Tricked: The Men of Briefly Buddies

Briefly Buddies #2

by Chase Connor

At first, there was Max's and Dustin's misadventure with a misleading website...

Now, with Max's and Dustin's help, the men who were deceived by the makers of Briefly Buddies see an opportunity. If they can't be hired as "buddies," they have other options.

Follow along as all of the men from Briefly Buddies set out on their own adventures into the world of "friendship for hire!"

The Men of Briefly Buddies is a Vella sequel to Briefly Buddies by Chase Connor.

Kindle Edition

Published December 29, 2021

About the author

BANG BANG HE SHOT HER DOWN - the fourth book in the Head Rock Harbor Mystery series - can be pre-ordered here!

https://mybook.to/HRHM4BBHSHD

GHOST IN THE CUPBOARD - the first book in the NEW Silas Erie Paranormal Cozy series - can be pre-ordered here:

https://mybook.to/SEPC1GitC

Chase Connor spends his days writing about the people who live (loudly and rent-free) in his head when he’s not busy being enthusiastic about naps and Pad Thai. Chase started his writing career as a confused gay teen looking for an escape from reality. Ten years later, one of the books he wrote during those years, Just A Dumb Surfer Dude: A Gay Coming-of-Age Tale, was published independently. Chase has numerous projects in various stages of completion lined up for publishing. Chase is a multi-genre author, but always with a healthy dollop of gay.

Reviews

[L.E. Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given this a higher rating if it hadn't been for a few things. The first reason I didn't give this four, or even five stars is that it becomes a bit repetitive. There is a lot of variety, yes, but I also noticed that most of the tops were too similar in what they liked or were willing to do. Then there was that line that came up so often..."I fucking love my job" I get it. Right? For what it was, this book was interesting. I liked it. I loved certain of the characters. I loved seeing how Max and Dustin's relationship continued after the first book because I really liked the first book.

My favorite relationship in the book (including the main couple) was that of Tyler and Gabriel. It was interesting. And it was never addressed that this relationship, the budding feelings that were obvious from very early on, made Tyler bi with a female lean instead of straight, but it continued to call him straight to the very end. That kind of irked me. It's not that this book is afraid to have a bi character, Max is openly bi from the first book. That Tyler has been wanting to do something like this for a while just feels like he is still exploring his sexuality. Which is totally fine. It's okay to not discover you're bi until later in life, especially if your lean is more towards the heteronormative side. Tyler and Gabe were perfect together and I loved them so much. I just wanted Tyler to admit his feelings aloud or something.

The couple that did get their HEA, Mike and Russel were okay. I have to admit that age-gap is not my favorite, and the Daddy kink is really off-putting for me, but at least that was minimally shown. I didn't mind them as a couple. I thought their relationship was really sweet at times, kind of cheesy, but sweet. However, I saw way more of it than I needed to, and less of the one I really wanted to see.

There were a lot of kinks displayed in this book, some were off-putting, like the cuckolding kink (although I did find it humorous that Tyler had the worst luck with clients) and the cop's kink was especially...but over all I think the author did his best to be respectful of the kink community and display it in a positive light.

I know that moving the business in a new direction was necessary to fulfill the plot, but I didn't necessarily think that aspect was done in a realistic manner. It's never fully explained why business, which had been booming, suddenly started petering out. Was it something one of the guys did that then spread to other clients via the rumor mill? Did the porn Gabe was making with Jake do it, or did they start that because the business was failing?

I liked that Max and Dustin were respectful towards their workers and checked in regularly to make sure they were being safe. That seemed like a good and natural progression for their characters. I love how surprised Dustin seems at the end when Tyler and Gabe go to join the mile-high club. Like, where have you been dude? They were literally doing that in your bedroom when Tyler came to fix your computer.

Last note: I would have given this 3-and-a-half stars if that option were available. I really liked certain aspects and characters.