Flashback Friday: Out of Bounds by A.R. Barley #Review #Giveaway

Author: A.R. Barley
Book: Out of Bounds
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication date: March 14, 2016
Length: 169 pages

Reviewed by Michael


Synopsis

When the weather outside starts cooling down, inside the dorm things are heating up. Can these college roommates fall in love without going out of bounds?

Beaten and heartbroken, Jesse Cole is placed in a new dorm room after his last roommate attacked him. Just wanting to be left alone to heal in peace, he's shocked when tall, dark and dangerous-looking Nick Moretti walks in.

Nick doesn't have time to tiptoe around his new roommate—he's too busy working in order to pay for school. But something about Jesse brings out his protective instincts. As their cautious friendship grows and becomes loaded with sexual tension, he wants to make Jesse comfortable.

Enter the perfect plan: a line of tape down the center of the room. Boundaries established.

But as innocent movie nights become hours-long temptation marathons, and whispered chats from across the room delve into straight-up dirty territory, crossing the line has never been so satisfying.

Purchase on Amazon

Review

One of the first books I read when I started my M/M journey was “Out of Bounds”.  I’ve always been drawn to the underdog, which is one of the reasons I decided to read this.  I was drawn to the down-on-his luck Jesse, who just wanted to live his life in peace after being beaten up and thrown out by his former friend/dormmate Ryan.

Jesse is rehoused in to another dorm room with Nick, who is VERY much his opposite in almost every way save one.  Jesse is a neat freak, and Nick is totally not.  Jesse is slight and meek, Nick is large and muscular.  While Jesse doesn’t know it, the one thing they have is common is the fact that they are both gay. 

Jesse suffers from a form of PTSD after his beating by Ryan.  He’s constantly jumpy and doesn’t like being around people.  It doesn’t take long for Nick to pick up on this, and he devises a way to allow Jesse to feel safe within his own space.  Nick literally separates the room in half using nothing more than tape as a boundary.  They each agree not to cross the line, and if one does, then the other gets to come up with the penalty.  This imaginary divider does the trick, and soon enough, Jesse seems to be coming out of his shell. 

The tape divider may seem juvenile to some, but I thought it was rather cute.  As was the protective streak Nick developed toward Jesse, going so far as to walk the latter to class and waiting for him once class was done.  The only problem I had with Nick was his failure to come out to Jesse from the outset.  Perhaps that would have gone a long way in healing some of Jesse’s wounds.

This was a cute story, with some very endearing moments, without heavy doses of angst.

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Release Day Review: The Shore Thing by A.R. Barley #Review #Giveaway

Author: A.R. Barley
Book: The Shore Thing
States Of Love
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Brooke Albrecht
Publication date: August 23, 2017
Length: 104 pages

Reviewed by Erin


Synopsis

Sunburned Delaware native Dale Seward spends his summers wrangling lifeguards and cracking crabs. His winters are a whole lot colder.

Nico Travelli’s never even seen the ocean, but when his family’s plans for him get derailed, he realizes his future in their upscale Italian restaurants might be over, and it’s time for something new. He’s hypnotized by his first look at the Atlantic—until a wave takes him out. Luckily, Dale’s there to pull him to safety.

Dale knows better than to fall for a summer person, but that doesn’t mean he can’t show Nico a good time. Between the ice cream cones and the put-put golf, these two lonely hearts soon find themselves in over their heads.

But when Nico is tempted by a second chance at the life he always thought he wanted, will he be brave enough to give it up for the possibility of true love with Dale? And what does the sexy lifeguard do during the winter? In a state as small as Delaware, secrets are bound to come out.

Buy Links

Dreamspinner Press

 Amazon

Review

Age gap, a beach, some good seafood, and a cute ocean side town and you've got The Shore Thing by AR Barley, the newest edition to Dreamspinner Press's States of Love series. This one takes us to Delaware where Dale is a lifeguard and lifelong resident. He spends his days in charge of the younger lifeguards and watching the beach. When Nico Travelli is swept out to sea in what or may or may not have been on purpose, Dale's skills kick into high gear and he pulls a bedraggled Nico to shore. Where he is immediately knocked off kilter by the stunning, sopping wet guy at his feet. 

Once Dale is convinced Nico is going to be okay, Dale brings Nico home with him to recover and Nico ... well he decides staying at Dale's for the foreseeable future sounds like a mighty fine thing indeed. Nico is young and running from his family, one he's sure won't want him when they find out he's gay, so when Dale doesn't immediately ask Nico to hit the road and offers him a place to stay for a bit while he gets his bearings, Nico can't say no. Especially when the pull of the ocean, the smell of salt in the air, and most importantly Dale himself gives him every reason to stay. Dale is wary of summer folk though, and his disdain for them is well-known, so he tries (TRY being the operative word here people) to keep his distance, but of course this proves to be impossible. 

The Shore Thing was a really sweet, charming, no angst book that had me smiling from beginning to end. Nico is endearing and Dale, the big, buff, slightly jaded life guard was awesome. I loved these two together. There's some steam, not a lot and it fits perfectly with the vibe and length of the story, and their chemistry is really believable. I enjoyed the setting, the characters, the sense of the beach, the food, and everything else. This is a great, light read that is, well, perfect for the beach, so be sure to check it out.

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Promotional Post: Out of Bounds by A.R. Barley

When the weather outside starts cooling down, inside the dorm things are heating up. Can these college roommates fall in love without going out of bounds?

Beaten and heartbroken, Jesse Cole is placed in a new dorm room after his last roommate attacked him. Just wanting to be left alone to heal in peace, he's shocked when tall, dark and dangerous-looking Nick Moretti walks in.

Nick doesn't have time to tiptoe around his new roommate—he's too busy working in order to pay for school. But something about Jesse brings out his protective instincts. As their cautious friendship grows and becomes loaded with sexual tension, he wants to make Jesse comfortable.

Enter the perfect plan: a line of tape down the center of the room. Boundaries established.

But as innocent movie nights become hours-long temptation marathons, and whispered chats from across the room delve into straight-up dirty territory, crossing the line has never been so satisfying.

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01767FSHO

Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/out-of-bounds/id1052692576

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/out-of-bounds-ar…/1122856810

KOBO: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/out-of-bounds-36

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=9781459293533