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All he ever wanted was to play...Shortly after turning twenty-one, musical prodigy Daniel Lee walked away from his controlling parents for turning his passion into a prison. All he's ever wanted was to play violin, but he needs to experience real life too. Of course, getting caught for speeding by a hunky motorcycle cop might be a little more real than he anticipated.All he ever wanted was to be himself...After putting in twenty years on the force, James Roca is ready to retire and move on, but not before he has a no-holds-barred encounter with the hottest speeder he's ever had the pleasure to pull over. Roca never expected to meet his one-time hook up again, let alone have to work with him.Together, they make beautiful music...A sizzling desert tryst is no match for the slow burn of getting to know one another. Vulnerability brings unexpected rewards, making the two men realize they have far more in common than they ever thought possible. But do they have enough to turn one time into a lifetime?
- GenresM M Romance
115 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 25, 2016
22 people want to read
About the author
Bruce Rose
23 books88 followersWhen he’s not plotting world domination, Bruce Rose is usually plotting gay romance novels. If he’s not writing hot man-on-man action, you might find him trying out new recipes, listening to old 80s rock, or putting his Star Wars action figures into provocative poses.
Get free short stories, catch up with your favorite couples, and read excerpts from works in progress by joining Bruce’s newsletter: https://bruce-rose-author.ck.page
You can also check out Bruce’s blog: http://nakedcamethenude.blogspot.com
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Get free short stories, catch up with your favorite couples, and read excerpts from works in progress by joining Bruce’s newsletter: https://bruce-rose-author.ck.page
You can also check out Bruce’s blog: http://nakedcamethenude.blogspot.com
Join Bruce on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Bruce...
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 19, 2016
A Hearts On Fire Review
3.5 Hearts -
*grunts*
21 year old Daniel is a world renowned musician and former child prodigy that finally put his foot down and escaped his greedy family's clutches. He finds a job as a bartender at club Bow and place to live in gay friendly town of Fairview. On his way to Fairview, he gets stopped by a hunky, older cop...who is an erotic dream. Not only does the officer have a rocking bod and baton in his in and out of his pants...Officer Hot Pants uses them on Daniel! (Any role playing fans out there?)
While the story starts off in the PWP zone, it transitions into something a little more. There is a plot, nothing too heavy and organic for the characters. Both men start off on a very hot branch of meeting but it develops into something meaningful when neither of them expecting it. It was believable.
Two adorkable guys who fit the 'twunk' and 'alpha muscle jock' categories but have more to offer than their looks. Officer Hot Pants aka 38 year old James Roca just retired from the police force after 20 years and has a new job as a bouncer at a club in a new town. Daniel and Roca meet again and become co-workers
This is a romance that not only features a decent age gap but a restarting a new life theme. I like those. When the main character tries to overcome hurts or issues from their past. In their case, it's Roca not being able to be accepted for being gay and being harassed while on the job. And for Daniel, it's not being able to have a personal life and treated as a cash cow instead of a person.
The men share common bonds through music and learn about each other through this. I liked that it wasn't just about the sex. There were a few moments that I had to stretch the reality rubber band here and there but the author warns in the beginning of the book.
The story was easy to read, very sexy when it needed to be. The sex was safe and consensual, a little spicy vanilla with the bit of role playing, handcuffs and holding down. Nothing too out there. Play had a nice dose of snark (I think it is my favorite thing about this author's tone), but there were a few quibbles. Eh, there were a few typos (I'm not counting them in my quibbles). My issues were more with the transition from PWP to something meaningful. There was a point where Roca was being followed, it seemed like it was from his former police force. It could have been developed more on page but it didn't. It read like a thought that fizzled out.
Another was the epilogue...it added nothing to the overall story. I like that we get a big schmoopy HEA, I believe it with those two. However, I like epilogue to give a meaningful update - six months, a year however many months down the road, give a snapshot of the HEA if you have to. That really did nothing, showed nothing, it could have been the last paragraph of the last chapter. I also wished we got a scene with the big bad parents or maybe a flashback to Daniel's past. I think I would have rated higher.
Overall, it's a good story with likable characters that are loosely connected to Fairview series (can be read in any order) My favorite still is Risky, which features Daniel and Roca's bosses. This was a fun little follow up on the club. Can't wait for more (namely Brandon the twunk bartender/waiter; the ginger baker from Risky and the other bouncer who likes submissive twinks)
Recommended if you're in the mood for age gaps, cops who wield big batons during sex, twunks who just need a big guy to protect them and an appreciation of different types of music.
A copy provided for an honest review.
3.5 Hearts -
"I'm going to do you a favor and pretend I didn't just hear you offer me a bribe."
"Thanks."
