Murder in the String of G by LG Fabbo-Gonnella

Title: Murder In the String of G
Author: L.G. Fabbo-Gonnella
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Pages: 152
Characters: Brad, Max, Maisie
POV: Third
Sub-Genre: mystery/paranormal
Kisses: 4

Blurb:

Maisie was an irrepressible burlesque queen of the fifties who was a star in the Cassandra Theater. She was killed in what was initially ruled to be an accidental trip and fall down a spiral staircase. In fact, she knows it was a murder but, why was she killed and why the later cover-up? Unfortunately, however, what can a ghost to do about it? Andso, her shade haunts the theater hoping to find someone to help her.

It turns out to be a long wait. In two thousand and six two young wanta-be actors arrive at the newly restored Cassandra Theater to audition for a play. One is Max, who is bisexual, and the other is his roommate Brad, who is straight. For reasons unknown at first, Maisie finds she can connect with them both and seeks their help in proving she was murdered and who did it. After initial hesitations, the boys agree to help her solve her killing. The book follows the pair as they stumble towards finding answers while dodging a hired gun, a serial killer of young men and, for Brad, Maisie’s tendency to “fondle his rump” at inopportune times.

Review:

Murder In the String of G was a really fun story. One of the main characters is bisexual, but the story itself is not a gay romance. It’s a ghost story/murder mystery.

Brad and Max are aspiring actors living in NYC working as waiters. They audition for a play at a newly re-opened theater and in the process stumble into an unsolved mystery. The theater happens to be haunted by the ghost of a burlesque star, Maisie, who was killed several decades prior.

The story is laced with comedy and the characters are lovable and funny. The author rather artfully merges two plot lines, one featuring a creepy serial killer and the other relating to the theater murder mystery. The story concludes in a manner that suggest a sequel is in the works.

My only real criticism of the book is that the editing was lacking. Some of the errors were cringe-worthy, but if you can look beyond this, the story itself is really entertaining and a worthwhile read.

Reviewed By: Jeff

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Jonah Sweet of Delancey Street by Ryan Field

Title: Jonah Sweet of Delancey Street
Author: Ryan Field
Publisher: Amazon (Self-published)
Pages: 152
POV: 3rd
Sub-Genre: BDSM
Kisses: 5+

Blurb:

In this 60,000 word full length novel, Jonah Sweet has a secret need to be dominated and punished, with whips and chains and leather cuffs. He also has a degree in puppetry from a good university, but can’t find a job and is still with his mom and dad in Queens. So he signs up for cooking school, hoping to learn a trade. But it’s nothing like he thought it would be and he winds up flunking everything from cutlery to hard-boiled eggs. The only other skill Jonah has is the ability to read other people’s thoughts, which he knows isn’t going to get him very far.

On the day of an important cooking exam, Jonah meets David Abernathy, the owner of the cooking school and a billionaire who owns restaurant chains, casinos, and real estate. The harder Jonah tries to impress David the worse it gets. But handsome David Abernathy sees something in Jonah. With no explanation at all, David sets Jonah up in an office, buys him a brand new wardrobe, and brings him into his unusual home on Delancey Street.

Though Jonah is stunned by all this, he’s even more stunned by the fact that he can’t read David Abernathy’s thoughts. But Jonah is in no position to turn any offers down. He takes the job in spite of David’s rude, nasty disposition and his erratic rants. From there they enter into an unusual relationship filled with light bondage and discipline and more love than either one of them could ever have imagined.

When David introduces Jonah to a little boy in a wheel chair and explains his past, Jonah only falls deeper in love with David. He discovers a gentle side of David no one knows about. But will intense love and exotic sex be enough to compensate for David’s complicated personality and his vicious need to control everything? And will Jonah be able to put up with David’s public outbursts and his violent moods?

Review:

This story here is Ryan Field’s very first BDSM story, he’ll tell you if you ask, he’s admitted as much on his blog and this is one of his self published titles as well. Talk about an author who is well grounded in all areas of the publishing and writing world, Ryan Field, to me takes the cake.

