Rainbow Reviews

BOOK BLURB:
Included in the anthology:

• Cruising by J.P. Bowie ~ Adam Brenner is looking for a life change ...
• Maximum Exposure by Jenna Byrnes & Jude Mason ~ A secret pleasure denied could be the end for long time lovers Rob and Max, or will mistrust do it first?
• Yes! by Kim Dare ~ Can Andrew really spend twelve hours saying no to everything Stephen offers him? It's not going to be easy, when all he wants to say is Yes!
• Sorry Charlie by Ashley Ladd ~ Charlie's dad wants to make up after a 17-year family feud.
• Heat of the Night by S.L. Majors ~ Bad boy Stephen Powell has finally met his match in Dakota Youngblood, a sexy Alpha and older man who shows Stephen a thing or two in the heat of a hot summer night.
• One Night Stand by Cassandra Gold ~ Can a one-night stand lead to lasting love?

  BOOK REVIEW:
  This is a delightfully entertaining collection of gay, erotic short stories about creating a little friction between consenting adults.

  The Anthology gets off to a rollicking start with J.P. Bowie's "Cruising," a soap opera about a cruise ship crew. Sparks fly among the men and women aboard The Maid of the Seas, and there's plenty of drama and personality clashes to go around. Casino boss Adam manages to find crooner Brett amid the madness of life aboard the ship. Together they create a calm and sweet oasis of love. Bowie has a breezy writing style and a knack for humor that makes this a fantastic read.

  Jenna Byrnes and Jude Mason's "Maximum Exposure" is a thoughtful tale about what happens when the magic in your relationship wanes. Rob and Max have been together for over 6 six years but they're having problems sustaining the romance. Rob decides to surprise Max at his company's convention with the promise of indulging in the kinky love play that Max favors. In the process, Rob learns a lot about his own sexual needs and boundaries.

  Kim Dare's effort begins with a dare between a young, would-be dominant, Stephen, and an older submissive, Andrew. They banter and tease their way throughout the the day, then give in to their mutual attraction, though at a slower pace than Andrew is accustomed to. While their love-making is sexy and erotic, this reader was not at all convinced by the end of the story that this was a love match. The characters in "Yes" were one-dimensional and the writing was rather dense in places. The overall tone of the story was lukewarm.

  Ashley Ladd's "Sorry Charlie" is a mixed genre story: half drama and half comedy and wholeheartedly zany. Charlie is thrilled and terrified at the prospect of reuniting with his estranged dad. Jonathan, his partner of fifteen years, worries that Charlie will choose his family over him. Throw in a wild cast of characters, including a voodoo doll maker, and you've got one crazy, if improbable, tale. Despite a strong start, much of the interior dialogue reads like a schizophrenic episode, which was very distracting for this reader, but Ladd's fans will undoubtedly be pleased by her trademark writing style.

  S.L. Majors's "Heat of the Night" was the sexiest tale of all. Stephen, a young and straight playboy is sent to a Wyoming ranch to dry out. He is stunned by his attraction to Dakota, the Native American rancher/owner. I love first time stories and Majors doesn't burden the plot with too much melodrama. Instead, Stephen is mature enough to act on his feelings and he and Dakota have the hottest virgin sex I've ever read. This was a very satisfying and erotic read.

  The Anthology ends with Cassandra Gold's "One Night Stand," a cautionary tale about a one night stand gone wrong. Tom, a sweet photographer coming out of mourning meets relationship-shy Ian at a night club. Despite their sexy but disastrous one night stand, they manage to find love the second time around. I enjoyed the easy pace of their romance, the wonderful family scenes and the happy ever after ending.

  The stories in the "Friction Anthology" explore the joy of rubbing hot male bodies against one another in different settings. I liked the variety of characters (younger, older, vanilla, virgin, kinky, submissive & dominant), relationship stages (new lovers & long-time partners) and settings (cruise ship, ranch, country, city & suburb). I'm happy to say that the authors succeeded in raising my temperature a few degrees.

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