I finished this anthology last night and I found myself still thinking about these characters this morning while i was waking up. It felt almost like they were real people and I can totally see this as a sort of sitcom or wanna be reality TV show. I could see this entire series sort of running in tandem as a show, It is something i would definitely watch on TV.

I was sort of an emotional mess through this series as well, so many feels! Santino did NOT disappoint with this Anthology.

Usually with anthologies, I find myself liking one story better and just feeling so-so about the others or vice versa. I have to say that Citywide by Santino Hassell had solid stories across the board! I was invested in each couple, and I didn’t want to put their stories down.

Rerouted
The first story features my favorite M/M/M pairing: Aiden, Jace and Chris. Their story continues from Santino’s Third Rail. You can read this novella as a standalone, but the short is free and awesome and more Chris!

Anyway, there’s a massive blackout across New York and these three guys finally find themselves together again. Forced proximity is one of my favorite tropes, and it really worked for me here. These guys are always fire when they’re together. But there’s a lot of fear and miscommunication, and why wouldn’t there be with three separate players? A good dose of real with plenty of steam, this was by far my favorite in the anthology!

Gridlocked

“I was almost glad there wasn’t any sugar or rose on that naughty tongue of hers. Just Marlboros and trouble.”

This was my second favorite if I had to choose. Tonya is a body guard and former Marine enby character, who becomes attracted to a client, Meredith. Tonya has this call-it-like-she-sees it personality, but Meredith is determined to knock down Tonya’s walls. I loved Meredith being so confident in herself and her sexuality, and it made this a dynamite read! dynamite read!

Derailed

I thought this would have been my favorite, but this one didn’t work as well for me. Stephanie and Angel have been best friends for a long time and when things get physical the lines blur and shift, and they both don’t know where they stand. All Stephanie knows is she’s not relationship material, while Angel’s the opposite.

The constant back and forth became a little much for me, and I wanted them to just talk it out. The tension was good, and I really enjoyed how they got to know each other better. Not my favorite but another solid addition to the anthology. This is the only story where both POVs are given.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this was another addicting installment in the Five Boroughs series. It has a bit of everything, and there’s an overreaching arc that connects them. I can’t wait to dive into the next full-title book!

4.5 stars!

5 stars to Rerouted, 5 stars to Gridlocked, and 2 stars to Derailed. 4/5 overall.

I came for the triad with Aiden, Jace, and Chris, stayed for Tonya and Mere, and almost jumped ship with Angel and Steph.

I will break this down by Novella

Rerouted which is the sexiest and hottest novella I have read in a long long time is during the blackout and from Chris's point of view. I love Chris to pieces and I adore Aiden and Jace. Polyam can be a tricky thing to navigate and I appreciate the road the they took to finally opening up and understanding each other. I truly believe that the three of them are made for each other and I could understand where Chris was coming from with his fear of rejection. I wanted to wrap him up in a cotton. I appreciate the honest conversations the blackout forced them to have and I hope we get to see more shorts of them in the future as their story as with most novellas did not feel complete 5 stars to it

Gridlocked is Mere and Tonya's story and I am so happy I read their story. It was equally as hot and explosive as the first one. I wasnt sure if I liked Mere but I was intrigued. I can see why Tonya would be wary because its not easy for her to be involved with people. But I loved how they worked through things and that espeically Mere asked Tonya which pronouns she prefers and what she wants to be called. I enjoyed Tonyas point of view almost as much as I loved Chris's. I was oddly rooting for Papa Stone. I both love and hate him as I did Caleb. I also would love to see more with Stravos. Being a novella it did not feel that Tonya and Mere's story is finished but i enjoyed their happy for now. Also that strap on scene was really really hot. 5 stars to Mere and Tonya

Tag Warning ahead for discussion of dubcon and consent and slight spoilers*****

Derailed which is my least favorite of the 3 and I am going to be honest and say I hate Steph and Angel deserved so much better. Where as I understand Aiden and Jace's non monogamy I could not connect with Steph on any level and I truly wished Angel had cut the cord and ran. She was the epitome of the strong independent woman who doesnt need no man or society telling her what to do which is great. Mad respect but she treated Angel like shit. They were devoted to each other yes but it came off as very toxic to me and I couldn't enjoy some very hot sex scenes because of it. Then when we got to the tent scene I was done. I dont care how much sex you have had with a person and how close you are to them. If they are stone cold dead asleep and dont even wake up when you bodily move them out of sleeping bag and manhandle their legs you do not have the right to start touching them sexually. Angel was asleep and did not have the option to consent at all to what Steph was doing. I dont care if he joined in once he woke up from her BJ full on consent was not had and that is full stop not okay. If she had tried to wake him uo with the first kiss fine giving his shoulder a shake fine but she didnt she kept going. That dubious consent and I almost walked away from my kindle at 89%. I do not see them staying together I do not seeing them lasting. Them having some great sex sure but I do not envision them as a happy couple.

So overall this is a great addition to the 5B universe. This books strength for me lies in the first to novellas which are fantastic and I look forward to the next book

Three stories, one citywide blackout, and a heatwave that has nothing on the scorching encounters that occur within the five boroughs of New York--need I really say more? The location should clue you in on which series this is a part of and who the author is, but if you're new to both, this three-novella collection is part of the Five Boroughs series penned by Santino Hassell. You could think of this as a sampler platter slash buffet because as much as all three stories don't leave you hanging, you may be left for a hankering of even more...umm...hanky-panky. Let's be honest here, it's difficult to resist the pull of this ragtag crew from Queens and they're not-so-new friends from the upper crust of New York society. I doubt there is such a thing as "enough" when it comes to this series. However, I'm more of an advocate for "always leave them wanting more," and this collection so succeeded.

