Best Gay Contemporary Erotica
And the Rainbow Award goes to:
1) Heidi Cullinan - Nowhere Ranch
Publisher: Loose Id LLC (February 15, 2011)
Amazon: Nowhere Ranch
I really liked the main characters and I liked the romantic relationship and the slow way it built. Competent and better than a lot in the genre. There was probably just as much "gay rights" lecturing in this story, but I didn't feel like it was blatantly aimed at me. -- Kirsten
Roe Davis is a man who works hard, keeps to himself, and never mixes business with pleasure -- until he takes a weekend away from his new job at Nowhere Ranch and runs into the owner at the only gay bar for two hundred miles. Getting involved with the boss is a bad idea, but Travis Loving is hard to say no to, especially when it turns out their kinks line up like a pair of custom-cut rails. As Loving points out, so long as this is sex on the side, no interfering with the job, they could make it work. The truth is, there’s good reason Roe never settles down and always spends his birthdays and holidays celebrating alone. Shut out in the cold by his family years ago, Roe survived by declaring he didn’t need a home. As his affair with Loving grows into more than just sex, Roe finds out what happens when he stays put a little bit too long: the past always catches up with you. Eventually, even a loner gets lonely, and home will grow up through whatever cracks you leave open for it -- even in a place called Nowhere.
2) Claire Thompson - The Cowboy Poet
Paperback: 252 pages
Publisher: Romance Unbound Publishing (October 30, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1456325698
ISBN-13: 978-1456325695
Amazon: The Cowboy Poet
Tyler Sutton can run all he wants from his past, but he's still got himself to contend with. Dark secret dreams of sexual submission continue to haunt the magazine reporter. The embers of his hidden yearnings burst into a bright flame of reality when Tyler meets Clint Darrow, the cowboy poet. Clint, the foreman on a West Texas bull ranch, hides his dominant sensual nature behind the laconic, quiet persona of a true Texas cowboy. When the pair is thrown together in a search to uncover the culprit of a series of thefts at various local ranches, the connection is immediate and fierce. As they begin to explore their attraction for one another, Clint senses Tyler's need for sexual surrender. Clint must exert every ounce of self control to keep from pushing Tyler too far, too fast. When passion overtakes caution, the firestorm of desire that erupts between them threatens to burn everything in its path.
3) L.A. Witt - With the Band
Publisher: Loose Id LLC (March 22, 2011)
Amazon: With the Band
Very solid, very well written book. I really enjoyed it. The plot flowed very well, no gaping holes. Having followed bands, I felt like this was very well done. The general noise and craziness was very well depicted. I loved the way the two protagonists grew and matured during the course of the book. --Marilyn
Hard rock band Schadenfreude is finally on the verge of the success that’s eluded them for the last several years. With Aaron McClure as their new lead singer, nothing’s going to stop them…except maybe a steamy, secret relationship between Aaron and bassist Bastian Koehler. Aaron knows all too well what can happen when band members get involved with each other. After all, his last band was a casualty of his last relationship, and Schadenfreude forbids band members from dating for that very reason. But Bastian is too hot to resist, and besides, it’s just sex, so what’s the harm? Bastian has just gotten out of a long relationship with his volatile ex-fiancée when Aaron catches his eye. The sexy singer is irresistible, and in spite of the potential for strife within the band if this comes out, Bastian can’t help himself. Their passion in the bedroom is rivaled only by their ambition as musicians, though, and pretty soon, it's going to tear them, and Schadenfreude apart, if they can't get back to playing with the band.
Honourable Mention:
4-tie) D.H. Starr - Wrestling With Love
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0983374732/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
This was a very good sequel to Wrestling with Desire, but also a very good stand-alone, as the previous story was recapt sufficiently -- Anke
Fyn Alexander - Angel and the Assassin
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004AHKD9M/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Angel and the Assassin is a well written, a tender and moving love story spiced with erotic love scenes and plenty of BDSM. Angel is willing to take anything his Master/Daddy deals, and please Kael he does, and Kael is prepared to do whatever it takes to keep him. I loved this story, the growing relationship between Kael and Angel is delightful, Angel is so sweet and enthusiastic, a complete contrast to the mature neatness freak that is Kael, who normally only goes for older men. --Benjamin
Complex characters. I especially enjoyed Kael. -- Bobby
6) Todd Gregory - Games Frat Boys Play
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0758247427/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Eight years at an exclusive Swiss boarding school have given Jordy Valentine an impressive education. But the things he really wants to learn-like how to make friends, fit in, and find a lover-have eluded him. He’s hoping college will change everything... From the start, Jordy is intrigued by the Beta Kappa fraternity-especially by handsome rush chair Chad York. Dazzled by Chad’s flirting, Jordy is crushed when Chad cruelly rejects him on Initiation Night. But if Chad doesn’t want Jordy, plenty of other guys do!
