His First Touch

by Aspen Gray

Just try it, you might like it… It was supposed to be a joke—hiring a male “entertainer” for my buddy’s bachelor party. We’d have some fun, a few laughs and go home to our girlfriends. But that’s not what happened. I haven't been rising to the occasion lately, and now my girlfriend’s questioning our whole relationship. She’s convinced I’m batting for the other team (or catching) but I keep telling her we’re just going through a rough patch. Every relationship has its ups and downs…right? The only problem? Even though I'm with her, I can’t stop thinking about him, Tristan, the dancer from the other night—thinking about him in ways that I never thought I’d think of another man. And what’s worse? My girlfriend knows. She knows, and she wants me to try it, and on top of that? She wants to watch. My girlfriend’s convinced I’m playing for the other team, and she’s going to be the one to prove it to me… HIS FIRST TOUCH is a first-time gay romance between a reluctant, inexperienced young man and a worldly “male entertainer” who’s seen it all but is ready to settle down. Features a perfect blend of sweetness and spice with a dash of humor and a HEA. You can’t go wrong with this one!

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Romance

182 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 22, 2019

Reviews

[Calila · Rating 1 out of 5]

*A copy was provided by the author for free in exchange for an honest review*

I'm sorry. I hated this. There is so much wrong with the plot I don't know where to begin. It had promise and the writing itself isn't terrible. BUT THE PLOT. It's hideous. So Bryce goes to a bachelor party for his straight friend whose fiance planned the party and jokingly hires all the "straight" guys a male stripper. They crack jokes and get lap dances. Fine so far. But there's a straight female friend there, "one of the guys", who has a crush on Bryce and decides to drug him and take photos of them in a compromising position to send to his girlfriend so she'll get mad and dump him for cheating on her and Female Friend will now have a shot with Bryce. Bryce wakes up the next morning with no memory, calls his girlfriend who RAGES at him for cheating and once they meet up in person she gets violent and even though she thinks he cheated with a FEMALE she decides he's gay, and he's in denial, and if he wants to make it up to her (and doesn't want the pictures of him cheating aka being raped put online by her) he'll blow a guy to prove his straightness. If he enjoys it, he's gay...if he throws up, he's straight and they have a shot at repairing their relationship. So let's recap...at this point Bryce, has been drugged, thinks he's been raped (it takes a while for the book to call it that), had his partner turn on him THE VICTIM and been abused and blackmailed into another sexual assault. GREAT RIGHT?! It's so gross. SO SO SO GROSS. Poor Tristan knows nothing about all this, he just thinks a guy is questioning his sexuality and wants to test it out on him and since he was also just cheated on by his douchebag ex, he's down. Tristan is really innocent in it all and a nice character. Bryce is likable too. The problem is everyone else. I won't reveal more of the plot but there's some good later on. Honestly without the beginning 30% of BADWRONG the book wouldn't have been that bad. It could've just been a girlfriend helping her boyfriend come to terms with his sexuality and been fine. But no, let's have her be a terrible person that somehow convinces Bryce she's just being amazingly supportive and kind by helping him by BLACKMAILING HIM. There's honestly no redeeming characters outside of Tristan & Bryce (and I'm iffy on Bryce, I like him but he needs a shrink so badly). I am so RAGEY. This review is so scattered and terrible but I can't help it. Read this at your own risk.

[Sabrina · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @15%

This is such a messy (and gross) book. The timelines are messy, the plot is messy, the characters do and say stupid shit, the women are, once again, the bad guy here, one of the main characters is apparently “date raped” (idk I dint get that far but it sounded like it) by his own friends, blackmail galore, ignore the blurb completely because if you think this is some cute “girlfriend is supportive of boyfriend exploring his sexuality” you couldn’t be more wrong.

Idk. I wish I could fling this book into the sun but I risk my own phone. It’s not worthy.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF and why:

I've read dub-con and non-con. The difference was that the authors knew they were writing those tropes.

This starts off with the main character getting raped at a party by a female "friend" and having the photo evidence sent to his girlfriend, who then lays into him.

Based upon his lateness from a party with a male stripper, she then decides he's secretly gay. (I guess the rest of his guy friends are still straight because they didn't get home late? Logic?) Her answer to this is to tell her boyfriend, who we're pretending wasn't just violated, that he has to blow a guy.

