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Camp Eagle Ridge #1

His for the Summer

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A bear, an air horn, and a night in a very small tent change everything.

Aiden
I'm so not into Jay. He's afraid of nature, he's a failure as a camp counselor and, well, he's a guy. And I'm straight. So why can't I stop fixating on his stunning face and delectable lips? Lips that make me think about things I shouldn't be thinking about my co-counselor. But when a bear shows up, it's Jay's anxiety that saves us, and I can't fight the urge to thank him - intimately. When I realize he's gay, my fixation becomes more intense. Can I admit I'm drawn to him before it's too late?

Jay
I’m so not into Aiden. He’s cocky, and full of himself, and keeps lecturing me about how great camp is. Plus, he’s straight. Or… I think he’s straight? The spooning makes it a bit confusing. Also, there’s the kissing, and the other things.

239 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 26, 2023

200 people are currently reading
815 people want to read

About the author

Ezra Dao

16 books53 followers

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5 stars
194 (24%)
4 stars
253 (31%)
3 stars
224 (28%)
2 stars
97 (12%)
1 star
30 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews
Profile Image for Gaby.
1,380 reviews162 followers
January 13, 2025
I was gaslighted into believing this book was good, let me tell you, it is not!

It's weird and not in a good way, Aiden had so many conflicting emotions all the time that it was exhausting trying to follow his thought process, in addition, what 21-year old says shit like:

"Let's be good, and I'll watch your glistening alabaster skin from a safe distance, thinking about the dirty things I wanna do to you" "

I'm sorry but I've read really unhinged things and this one was just plain cringe.
Profile Image for Brooke.
862 reviews586 followers
August 29, 2023
⭐️ 4 stars ⭐️

Cute summer NA romance, friends to lovers with a bi-awakening.

Aiden and Jay’s story was sweet and steamy. Loved the found family and the camp setting.
Full of little self-acceptance messages and learning to find your true self, this read was wholesome and like a nice warm hug.

Probably a little longer than it needed to be, and with a couple of plot holes here and there, but overall a fun time.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Crisana.
1,029 reviews46 followers
September 15, 2023
Took me a bit to get into the writing but it ended up being quite good. Unsure of how I feel about the sex quantity and a lot of the plot seems to revolve around that. I know they are young and horny but I feel like there should have been less sex and more character development.
Profile Image for Tony.
256 reviews9 followers
April 4, 2024
First I’d like to mention this book isn’t YA or New adult like it says on here it was spicy and descriptive. That said I didI like this book and have already purchased the second in the story. Even tho I like spicy scenes I personally felt like there should have been less sex and more character development. There was some moments of the characters developing but the story was mostly sex orientated like it wasn’t bad tho 3.5* rounded up to 4
Profile Image for G_occasionally_reads.
370 reviews27 followers
February 28, 2024
Ugh. I hate myself for picking up (once again) a queer romance where one of the MCs is a straight dude, talking and acting like one (what the heck is a "bro bl0wjob?" or "you’re a horny fuc&er, and there’s no pu$$y to be had"), but also, he's not straight.
Like, who talks like that? Do they?

May I interest you (or not) in:
⛺️ NA romance
⛺️ summer romance
⛺️ gay + bi-awakening
⛺️ double POV
⛺️ camp phobia 🧸

Profile Image for Robert Fontenot.
2,085 reviews31 followers
January 6, 2024
While I really enjoyed this, it is far from perfect. It’s over long, there is way too much sex for the amount of story, parts get fairly repetitive, and a lot of the ending is a little too pat. All the same I liked the characters and there was a real truth to a the anxiety and awkwardness that comes with the first rush of attraction and experimentation, particularly in the first third of the novel. I will definitely read more of this author, but I might try to stay closer to the shorter works.
54 reviews
September 28, 2023
An easy, non-serious book