7) Michael Willhoite - The Venetian Boy
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1456521543/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
This was a bit slow to start, but soon had me hooked. The characters were well drawn and felt very real. The ending seemed a bit rushed and was fairly predictable, but the Venetian setting more than made up for it. -- Anna
8) Dale Chase - The Company He Keeps
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1602822263/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
What if Henry James wrote erotic stories? The result might very well be The Company He Keeps: Victorian Gentlemen’s Erotica, even if he’d never admit it. Set in the sexually repressed and therefore sexually rampant Victorian era, a riotously erotic collection including stories such as “A Remarkably Well Made Man,” “Magnificent Surrender,” “The Westbrook Club,” and “The Late Manner.”
9) Michele L. Montgomery - Lethal Obsession, Caged
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044XUYWS/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
A great story - I always say that although I wish anybody well, I like when the author puts the characters through some traumatic events, as long as there is a happy ending. This story was all about tragic experiences combined with kinky elements ;-) I wonder if the author wrote something about supporting characters - there would be a lot of material for other stories! -- Caroline
10) Cheryl Dragon - Backing Brian
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RYVHHK/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Once a Texan, always a Texan and Brian Beaumont has come back home to open his high-end western wear shop. Not everyone is thrilled with the gay son of a Texas millionaire opening a clothing store. Lucky for Brian, his new brother-in-law sends protection from Raider’s Bodyguard Service. If only Brian could resist the hunky muscled Texas native assigned to guard his body day and night. Jones never wanted to go back to Texas. This entry was originally posted at http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/1356398.html.
1) Heidi Cullinan - Nowhere Ranch
Publisher: Loose Id LLC (February 15, 2011)
Amazon: Nowhere Ranch
I really liked the main characters and I liked the romantic relationship and the slow way it built. Competent and better than a lot in the genre. There was probably just as much "gay rights" lecturing in this story, but I didn't feel like it was blatantly aimed at me. -- Kirsten
Roe Davis is a man who works hard, keeps to himself, and never mixes business with pleasure -- until he takes a weekend away from his new job at Nowhere Ranch and runs into the owner at the only gay bar for two hundred miles. Getting involved with the boss is a bad idea, but Travis Loving is hard to say no to, especially when it turns out their kinks line up like a pair of custom-cut rails. As Loving points out, so long as this is sex on the side, no interfering with the job, they could make it work. The truth is, there’s good reason Roe never settles down and always spends his birthdays and holidays celebrating alone. Shut out in the cold by his family years ago, Roe survived by declaring he didn’t need a home. As his affair with Loving grows into more than just sex, Roe finds out what happens when he stays put a little bit too long: the past always catches up with you. Eventually, even a loner gets lonely, and home will grow up through whatever cracks you leave open for it -- even in a place called Nowhere.
2) Claire Thompson - The Cowboy Poet
Paperback: 252 pages
Publisher: Romance Unbound Publishing (October 30, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1456325698
ISBN-13: 978-1456325695
Amazon: The Cowboy Poet
Tyler Sutton can run all he wants from his past, but he's still got himself to contend with. Dark secret dreams of sexual submission continue to haunt the magazine reporter. The embers of his hidden yearnings burst into a bright flame of reality when Tyler meets Clint Darrow, the cowboy poet. Clint, the foreman on a West Texas bull ranch, hides his dominant sensual nature behind the laconic, quiet persona of a true Texas cowboy. When the pair is thrown together in a search to uncover the culprit of a series of thefts at various local ranches, the connection is immediate and fierce. As they begin to explore their attraction for one another, Clint senses Tyler's need for sexual surrender. Clint must exert every ounce of self control to keep from pushing Tyler too far, too fast. When passion overtakes caution, the firestorm of desire that erupts between them threatens to burn everything in its path.
