On the Sand

Jarheads #6

by Sean Michael

Rock, Rig and Dick are living it up at the beach in this installment of the Jarheads series. Dick and Rock's gym business is going well, Dick has gone back to school, and Rig's PA practice is working just the way he wants it to. The only problem is that Rig just doesn't have the energy he used to, and he's not feeling great. He's worried that something might be dreadfully wrong, and he's afraid to have to tell his men about it. Rock and Dick try everything they can think of to cheer Rig up, but even a vacation can't fix what's wrong. Months of pain and silence finally lead to Rig going to a doctor, but can he recover from being so sick for so long? And can he manage to get healthy again with two ex-marines watching his every move? Read about Rig, Rock and Dick's adventures in Sean Michael's popular Jarheads series, including Three Day Passes, Tempering, and Out of the Closet.

Genres: M M Romance, Menage, Contemporary, M M M, Romance, Erotica, LGBT

428 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 2004

About the author

Often referred to as "Space Cowboy" and "Gangsta of Love" while still striving for the moniker of "Maurice," Sean Michael spends his days surfing, smutting, organizing his immense gourd collection and fantasizing about one day retiring on a small secluded island peopled entirely by horseshoe crabs. While collecting vast amounts of vintage gay pulp novels and mood rings, Sean whiles away the hours between dropping the f-bomb and persuing the kama sutra by channeling the long lost spirit of John Wayne and singing along with the soundtrack to "Chicago."

A long-time writer of complicated haiku, currently Sean is attempting to learn the advanced arts of plate spinning and soap carving sex toys.

Barring any of that? He'll stick with writing his stories, thanks, and rubbing pretty bodies together to see if they spark.

Reviews

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rig ignoring his health and not talking with or letting his guys help/care for him is the theme of book 6 and I didn't enjoy this story as much as the other books.

Original review was 4 stars.

[Charly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back to the Jarheads basics

JARHEADS SERIES: VOLUME 6 (chronologically), BOOK 6 (written sixth, as far as I can tell)
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Rating: 7/10

PROS:
- I’ve begun to accept that Michael is never going to show me any super sweet, tender moments between Rock and Dick. Sigh. Okay, fine. I still crave those moments, though, and in this volume, there are a couple (short) sweet scenes between those two guys. (In one scene, though, the sex happens only because Rig is out of town, and in the other scene, Rock and Dick have a small bonding moment because they’re both worried about Rig.) Rock does show some more possessiveness in this volume with regard to Dick than he has before, and that made me happy.
- There’s lots of sex. Lots and lots. Not sure anymore whether that’s a pro or a con in this series. The sex just…is.
- Some of the moments resulting from Rig’s sickness are very sweet. Rock, especially, is uber-protective of his Rabbit.

CONS:
- The main plot element in this book is similar to the main plot element in Volume 4, Tempering. As a result, this one sort of feels like a repeat at times; I thought on more than one occasion, “I feel like we’ve done this before.” The angst resulting from Rig’s sickness adds a nice amount of drama to the book, but the characters have now (at this point in the series) been through 3 stressful, harrowing experiences, and all 3 have centered around Rig. I know he’s basically the core of the threesome, but I want to see something dramatic happen to one of the other two, because the best thing about Rig’s bashing in Tempering and his mom’s death in Out of the Closet and his sickness here is seeing how caring his two partners are while he’s recovering.
- As is the case in a number of Michael’s books, the sex is repetitive…the descriptions, the dialogue, the positions. There’s even one scene in this volume that lasts for 4 pages and contains the words “you know it” 4 different times. When the repetitive phrases are that close together, they’re hard to ignore.

Overall comments: This isn’t what I would call a fantastic book. I just like the characters, plain and simple; that’s why I keep reading the series. But I find the Jarheads books more enjoyable if I read just a chapter at a time, because each chapter contains a little conversation and some sex, and if I stretch the book out over time, the sex doesn’t seem so old-hat.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This installment in the series, like Tempering, had a situation that had the potential to do damage to the guys' relationship. The heart of the matter was Rig slowly growing ever more sick and trying to hide it from the other guys because he was personally scared about what it could be and didn't want to scare Rock and Dick. They are all very busy and about their lives so other than concerned looks and words Rig is able to keep his secret until a near fatal moment. This near fatal moment will color their lives for a long time to come though they keep things real with their usual bantering humor and wily ways of getting a little some-some. There is also a side story involving them all and the grown of Deuce with his boyfriend Gary.

In this story, I had a strong desire to whack Rig up side the head. Even though I understood his motives for trying to go it alone, he should have learned from the past that being independent doesn't work so well for him or his relationship with the guys. He just caused them even more pain and worry than if he'd just been up front. Now, not to say the other two shouldn't have caught on to the severity of the issue a little sooner, but he was being sneaky about the worst symptoms on them.

I have enjoyed all along the progression of Deuce, Rig's nephew, growing up. It was a great dynamic in the story how Rock ended up a father figure of sorts for him through all the stories. He is a young man that all of them can be proud of and he has a loving heart that is as big as he is.

Life is never dull for Rock, Rig and Dick and this was an enjoyable installment to the series.

[Don Bradshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

The gy is doing great and Rigger is a "doctor" loved by coworkers and patients alike. Rigger starts feeling tired and weak but makes light of it. The man is clearly sick except in the eyes of his hot and always horny lovers. He hides his illness hoping that Rock or Dick will notice until he finally collapses. This last jarhead book tests the men's love as Rigger is near death. More porn with a little more story.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rig kinda pissed me off for the first half of the book, so did Rock and Dick for not noticing Rig's problems. I thought in this book there was a lack of editing that the other books didnt have. The second half of the book is pure yumminess and makes the book worth reading.

By now the three men are like long time friends and I care about all three of them. Its kind of sad to realise they arnt real when I put the book down lol

[Brie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always loved this series ^^ and Rig,Rock, and Pretty. I didn't however like how sick poor Rig gotand how bad it ended up being for him. The good and bad always even themselves out in the stories. but the illness and his long suffering didn't do too much for me. OH! and I love deuce and his boyfriend...if this is the right story for that couple...hmmmmmmm

[CB · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Sean Michael and the Jarheads. these stories are filled, just filled, with sex, sex and then more sex. Sean Michael knows how to keep it interesting though and writes about some unique and wonderful characters with truly entertaining stories, woven amongst all the sex!

[Erotic Horizon]

On the Sand by Sean Michael (2008)

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Tetkaripli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read from June 6 to 8, 2013
Re-read from November 21 to 24, 2018

4 stars