Per her rules, if he's at all aroused, they can break up, but if he's grossed out or "pukes" he's straight and "maybe even homophobic" and they can get couples counseling.... Wut? (Yippie! And I say yippie, because so far, two females in their mid twenties have said it non-sarcastically.) Ignoring the general wtf of this entire plotline for two seconds, bisexual people DO exist. Jfc. Back on the crazy train, how do you go from being pissed that your boyfriend "cheated" with a woman (He was raped. Get him help!) to he's gay because there was a male stripper at the party. How?

So, I'm like this bj plot is pretty damn rape-tastic too, but at least he can tell her no!

Wrong again, because if he won't do it, she's going to put the pictures of him being raped on the internet so everyone can see what a cheater he is.

Then she calls the stripper from the party to set this up. When he explains that he's not a prostitute. (Because duh?) She's like, we just won't pay you then! He agrees to this insanity -- good thing he just broke up with his cheater boyfriend the night before and is ready for a serious relationship!

Nope. Bye. Sorry. This is why I couldn't finish it. Normally I would just pass on any review, but I think it needs to be mentioned that there is no real concept of non-consent here. If that doesn't bother you, proceed. But I feel it needs to be said.

[Angie]

DNF-33%

This story has many many issues. First- I would suggest another comb through with an editor.

Second- I feel icky even reading this story. The peer pressure this guys girlfriend put on him to hook up with a guy was just...gross. I don't really appreciate that it felt forced. She says do this or i'm going to post pictures of you online cheating. I'm sure in the end the guys end up together (I didn't read this far but it has to have a HEA right?) but the means to the end were not ok in my book. It is definitely not representative of a good relationship and I think that is icky.

Third- I'm really curious what went down with the date rape(?) storyline. I was almost curious enough to keep reading but that also was too ick for me. He clearly was drugged at the party but why? He clearly needs new friends.

Really I liked the blurb for this story but the way these things happened was not ok in my book and I just couldn't keep reading.

[Nikstarr · Rating 1 out of 5]

No, just no. So so bad.

[RavenAngels · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no words for how comically bad this is.
Like really really bad first time fan fic...

[Karolina Cebula · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5 - 4 stars*

"His First Touch" is the first Aspen Gray's novel I had the opportunity to read, as so far I've only read her mpreg novellas. That's why I admit that I didn't quite know what to expect from this story, although the description of the novel was undoubtedly a tempting hint. In practice, the plot of "His First Touch" turned out to be largely innocent and somewhat naive, but thus very positive. The characters are struggling with certain problems, such as stormy break up, discovering one's sexuality, new love, but we don't find here any huge dramas resulting from the mentioned problems, which I admit is a bit surprising. Nevertheless, it is thanks to all this that we read this novel very quickly and with pleasure, as the vast majority of the events presented here are rather light.

I think it is also worth mentioning that the plot of "His First Touch" consists of several interesting elements, two of which I like the most. The first one is the intrigue associated with a girl friend in love. Although it is not particularly complicated, and the reader guesses what is going on much faster than the main character, it is an interesting addition to the romantic side of this novel. The second element of the plot I want to write about is in my opinion the most important, as it gives depth to the story presented in "His First Touch", namely, the internal need to come out of the closet, starting with the closest friends. Bryce is undeniably an innocent and naive character, but the fact that he needs to share with his loved ones the revelation concerning his sexuality gives us a real insight into his psyche.

I would like to stick to the subject of the characters for a little longer, because I think that in "His First Touch" the side ones are really interesting. On the one hand, we have here Bryce's fantastic, very open girlfriend/ex-girlfriend, who at first is a bit annoying, but who, at some point, conquers our hearts with her warmth and the fact that she really supports Bryce. On the other hand, I believe that Bryce's friends should also be mentioned, as they undoubtedly surprise us. Well, probably no one expected their reaction to our main character's first coming out attempt. That's why I think that they are really noteworthy, as we don't really know what to expect from them.

In conclusion, "His First Touch" is a nice novel that we read extremely quickly. The main character is a silly guy who makes us laugh, and his story also can put a smile on the reader's face.

____________________________

„His First Touch” jest pierwszą powieścią Aspen Gray jaką miałam okazję przeczytać, jako że do tej pory czytałam tylko jej nowelki o tematyce mpregowej. Przyznaję więc, że nie do końca wiedziałam, czego mogę spodziewać się po tej historii, chociaż opis powieści niewątpliwie stanowił zachęcającą podpowiedź. W praktyce, fabuła „His First Touch” okazała się w ogromnej mierze niewinna i poniekąd nawet naiwna, ale tym samym bardzo pozytywna. Bohaterowie zmagają się z pewnymi problemami, jak burzliwe rozstanie z partnerem, odkrywanie własnej seksualności, nowa miłość, jednak nie znajdziemy tu wynikających ze wspomnianych problemów ogromnych dramatów, co przyznaję, że trochę mnie zaskoczyło. Niemniej jednak, właśnie dzięki temu, powieść czyta się szybko i przyjemnie, jako że znaczna większość przedstawionych tu wydarzeń została ukazana w raczej lekki sposób.

Myślę, że warto także wspomnieć o tym, że fabuła „His First Touch” składa się z kilku ciekawych elementów, z których najbardziej podobają mi się dwa. Pierwszym jest intryga związana z zakochaną kumpelą. Wprawdzie nie jest ona jakoś szczególnie skomplikowana, a czytelnik zdecydowanie szybciej niż główny bohater domyśla się, o co chodzi, niemniej jednak jest to interesujący dodatek do romansu, jakim jest ta powieść. Drugi element fabuły, o którym chciałam wspomnieć, uważam za najważniejszy, jako że to właśnie on nadaje przedstawionej w „His First Touch” historii głębi. Chodzi mianowicie o wewnętrzną potrzebę wyjścia z szafy, począwszy od najbliższych przyjaciół. Bryce niezaprzeczalnie jest bohaterem niewinnym i naiwnym, ale właśnie fakt, że potrzebuje on podzielić się z bliskimi sobie osobami odkryciem dotyczącym jego seksualności daje nam prawdziwy wgląd w jego wnętrze.

Chciałabym pozostać przy temacie bohaterów na dłużej, ponieważ uważam, że w „His First Touch” są oni naprawdę interesujący, a w szczególności ci poboczni. Z jednej strony mamy tu bowiem fantastyczną, bardzo otwartą dziewczynę/byłą dziewczynę Bryce’a, która chociaż początkowo może wydawać nam się irytująca, to jednak w pewnym momencie podbija nasze serca swoim ciepłem i wsparciem, jakie oferuje chłopakowi. Z drugiej zaś strony należy wspomnieć o przyjaciołach Bryce’a, którzy niewątpliwie potrafią nas zaskoczyć, albowiem nikt chyba nie spodziewał się ich reakcji na pierwszą próbę coming outu naszego głównego bohatera. Uważam więc, że są oni naprawdę godni uwagi, ponieważ nie wiemy do końca czego się po nich spodziewać.

Podsumowując, „His First Touch” to przyjemna powieść, którą czyta się niezwykle szybko. Główny bohater jest wielkim głuptasem, który bawi i dobija, zaś jego historia potrafi wywołać na twarzy czytelnika uśmiech.

[Rachwithheadinabook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok the premise of this book is good, a supportive girlfriend helps her soon to be ex discover that he is in fact gay and devises away for him to explore this in a way that supports him and guides him in this new and confusing territory he finds himself.

This is NOT what you get in the beginning of this book I felt so sorry for Bryce at the beginning of this book and very nearly DNF,
First - there’s the possibility that he was date raped by a so-called female friend, who sent photos to his girlfriend. (There is more on that later in the book)
Second - the girlfriend then manipulates and basically blackmails him in to the experience with Tristian.
Third - Bryce is ok with his girlfriend doing this so soon as he realises he is gay.

So now we are about half way through the book and this is were it starts to get better as Sasha (the girlfriend) actually becomes the supportive role in which the author intended her to be. Tristian and Bryce are sweethearts through out. They and the premise of the story are the reason I gave it 4*.