Okay, let me give you a run down on this story without giving it away because I really want you to grab this if you haven’t yet. Jonah Sweet is a twenty something young man who lives at home with his parents, and let me say here that his parents want nothing more to sell their home and move to Florida, however the only thing holding them back is their son, who can’t seem to find his niche’ in the world. The only thing Jonah enjoys doing is creating puppets and playing with them. However, these aren’t all ordinary puppets. Not by any means.

As far as Jonah and his future, his career, he is enrolled in culinary school in hopes of becoming a famous chef however; the poor guy can’t manage to dice an onion without messing it up. I’d hate to see what he would do to a pot of water. Anyway, Jonah has visions of what a chef’s life is like, what he didn’t envision was how difficult it would actually be, he knows he’s not the greatest student ever, and he knows he’s the reason his parents remain in the state, and he even realizes that his best friend, who would love to be more than just a friend, will never be what Jonah needs in life to be happy. His puppets make him happy… and when you read the story you’ll get a taste of why.

Then one afternoon during a test of sorts at the culinary school, he meets the owner of the school and many other establishments, who is looking for an assistant. Lo and behold Jonah got the job, all because he dropped an object on the floor in front of the owner. I’m not sharing what it was, how it came to be, or what Jonah was wearing around his wrist either, but I will say that the owner David, was star struck.

No, the man does not admit it. He’s a Dom, but don’t let Jonah fool you either. He’s no mere puppet of a man ready to do as he’s told for the sake of it. He’s a firecracker and he has no issues whatsoever in telling his new boss exactly what’s on his mind. There are a few moments I found myself laughing, and most of it was due to Jonah’s parents. The second they found out Jonah was David’s personal assistant and he had a great paying job, they sold their home and off to Florida they went, very happy that their son found the perfect man for him.

Overall, Ryan did a wonderful job capturing the BDSM aspects of the story. He knew how to get into Jonah’s head to make him share why and how. Ryan takes a flawed Dom, and shows us not all Dom’s are perfect, they can be damaged people too and that’s what makes this story so awesome. Neither of the characters are perfect, they are both flawed and they work as a team to fix one another.

Oh, and don’t let me forget the sweet boy in the wheel chair. That story itself will bring a tear or two to your eyes. I promise. Soo…why are you still here reading this review? Go buy it.

Reviewed By: Michele

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The Sin Eater’s Prince by Keta Diablo

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Title: The Sin Eater’s Prince
Author: Keta Diablo
Publisher: Amazon
Pages: 150
POV: 3rd
Sub-Genre: Paranormal
Kisses: 5

Blurb:

Owen Rhys, the sin eater, has been shunned by the local villagers all his life–except for Andras Maddock, the local physician. In love with the one man he believes will never return that love, Owen is shocked when Andras saves him from death at the hands of a vampire.

Dagan, Dark Lord of the Underworld, vows to avenge his father’s death and obtain the Prince of Wales’s mystic sword from Andras. The claymore’s power holds an immunity the vampires have coveted for centuries.

Star-crossed love, sorcery, and bloodlust collide on a vengeful path where only one side will remain victorious.

Review:

I have to say that Ms. Diablo created a hell of a book here and one that will or that should make you wonder if it’s not possible or was possible at some time during the long history of the world. She has introduced two characters that really grab your attention right off the start. The cover is such a great replica of the two. The hooded guy is actually Andras, a vampire, and he’s a physician. The other man is Owen, the sin eater who has been shunned by the people in the village his whole life, his only friend really is Andras, and a servant of his.

To explain the sin eater. He’s the man who is called when someone dies in the village. He goes to their home, and “eats” the sins of others so their spirits can be cleansed and head to the light. So, though he’s been shunned, he’s needed but he’s not treated as if he has feelings by the villagers. He’s ignored really. They need him but they don’t like him. Talk about a lonely guy. And sadly he knows and expects it. He was raised to be this very thing and knows nothing else, as his father and his father’s father also did this same thing. What a very lonely life.

Now, the physician Andras, really likes Owen and every chance he gets he visits with him and they talk and share bits about themselves, they’re friends. And to Owen, it means the world but he tries to tell Andras they can’t be friends, it’s not right, the villagers won’t accept that and bless Andras, he cares not. What Owen doesn’t know is that Andras is a vampire and he also owns the Prince of Wales’s mystic sword. And that sword is being hunted by Dagan, the Dark Lord of the Underworld. I think he’d be like Satan? Anyway, one night after Owen is on his way home from preforming a ritual he’s attacked by the Dark Lord, and out of nowhere Andras appears to save him. With one fell swoop of that sword he cuts off the head of the Dark Lord and this starts a war. The son of the dead vampire wants revenge and he is now after Owen.

Well, Owen has suspicions about the doc, so he straight up asks him if he is a vampire and sure enough, Andras admits this. Owen was raised to be afraid of him, to avoid his kind, but he can’t help himself with Andras, he’s in love with the man, and Andras, who is afraid his love for Owen would never be returned was quite shocked when Owen and he let their guards down and admitted how they felt about one another. It is a sweet if painful story and one I recommend.

The description that Keta gives us is just outstanding. This story takes place in Wales, and when my family and other commitments allowed for me to just get lost in this book, I could see this story play out in my head, I could see the country they were in, I could almost taste the breads the Sin Eater had to consume after each death. Truly remarkable and very detailed writing. The dialogue very smooth and well done and the growth of the characters simply outstanding. Andras takes responsibility over Owen after the attack, he vows to keep the man safe and he does a damn good job of it. I really loved this piece and I have to say, when Ms. Diablo wants your attention, she gets it. And the sex? Yep. Keta did it again.

Reviewed By: Michele

Milked Dry by R. Harding

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Title: Milked Dry
Author: R. Harding
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Pages: 87 pages
Characters: Martin and Jake
POV: third person
Sub-Genre: mm erotica/BDSM
Kisses: 2.5

Blurb:

Kidnapped and taken to be forced to be milked dry of his sperm every day Martin was slowly being worn down. He was drawn into a gay life he didn’t want. Jake and his partner Skip were going to use him to be filmed for their website on the Internet as their main actor. His body was perfect in every way for that. They even had his face altered through plastic surgery to not be discovered so he wouldn’t be found out that he was. They forced him to have gay sex regardless of the fact he was straight when he was caught. They certainly were going to take care of that minor problem fast. They made sure that their memories would soon fail them to help with the brainwashing. They constantly did that by using the powerful drugs used for mind altering to make them confused and forgetful. Read how he was reduced to a mindless sex addict and became very popular on the largest gay porn sex site on the Internet.

Review

Rarely do I rate a book low due to editing, but I’ve got say this was perhaps the poorest edited book I’ve ever read. I would go so far as to say that it had not been edited at all, and I doubt if anyone had even proofread it.

The concept of the story was kind of hot. This sinister madman kidnaps a group of straight guys and uses torture and milking to turn them into his slaves. He force-feeds them drugs and brainwashes them, then he goes so far as it implant devices into their ears where he can feed a constant flow of directives into their mind.

Certainly not a romance, but if you like Dom/sub themes that include humiliation and enslavement, you may enjoy it… if you can overlook the grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors. I think it would be safe to say that if you are a fan of the authoritarian stories on the Nifty Archive, you may enjoy this book.

Reviewed By: Jeff

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Barndance by B.A. Tortuga

Title: Barndance
Author: B.A. Tortuga
Publisher: Torquere Press
Pages: 37
Characters: Red and Zeke
POV: Third Person
Sub-Genre: Historical/Western Romance
Kisses: 4.5

Blurb:

Sometimes music says it better than words.