"I'm also going to get rid of this." Officer Hot Pants dropped the remains of the joint on the blacktop and crushed it under his heel. [...]
"And I'm going to do you one more favor." Officer Hot Pants leaned over until he was practically nose to nose with Daniel. "I'm going to take you behind that hill over there and fuck you raw."
*grunts*
21 year old Daniel is a world renowned musician and former child prodigy that finally put his foot down and escaped his greedy family's clutches. He finds a job as a bartender at club Bow and place to live in gay friendly town of Fairview. On his way to Fairview, he gets stopped by a hunky, older cop...who is an erotic dream. Not only does the officer have a rocking bod and baton in his in and out of his pants...Officer Hot Pants uses them on Daniel! (Any role playing fans out there?)
While the story starts off in the PWP zone, it transitions into something a little more. There is a plot, nothing too heavy and organic for the characters. Both men start off on a very hot branch of meeting but it develops into something meaningful when neither of them expecting it. It was believable.
Two adorkable guys who fit the 'twunk' and 'alpha muscle jock' categories but have more to offer than their looks. Officer Hot Pants aka 38 year old James Roca just retired from the police force after 20 years and has a new job as a bouncer at a club in a new town. Daniel and Roca meet again and become co-workers
This is a romance that not only features a decent age gap but a restarting a new life theme. I like those. When the main character tries to overcome hurts or issues from their past. In their case, it's Roca not being able to be accepted for being gay and being harassed while on the job. And for Daniel, it's not being able to have a personal life and treated as a cash cow instead of a person.
The men share common bonds through music and learn about each other through this. I liked that it wasn't just about the sex. There were a few moments that I had to stretch the reality rubber band here and there but the author warns in the beginning of the book.
The story was easy to read, very sexy when it needed to be. The sex was safe and consensual, a little spicy vanilla with the bit of role playing, handcuffs and holding down. Nothing too out there. Play had a nice dose of snark (I think it is my favorite thing about this author's tone), but there were a few quibbles. Eh, there were a few typos (I'm not counting them in my quibbles). My issues were more with the transition from PWP to something meaningful. There was a point where Roca was being followed, it seemed like it was from his former police force. It could have been developed more on page but it didn't. It read like a thought that fizzled out.
Another was the epilogue...it added nothing to the overall story. I like that we get a big schmoopy HEA, I believe it with those two. However, I like epilogue to give a meaningful update - six months, a year however many months down the road, give a snapshot of the HEA if you have to. That really did nothing, showed nothing, it could have been the last paragraph of the last chapter. I also wished we got a scene with the big bad parents or maybe a flashback to Daniel's past. I think I would have rated higher.
Overall, it's a good story with likable characters that are loosely connected to Fairview series (can be read in any order) My favorite still is Risky, which features Daniel and Roca's bosses. This was a fun little follow up on the club. Can't wait for more (namely Brandon the twunk bartender/waiter; the ginger baker from Risky and the other bouncer who likes submissive twinks)
Recommended if you're in the mood for age gaps, cops who wield big batons during sex, twunks who just need a big guy to protect them and an appreciation of different types of music.
A copy provided for an honest review.
February 9, 2022
I love Bruce Rose. This book is both super hot (especially the first scene) and super sweet. Daniel and Roca are my favorite type of characters. The younger mostly submissive guy who’s enough of a brat to make him interesting. And the older butch dominant guy who is tuff on the outside, but sweet and loving on the inside.
May 16, 2017
I really liked this and it's my first book by this author. The blurb sounded too good to pass up.
A very spontaneous and hot first meeting that turned into an emotional and sweet romance for these guys.
A very spontaneous and hot first meeting that turned into an emotional and sweet romance for these guys.
March 31, 2022
Overall pretty silly. I must say the opening scene was one of the hottest I've ever read. Shocking and delicious. It took this fantasy trip to a different level.
January 8, 2018
What a scene to start a book!!! There’s no way most of us haven’t had that fantasy… Nothing’s better than when I don't have to wait for a slow build up, the MCs are unapologetically attracted to each other, and they act on it right away.
The initial scene between Daniel and “Officer Hot Pants” is hot as hell and establishes so much about their personalities right off the bat. Daniel, just turned twenty-one, seems sweet and kinda shy; while Roca (Officer Hot Pants) is the ultimate hard bodied, authoritarian wet dream. And Bruce Rose writes the best dirty talk!
When they meet up again their attraction is as strong as ever, though Daniel doesn’t recognize Roca as the officer from their highway hook-up. This serves to reinforce Roca’s frustration at being objectified as a fantasy, and he wonders where he’ll be on the other side of thirty-eight. And Daniel is disturbed by the idea that he does seem slutty after hooking up with guys so quickly.
