Title: Michael Murphy’s Greatest Hits

Author: Michael Murphy

Genre: Contemporary

Length: Anthology/bundle (771 pages)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (9th October 2015)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts Overall

Blurb: Don’t miss these Michael Murphy novels about discovering love within differences inside and out.

—Little Squirrels Can Climb Tall Trees: Joseph is Kyle’s polar opposite, well-off where Kyle is poor, and self-assured while Kyle is insecure. He’s also determined to show Kyle what a great guy he is.

—When Dachshunds Ruled the Serengeti: Phillip and José, newly minted Ivy League roommates, couldn’t be more different. They both need to adapt to their new environment and, in the process, quickly become fond of each other despite their differences.

—It Should Have Been You: Patrick is struggling, homeless and on the streets, until he meets Juan, a street-savvy Latino youth wise beyond his years, and they strike up an instant rapport. It’s not pretty, but they’re making it together, until one night Juan goes off with a stranger to earn a few bucks… and doesn’t come back.

—Swan Song for an Ugly Duckling: Josh is horrified when a senior on campus seduces Aaron. He can’t believe Aaron has always been gay and he missed it—and missed getting to be Aaron’s first. But when Aaron finds out his boyfriend isn’t faithful, things go from tense to worse.

ISBN: 978-1-63476-721-7

Product Link: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Reviewer: Prime

Review: This is a fantastic collection of Michael Murphy’s novels. For someone like me who has not read anything by Michael Murphy before, this is the perfect intro for any author. Each story is jam-packed with emotion and is quite simply a roller coaster which cannot be missed. One thing that I loved about all the jobs is not only the wonderful story lines but also the complex characters which are so widely varied from each other. I will briefly go over the 4 novels featured in the bundle:

Little Squirrels can Climb Trees (♥♥♥♥ 4 hearts)

This story is about the budding romance between Kyle and Joseph, told from Joseph’s POV. These guys could not be any different from each other, although this is rather stereotypical in the fact that this is a “wealthy city guy meets poor country guy moved to the big city” story. Kyle is the Little Squirrel in the story because this is very much his story despite the fact that Joseph tells it.

For me the highlights of the story are: this is something of a journey of self discovery for both characters, Joseph learns that there is more to the world and Kyle is on a journey of self discovery after being brought up in a small town by Christian fundamentalists. I also enjoyed the fact that Murphy did not make the Christian aspect of the story into a melodramatic farce, it flowed well and was completely relatable. Another point that I found relatable was the bumpy start that Joseph and Kyle had. Honestly, I was a bit unsure about Joseph at first because he came off as a bit spoiled.

When Dachshunds Ruled the Serengeti (♥♥♥♥ 3.5 hearts)

This is about Jose and Phillip who meet each other in college and become a totally sweet couple that you can’t help but to love. This is a very interesting story because like the previous story, these guys are polar opposites. There are a lot of highs and, equally, a lot of lows, experienced here and I think that’s what makes this raw emotionally but fully relatable.

Jose is first born child with eight younger siblings and strict Mexican parents. His family are poor; they are struggling migrant workers that want the best education for their children (something I can relate to). Philip on the other hand is the only son of rich parents, you get the impression he was born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth and it is something that becomes evident later on in the book.

I felt that first half of the book, where the guys meet and come together, is much stronger than the second half. However, regardless, I still enjoyed the story as a whole. Although I think Phillip acted totally within the bounds of his character, I found his reactions to the drama surround Jose and Jose’s family very frustrating. And despite the fact that the ending was somewhat satisfying, I found it came a tad too quick.

It Should Have been You (♥♥♥♥♥ 5 hearts)

OMG, this was just wow … It Should Have Been You completely blew me away with how fantastic it was as well as making me cry throughout.

I think what makes it hit home more so is that Michael Murphy based this off of a real story. He briefly explains in his author’s note that this was given a bit of a happy ending. The ending reveals hope for our MCs – hope that there are people to support them and hope that they will have a better life, although not specifically about romance it is an important because it is about survival.

The story is centred on Patrick, who has been kicked out of home and onto the streets and is forced to do things out of character just to survive. Then there are the people around him, specifically there is Juan, who is his romantic interest. However, we also meet Patrick’s father, who really does development along the way, as well as Father Tom. I absolutely adore Father Tom; to me he was like the voice of reason. I found he was also a good balance to Patrick’s mother’s extremist Christian views.

Swan Song for the Ugly Duckling (♥♥♥♥3.5 hearts)

This is another example of Michael Murphy’s use of characters who are polar opposites. Josh is something of the quintessential jock, while Aaron is the son and heir of an Amish preacher who maybe seems to border on crazy, though I am not entirely sure as I don’t know enough about the Amish community. In saying that though, I am totally a sucker for any book that features an Amish character who is at war within himself and finds his HEA with a Prince Charming by the end. I swear, that it not a spoiler, more than anything it brings to mind Andrew Grey’s Farm series. Yet in saying that, Swan Song for the Ugly Duckling is just so completely different.

Here we are in the world of young adults and college life. Aaron is allowed into the outside world because his father believes as a future leader of the congregation that Aaron needs to know what is happening outside of the community. However, the outside world means a world of pain from bullying for Aaron, mix in the fact that he also finds himself attracted to other boys. Then steps in Josh, he relentlessly apologises to Aaron but then becomes something of a saviour to Aaron. Hence the title, Josh helps Aaron shift from Ugly Duckling to Beautiful Swan.

This is essentially a young adult book which just happens to use an Amish main character. The first half of the book is excellent. The only reason why I’ve rated this 3.5 hearts is because I felt that the second half lost some of the spark from the first half and the ending (which was satisfying) seemed rather rushed in the last 3-4 chapters.