Golden Boy

Golden #1

by Claire Thompson

Johnny begins to come to terms with his sexual orientation after a friend opens his eyes to the world beyond his homophobic upbringing. Looking back, Johnny recognizes there were signs all his life that he was gay, but what about his dark fantasies of bondage, whips and domination?

While at a club, Johnny spots a gorgeous man across the room and immediately feels the pull of the dark and dangerous, passionate sexual energy that is Eric Mende. Frightened by his own reaction, and thinking he has nothing to offer a man like Eric, Johnny runs.

And Eric pursues.

Eric yearns to teach Johnny about love and erotic submission, but for Johnny, the price of accepting those gifts is high, maybe too high. His family, his job, the life he's always known, could all be forfeited if he follows his heart.

Genres: BDSM, M M Romance, Erotica, Contemporary, Gay, Romance, LGBT

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Claire has been writing for nearly two decades, and has published over 85 novels. She writes BDSM romance and abduction tales, spanning both m/f and m/m genres. She has received numerous awards for her bestselling work, including the NLA-Int’l Pauline Réage Award and the Golden Flogger Award for best BDSM fiction.. Her darker works press the envelope of what is erotic and what can be a sometimes dangerous slide into the world of sadomasochism. Ultimately her work deals with the human condition, and our constant search for love and intensity of experience.
Connect with Claire and get a FREE starter library!
https://clairethompson.net

Reviews

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come...

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

So-so kinky m/m romance about a handsome young mechanic so deeply closeted he doesn't realize he's gay until he sees an extremely compelling guy while out clubbing with a lesbian friend. That compelling guy turns out to be a prestigious Dom who slowly helps the mechanic discover his submissive side. I had some issues with this one. I really disliked the Dom. And the book pissed me off by ending in what felt like the middle.

[Td · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF-74%

[Aղցela W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good read from an author that I have read and enjoyed before. Johnny begins to come to terms with his sexual orientation after a friend opens his eyes to the world beyond his homophobic upbringing. While at a club,Johnny spots a gorgeous man across the room and immediately feels the pull of the dark and dangerous, passionate sexual energy that is Eric Mendez. Frightened by his own reaction, and thinking he has nothing to offer a man like Eric, Johnny runs. Eric is very patient with Johnny they become lovers and Dom and slave with Johnny learning a lot about himself. I hated his family and his father the most he was a bully. They have a misunderstanding at a club Johnny is use to submitting in private not in a club. The scenes in this book were hot. I did like Amanda and would love to read about her. This book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling. I am looking forward to reading the next book.

[Cole Riann · Rating 1 out of 5]

See my review for the combined books...

I did NOT like this. It really bothered me and I hated the Dom.

[Gigi]

According to reviews, Dom is creepy and shares his sub, who is the love interest, with other Doms sexually. No interest in getting into that at all.

[Anita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok. I'm starting this one today and I'm scared! This will be my first foray into BDSM. I've got the sequel "Golden Man" ready after this one. I see the ratings are all over the place so I'll have to decide on my own how I like this one. Wish me luck!


Just finished Golden Boy, Golden Manand I must say...Eeeeew!!! Oops! Sorry for that all of you BDSM people. More power to you to whatever floats your boat! But this was just a little too icky for me, mostly because I did NOT LIKE Eric! Ouch! What a self-centered ass he was! I liked Johnny but I felt he was way too inexperienced and innocent in his discovery of his sexuality to be rushed into the D/s scene like that. And I just cannot understand Eric's letting him be used by others if he truly loved Johnny. Maybe some D/s types can enlighten me on that but for now that kind of creeped me out! So I guess I'll just give both books a 2 until I can come to grips with that!

[Jolinar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm currently re-reading this book. I hadn't realised quite how much it bothered me..... I think the fact that our Dom offers his sub up for use by others so early on in their relationship is just too hard for me to swallow. A D/s relationship if first and foremost about trust building; how can there be trust built up if their first outing together with absolutely zero experience in the scene the sub has to endure attentions that ultimately get him punished for his reactions? That amongst other little flaws is what bothers me.

Not sure I can keep on reading TBH :(

[Beck]

I'm not going to rate this book because I'm not quite sure why I disliked it so much. I'm going to take a break & try to read it again before giving a thorough review. My initial impressions so far are that the Dom is kinda creepy. Like a spider waiting in his web IYKWIM? The sub appears too naive for believability too. This book just rubbed me up the wrong way. I'm going to give it (the book) the benefit of doubt tho' 'cause it was well written & crafted.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book just felt all kinds of wrong and creepy to me. It seemed like Eric was more concerned about his image than Johnny and that club scene was just...NO, NO, NO!! Why Johnny kept accepting Eric's apologies over and over, I just don't get. Then to be left at what felt like the middle of the book was just annoying. Sadly, I didn't like this one enough to find out what happens and I don't see Eric getting any better.

