Something Like Stories: Volume Three: Something Like, Book 12

Jay Bell ends his "Something Like" Series with wonderful short stories. Even the great Rod Sterling had a few clunkers in his "Twilight Zone" and "Night Gallery" anthology series, so Mr. Bell is entitled to a few. The story "Stars" is so ridiculous on making a movie about Ben and Tim's story -- that I cringed trying to get through it. So why the five stars? Because the last two stories "Goodbye," about Marcello's last days and "Heaven" which explores Ben, Tim and Jace in Eternity are so well written that I added the star back. Mr. Bell has such a way of conveying eternal love with such emotion that my eyes were wet with tears! Now Mr. Bell is the creator and author, and I am not Kathy Bates in "Misery" with a sledgehammer, and I probably need to get a life at 63, but I have an issue with the long story "Something Like Us" which deals with the relationship between Felix , Noah, and now Harold. After praising Felix Ramos, who was like a breath of fresh air in "Hail," I found the idea of polyamory very strange and out of character for Felix. However, the story was well written and I would like to know if the relationships would still work in the future. It didn't work for Caesar in a previous story. Mr. Bell also wonderfully deals with transgenderism in "Something Like Me" in a tender and loving way. We also have many touching stories with Jason and William! Thank you Mr. Bell for your talent!

This is an excellent wrap up of the Something Like... series. Stories 3 has super short, medium and long stories. The whole series has been fantastic and this volume matches it... covering and exploring characters and incidents in more detail.

There are so many characters in the Something Like... series. You’ll find nearly all of them in this book in some form. The big stories are Marcello, Tim, Ben, Jace, Harold, Felix and Noah. 4.25 for giving us more. I’m still holding out for a full book with William and Jason adulting. C’mon Jay, make it happen. Jason had a crap childhood. He and William are born rescuers. Let’s read about their parenting skills and the kids they adopt.

It take me too long to finish this but not because it was Bad, just as Ben, Tim ans Jace it takes time to end things in the right way, and life happens in between. It's been a ride, a long one. I read something like summer a thousand time before I could read the rest of the books, I was so young lol when I started and I can't believe this is end. I guess it's time to go back and start again.

Jay Bell is a remarkable story teller. The author of the “Something Like…” stories, I picture his office with two laptops, one for the project at hand and one for keeping track of the many characters he explores through about twenty books. There are yellow post-its everywhere, a cup of room temperature coffee with current pop music playing and if I were he, an ashtray with at least one cigarette burning. But I suspect that Mr. Bell doesn’t smoke. None of his characters do. They’re young and fit and active. I’ve lived a fairly “straight” life- whatever that means- and never gave much thought to the differences between my family and the families of the LGBT people in my life. Me? I’m bisexual, somewhere in the middle of the Kinsey Scale, a measurement of sexuality that one of Mr. Bell’s characters taught me. What I was moved by is just how normal everyone is. Their lives are important and Mr. Bell writes character driven narrative, his dialogue is real, and any sex scenes (there are several) are comfortable, even hot, but always necessary to the story. Having read a lot of gay fiction lately I find Jay Bell to be the very best, chewing my way through all his “Something Like…” books over the summer. Sixteen of them, each book bringing us closer to his characters. Gay, straight, Bi, Thai, we meet and live with all these characters and we come to love them, like an extended family; not many writers have achieved this. Not that I have found. And fortunately for us, Jay Bell is another Agatha Christie. Or Stephen King. He writes quickly but carefully and during his relatively young life has produced an ample catalog of great fiction. It’s all worth your time, regardless of your sexuality. Begin with “Something Like Summer” and begin with Ben and Tim, the anchors of this series. You’ll know them from puberty to death, both of which are beautiful. The conflicts real, the characters flawed. But familiar. Start with Summer and I would easily bet that you will want to read more. Jay Bell is fantastic. And his husband is responsible for the art work which actually applies to the story. It causes me to sometimes consider Mr. Bell as the main character in all his books. He’s there, just below the surface and we begin to believe that we know him. And so I thank him for normalizing LGBTQ people. Ah, how the world has changed; Mr. Bell has done more than most. My grandfather always said, “It is our job to leave the world more beautiful than we found it.” Bravo, Mr. Bell.