"Every time you make me feel like I stand a chance, I tear myself apart bouncing between wanting to believe it...and wanting to run away."

Citywide starts off with Rerouted, which has IT whiz Christopher Mendez caught between a rock and a hard place. Or maybe I should say two hard places, considering we're talking about married couple Aiden and Jace Fairbairn here. Chris's encounters with the two have been nothing but memorable, but as much as he wants and needs them, he can't quite wrap his head, what more his heart, around the fact that they're in an open marriage. So, does the threesome that's made many a Five Boroughs reader and fan become a triad or throuple (a term I had never come across till this book!)? I won't say. However, what I will share with you is how my heart went out to these three, but especially Chris, who's always had his fair share of insecurities that make him feel like a consolation prize than what he really is--and what Aiden, Jace, and his friends hope Chris realizes--an absolute gift.

"What is it about you?" I rasped against her lips. "I've been wanting this since that fucking cruise, and every time I touch you, I just want more and more. And I don't think I'll ever get enough."

The second novella, Gridlocked, belongs to bodyguard Tonya Maldonado and QFindr spokesperson Meredith Stone. They shared one unforgettable hook-up at the QFindr photoshoot, but one flippant remark on Meredith's part has made Tonya wary of her. But when Mere's life is put in danger, Tonya's protectiveness comes into play. Just when things look promising between them, Mere's past and Tonya's future could very well mess up their present. The thing is, these two are hot together, and I loved that Tonya wasn't this non-binary character demanding people use the proper pronoun or correcting them when they make certain assumptions. She is who she is and since she has very few fucks to give, she picks and chooses when to dish them out. Of course, Mere isn't exactly some shrinking violet and she gave as good as she got. They're very different people, but their story was far from boring.

"God, you are ridiculously romantic sometimes. You'll make some girl really happy someday."
After only a second of hesitating, I grabbed her hand and started walking again. "Maybe someday it will be you."

If Chris, Aiden, and Jace had the will-they-or-won't-they vibe, so did Stephanie Quiñones and Angel León but ten-fold that of the trio. Derailed finds the non-couple trying to make a go of a purely platonic relationship. Easier said than done, especially with the kind of off-the-charts chemistry these two have going. But they're stuck in neutral, what with Stephanie making her longstanding stand on relationships (a definite NO) known and Angel actually wanting one with her. Maybe a work-related retreat will help them come to some sort of firm decision. Of course, how much contemplation can these two make when surrounded by Stephanie's boss and co-workers? These two were such a revelation, and they were the one relationship that I felt could have gone either way, which is why I was anxious till the very last page as to the outcome of their story. Angel was easily one of my favorite characters.

"Be good, man. Figure that shit out once and for all."

I started this review with a quote from Raymond Rodriguez, who may not be my favorite 5B character (maybe because he kinda-sorta-maybe reminds me of myself), but they guy's got words of wisdom when he feels you're worth his time and attention. Chris, Aiden, and Jace, Tonya and Meredith, and Stephanie and Angel all have shit that they need figuring out, and ultimately, they do figure some of it out. Do I think they figured EVERYTHING out? Nope, because that's not how the world works, and if there's one thing I've always appreciated about this series, it's that there's no sugarcoating involved. The characters know they need to constantly have to work at what they have, but it gets easier because they don't have to do it on their own. Yes, the Queens crew have always had one another, but having significant others represents a more intimate kind of support that fortifies their entire system.

There were a couple of notable non-Queens crew supporting characters in this collection that are worth mentioning. We have Stavros, who was also a bodyguard and Tonya's co-worker in her story with Mere. I'm not sure if he's going to be showing up in either of the two remaining books in the series, but he made enough of an impression here for me to be welcome to his return. Then there was the far more memorable Victor, who is Stephanie's younger brother. Other than Angel, Vic isn't exactly a favorite among the Queens crew, having gained a reputation for being a gangbanger and starting physical fights with both Ray and Tonya. He's reformed himself, and I'm curious to find out what more to his story is waiting to be told. I was missing Charles as well as Clive, but with them taking center stage in books six and seven, respectively, in the series, I can wait a few months. Well, I can try.

Going into this collection of 5B novellas, I know there was going to be an M/M/M story, an F/F one (though I think it's more appropriately categorized as an NB/F story), and an M/F one. The author's already proven himself quite adept at writing M/M and has written M/M/M (hello, Michael Rodriguez, Nunzio Medici, and David Butler in Sutphin Boulevard) prior to the M/M/M vignettes involving Chris and Jaiden in Third Rail plus the M/F/M combo of Chris, Ray, and Steph snippet in Corrupting Chris. But F/F and M/F are pairings I've never read from Santino Hassell before. So...how'd he fare? Frickin' fantastically. I swear, the guy seemed to seamlessly move from one sub-category to the next with nary a thing to nitpick. Dare I say that the F/F is one of the best I've read this year, and he's got M/F absolutely pegged (pun intended). The much-awaited Citywide was so worth the wait. Five-plus stars. ♥