Bookended by Heidi Belleau

Bookended by Heidi Belleau
Stars: 3.5/5

Length: 32 pages
Blurb
Ad exec Fletcher Williams has the ideal personal assistant. Julian is hardworking, totally in tune with his boss’s needs, capable of enviable attention to detail... and completely willing to apply all those skills to their mutually gratifying sexual relationship. Fletcher doesn’t realize the extent to which he’s wrapped around Julian’s finger—until Julian invites Ogden, a bi-curious young artist they meet in a bookshop, to come home with them. After adding Ogden to their sex life, will Fletcher and Julian be able to return to business as usual?

Overall
A sexy little short that left me wanting more, dammit!

Review
This was enjoyable, but left me with a serious case of emotional blue balls. As a slice of life, this works great, showing Fletcher and Julian in their standard turn of affairs, picking up guys and taking them home for the night. However, the opening and closing scenes, in addition to moments sprinkled throughout, hint at so much more.

And it's this more that my brain is obsessing over. Is what I'm implying actually true to the story, or is it just what I want so badly that I'm imagining it? I think leaving this couple where we are left/abandoned is a good spot to leave them and is fitting with both them and the story--because any resolution would be rather far down the road, I imagine--but it doesn't make it any less difficult to be left there.

That said, if you can go in with the warning that the question asked at the end of the blurb never really gets answered--insert sigh here--then this will be a fun little threesome. If you're more like me--insert second sigh here--you'll still enjoy these three men getting hot and heavy, but you may be pulling at your hair and plotting how to make Belleau tell you it IS a happy ever after.

Either way, enjoy!

Shoulda Been a Cowboy by Terry O'Reilly

Shoulda Been a Cowboy by Terry O'Reilly
Stars: 2/5

Length: 21,354 words
Blurb
Charlie Bradley has always entertained cowboy fantasies. When his boyfriend Jared offers him the choice of where to go on their summer vacation, Charlie chooses Stallions and Studs, a dude ranch catering to a gay clientele.

Upon arrival, Charlie meets the very handsome and studly Wade Connors, a riding instructor. Charlie is immediately enthralled with the man and finds his feelings, fight them as he may, are turning into love.

Wade, however, is a man who chooses a guest as his flavor of the week -- to romance, play with, and then move on. But this week Wade finds Charlie becoming more than he bargained for. What will happen when the week ends and Charlie has to leave for home?

Overall
If you're looking for cowboy smut with a weak, but existent, plot, this may be up your alley. I found it fairly lacking and hard to believe, but I still read the whole thing.

Review
I think my biggest beef with the story is that it's completely unbelievable. While I can imagine a couple with a relationship like Charlie and Jared, the way everything falls into place is just too neat, especially since it's so hard to imagine Charlie staying with Jared anyway. Along those same lines, this story deals with cheating, although not entirely of the main characters, so those who are sensitive to that should probably avoid this all together.

What's not believeable is what happens at the end. And some of the horse stuff. Being a 'natural' is good and all, but being a natural doesn't equal being able to rodeo better than people who work on the farm (unless they're incompetent, but that's never implied). Obviously some things needed to be forced in order to resolve issues within the short space, but the "solutions" felt extremely flimsy to me.

That aside, if you're looking for a range full of hot cowboys who cater to gay clientele (and I DO mean cater!), you may find this a tasty little bite, although I didn't find it satisfying.

Striker by KyAnn Waters

Striker by KyAnn Waters
Stars: 2.5/5

Length: 16,000 words
Blurb
Sports writer Max Myers just discovered he lives next door to the hottest soccer player to hit the field. If he scores a coveted interview with the reclusive striker for the Denver Blaze, he could take himself from sports blogger to mainstream sports authority.

Riley Grayson has no interest in interviews or in outing his private life to the public. He wants to be known for the scoring he does on the field and not in the sack. But Max is a temptation he can't resist. Taking a chance, Riley and Max discover they have more in common than passion for soccer and hot sex between the sheets.

Just as they begin to trust each other outside the bedroom, Max is put in a no-win situation: write an article about Riley exposing accusations of drug use, or risk destroying his own credibility. If he does, he'll lose Riley. If he doesn't, he'll lose everything he's worked hard to achieve.

Overall
This novella is first and foremost erotica. While the premise is interesting, the sex overpowers the plot, and heavy sex stories aren't my cup of tea. These especially didn't really do it for me. In addition, the plot had more potential than was explored. If you want hot, heavy sex with soccer players, this is the book to go to, but otherwise, it doesn't satisfy many appetites.

Strengths
The writing was good, and sound enough that I would consider reading something else by this author, and some people with different tastes may enjoy the content of this story, but for me, sex isn't enough to drive me to continue reading or recommend this story.

Weaknesses
Too much sex and not enough plot. In addition, the sex didn't really grab me either, although that could purely be a personal preference. I found it to be a little heavy on over-used language. Finally, during the sex scenes, certain terms threw me out of the story: He slid a fraction deeper. Max moaned as the muscles melted and Riley slid deep into his rectum. Whether or not it is factually correct, there is just something that makes me scrunch my nose at the use of the word rectum, potentially due to it sounding more medical than casual.

Because so much of the story revolved around sex, the characters felt a little flat to me. The struggle of "if I reveal this it could ruin my career" seemed almost too easy to overcome, and Max didn't seem to struggle at all with going against what Riley asked--demanded--he not do. Obviously Max knew he wouldn't do anything to harm Riley's career, but he didn't seem to be weighted by the thought of hurting this man he loved, either.

These two fell into the sack extremely quickly due to their instant chemistry. I would buy it if Riley didn't have so many reservations about his privacy. In one paragraph he goes from thinking he shouldn't sleep with Max to the next paragraph where he propositions him. Considering Riley was supposed to be worried about exposing himself to a reporter, he seemed to have no qualms doing just that to a man (and journalist) that he just met.

Requested this book for review.