This is an amazing book to end an amazing series! Clever way to bring so many stories to their end by using these short stories!! Thoroughly enjoyed every book!! Great read!!

I loved reading all the books in this series. It kept my attention from the first to the last books. This last book was a surprise, but closed this series out perfect.

Bell's Something Like...series begins with Something Like Summer, where you should also begin. It's by far the best, most authentic, and most emotional book of the series. Several others, including Something Like Autumn, are wonderful in fleshing out the Ben/Tim/Jace universe with a full set of characters. By the time this last book in the series arrives, it does feel like the universe has gotten awfully crowded, awfully soap opera-ish, and somewhat regressive even as characters age. I feel you can skip the last few books of the series and have a great, satisfying experience around what it was like to grow up gay in the 90s. By the time the seventh or eighth book of the series occurs, Bell is pretty much poking into dusty corners for plot lines and new characters. It feels like he milked the cash cow just a bit too much, especially when he gets into the supernatural/fantasy elements. I agree with other reviewers that if there is anything left in this series, it's definitely the Jason/William storyline. And could we maybe, just maybe, have a character who's not "hot?" There's definitely an aversion to true inclusion in this series - the average body fat of the universe of characters is about 7%.

I’m still not quite sure where to begin... the Something Like series has been a source of comfort for me, for many years. Through some of the lowest points in my life, and the happiest times too. When I read ‘Something Like Forever’, I was prepared for that to be the last in the series. But it felt like there was something missing. When Something Like Stories Vol. 3 was announced, I realised that maybe I wasn’t the only one that thought so. This final volume gives us so much closure on characters that we have loved from previous novels. From getting to see Harold, Felix and Noah work through their struggles with love and life in ‘Something Like Us’, allowing us a glimpse into Marcello’s movie about Ben and Tim in ‘Something Like Stars’. And even getting to see the real Marcello - “Friend, Father, Fiend”. The thing that really hit me with Marcello’s final story, was the love between him and Nathaniel - as father and son. Nathaniel’s character was always closed off, so to see him so emotionally raw, and willing to accept support from Tim just opened up a whole new realm to him. Of course, ‘Something Like Heaven’ was incredible. Benjamin getting reunited with all those he had loved and lost. Finally getting to meet Victor. And seeing the dynamic between Benjamin, Tim and Jace develop as they adapted and settled into their new life in blissful eternity together, surrounded by endless love. ‘Something Like Forever’ gave us the glimpse of the characters happy ever after. And ‘Something Like Stories Vol. 3’ solidified that. I’m so glad that Jay Bell decided to delve into the ‘Something Like’ universe for one last time - because truly, this was the closure that the series really needed. Jay Bell has created a world filled with the quirkiest of characters, the most devilish stories and an abundance of love, trust and understanding. One thing that I’ve taken away from every book in this series, is the fact that the characters and their stories stay with you. They translate into the world around us, and into our own lives. That is something so special, that not many authors have been able to accomplish. This series helped me to shape my future. To help me pick myself up when I questioned it life was worth living, and to take a chance at love and happiness. It sounds silly, but sometimes when you’re at your lowest point - the simplest nudge can help you turn everything around. Now that I’ve finished the series (and sobbed through a lot of it!), I’m already looking forward to delving back in at the start. Back to where it all began. I’ve re-read other books in the series over the years, and still not grown tired of them. Honestly, if you haven’t read this series yet - do it. You won’t regret it.

After being heartbroken so many times and especially in "something like forever", this book comes as a happy and heart warming conclusion to the stories of all the characters I've come to love and feel like i know personally. This is the perfect way to end this series on a high note.

Jay Bell is simply fatastic! I didn't read it yet, but I know I'm gonna love it!