“Moderating Love” by Jax Calder

A couple of months ago, after reading this review by Erin (which is chock-full of all my catnip triggers), I grabbed both stories in the duology (see footnote 1) Beware: non-quite-explicit sex on page between two consenting adult men. “Moderating Love” by Jax Calder This novella is one of those stories that have no conflict, mostly a very sweet meet cute with a happy ending. And yet, in under a hundred pages, the author builds a full world–firmly set in the 2020s–and well rounded characters. Even though it’s told in first person, present tense–my absolute least favorite narrative voice–the heart and humor push all my happy buttons in the best way. Here’s the story’s blurb: I’ve spent two years defending true love against the internet’s biggest cynic. For two years, I’ve been moderating QueerWaystoFallinLove, a forum where people share their romantic meet-cutes. And for two years, TruthGuardian has been the thorn in my optimistic side—debunking every sweet story with spreadsheets,…