Honestly I enjoyed this as a break from more serious and/or dark romance books. However, it was all pretty unbelievable. How does a straight man go from "I'm straight but why are his eyelashes pretty" to "bro jobs and suck my nipple" within like 2 days???
Profile Image for Олександр Грозов.
58 reviews17 followers
April 6, 2025
Це була одна з найкращих книжок, що я отримав на розпродажах Амазон. І це була доволі гаряча книжка. Героям знадобилося менше тридцяти сторінок, щоб зняти штани та запропонувати свою допомогу.
Батько змусив Джея працювати у літньому таборі посеред дикого лісу. Хлопець цьому взагалі не радий, доки не зустрічає іншого працівника Ейдена.
Ейден з дуже багатої родини постійно приїздить працювати в цьому таборі. Для нього це місце єдине, де він може бути самим собою.
Хлопці дуже швидко закохуються та починають стосунки.
Мені сподобалася ця легка та весела історія. Я отримав задоволення читаючи цю книжку.
Можу рекомендувати, якщо хочеться почитати легку літню книжки з великою кількістю гарячих сцен (ці сцени були майже в кожній главі)
Єдине, що знизило оцінку, це затягнутість другої половини. Було дуже багато повторів та просто нудних моментів. Також не сильно захопив фінал. Як на мене він вийшов занадто цукрово солодким
Profile Image for Ane Ellasdatter .
891 reviews11 followers
July 19, 2024
I was in the mood for a palate cleanser, and this absolutely hit the spot. Super cute and very steamy. The bi-awakening was nice, but the second half was almost more spice than story. The ending dragged on a bit too, and even though it's sweet, I didn't think the book needed this level of HEA.
Profile Image for Allie Pallotta.
89 reviews
Read
June 21, 2024
no rating <3 nobody needs to read this <3 just logging june book club
50 reviews3 followers
February 21, 2024
This was my first book by Ezra Dao, and it was such a sweet plot.
Jay and Aiden was classic outdoorsy heterosexual meets nerdy gay.
It was a fun, easy-going and not-to-long story with some drama build-up, which I would have liked the author to explore a little further.
I loved the found family and inclusion the camp offered, and I'm looking forward to Ben and Parkers story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for _alesbookshelf_.
168 reviews4 followers
March 24, 2024
[3.25⭐️]
I don’t know how to feel about this book. On the one hand it was a light read, perfect as a palate cleanser, but on the other it is a book that makes little sense. Everything felt way too rushed, I would have appreciated more of a build up to their relationship instead of going straight to the smut part. This book was basically just sex and no plot, so after a while it got a little boring. And also the dialogues were so cringy, especially during the spicy scenes 😬
Profile Image for luluandherbooks.
135 reviews8 followers
Read
September 21, 2023
Okay I won’t leave any stars because I stopped reading at 30 percent. Maybe I’ll get back to it but damn this book has so much sex. Like I know nothing about the characters beyond a few minor details.