[The Literacy Advocate · Rating 5 out of 5]

ANOTHER HEARTFELT, HONEST, REWARDING STORY FROM THE INCOMPARABLE MS. THOMPSON!

Once again, Claire Thompson has given us a heartfelt, honest, emotionally satisfying story to tug at our heartstrings and teach us a couple of things. Auto mechanic Johnny Wilson is a good guy, despite the poor role models he has in his father and one of his older brothers. Johnny has always done what he believes is expected of him, by his family, his friends and society…but he’s never been truly happy with his life, job or romantic/sexual relationships.

One fateful night, Johnny goes out with close friend Amanda, a gay woman, who takes him to a gay bar. Lightning strikes when Johnny catches the gaze of Eric Mendez, an icon in the gay community and a Dom specializing in S&M. Johnny is mesmerized and, for the first time, feels a magnetic sexual pull that is a physical shock. Can Johnny find himself among all the expectations of others, and embrace the gay, submissive man he is? Johnny’s journey of self-discovery is laced with wit, joy, pain, and consequences revealing how much one must sometimes give up in order to gain one’s own identity and follow one’s truth.

Claire Thompson writes stories full of pathos, discovery and revelation which, while sometimes painful, are always uplifting and ultimately rewarding. Join Johnny, in the Golden Boy/Golden Man Boxed Set, on his journey for personal happiness. If you’re new to Claire Thompson, this will not be your last read of her books. After Johnny’s story, look for Handyman; it’s another heartfelt, satisfying read by the incomparable Ms. Thompson.

I was given a copy of this book in return only for my honest review.

[TinaMarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johnny was raised by a bully of a father and never felt like he fit in, always doing what was expected of him, working as a mechanic in his father's garage. He's dated girls and been with them sexually but at 24 he never really got what the big deal was about sex until he lesbian friend took him to a GLBT club and turned his world upside down.

Eric is this uber Dom with a reputation for being aloof until he sees Johnny across the room and is determined to find out who that golden boy is and have his wicked way with him.

Discovering your gay at 24 is huge, add to it your submissive after being raised the way he was is a hard adjustment. This first book in the 'Golden' series is not only about Johnny embracing his gay and submissive sexuality but Eric learning to be vulnerable and trust again. There are bumps in the roads and they both make mistakes but their love has them both coming together to work on their relationship as well as a lot of kinky, BDSM play and virginal firsts for Johnny.

I was very surprised by the mistakes Eric made, since it was made clear he was such an experienced Dom and a therapist on top of things, the mistakes he made I would have expected from an inexperienced Dom and it didn't really fit or sit well.

This book is not BDSM lite, there's spanking, whipping, caning, bondage, and sharing involved as well as other D/s elements that may be hard from some readers or extremely erotic to others depending on your tastes.

I received a free copy of this book and I'm voluntarily leaving a review. If you like my reviews I hope you will follow my blog. https://wyldheartreads.wordpress.com/

[Saimi Vasquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

El inicio de una bilogia, Jhonny un hombre "heterosexual" inconforme con su vida, incomodo en su piel, sale a un club nocturno gay con su amiga Amanda y su pareja, en ese club ve por primera vez a Eric, un hombre gay muy atractivo y dominante que lo hace replantearse su sexualidad y la vida que hasta el momento ha vivido.
Eric queda impacto cuando visita un club nocturno y atrapa la mirada por un minuto de un chico que parece un angel, despues de esa mirada el chico se desaparece pero el lo busca hasta que lo encuentra y le plantea enseñarle a ser su pareja sumisa.
En el camino, Jhonny tiene que enfrentarse a la incomprension de su familia, sus inseguridades y las de Eric para poder iniciar el camino a una relacion completa en como D/S.
Al ser el inicio de una bilogia nos muestran como comienzan su relacion, y se enfocan mas que todo en la vida familiar y las inseguridades de Jhonny.
Es una lectura comoda, suave y romantica, pero que te enamora de los personajes y te hace preguntar como llegaran a superar sus problemas y ser felices.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Golden Boy: It's not easy figuring out you're different. Especially when your family is all alpha male; father and brothers. Thank goodness Johnny was approached by Amanda in the library that day! His best friend. She knew things about him, he did not know. Now, she's there to help him. Not an easy path. Emotional, gripping story. I'm ready for part two!

