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Going for the Gold

Making a Splash

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2nd Edition

After a scandal of Olympic proportions, Vince Dawson lost his job as a diving coach and is on a downhill slide. So when he sees Austin Brody at a local pool, diving like a trained athlete, he thinks he’s found his ticket back to the big leagues.

Austin thinks Vince is crazy for wanting him to dive competitively. He dives for beer and smokes, while working double shifts as a welder. Still, he’ll give training with Vince a shot.

But Austin isn’t willing to let Vince rule his life, and Vince—used to hopeful young athletes folding under pressure from him—finds Austin baffling… and hot. Even if they can work together and become more than friends, they still have a long way to go before they’ll be ready to compete.

First Edition published by Torquere Press, 2007.

169 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2007

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145 people want to read

About the author

Sean Michael

652 books1,207 followers
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.

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5 stars
43 (23%)
4 stars
69 (37%)
3 stars
51 (27%)
2 stars
18 (9%)
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2 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Daisiemae.
425 reviews161 followers
December 22, 2008
In my opinion, Sean Michael's books always have characters that are likable, a storyline that reads smoothly throughout the book and a love story that usually is both emotionally and steamingly satisfying.

Vince Dawson is down on his luck. Barely surviving a scandal of olympic sized proportions, he has hung up his whistle as a professional diving coach. He spends his days sitting by the public pool, looking for any talent that might revive his career and his faith in his abilities to coach and to get out of the rut he has put himself in.

When he notices a young man betting his diving against cigarettes and beer he isn't too impressed. But, when the young man lands complicated dive after dive beautifully, he gets a gut feeling that this young man can be a star, and Vince can take him to stardom.

Austin Brody is a hardworker and a determined young man. He knows his diving is good, but when Vince approaches him and starts to discuss Austin training for the Olympics, he doesn't know what to think. But, the more Vince talks he convinces Austin to uproot his life, and start training full time.

What I liked about Vince and Austin is their like and respect for one another. Austin thrives under Vince's guidance, and soon his doing more and more complicated, professional dives perfectly. They work hard together, sacrifice much, and soon the attraction they feel for one another is undeniable, so when they do act upon their feelings for one another they find a love that neither one expects.

I loved this book! Not only does it have funny moments, but is also has emotional depth to the storyline and characters that I have come to expect out of Sean Michael's work.

If you are offended by Explicit HOT M/M Sexual situations and dirty words, this book is not for you.

Profile Image for Serena Yates.
Author 104 books769 followers
February 27, 2020
When I read the first edition of this book many years ago, I really liked it, so I was looking forward to reading it again in its second incarnation. And it was every bit as interesting to get a glimpse into the world of a diver with Olympic ambitions the second time around. Austin is a great character, totally carefree and not at all ambitious – at first. But then he meets Vince, a diving coach with enough ambition for both of them – if he can get himself to return to the world of sports. The two men make up quite a pair – and that is just their professional relationship. Getting their feelings involved as well doesn’t make things easier for them – but it did make it much more exciting for me to read their story!


Please find my full review of the third edition on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Profile Image for Serena Yates.
Author 104 books769 followers
February 29, 2020
When I read the first edition of this book many years ago, I really liked it, so I was looking forward to reading it again in its second incarnation. And it was every bit as interesting to get a glimpse into the world of a diver with Olympic ambitions the second time around. Austin is a great character, totally carefree and not at all ambitious – at first. But then he meets Vince, a diving coach with enough ambition for both of them – if he can get himself to return to the world of sports. The two men make up quite a pair – and that is just their professional relationship. Getting their feelings involved as well doesn’t make things easier for them – but it did make it much more exciting for me to read their story!


Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Profile Image for Theresa.
3,564 reviews
August 3, 2017
The majority of Sean Michael's books end so abruptly it is as though he gets bored with them and is ready to move on to the next one. I knew this about Mr. Michael's writing style going into this novel. Unfortunately, this story really sucked me in and then, damn, left me hanging. It wasn't even a HFN - just a "Happy Moment" ending. I wish I hadn't even started it.
Profile Image for Eloise Archangelo.
245 reviews
August 2, 2024
I kept going between a 3 and a 4 star rating for Making a Splash. I adored this book. It wasn’t set during the olympics, but during training for the olympics (as many of these stories seem to be). But the ending felt so abrupt that it set off the pacing of the whole book. Otherwise, I have no complaints. I even got a chuckle out of a section of the book where Austin secured an endorsement deal and it was enough money to float him for a couple years and the number only had 4 zeros! 2007 must have been a wild time to be alive. In all seriousness, this book is the most close-to-real-life one I’ve read in a while. I do recommend, but watch for the ending! It creeps up on you.
Profile Image for Cat.
379 reviews3 followers
July 5, 2017
Fun and Sexy

I enjoy sports novels, and I really enjoy Sean Michael. Making a Splash is therefore right in my wheelhouse. Taking place in Texas, it follows the revival of Vince’s coaching career and the start of Austin’s professional diving career.

While there is an age difference of just eleven years between the two, the life experience levels of the characters are vastly different, lending more of an age play aspect to the whole book. It adds to the fun, as Vince helps Austin to mature, and Austin helps Vince remember what fun is all about.

There is instant and undeniable chemistry between the two, even as Austin notes that Vince is “old,” and there is no way for them to deny the other.

I was disappointed that there are no secondary characters, just brief appearances of random people who are never heard from again. It made the book feel more superficial, even as I was enjoying the emotional depth of the relationship building.

It also feels as though the author is falling into formulaic dialogue, as the word “yeah” is a staple through the entire book. This level of repetition really drew me out of the story because I kept noticing it, to the point that I actually counted how many there are. Of the more than 300 times it is used through the 169 pages, only 15 are in non-speech use. Surely the characters can use another term.

My greatest disappointment, however, was the very abrupt ending. There is no wrapping up of the story, just a stop after an intense scene. It is an HFN, but left me feeling like it had stopped midstream.

I’m rating this at three stars. It is fun and sexy, with the excellent erotica this author is known for, but it could have flown much higher.


I voluntarily read an ARC copy of this book for Divine Magazine from Dreamspinner Press with hopes for but no obligation to provide a review.

**Same worded review will appear on Goodreads, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.**
Profile Image for Lulu Forth.
208 reviews
June 11, 2017
This story is about Vince and Austin. Vince was a professional diving coach but an unfair and untrue allegation lead to him leaving the sport for good, one day he is lounging by his local pool when Austin draws his attention with his spectacular diving skills. Having had no formal training and self teaching using his trampoline at home Vince just can't help himself offering to be Austins coach.

It's all a bit of a struggle initially with Austin working night shifts as a welder and training during the day until they get some sponsors on board but once they get a couple of big sponsors they move to Austin Texas so Austin (slightly confusing - probably could have picked a different name?!) can train and compete full time.

Throughout this time their personal relationship develops and they become lovers. There's many, many, many sex scenes in this book in a variety of settings and locations.

Ok so I had a few issues with this book. Firstly there was literally no secondary characters in this book which is a big shame as I feel this really adds to stories and makes them more rounded. Secondly there are endless sex scenes and although initially hot I found that towards the end I was just flicking through them and thirdly the absolute main reason this only got 3 stars from me was that it just ended! No Epilogue and loads of un finished plot lines, it was just a bizarre way to finish a book and such a shame.

I felt this book had a lot of potential but never really followed through. It wasn't awful and there were some good aspects, it just wasn't for me.

Reviewed by Lulu from Alpha Book Club
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Profile Image for Stella ╰☆╮╰☆╮.
746 reviews30 followers
July 7, 2017
2.5 stars rounded up

I’m a huge fan of Sean Michael, I was curious about the blurb of this new release, Making a Splash as soon as I read it, cause I honestly haven’t read a lot of stories focused on the diving discipline and I was very intrigued. The author can write so it’s not a surprise the novel is well written and engaging. Unfortunately despite this, Making a Splash wasn’t a winner to me.

Vince is thirty-four years old, he was a great diving coach, well known until three years ago he was accused of child molesting, all false but the diving world hadn’t welcomed Vince anymore. And then it came the day he met Austin and saw in the younger man a potential diving champion. They soon started training and at the same time they begun to understand something is going to happen between them, the attraction is clear and from the moment they will act on it, they will barely be able to keep their hands off each other till the end.

And that’s the reason why I’m not giving the story the 3 stars, there were really too many sex scenes and maybe I simply wasn’t in the mood for just hotness and nothing more, but in my opinion they took too much space from the plot and the development of the love story between Austin and Vince. Perhaps Making A Splash would have worked better for me had it been shorter and with a more complete ending, because here the end was really abrupt and caught me unprepared.

The cover art by Valerie Tibbs and Tibbs Design is amazing, I love it so much, the colors the font, it’s perfect for this title
Profile Image for Sue "DavinciKittie" Brown-Moore.
393 reviews58 followers
August 22, 2017
I love watching men's diving—all those sleek lines and lithe muscles and tiny swimsuits—so I had high hopes going into Making A Splash. For the most part, it's an enjoyable read, but there were a few details that bugged me.

The characters both tended to use the same vernacular speech patterns even though they're ten years apart in age, and both the prose and dialogue get repetitive at times. The characterization of the leads is also a bit too small-town for me (I grew up in a small town in Texas, near where this is set, and didn't enjoy the trip down memory lane)—that's a personal thing and may not bother some readers. Vince himself is a little too pushy, physically hauling Austin around by the arm and generally being overbearing. The relationship also made me uncomfortable, not so much the large age gap as Vince's history with the sport and the circumstances of his disgraceful exit. Makes the romance feel...lurid. And there's a TON of graphic sex. Now, don't get me wrong, I usually like that. But here it feels overindulgent and I actually skipped through the scenes in the last half looking for the diving or trampoline parts. A few well placed love scenes would have better supported the story and the relationship. I loved the diving in the story, and I wish the book revolved more around that.
Profile Image for Mainely Stories.
512 reviews22 followers
July 5, 2017
I really enjoyed this May/December story centered around the theme of redemption, living a huge life with a chronic illness-diabetes, reaching for the stars and of course love.
This is the story of Vince, a top-ranked diving coach who is washed up as the result of lies and retracted claims of a narcissistic former student. He has absolutely nothing to live for when he sees a young man diving with friends at a local pool! The young man, Austin, is a factory worker who loves jumping on his trampoline and diving in the pool. He has absolutely no expectations more than winning a beer or two from his friends.
Vince sees an opportunity to potentially reclaim his life as a diving coach which might now be possible but as he comes to know Austin his priorities shift to what might be best for Austin. Vince, as an Olympic level coach, is comfortable making the rules but he has never worked with anyone quite like Austin, who dives for the fun of it and prioritizes living life!
I really enjoyed this story and the perhaps unnamed series of sports-related stories of redemption.
1,787 reviews26 followers
April 15, 2018
Fire in the Water

I read the second edition of this book, published in 2017, ten years after the original and more than 50 pages shorter. I wonder why, but I am not going back to read the original because this one, despite a hang-in-the-air ending, was good enough for me.

That's because it's so implausible that down-and-out 34-year-old former diving coach Vince should have accidently stumbled upon the natural skills of 23-year-old redneck welder Austin that you just want to know how long it will take them to hook up.

Oh, they do, in one of the most scorching series of sex scenes that could be sustained in a book that was essentially about high diving, diabetes, stubbornness, and eventually love that I have encountered recently.

The only eyebrow raiser in this one is that there is not a single sexual episode where the word condom is used. I haven't read all of Sean Michael's books, but I think he has done this before, and it does not bother me in the least.

Just a note if you are interesting in diving into this well plotted, lascivious pool of fire and water.
Profile Image for Cathy Brockman.
Author 5 books95 followers
July 3, 2017
Making a Splash is a very sexy story of a young man that loves diving and an older man that is an ex-coach.
Austin is 23 , a welder and diabetic. He loves going to the lake and diving for beers. He doesn't realize his talent.

Vince has a secret. He was a coach in the past and missed it. The moment he sees Austin he knows he has to have him.in more ways than just a client.

I loved the characters both Vince and Austin are interesting. What I loved most was the diabetes. I liked how the author showed us that a condition can be worked around.
I was surprised at the ending as it hit suddenly. I wish there had been less sex and more on the diving career.

Profile Image for Les Joseph.
Author 5 books37 followers
July 7, 2017
Everyone who reads MM knows that when you pick up a Sean Michael book, you're going to get a book that's low on angst, if there's any at all, and high on sex. Lots and lots of sex. Sean Michael's books are perfect for when you want to escape reality and just lose yourself in a book that doesn't tax your mind and leaves you with a smile on your face. Making a Splash definitely does both. This is a re-release. I didn't read the first edition so I can't say if it's been updated or not, but the new version was a nice way to spend a few hours.

I haven't read too many books about swimming or diving so I thought the topic was a refreshing one. Unfortunately most of the book didn't really work for me. From Vince's supposed coaching prowess to Austin's diving talent, none of it felt very authentic. When you have a diver who's trying to make it professionally smoking, eating cheeseburgers, and having sex almost non-stop when he's not in the pool, well, that's not the most realistic thing I've read. Yeah, often you have to suspend belief while reading romance, but still. Since there were next to zero secondary characters, and the one's that were included had almost no impact, the story felt very flat and one-dimensional. As with many of Sean Michael's books, I was left unsatisfied. The book had potential, but it just didn't quite work for me.

*this review will also be posted on www.diversereader.blogspot.com*
Profile Image for Joyfully Jay.
9,026 reviews514 followers
August 16, 2017
A Joyfully Jay review.

4.25 stars


For me, this was a low angst read. There’s lots of diving lore and that was fun to experience, as I’ve long been a fan of the sport. Austin is a sweet guy and Vince is only mildly gruff. He takes Austin under his wing and they both work to make Austin a marketable diver who can get the kind of sponsorship that would enable him to train full-time and compete at the highest levels. Their relationship is playful and fun for both, with a deep connection that builds with the competition. It was also strengthened by some medical issues, as Vince and Austin learn to manage Austin’s diabetes in the face of his training regimen.

I’d expected some level of crisis to develop, and that didn’t seem to manifest strongly. Which was fine. Sometimes it’s great to have a book that just coasts along on higher notes without all the gut-wrenching drama. And, whoo-boy. Vince and Austin don’t beat around any shrubs in pursuit of pleasure, though I half expected Vince to shy away from that sort of unprofessional behavior, based on his history. He rationalizes, citing how he’d never exclusively coached adults before, and Austin is all grown up when they meet. Either way, the sexytimes are a perfect ten from this judge.

Read Veronica’s review in its entirety here.
Profile Image for Tam.
Author 21 books104 followers
September 11, 2009
I enjoyed the Personal Best stories so thought I’d give this a go. Vince used to coach diving but was more or less unfairly pushed out of the sport 3 years ago. He’s hanging at he local pool and sees and amazing diver. Turns out Austin has had no formal training and is 23, older than most starting out but Vince is sure he’ll be the best so he convinces Austin to train with him. Of course they quickly fall into bed even though Vince knows that could be trouble but Austin’s 23 to his 32 so its not so bad. The book then follows his efforts to get sponsors so that Austin can quit his job welding at night and they can move to Austin (the city) to train full-time. It ends after his first meet where Austin loses the gold because he’s an unknown and not because he’s not good enough but they plan to make everyone see. It was typical SM, hot sex and different from Personal Best in that Austin is an adult who’s been living on his own for years and working and while Vince tries to get him to give up his worries about money and the day to day stuff, it’s hard for Austin to believe that something he does for fun can actually be a job. I didn’t love it as much as PB, but it was a good Sean Michael read with likable characters.
Profile Image for E.
207 reviews1 follower
July 21, 2015
I liked the idea of this book but it was rushed and there was way too much sex. To me it was minor plot point, sex, minor plot point, sex, sex, sex, swimming, sex...
Profile Image for Paula´s  Brief Review.
1,168 reviews16 followers
Read
August 20, 2018
Desisto ya pasado el 50% de la novela.
No da arrancado, no pasa casi nada, y lo que poco que pasa parece que ni les afecta a los MC,y harta de que me describa lo que comen y como follan, punto y pelota! y tanto follateo me tiene aburrida.... para leer una frase de cada estrofa a ver si dejaron de comer y de toquetearse paso......
3,147 reviews3 followers
August 27, 2018
All is going well, I'm enjoying this and then at 67%, I realized...ugh, there's too much of the same sex over and over. Then, I begin piling on my complaints...one character's diabetes is suddenly a non-issue. ..eating burgers, fries and shakes. Smoking in a rental house. And never a discussion about condoms, testing. Oh, and the premise has a position of power element to it that bugged me.
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