Taking a break from driving cattle, Red Farr finds himself at the barn dance, listening to Zeke play the hell out of his fiddle. Zeke’s going where his fiddling takes him, but he might be looking for something a little more steady. When Red tells him that the ranch he works for could use another hand or two, Zeke reckons it could suit him to the ground. As could Red, if only Red feels the same way as Zeke.

Between driving cattle and fiddling, can Red and Zeke find some time for each other?

Review:

It is the post-Civil-War era, and Red is a rancher who’s been hired to lead a cattle drive across the country. The night before he leaves, he is drawn to a barn dance when he hears the enticing sounds of the fiddle. As he enters the barn, he’s immediately attracted to the man playing the fiddle, Zeke.

During a break, Zeke and Red officially meet each other outside and socialize while smoking cigars. Red learns that Zeke is a bit of a drifter. He fought in the war and was imprisoned for a period in the Yankee POW camps. Since then, he’s been traveling around working odd jobs but would ultimately like to settle down. He inquires of Red about the possibility of joining the cattle drive.

Once Zeke and Red find themselves together during the cross-country trek, a romance begins. It all starts when Red offers to help Zeke apply salve to his wounded hands. When they finally reach their destination several weeks later, they culminate their relationship in a hotel room (after a much needed bath).

The thing I found most striking about this short story was the authenticity of the writer’s voice. Often when I read books that are historical or that require intricate world building, the vernacular comes off as being phony. Let’s face it, it’s very difficult to maintain a dialect for the duration of a lengthy prose piece. I thought this author did amazingly well. Some of the phrases caused me to raise an eyebrow, and a few times I laughed right out loud.

The story also got me thinking about some issues, not only regarding what it would have been like to be gay during this period of history, but what it’d be like to live at all during that time. I kept wondering how the hell they washed their clothes. I wondered what it would be like to make love to someone who hadn’t taken a bath in several weeks. (Of course if I were living in that era, I probably would have been the same as everyone else–i.e. stinky!)I was glad that the author waited until the couple had finally bathed before they got really intimate with each other.LOL

Overall, it was a beautiful story that was very well written. The way the protagonists talked (and thought) reminded me of Brokeback Mountain, even though of course it was a very different setting. And the most special thing about the story was that the author presented a genuine love story that focused more upon the main characters’ feelings than on their sexual activities.

Reviewed By: Jeff

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Fries With That…Sir by EJ Allen

Title: Fries With That Sir
Author: EJ Allen
Publisher: Amazon: Self Published
Page Count: 150
POV: 1st
Sub-Genre: BDSM
Kisses: 4.5

Blurb:

Logan is 26, a business professional who’s fallen victim of a receding economy. Although he has a degree and management experience, he finds himself in a position where he’s forced to take a lowly minimum wage job flipping burgers at a fast food restaurant. To make matters worse, he has a boss from hell. Jarrod is only 19, and very cocky. As humiliated as Logan is by the way his arrogant boss treats him, Logan discovers that Jarrod’s dominance kind of turns him on. When he and Jarrod have an encounter away from work, Logan discovers that there is a reason why Jarrod’s so demanding. The nineteen year old is not only a boss at work, but in his private life he’s a BDSM Master, and he’s pegged Logan as a slave. Logan must decide whether to turn tail and run or to embrace his identity as a sexual submissive

Review:

The blurb pretty much gives the reader a good bit of what the plot is about. Logan, jobless and in desperate need of income takes a job working at a fast food place for minimum wage. He comes from management background, he has a degree and he’s forced to work in an industry mostly consumed by people twenty-one and under. Logan is twenty-six, he has experience the other workers do not, and his shift boss is a nineteen year old guy who really knows how to lay the humiliation on in big ways.

Jarrod is nineteen, his father owns the fast food place, and he at first comes off as a complete ass. He’s a good manager, or so the story suggests he is because the kids working under him do their job and do it well. Logan discovers very quickly that he has this thing for Jarrod and the way he bosses him about, the way he humiliates him the very first night Logan works for him.