In Golden Man, Eric and Johnny's relationship grows further. Without challenges? Heck no, there are plenty of challenges, with each other, with Johnny's family. I was so happy for the love of these two and the patience that afforded them to grow together.

I received an advanced reader copy, and this my honest and voluntary review. This is a 4++* duet!

[Gab · Rating 4 out of 5]

One look
across a room full of people and the journey begins.
This story tells about two men at the exact opposite of the spectrum. One, a celebrated Dom who trains gay subs, the other very straight, hetero and unfulfilled. One is reveling in his exalted status in the gay BDSM community, the other has given up on dating women but, by necessity, has not gone farther than that.
Ms Thompson takes us on a trip of discovery by both men.
Some of the stations on that road are hard to read, others are gloriously touching.
In the end they both get a HEA with slight concessions.

[Monique Hebert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book and this duet series.
This book encompasses a lot of the subjects I enjoy reading about: MM, BDSM and hot sex scenes.
I always enjoy reading a book when one of the characters is learning about BDSM or sex if a virgin but in this case it's a man learning about not only his homosexuality but his submissiveness. There's just something so innocent and naive about it and when this includes a strong dominant teacher, it makes for an an interesting and hot read!

[Miranda Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great paced story.

I enjoyed reading about Johnny coming to grips with the truth about himself. The flow of the story was good and not rushed. I am definitely reading the next book!

[Elfflame]

When you read a sentence "let's start again" with someone commanding someone else to use a dildo... I'm sorry. That's not sexy.

Not interested in finishing this one.

[Kaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Golden Boy follows a familiar trope for lovers of gay romance stories with aspects of BDSM and a discovering sexuality theme.

The 2 main characters are Johnny, a car mechanic working for his families garage, who at the start of the story has not acknowledged his true sexuality, but has a constant feeling that he doesn’t fit in within his family, especially with his father and older brother. He has suppressed any elements of his personality that would pit him against his family but as a result is unhappy with his life. He seems to have only one friend, Amanda who is gay and in a long term relationship. It is apparent from the start that Amanda knows that Johnny is gay even though he hasn’t acknowledged it to himself, and she is committed to helping Jonny find himself. She is great fun throughout the book.

Eric is introduced near the start of the book as a rather selfish character, involved in the BDSM world but flitting from one lover to another for as long as their interests collide. He has a very cynical view of love and the ‘gay’ lifestyle and is not instantly likeable, but from the start it is apparent that his interactions with Jonny are not following his usual path and he is experiencing an unusual fascination.

For me, the most engrossing element of the story was the journey Eric makes. Yes, I liked Jonny and was routing for him all the way through his anxieties and doubts about his relationship with Eric and the experiences he had with his family, but whilst on the surface he had the hardest journey to make, it was Eric’s that I felt ended up being more challenging.

Eric started as this over-confident and fairly selfish individual. He is a psychologist and so would be expected to have a heightened sense of awareness of both his own and others emotional needs and behaviours and he has gained a reputation as a trainer of the perfect slave. He seemed to be always looking to move on to the next conquest in order to showcase how skilled a ‘master’ he was. However, as the story developed, we saw his own insecurities coming out and his fear of losing face with the BDSM community started to conflict with both the direction his relationship with Jonny was going in and Johnny’s own needs.

Whist, as with any book, I found there were niggles in terms of the pace of the story in parts, ultimately I greatly enjoyed this story. I was rooting for both Johnny and Eric to find a way through the challenges that they faced, and I surprised myself by really invested in Eric as he had to reassess how he perceived himself and came to a greater understanding as to who and what was important in his life.

[Pandora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Length: paperback 304 pages, ebook is 67,133 words

Johnny is an insecure young man from a conservative family in Brooklyn. He works in his dad’s auto repair shop. His dad and brother pick on him. He can’t seem to keep a girlfriend. His only buddy is a lesbian who takes him to some gay bars. He starts wondering if he is really attracted to men. One night he locks gazes with Eric Mendez. Attraction flares between them. Eric is slightly older, and a psychologist. He is also a renowned Dom in the BDSM subculture. The two men start a relationship. They both worry about making a mistake and losing what might be true love. And Johnny realizes he has always had submissive fantasies.

