m/m

Let It Ride by L.C. Chase

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
Grade: B
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m, cowboy
Series: Pickup Men #2
Published: 5/26/14
Reviewed by Anne
195 pages

Bridge Sullivan wakes up one day after a scorching wet dream and thinks he just might be gay.  After a hilarious talk with his penis he’s not really sure about being gay or bisexual, but he’s quite sure he’s Eric-sexual.  He’s a pretty self-accepting kind of guy.  Not much bothers him.  So, once he figures out he’s got a thing for Eric, he decides it’s time to act on it.

Eric Palmer is a paramedic on the rodeo circuit that Bridge works.  He’s openly gay and has become good friends with Bridge and his circle of buddies over the past year.  For the first time in a long time, he feels like he belongs.  He’s surprised by the signals his straight friend is sending him, and even if they mean what he thinks they mean, he’d never do anything to screw up this group of friends he has.  Eric is very attracted to Bridge, but determined not to take any risks.  Bridge only scares him more when he tells Eric he’s not looking for a one night stand – he wants a relationship. 

This was a nice story that worked best in the last quarter of the book.  The reasons behind Eric’s hesitancy to allow himself to attach to Bridge are hinted at during most of the book, but not spelled out until near the end. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until those reasons were made clear that I found them believable.  So the first part of the book suffered because Eric came off as over-reacting.  I do think my own history as a foster parent makes stories including foster care a harder sell for me.  

Overall, though, it was a good read and a pretty low conflict story, which I enjoy.  I loved the rodeo setting and camaraderie between Eric, Bridge, and their friends.  The fact that Eric refused to just throw a condom on the floor, and in fact turned getting a garbage can into a pretty hot scene earned the book bonus points from me!

This story is the second in this series, but it stood alone just fine for me.  I’d recommend it for any m/m reader who has love for cowboys and rodeos!

Too Stupid to Live by Anne Tenino

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
16149703
Grade: B+
Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m
Series: Romancelandia #1
Published: 1/14/13
Reviewed by Anne
247 pages

I’ve been on an Anne Tenino kick, and this book was part of her backlist I’m working through.  I think her TAG books are my favorite (start with Frat Boy and Toppy) but Too Stupid to Live was very enjoyable!  The back cover blurb bothered me, though, because it was a bit misleading.  So I’m going to edit it as I think it should be here: 

Reformed rakes make the best husbands.

Sam is too tall, too skinny, too dorky, too gay, and has that unfortunate addiction to romance novels.   His One True Love is certainly still out there, and he knows what he’s learned from his reading is going to help him identify that man.  He’s cultivated the necessary skills to see the highlander hiding inside the jeans clad player.

That’s when he meets Ian.

Ian’s a new man. He’s pain-free, has escaped the job he hated and the family who stifled him, and is now—possibly—ready to dip his toe into the sea of relationships.  His history of hookups and hiding his sexuality is over.  He’s not sure how to do it, but he’s going to have a meaningful relationship and be honest and open about it.  If he can only find the words. 

That’s when he meets Sam.

Sam’s convinced that Ian is no one’s Mr. Right. Ian’s sure that Sam isn’t his type. They can’t both be wrong . . . can they?


So, Sam and Ian meet each other and stumble into a relationship that plays out sweetly as they try to figure out themselves and each other.  Ian is actually seeing a therapist and trying to figure out how to have a real relationship.  Sam is trying to believe that he deserves a good man.  It’s a pretty low conflict story, which I love.  Just these two men trying to sort themselves out.  It’s very cute and funny, and the sex is very hot and steamy.  

When I was typing up this review I saw that there’s a second book in the series listed as coming out later this year featuring secondary characters from this book.  I’m looking forward to it!  I should also mention that this book is linked to two short stories written by Anne Tenino,  Whitetail Rock and The Fix.  Sam was a secondary character in those books and Ian is a cousin to one of the main characters.  I don’t think it’s necessary to have read them before – but they are good stories.

Love, Hypothetically by Anne Tenino

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne
15749088
Grade: C-

Hotness Level: Inferno
Kink Level: No Kink
Genre: Contemporary, m/m
Series: Theta Alpha Gamma #2

Published: 8/27/12
Reviewed by Anne
89 pages

Paul is a graduate student and tutor.  Trevor is a new coach at the same college, and he’s got student athletes Paul will be working with.  Paul and Trevor have history.  And lots of baggage.  Horrible painful baggage. Trevor terribly wronged Paul nine years ago in high school, and he’s hoping that now Paul will forgive him.  Paul’s not sure he wants to forgive Trevor.  He might just want a little revenge.

This story was believable, but painful.  It doesn’t have a lot of the humor I expect from Anne Tenino.  Or if it’s there, I just don’t remember it because of how sad the rest of it was.  I also think I had a hard time feeling like these two were going to be ok together.  Trevor was awful to Paul in the past.  Then Paul is awful to Trevor in the present.  That’s a lot of awfulness to set aside.  In the same way that two wrongs don’t make a right, two really emotionally painful experiences don’t cancel each other out.

This story does get bonus points for a sex scene with a deflating erection.  It’s not something you read of often in romance – every man seems to be some sort of super stud.  I appreciated that scene, and it was really well written.  Actually the whole story was well written, I just didn’t enjoy it.