Jarrod is also a Master, and Logan a submissive, not that he knew what he was when the story started. He’s somewhat of a smaller guy and on the nerd side of things, unlike Jarrod who is all jock. The jock is masterful in that he knows exactly what Logan is and what Logan wants and what he likes. One of the biggest things Logan likes is to foot worship. Now, me personally? I don’t like feet, so I had a time envisioning this older man kneeling down at this teens feet and worshipping them and getting turned on by it. But hey, I’m not knocking it. If that’s his thing, that’s his thing. Now, things get pretty heated one night after they get off work when Jarrod invites a couple of his jock friends over for a bit of play with his slave. Things go horribly wrong though and both Jarrod and Logan must decide if this is what they want.

Fries With That…Sir is not a book you’ll enjoy if you don’t like BDSM. If you don’t like humiliation in large doses along with Domination, then please don’t pick it up. But if you do like to read about it and perhaps want to understand it a bit, pick it up and give it a read. It gives you a good look into how the slave thinks and why doing what he does for his Master turns him on. The author explains it well through the POV of Logan in the 1st person. I can tolerate a lot in a book, but honestly in this one, the stuff that this master and his friends do to this new slave made me shake my head in disgust. I rated it as I did because overall the author did redeem Jarrod at the end of the story and who am I to say how it truly is between a slave or a submissive and his/her Master? I’m just saying, the story is as true as it can get.

Reviewed By: Michele

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Zach’s Secret by Matthew Grant

Title: Zach’s Secret
Author: Matthew Grant
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Pages: 170
Characters: Zach and Key
POV: First Person
Sub-Genre: Young Adult
Kisses: 4

Blurb:

Senior Zach Denham, the editor of the high school newspaper in a small New England town, struggles to act like a “normal” guy by dating Meghan, his religious friend. Key, the school’s newly arrived attractive jock, forces Zach to confront the truth about his sexual identity. Still unsure of himself, Zach is reluctant to help start a support group for gay students at the high school.

Friends will become enemies when the explosive issue divides the school community. Opposition to the group mounts from the school administration, other students, Zach’s friends, and even his own mother.

As Mrs. Trevott, Zach’s trusted and sharp-tongued English teacher, advises, some of them will stand up for what they believe in even if they are standing alone. Some will face the darkest parts of themselves when they witness first-hand how destructive their own prejudice can be.

Review:

I loved this coming out story. It is about an eighteen year old high school senior named Zach who is chief editor of his school newspaper. Zach is gay but has kept his sexual orientation a secret all through high school. When he meets Key, the new kid in school, they develop a friendship which turns into a romance. This does not sit well with Zach’s friends, and the homophobia and prejudice begin to rear their ugly heads.

When Key and an outspoken activist friend named Gwen decide to form a Gay-Straight Alliance in the school, it draws the attention of the ultra-conservative high school principal. She quickly squashes their efforts. A riot ensues and everything eventually ends up in a court battle.

Ultimately Zach must make a decision about whether or not he will be true to himself or continue to hide in his closet.

This would have easily been a five-star read for me if not for two issues. First among them is the lack of romance. The relationship of Zach and Key was glazed over. There was absolutely no intimacy, and it seemed the author actually went out of his way NOT to portray any of their physical relationship. In fact, for much of the book it was hard to tell if they even had a relationship…physical or otherwise. This being said, I would definitely not categorize this as a romance.

The other issue that I had was that the story was in the first person narrative in the voice of Zach, which was fine. It was very odd, though, because about halfway through the story, the author seemed to slip into third person. In two of his chapters, he began by describing scenes where the narrator was not even present. That just made absolutely no sense to me and I could not for the life of me figure out why this would not have been fixed during the editing process.

The story itself is very touching and has a powerful message. I loved all the characters, especially the main character Zach. I’d have liked to see him find a way to bridge the differences he had with his mother, but I don’t think that particular relationship was necessarily unrealistic. The ending of the story was absolutely beautiful. Overall, I found it to be a worthwhile read which I will quickly recommend.

Reviewed By: Jeff

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Breakdown Motel by ty Marton and Rynna Cress

Title: Breakdown Motel
Author: Ty Marton and Rynna Cress
Publisher: APC Publishing
Pages: ebook novella
Characters: Danny
POV: third person
Sub-Genre: mm erotica/BDSM
Kisses: 5

Blurb:

Stranded by the side of the road with a broken down vehicle in the middle of the hot New Mexico desert, Danny Major figured that, at very least, nothing else could go wrong.

Then he arrived at Motel X.

Before long, the young man is captured, restrained, and pushed beyond his physical, mental, and sexual limits, thrown into a twisted world of bondage, sadomasochism, and discipline, a world where survival means submission. Can Danny escape his torturous fate? Or is he destined to be broken down into the perfect slave?

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is an adult story focused on themes of bondage, discipline, and sadomasochism between adult men. Subject matter includes explicit sexual activity and increasingly intense BDSM scenes (captivity, fisting, dubious consent, watersports, electro-torture, enemas etc.), and is intended purely as erotic fantasy for mature readers. If such material offends you, or if it is illegal to own or read such material in the area where you live, then you should find another title.]

Review:

While traveling cross-country, Danny picks up a female hitchhiker. A short while later, out in the middle of the desert, his car breaks down. As luck would have it, a wrecker comes by a and takes Danny and his companion to a motel. Soon he discovers that he’s been caught in a horrifying trap. The female hitchhiker was not really female at all, and he has been abducted and forced into a life of sexual slavery.

Brilliant, creative, intense,creepy, scary, and absolutely delicious. Personally I could do without the fisting… not my thing. Otherwise, I loved it. Can’t wait to read more from this author.

WARNING: Careful, not for everyone. If you don’t appreciate extreme BDSM including humiliation, degradation, and forced submission, you won’t want to go anywhere near this book.

Reviewed By: Jeff

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You Will Obey by Ty Marton

Title: You Will Obey
Author: Ty Marton
Publisher: APC Publishing
Pages: 36
Characters: Michael Baines
POV: 3rd
Sub-Genre: BDSM
Kisses: 4

Blurb:

Meet Michael Baines: happily married career man by day… submissive slut to other men by night. For years, he’s kept his double life hidden from his friends, his family… his wife…

But everything changes when a mysterious stranger uncovers Michael’s dirty little secret – a stranger who has just one, simple demand for the man:

“YOU WILL OBEY.”

Now, with his back against the wall, Michael has no choice but to submit to this unknown tormentor, coerced into following his sadistic instructions and enduring his brutal punishments, thrown into a kinky world of mindgames, manipulation, and sexual slavery. Used, abused, and degraded, Michael will be broken down and pushed far beyond his limits – but nothing will prepare him for his elusive Master’s twisted endgame…

Review:

“YOU WILL OBEY”

Three very powerful words to Michael Baines: who is a happily married career man by day but also a submissive slut to other men by night. Michael is a “pro” at hiding his secretive needs from his wife and he does this by “staying late at work” to finish up on whatever projects he has going on. He’s a very successful businessman, trying to work his way to the top of the corporate ladder, but he seems to have a deep sadness that interferes with his position. He’s not this fully satisfied happy man and he does have a bark at work. That is until he receives a black envelope addressed to him at work. Everything frustrates him if everything isn’t in perfect order, part of his bark.

When he opens this envelope he pulls out a Polaroid picture of none other than himself in a VERY compromising position. On the back of that picture are the words: YOU WILL OBEY in big black letters. He really isn’t given a choice. He knows he’s being blackmailed so he can’t go to anyone with this because he doesn’t want his wife to find out what he’s been really doing after work. Poor guy doesn’t know how to tell his wife what he truly needs to be that happy go lucky man but someone else out there does know what he needs and that person is all too happy to get him to admit it.

His instructions are simple. Take the pill supplied by his blackmailer and put the cuffs on, sit in his car and wait. Well, that pill knocks his ass for a loop and before he knows it he’s at the one place he goes to for relief. Degradation and humiliation are high on the list for Michael and he’s forced into some rather intense BDSM scenes. It’s not to say he didn’t like it either.

After the “stranger” is done with him, he’s released to go home, only it doesn’t end there. He receives another black envelope in his car before he can get home and he’s forced to endure more. And when he gets home to his wife and her mother he’s forced once again to return to the club. Where he encounters another round of degradation and humiliation and ends up seeing his nemesis from his daytime job.

The ending shocked me. Period. This is NOT a light BDSM read. IF BDSM is NOT your thing, don’t read this one. This won’t be for you. There is a simple story line, and a message in the plot…Communication with those you claim to love is the key essential to being truly happy…even if it’s not what the other person would like to hear. We all have desires and if we can’t tell those who are closest to us of these desires…then sadness and frustration grows making for a very unhappy person.

Reviewed By: Michele

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Another Dumb Jock by Jeff Erno

Title: Another Dumb Jock
Author: Jeff Erno
Publisher: Self – Published through Amazon
Pages: 143
Characters: Adam Willson and Trevor Ellis
POV: First Person
Sub-Genre: Contemporary, Sport
Kisses: 5

Blurb:

In Dumb Jock, Jeff and Brett fall in love, but their relationship is not without challenges. Brett’s a football star, and Jeff is the classic nerd. Their coming of age and coming out story is set in the 1980s, and they face many obstacles. Yet their love for each other is strong, and they finally get their happy ending.

Now, almost three decades later, their children are teenagers. Adam, their fifteen year old son, is the star pitcher of his high school baseball team. He has grown up with two dads, in a loving, non-judgmental environment. Yet Adam has challenges of his own. He’s failing two of his classes at school, and he’s been suspended for fighting. He resents being labeled and insists that just because he has two dads, it doesn’t mean that he is himself gay.

When he is forced to accept help from another student in his algebra class, Adam starts to have feelings that cause him to question his very identity. He’s got to decide whether to follow his heart or to maintain the image he’s worked so hard to portray. Will he have the courage to take a stand for what he knows is right, or will he end up being just another dumb jock?

Review:

When I saw that Jeff Erno had a follow up to his Dumb Jock story I did the happy dance. I loved the first story and it is one that I have read many times over. This second book, Another Dumb Jock, tells the story of Brett’s and Jeff’s son, Adam. Like the first story this one centers on a jock, Adam, and a geek, Trevor. Adam has a small issue with anger management that ends up with him being suspended from school, and the baseball team. In order to play the season opening game, Adam must not only clean the locker room for the year, but, also have a tutor help him pass math. This of course is when Trevor enters the story. I must admit in the beginning I wanted to thumb Adam on the nose more than once. He is your typical cocky teenager and his actions toward Jeff on occasion bordered on rude. Although he comes off the way he does, it was still easy for me to understand why he acted as he did. While things may have improved some since his parents where teenagers, there are still some idiots out there who disapprove of relationships containing same sex partners. At sixteen Adam is not only trying to come to terms with his own sexuality but put up with the ignorance of others. When Trevor enters the picture things soon become clear to Adam.

I love the easiness in which Mr. Erno allows the boy’s relationship to flow. From their first meeting the connection between them is present. Trevor not only shows Adam that there is no reason to be ashamed of being gay, but, that the young jock is lucky to have the strong loving family that he does, which helps Adam find the closeness with Jeff he once had. While the boy’s relationship has only a few minor hick-ups, it is the world around them that presents the most problems. It becomes evident almost from the beginning that there are some problems with Trevor’s home life. I was shock by his final confrontation with his step-father and liked how Brett and Jeff stepped up to help.

There are a few more surprising moments during the course of the boy’s story. The author also brings the readers up to date on several characters from the first book, not all of whom have a happy ending. Like the first story, Another Dumb Jock finishes with an epilogue that readers are sure to love. Also like the first story, this is one book I will be reading many more times.

Reviewed By: Lydia
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