Before I started reading, I worried that Eric might be too much the smug and perfect Dom. I also hoped he wouldn’t lecture the readers about BDSM while teaching Johnny. But fortunately these things did not happen. Both men are three-dimensional with flaws. Both make believable mistakes and try to set things right. Mostly Eric is good at respecting Johnny’s vulnerability. (One jarring exception: the scene where he ties up Johnny, shows him a knife, and asks, “Are you afraid of the sight of your own blood?”) He pushes Johnny too hard in their first outing to a BDSM club. He does it out of ego. But this makes him believably flawed. It engages the reader’s sympathy when he realizes his mistake and tries to apologize to Johnny.

Two small problems. One, the plot is predictable, especially regarding Johnny and his parents. Two, the viewpoint sometimes shifts from third-person to a remote omniscience. This happens when the story wants to convey complex information about the character like his backstory. His self-image. How others see him. The writing is very smooth. But there are better ways to show this stuff than just to tell us in long, omniscient chunks that interrupt the present-day action like flashbacks. Overall, the book is an interesting one-time read, especially for readers interested in BDSM. The last chapter (added since the 2006 edition, which I haven’t read) works well to tie up loose ends and give a happy ending. (Free copy of book received in exchange for an honest review. Review written for The Readers Roundtable.)

[Ayanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay, then it got annoying, then it got actually good, and then it got so extremely boring. I skimmed the last 30-odd pages, which is to say I gave each page a cursory glance so I could say I finished.

(See my status updates for some more comments.)

All in all, not a lot happens. Pretty much nothing, actually. The characterization is inconsistent. Parts of it are good, but then there are these chunks that are just...meh.

Johnny in many places it TSTL. And then he has flashbacks at the most awkward moments. And they're so long... It just breaks up the continuity so badly that at times, I have trouble following. And then sometimes it seems like there's just random sex.

The ideas aren't bad, but sometimes the execution makes it seem like something it's not.

None of the characters really appealed to me. They didn't seem fleshed out enough to be realistic.

The repetition was also annoying. It made the entire thing seem like one giant gimmick.

[Wendy❤Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s funny how perspective changes over time. I originally read this book many moons ago and rated it 5 stars. I had a burning desire to read it again (and I don’t do many re-reads – not because the books aren’t worthy, but because there’s just so much new material to absorb!) so I pulled it out again on a recent vacation.

I had one impression of the book that stuck with me from the original reading and that definitely changed as I went through it again. First time through, I thought the characters were more distant and I was totally enamored with the BDSM element. Second time through, I was still enamored with the BDSM element (it’s a favorite for me), but I found there was more emotional connection in the relationship than I remembered. Despite this, I’m revising to a 4 star rating because Eric remained enough of an aloof character that wanted just a little more from him.

[B.E. Cullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Golden Boy was an interesting read. I've read a few BDSM books before. Although I've never read one that was so much into the D/s relationship. There were some moments where I didn't like Eric, but everyone is fallible - real or imagined. I don't much care for scenes where they use or are used by other members of the scene, but I realize its all part of the scene and each person can choose whether they want to be a part of that aspect or not. There were however some glaring grammatical errors, at least to me, where words were missing and once or twice where Eric's name was used when it was Johnny speaking to his friend. The ending of the book seemed rather... abrupt. I do intend to read Golden Man next. In every other way it was a nice steamy read and kept me entertained for hours.

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book, one in which Johnny goes through a big self-discovery. I liked seeing Johnny become true to himself and discovery what was important in his life. For the most part Eric was good for Johnny. I was mad at him for his not listening to Johnny about his coming out party, not a good thing for a Dom. I found the ending to be interesting, but I hate that we don’t learn how it all ended.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book. I liked how they were both figuring things out along the way. I also liked that Eric wasn't "perfect" and that he didn't know everything. He made his own mistakes along the way. I didn't care for some of the things they did together but I had to remember it wasn't my relationship it was theirs and what they liked.

[Glandrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah, I had issues with this book.

First off, I'm not the biggest fan of BDSM, some of those stories I like, some I don't. This was one I didn't like. The characters didn't appeal to me and the story itself made me cringe sometimes.

And don't get me started on the scene towards the end, and especially how Eric dealt with it...

Yeah, I'm giving it a 2/5, but even that is being too generous.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Can't wait to read Golden Man.

[Marsha Spence · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Johnny but I can't decide about Eric.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[HeatherTX · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit that this was my very first true M/M read and I rather enjoyed it however the ending was very abrupt and I hope the next book picks up where this one left off.