This book wasn’t my cup of tea but I got it for free on stuff your kindle day so not. Big deal.
Profile Image for SJ.
2,020 reviews33 followers
February 28, 2024
First half awesome, I loved it. The characters of the four camp counselors were distinct and charming. I’m praising the four: Jay, Aidan, Ben, and Parker, because I liked them all almost equally. The MC couple is Jay and Aiden and I enjoyed their love story from the first hello.
Handsome Jay is gay, but has no past relationship or experience. Gorgeous Aidan is straight and the nearby girls camp is his annual summer box of goodies with some female counselors on tap. The camp is closed due to damage and Aidan is sexually adrift until he and Jay share a tent and a bro job on an overnight backpacking trip with their camper charges. Oooh, the sex scenes were so hot. All very well written with good detail.
I loved the natural dialogue and the effortless charm of long time friends Aidan and Parker. Ben and Jay talk and act like real young men, too.
Jay is not happy to be at a camp in the wilds of nature to which his parent has pressed him to work for the summer. He is smitten with beautiful Aidan and then stunned that Aidan wants to continue their nightly snuggling in the counselor’s cabin after the backpacking trip. The teasing by Parker and Ben, who sleep in the same room, is so very funny! These were my favorite scenes.
I loved the first half of the book and the summer at the camp.
The second half started out well with the continuing relationship growth between Aidan and Jay.
I liked the character of Mark, the head of the camp, who is okay with the relationship between the two counselors but wants them to work apart at the camp.
I did think that the frequent public affection in front of 13 year old boys was a bit odd and that Jay and Aidan would discuss fluid sexuality with any boy that inquired. I can’t see parents being okay with that.
There were some editing issues in the second half that took me out of the story and I questioned some of the details, like Aidan pulling an air horn out of his pocket. I looked up photos of air horns because I thought they were large. I did see some that might fit into cargo shorts pockets. Then it was mentioned twice that bookworm Ben would put a paperback book into his back pocket. Pockets again! I don’t think a paperback book would fit. There were some continuity and spelling mistakes and sentence juxtaposition that should have been caught by a beta reader. It took me out of the narrative.
The story was getting longer with Aidan’s interior anxious thoughts in many scenes about he and Jay having to part at the end of the summer. Jay and Aidan find out they both attend Stanford(and act like it’s no biggie?). So, why all the continuing anxiety about never seeing each other again? I don’t get it. I thought it was a contrived coincidence about attending the same school.
Also, I think where they went to school would have been mentioned early on in the book as school is an identifier for young people.
There is a side plot of Aidan knuckling under to unkind and unaware parents who are mega rich. I got a chuckle that they are hotel magnates, the hotel chain Yamada. Much more upscale than a Ramada.
Every scene with the parents was clunky with awkward writing. They were not interesting and seemed to be there to add some not very well written drama. The scene at the dining room table was especially badly written as was a scene between the grandfather and Jay and a really cringe break up scene between the MCs.
If the book had stayed as marvelous as the first half it would be a home run read for me, but it took a turn into being a pedestrian and often badly written romance.
There is a real difference in quality in the different parts of the book. I finished it with disappointment.
I was hoping that Parker and Ben would be a couple for a second book. I liked them both very much and thought they had chemistry.
I see that one of them is having a romance with someone new in the next book. I hope the author didn’t do this to have a book about each of them. They would have been good together. I’m not sure if I will be reading it. Maybe just the first half! 😀
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Theo.
1,183 reviews57 followers
July 19, 2024
This is a cute and sweet romance about a classic gay guy pairing (jock and nerd) who meet at summer camp. They are in college and the camp counselors. Jay is out as gay, and Aiden has a bi-awakening.

There are major plot holes. The pacing and much of the plot go a little sideways in the last half of the book. As much as he struggles with it, Aiden's wealth is a big bandage.

I considered a lot of things about gay sex in romance books while reading this. There is yet another conversation about queer men writing gay romances compared to the often more popular and promoted gay male romances written by cis women. (I have so many feelings about this as a nonbinary trans guy author.) Even without looking at his name or bio, Dao's writing felt like a queer man writing stories about queer men, and I couldn't exactly put a finger on why.

There is a lot of sex in this book. I have no judgment either way on that. I thought about myself at that age, how much of a horny menace I was, and how escalated that might've been if I'd been born a cis man and not terrified of getting pregnant.

What I did find interesting was Dao's insertion of D/s dynamics and the things Aiden says to Jay. Having no idea how old Dao is, but knowing that these characters would be Gen Z, I wonder if their positioning or the things they said to each other reflected the pornography they had access to. We do see Aiden getting a cell signal to watch gay porn and "confirm" his bisexuality.

I wanted their ages and inexperience (Aiden with men and Jay with sex in general) to provide an awkward layer over becoming immediate experts in blow jobs and anal sex. Or to have Jay laugh when what Aiden says sounds like it comes from porn, even if it still turns him on. These two guys had fun with each other and sought each other as a refuge, but the sex didn't always translate.

And, unfortunately, the homonormativity at the end made me feel old. These guys are way too young to get engaged.
Profile Image for Ren || Reading What I Want.
1,947 reviews155 followers
June 3, 2025
★ ★ ★ ★ ✬ (rounded up since GR still doesn’t do half stars. 🙄)

Call me surprised because this was one HOT, SWEET, FUN little mm romance!

• bisexual awakening
• camp counselors
• secret rendezvous
• hidden identity-ish
• coming out
• first times

Aiden is a half-Japanese camp counselor who’s mad when he finds out the girl’s camp is closed for the summer. There goes all the free 😻. But when he locks eyes on the lean, awkward Jay with the long eyelashes and pouty lips, it awakens something he isn’t expecting.

So so SO hot, y’all! Let’s just say Aiden gets all the 😻 he wants but it’s not what he’s used to. Jay brings out a dirty talking, obsessed side to Aiden and I FLOVED it.

Jay was so adorkable. Terrified of the outdoors but determined to prove himself. He was SO sweet. I adored him so much. I often felt he was more mature than Aiden but I think his parents helped with that because Aiden’s parents? Yea, no.

And that ending? Seriously, I loved this one!
Profile Image for antonia&#x1fae7;.
527 reviews2 followers
May 14, 2024
i really liked the characters and the character development in this one.

i especially relate to ben but i could see a bit of myself in each and every one of the characters.

aiden and jay's bond was special but i think they moved on too fast.

i loved how we got to meet some of the campers by name and see them interact with their counsellors.

Profile Image for Paulina | bitofabookcase.
333 reviews104 followers
July 27, 2025
Mayyyybe 2,5*, at best.
I must agree with the most GR reviews. This book was too long, too repetitive and omg, I just wanted some story, not 95% book being sexsexsex. I really got bored towards the end. Also, why Jay had the personality transplant the second he got to touch Aiden? And that ending? No.
Will I read other books in the series? That would be a yes.
Profile Image for sam &#x1f41b;&#x1f4da;.
58 reviews2 followers
January 11, 2025
3.5 stars! this book looked like a borderline YA MM romance and boy oh boy it is NOT THAT!!!!! literally so much sex it was overwhelming. we were jumping from emotional character building paragraph to p*rn manuscript the next. crazy work from ezra but the story was cute in the end.
215 reviews
June 3, 2024
This is 95% explicit smut, 5% story. Not bad, but needs a closer edit. If you like easy, with 3rd act breakup and very little plot, this fits.
Profile Image for Crazychriss889.
1,494 reviews10 followers
Read
October 16, 2023
Outdoorsy 'straight' Aiden meets City boy and geek Jay.

Hihi, not sure if I loved this antiquated notion that there are still guys out there who think they are not gay and 100% straight if they like jerking off a bro 😅
Aiden really is a bit much. The way he talks, the way he is kind of an a*hole to Jay, the kind of idea he has of gay people, the fact that he watches porn to get an idea of how 'gay sex' works... I don't know...

Also, sex really plays the major role on this book, which is pretty annoying. Would rather them connect over their difficult families.

I definitely have to point out another thing, too: They are supposed to be the adults in this summer camp. What they are doing there is simply unprofessional. Do things like this really happen in the States? Is it normal for camp counselors to fool around in the tent, the house and the freaking bathroom?
Profile Image for Kristie.
444 reviews6 followers
June 19, 2024
His for the Summer was a fun fast read focusing on the romance that bloomed at a summer camp between two of the camp counselors. Jay is a sweet guy who is out of his element as he learns to be a camp counselor when he would be more comfortable in an airconditioned library than the great outdoors. Aiden is a veteran counselor who is back at camp, the one place he always felt he could be himself growing up. The two fall for each other as Aiden learns a new side of himself and Jay pushes out of his own comfort zone

I enjoyed reading the story, but felt there could be more time committed to the character development and the guys getting to know each other. They went from crushing to very hot and heavy very fast, and I thought that could be paced out more. It also felt like the end was a super rush to happily forever after, instead of going for a more satisfying (and realistic) happy for now ending.

2.5 stars

I got this book for free on Stuff your Kindle day
Profile Image for Kameron.
53 reviews
Read
September 6, 2024
DNF @ 43% - For the most part, I enjoyed it. I stopped because it read like a long form porn than an actual novel. It was sexy, but I needed more story.
Profile Image for Velvet Wrapped Smut.
178 reviews5 followers
December 18, 2023
Cute premise, not so great execution. There were inaccuracies in the writing (ie: car is described as a Range Rover, then a page later is called a Land Rover, and a scene where they talk about approaching the front door of a house, then switches to saying they're opening the car door).

The romance felt rushed and the relationships between the characters and their relatives flipped and flopped. Also, it felt like there was going to be another pair of characters being set up for book 2, and I just read the blurb for the second book and they're not going to be a couple.

Anyway, glad I got this book in stuff your kindle, because I would have been disappointed if I spent money on it.
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