A collection of poignant short stories ranging from a two-minute read to longer tales of ordinary people leading ordinary lives until they fall in love and their lives become, for a little while at least, extraordinary. Written with tenderness, humour and compassion, some of the stories are heart-warming, whilst others will break your heart.
Colby Johnson and his cousin Megan have been practicing all summer for Wildwood’s annual Beach Volleyball Tournament. The evening before, Colby drops by the bar where Megan works for a quick drink before heading home and meets sexy Vander “Van” Byron. The instant attraction is mutual, but they share only a few brief hours before Colby has to call it a night.
The next day, Colby and Megan are on a winning streak, advancing through the tournament ranks with ease. When Colby runs into Van and his twin sister Vallery at the tournament, he isn’t surprised – more than half of Wildwood’s population, tourist and local alike, are crowded on the beach for the event. But he is shocked to see the numbered vest Van wears, marking him as a competitor.
A quick look at the schedule shows that if both teams continue their winning streaks, the day will end with Colby and Van facing off through the volleyball net. To up the ante, Van proposes a little wager. Whoever wins their game advances in the tournament, of course, and continues on for a chance to win one of the grand prizes the next day, but whoever loses gets whatever he wants from the winner.
Playing the Field: Served! is the fourth installment in J.M. Snyder’s popular Playing the Field series and a great stand-alone novella for those looking to read a well-written and carefree story.
I have yet to come across an author of gay romance/erotica that writes athletic “men in motion” better than Snyder and this holds true of Served! Colby and Van sizzle on the page as Snyder expertly ratchets up the sexual tension in anticipation of who will win the volleyball tournament and who will win their clever side-bet. But I have to say that it is her descriptions that had me going throughout this story and made me nostalgic for those hot and lazy summer days spent on the beach checking out the life guards and ogling those lean boys in their cut-offs playing a haphazard game of beach volleyball.
Playing the Field: Served! is a fun, angst-free and easy-going story that serves up hard-bodied tanned beach boys for your reading pleasure and inspires all sorts of sex-on-the-beach fantasies. I’d say it’s an altogether winning reading proposition!
Playing the Field: Served! by J.M. Snyder is no longer available as a single title but appears in the collection Playing the Field: Volume I available at JMS Books.
NOTE: This review was originally published online by Rainbow Reviews.
New Mexico, the land of enchantment weaves a spell of love around Todd Richards and Dr. Keith Anderson as they struggle to make their love work amid terrible loss, betrayal and rustlers and make their dream of a bed and breakfast in Santa Fe a reality.
His dog brought Todd Richards and a new vet Dr. Keith Anderson together. Could their love overcome Keith’s loss and Todd’s betrayal? In this funny and touching love story two men, both innocents at love, come together over an injured dog. The heat between them is immediate and unmistakable, but can it carry them through it all? A hot romance that begins in the streets of San Francisco and ends on a lovely ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico where enchantment is real and no one’s heart can survive unscathed.
When Rowan Lee arrived in small, liberal Provincetown, he heard tales of the eccentric, brilliant, possibly insane Finnegan Clark. A world-famous mystery writer, Finnegan’s been to the top of the bestseller list more times than anyone can count. It’s about the only place he goes, sequestered away in his mansion by the sea.
Enter Rowan. The free-spirited lovechild of aging hippies, Rowan believes all anyone needs is love and when he makes a delivery to Finn’s mansion and meets the man himself, it’s infatuation at first sight. Not to mention lust. Never mind that Finn’s twice his age and snarls at him more than he speaks to him.
All Rowan wants is to make the world a better place, one person at a time, but all Finn wants is to be left alone. Sparks fly and if Rowan can’t break Finn’s walls down, he’ll burn them down … one sizzling encounter at a time.
An ailing young American novelist, Clifford, retreats to a small villa on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus to finish his last novel in peace and seclusion before he dies. There he meets a man, Erol, at the Tree of Idleness cafe in the Bellapais mountain village square, who struggles with Clifford to help him live fully before he dies.
Twenty-five year old Phil Andrews left his family in Eastern Washington to escape the small town attitudes of his siblings and the locals to be free to be himself in the liberal area of West Hollywood. But without an education or work experience to fall back on, Phil uses his good looks and physique to make ends meet, working as a go-go boy at night, and a gay porn star on the weekends.
Intelligent, out of the closet, Dr. Christopher Love was thirty-three years old and a success in everything but his relationships. He knew his life was lacking something, a partner to share it with. Trying to find the kind of man he found attractive sexually and one who was also was willing to bend to his demands was an impossible task. Until he met Phil Andrews.
Two men, two opposite worlds. One educated at the finest schools, an asset to the community, a philanthropist and a surgeon, the other, a high-school drop-out, former drug addict with a criminal record, meet during a stormy night while the lights are blacked out. The physical attraction bonds them instantly, but soon their differences bring to the surface that deadly pride.
Life has never been easy for Kezia Grey and now it just got a whole lot worse. On the run from vicious thugs hired by her ex-boss, Raul Casaro, who believes she has stolen vital information about his business dealings she takes refuge in La Rochette, a bistro run by a gay couple, Marc and Jason. But is Kezia wise to place her trust in Marc and Jason or will they betray her too?
For Marc Linton and Jason Deveral Kezia’s arrival brings major change to their well-ordered life and danger in the form of a revenge attack on their home by the men searching for Kezia.
As things heat up for Kezia, mounting sexual tension forces her into a radical reassessment of her relationship with the two men. While for Marc and Jason, a surprising turn of events offers them an unexpected solution to a longstanding problem and provides them with the one thing missing from their lives.
David J. Windsor, the first openly gay president of the United States, has his hands full. After surviving an assassination attempt, he’s now dealing with the fallout: finding all of the culprits is at the top of his list. Will his enemies give up trying to bring down the administration, or will they try again? In the meantime, he has to deal with fractious allies, hidden foes, the vice president’s kidnapped son, and secrets that tear at his heart – including his relationship with his lover, Shane Thompson, who is also his Secret Service agent.
While they want to live a more open life, it’s impossible while David is in office; the demands of the job and the constant spotlight would tear even the most devoted couple apart. Throw in David’s attempts to help gay teens and they’re living in a pressure cooker that threatens to boil over. Will David be able to get a handle on the intrigue and danger of his job and find a way to keep his lover as well? Or will Shane become a casualty of Condor One’s political decisions?
The Democratic Party’s 2012 nominee for President, David J. Windsor, and America are equally shocked when he is outted by his opponent just six weeks before the Fall election. Following his heart, David chooses honesty over media spin and overcomes the obstacle to win the election.
Despite that success, dark forces around the world begin to plot against him, and President Windsor’s security is a must. Inside and outside the White House, Secret Service Agent Shane Thompson becomes the President’s shadow, always present and silent, ever vigilant.
As the two men grow closer, Shane does far more than just his duty – he becomes as vital to David’s happiness as he is to the President’s health. Together they realize they must find a way to balance the President and the Agent against David and Shane before stress and responsibility tear them apart.
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