Aroused

by Sean Wolfe

2007 Kensington Books hardcover. 9780739473900. Sean Wolfe(Hard & Fast;Taboo) Stories of gay men of all ages, broken into the seasons of life.

Genres: Gay Erotica, LGBT, Gay

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Serena Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really delivers on the promise of "...the stories in Aroused reflect the sexual seasons of a gay man's life". I liked reading all of them, from the ones in early spring to the ones in late winter. There is also a longer novella in the middle which folllows one couple through all four life-seasons. I think I liked that one the best of all the stories.

The idea of presenting the role that age plays in the way gay men look at their lives - and their existing or potential partners - really worked for me.

[Jack Reynolds · Rating 2 out of 5]

As someone who has read a lot of gay fanfic and erotic stories online, there's a part of me that enjoys getting that nostalgic rush when I pick up something that harkens back to reading them as a teen. I found Aroused during my Thanksgiving break at a HPB, and added it to my TBR so I wouldn't blank on it. Kensington keeps on amazing me with the variety of books they publish. True, I've mainly found cozy mysteries and erotica, but at least we got queer ones, too!

I do want to hand it to Wolfe for taking on an ambitious concept and sticking through it as Aroused builds. The messaging can get heavy-handed at times, yet Wolfe doesn't diminish the importance of romantic and sexual connections in a gay/queer man's life. My favorite stories were "The Honeymooners," "A Call Boy's Tear," (although it had a kink I'm not a fan of) and "Like Riding a Bike." These show Wolfe's sentimentality the best. No matter each couple's circumstances, the endings do show a deeper connection and trust the rest of the anthology lacks.

This is best read in smaller doses. Reading two to three stories at once/over a day really showed Wolfe's preferences in men, their "endowment," and sex acts. For the most part, Wolfe's writing didn't really ignite something for me beyond the sex acts themselves. There were some weird descriptions, some of which I shared in my status updates (and continued). I don't think I've ever seen someone's anal cavity be described as feeling like an Icy Hot pack. I found myself laughing awkwardly, making inside jokes (the common one in the first half was a line from the second Total Drama Aftermath episode in World Tour. The second half was singing Slayyyter's "Throatzillaaa"), and screaming, "Are you kidding me?" rather than feeling the full fantasy. This experience harkened back to reading Him my junior year of high school, but I will say Wolfe prioritized chemistry between his characters when they hooked up.

The anthology also falls into tropes I've already seen plenty of in gay fiction and which I'm tired of. Does anyone state exactly how tall they are, how much they work out, their c**k size, and what their body looks like on dating app profiles now? This "inventory" makes the character feel conceited and vain rather than get me keyed up about what they looked like (teen me couldn't say the same thing). I think Fangs really tipped me off it, because now when I see this trope, I go:



The days of finding it sexy are over. I'd rather be attracted to your personality and how you treat me first. I think that's also the ace side of me showing.

While I don't think I'll swing back to Wolfe in the future, I'll keep my eyes peeled for any other queer books Kensington put out in the 2000s (beyond that one author my local library had whose name I don't remember) and if they're still putting titles out. If not, I know another publisher that can help a guy out from my teen days.

[Anna Rocco · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was really interesting but it was very graphic and I just don’t like that type of writing