Both men realize they want more than just hot sex and are longing to feel a connection based on more than physical attraction or fame. They need to find some common ground and to see if they still connect without the physical. As Roca says, he wants to find someone who will, “Accept me for exactly who I am…”
I always love the messages Bruce Rose slips into his stories and this is one of the best. The idea a relationship can’t be based on purely superficial attraction, and that no one likes to feel objectified is one that applies to us all. This is a great low-angst story guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face, and possibly the urge to step on the gas the next time you pass through a speed trap.
The initial scene between Daniel and “Officer Hot Pants” is hot as hell and establishes so much about their personalities right off the bat. Daniel, just turned twenty-one, seems sweet and kinda shy; while Roca (Officer Hot Pants) is the ultimate hard bodied, authoritarian wet dream. And Bruce Rose writes the best dirty talk!
When they meet up again their attraction is as strong as ever, though Daniel doesn’t recognize Roca as the officer from their highway hook-up. This serves to reinforce Roca’s frustration at being objectified as a fantasy, and he wonders where he’ll be on the other side of thirty-eight. And Daniel is disturbed by the idea that he does seem slutty after hooking up with guys so quickly.
Both men realize they want more than just hot sex and are longing to feel a connection based on more than physical attraction or fame. They need to find some common ground and to see if they still connect without the physical. As Roca says, he wants to find someone who will, “Accept me for exactly who I am…”
I always love the messages Bruce Rose slips into his stories and this is one of the best. The idea a relationship can’t be based on purely superficial attraction, and that no one likes to feel objectified is one that applies to us all. This is a great low-angst story guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face, and possibly the urge to step on the gas the next time you pass through a speed trap.
April 9, 2017
I've figured out some of the reasons I enjoy these novellas form Bruce Rose so much. No matter how unlikely the events that bring the characters together might be, he makes them seem like real, relatable people. Play is set in the bar that Jake and Shane own, from Risky. It starts out on the road though, when Roca, on his last day as a cop, pulls Daniel over as he's driving out of town. It's a porn-worthy scene and I will never look at a nightstick/baton the same way again! They meet again though and we get a charming, complete story that includes violins and show-tunes! There's a few bumps in the road for the couple as they head for their HEA. It's not instalove either.
The only drawback was near the end, when a lot of their time is condensed into a few paragraphs. It did fit the authors novella format and didn't really detract from the overall story. I just would have enjoyed seeing more of the development of their time together as a couple. Still satisfying, with a decent amount of character and world building. No excesses of angst or drama but there are events that draw them together. I can't wait to see if we get stories for Taylor, Brandon, Domenico and Kailao someday. I'll continue to look for more from Bruce!
The only drawback was near the end, when a lot of their time is condensed into a few paragraphs. It did fit the authors novella format and didn't really detract from the overall story. I just would have enjoyed seeing more of the development of their time together as a couple. Still satisfying, with a decent amount of character and world building. No excesses of angst or drama but there are events that draw them together. I can't wait to see if we get stories for Taylor, Brandon, Domenico and Kailao someday. I'll continue to look for more from Bruce!
May 14, 2017
I think I read on the author's web site or maybe in the preface that he is partial to filthy sex combined with sappy romance. My kind of author!! Daniel is pulled over by a cop on a lonely road in the middle of nowhere. He's hot; his car's AC conked out several miles ago. All he has on are shorts and shoes. The cop, Roca, a vision in boots and mirrored sunglasses, offers him chance to engage in quite the fantasy so on that lonely road, behind an abandoned building, they have the hottest sex either has ever had. Fast forward a few weeks and they meet again under very different circumstances. So yes, the sex is filthily good. But we have two guys, both of whom are not what you think they are, who just want to be accepted. So there's a little sappiness, a little romance, a lot of real life and music all rolled up into this lovely relatable story about Daniel and Roca. This is my second read by this author and am really enjoying his breezy effortless storytelling combined with a raw yummy smexy!
August 9, 2022
Play
Le sigh. Another lovely read. A few feels with this one. It was perfect.
Highly recommend. I love all his books.
Le sigh. Another lovely read. A few feels with this one. It was perfect.
Highly recommend. I love all his books.
December 7, 2022
Cute and warm story.
July 27, 2016
Okay, second book and I think I like it more than the first one I read. And it’s sorta a second-chance romance like the other one but one of the parties doesn’t know! I thought the set up was really good and this one also had more sex, but it wasn’t like throwaway or gratuitous. It fit the two guys and what they had to do to be together. Lots of twists and turns, things I didn’t expect. I’m definitely adding this author to my autobuy list.
September 1, 2018
2.5 stars. Hot opening sex scene. Relationship development got a great start but just sputtered out along with the major plot points. Lots of telling at the end. Weak ending.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews