoughts and a bit of information about the individual stories are below:

    In the Moonlight by Agay Llanera: 4 stars
    m/m; I liked this one a lot! Caleb and Ezra meet on vacation but part without exchanging contact data. Caleb fights to overcome his anxiety to fight the courage to meet with Ezra again.

    Come Full Circle by Bobbi Moran: 3 stars
    f/f; This one was interesting because it was told through the narrator adressing her partner in second person - as in an "I/me" narrator talking to a "you". It took some time to get used to it, but once I did I enjoyed it! The story is VERY heavy on the pining - I'm talking over a decade of pining here. They meet in high school but were never friends, and then met again and again over the years.
    It could have been 4 stars, but I disliked the setting for the ending and some other executive choices. (view spoiler)

    Gorgeous by Motzie Dapul: 3.5 stars
    f/enby; This was probably my favourite story! The main characters again met in highschool, where one of them hated the other, but when they meet again years later they don't recognize each other. I loved that the protagonist is fat and that the love interest is still questioning their gender. (They don't call themselves enby, but they are labelled that way in the blurb so that's what I took.)
    I wanted to rate this one higher but again was unsettled by the choices of the characters towards the end.

    Shipping Included by Danice Sison: 3.5 stars
    m/m; This one was the only dual POV story and it was so much fun! It's about two guys in their thirties who both got dragged into the KPop fandom and eventually to a huge concert by younger family members, which is where they meet. Super cute, but some parts and the way they sometimes talked about the fandom stuff was weird.

    Delubyo by Barbie Barbieto: 3 stars
    f/f; This one was told from the POV of Pebbles, who doesn't do relationships for longer than a few months and who is getting ready to break up with her girlfriend - a breakup that is longer overdue after eight whole months! But even though she has it all planned out already.... things don't go according to plan.
    Again, cute setup and idea, but I disliked the repeatedly mentioned idea that everyone absolutely HAS to find love in their life and that that is something everyone does.

    The Other Story by H. Bentham: 3.5 stars
    m/m; Once again, super fun premise! The narrator tells the story looking into the past, talking about how they usually tell people how they met, when actually they met in a sex club. This is the only story that has explicit sex on the page. It briefly discusses the insecurity the narrator faces repeatedly, which was a nice touch. It also features some extremely questionable describtiors of intimate body parts. (view spoiler)

    Blooms and Hues by Ella Banta: 3 stars
    m/m; FLOWER SHOP SETTING!!!!!! At first I thought this would be my favourite story, but then the main characters barely ever talked to each other on page???? Which I thought was super weird. Plus the ending was extremely rushed :(

    Another First by Yeyet Soriano: 3 stars
    f/f with a side of m/f; With this one I had the opposite problem than with most of the other stories: I really disliked the beginning, but the ending was great! Here the protagonist is on a romantic getaway with her boyfriend.... except it's not romantic, because he keeps working. Instead she starts doing activities with another woman at the resort. For the most part this story was just miserable. The protagonist is clearly unhappy in her relationship and people keep telling her she is the only one at fault and should just accept the things her boyfriend does that she hates, even if it makes her unhappy. She was also so full of ugly jealousy, and the book acted like pitting women against women was the norm, which I hated.
    Luckily the ending was great!

    Luck From the Skies by Katt Briones: 3.5 stars
    m/m; Another cute premise, except the setting lacked any elaborating so I was very confused for most of the time. From what I understood, it's about two models (?) who are on a reality show (?) and there is a typhoon and good food. Lots of pining!

    Lemon Drop Fridays by Brigitte Bautista: 3 stars
    f/f; This one has a best-friends-to-lovers storyline, with the protag being a bartender at the bar where her best friend picks up a different woman each friday week after week. It was semi-explicit. I'm not sure why, but this was the one story that didn't engage me at all. It wasn't bad, but would have been bored had it not been so short.
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