3) L.A. Witt - With the Band
Publisher: Loose Id LLC (March 22, 2011)
Amazon: With the Band
Very solid, very well written book. I really enjoyed it. The plot flowed very well, no gaping holes. Having followed bands, I felt like this was very well done. The general noise and craziness was very well depicted. I loved the way the two protagonists grew and matured during the course of the book. --Marilyn
Hard rock band Schadenfreude is finally on the verge of the success that’s eluded them for the last several years. With Aaron McClure as their new lead singer, nothing’s going to stop them…except maybe a steamy, secret relationship between Aaron and bassist Bastian Koehler. Aaron knows all too well what can happen when band members get involved with each other. After all, his last band was a casualty of his last relationship, and Schadenfreude forbids band members from dating for that very reason. But Bastian is too hot to resist, and besides, it’s just sex, so what’s the harm? Bastian has just gotten out of a long relationship with his volatile ex-fiancée when Aaron catches his eye. The sexy singer is irresistible, and in spite of the potential for strife within the band if this comes out, Bastian can’t help himself. Their passion in the bedroom is rivaled only by their ambition as musicians, though, and pretty soon, it's going to tear them, and Schadenfreude apart, if they can't get back to playing with the band.
Honourable Mention:
4-tie) D.H. Starr - Wrestling With Love
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0983374732/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
This was a very good sequel to Wrestling with Desire, but also a very good stand-alone, as the previous story was recapt sufficiently -- Anke
Fyn Alexander - Angel and the Assassin
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004AHKD9M/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Angel and the Assassin is a well written, a tender and moving love story spiced with erotic love scenes and plenty of BDSM. Angel is willing to take anything his Master/Daddy deals, and please Kael he does, and Kael is prepared to do whatever it takes to keep him. I loved this story, the growing relationship between Kael and Angel is delightful, Angel is so sweet and enthusiastic, a complete contrast to the mature neatness freak that is Kael, who normally only goes for older men. --Benjamin
Complex characters. I especially enjoyed Kael. -- Bobby
6) Todd Gregory - Games Frat Boys Play
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0758247427/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Eight years at an exclusive Swiss boarding school have given Jordy Valentine an impressive education. But the things he really wants to learn-like how to make friends, fit in, and find a lover-have eluded him. He’s hoping college will change everything... From the start, Jordy is intrigued by the Beta Kappa fraternity-especially by handsome rush chair Chad York. Dazzled by Chad’s flirting, Jordy is crushed when Chad cruelly rejects him on Initiation Night. But if Chad doesn’t want Jordy, plenty of other guys do!
7) Michael Willhoite - The Venetian Boy
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1456521543/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
This was a bit slow to start, but soon had me hooked. The characters were well drawn and felt very real. The ending seemed a bit rushed and was fairly predictable, but the Venetian setting more than made up for it. -- Anna
8) Dale Chase - The Company He Keeps
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1602822263/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
What if Henry James wrote erotic stories? The result might very well be The Company He Keeps: Victorian Gentlemen’s Erotica, even if he’d never admit it. Set in the sexually repressed and therefore sexually rampant Victorian era, a riotously erotic collection including stories such as “A Remarkably Well Made Man,” “Magnificent Surrender,” “The Westbrook Club,” and “The Late Manner.”
9) Michele L. Montgomery - Lethal Obsession, Caged
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044XUYWS/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
A great story - I always say that although I wish anybody well, I like when the author puts the characters through some traumatic events, as long as there is a happy ending. This story was all about tragic experiences combined with kinky elements ;-) I wonder if the author wrote something about supporting characters - there would be a lot of material for other stories! -- Caroline
10) Cheryl Dragon - Backing Brian
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RYVHHK/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Once a Texan, always a Texan and Brian Beaumont has come back home to open his high-end western wear shop. Not everyone is thrilled with the gay son of a Texas millionaire opening a clothing store. Lucky for Brian, his new brother-in-law sends protection from Raider’s Bodyguard Service. If only Brian could resist the hunky muscled Texas native assigned to guard his body day and night. Jones never wanted to go back to Texas. This entry was originally posted at http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/1356398.html.