[Grace ❤️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

okay but not all that believable

This was extra extra insta-love but that wasn’t my problem with it. Generally I can enjoy a good insta love situation and I thought the author did a pretty good job in that respect but pretty much everything else was not believable at all. From Bryce’s girlfriend just being 100% cool with him being gay without having any hurt feelings at all and Bryce taking Tristan with little more than one finger prep to the weird questions I have about Tiffany’s plan (were they fully clothed in the pictures? Were Bryce’s eye closed? How would anyone believe he was consenting to that?) and Bryce’s idea to show his friends he was gay... it was all just under developed or downright unbelievable. I loved the plot idea, the blurb was enticing and the characters were intriguing but it was ruined by the shear number of “what? Seriously? No way” Moments I had throughout.

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a tough time reading this one because it started off so confusing. I ended up skipping the whole middle because I didn't really care about the protagonists, and I just wanted to know how the confusing story was going to end.

I didn't care for either of the MCs or their friends (who seemed to be dicks), but because of what happened with the main guy (I can't even remember his name), and how he seemed to have been set up and raped, I basically just wanted to know how he seemed totally straight but would end up with the stripper.

When I skipped to the end it was just became more confusing. I found several typos/editing mistakes in just the few dozen pages that I read, and overall it seemed to be just a big mess with the major protagonist being a psycho woman who wanted the first guy, but through her crazy stalkerish rapey behavior helped the first MC discover his gayness.

Not my cup of tea.

[Kitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a bit of a mixed response to this story. I liked the concept of a young man discovering his sexuality, but I had trouble relating to the characters. Bryce suddenly realizing he was gay and immediately jumping into bed with a man seemed unrealistic to me. Surely there would be some discomfort and period of confusion. Also, the girlfriend encouraging him and setting things up for him was a little weird, unless she just had a voyeuristic streak. I think this could have been a better story if the characters and scenario had been a little more developed. It seemed a little too superficial and quick for me.

I received a complimentary ARC and have voluntarily left this honest review.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bryce goes to a bachelor party for his friend Chris and encounters Tristan.
He tried to remember how much he had drunk and thought three possibly four then he remembered the drink that the woman who was here had given him a drink. Looking at the time he phones his girlfriend Sasha who yells at him for cheating and the photos send from his phone of him and a woman which event he has no memory of. When he returns home and talks to Sasha she comes up with the idea he is gay and tell him to go down on a man in front of her then she arranges for Tristan to come over.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

[Amy Dufera - Amy's MM Romance Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

His First Touch is a deliciously entertaining story by Aspen Gray.

Don't look for it to all make sense, as parts are far-fetched. But it's super fun.

Tristan's a stripper who meets Bryce at a party. Soon Bryce realizes he's gay after some outside interference and a hot blow job.

This story also contains a cheating moments, sort of, and an ex girlfriend turned best friend.

And then there's Tiffany. She is the poster child for what gives girls a bad reputation. She's the epitome of the classic manipulative crazy female character.

His First Touch is just an adorable story of sexual awakening. Seriously, it's just charming and entertaining. I absolutely love it!

[Fay MMBookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.🌟 A new author for me with this book. A story with a straight to gay theme.
Includes angst, jokes to far, funny moments, hot sexy scenes, virgin, voyeurism MMF scene and more. I loved the ending as a certain character get what she deserves.
This was fiction and not based on reality.

Bryce was at a bucks party with his friends when things went wrong. With no memory and accused of cheating on his girlfriend with pics he didn't remember.
Tristan was a stripper to earn some money.

[Teal Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

His First Touch by Aspen Gray is a contemporary m/m romance about Bryce finally realizing his sexuality with the help of a male dancer, Tristian... it only takes a little encouragement from his girlfriend. This book is fun, sexy, and just a bit of drama mixed in. I really liked the characters and felt drawn in by their story.

I received an advanced reader's copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review and recommendation.

[Tianna McPherson (Anna Lee) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this new series is to die for. We're so use to your shifter books that once we read this one we are taken back by how amazing it truly is. Tristan and Bryce give us a true story as to how you can reveal to yourself what it's like to never know what you're feeling. Thinking that your one way but find out that no your not. So romantic and heartfelt. I can't wait to see who's next. Excellent read Aspen. I give it 5 stars. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy.

[Patricia Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has written a fantastic, grab-you-by-the-feels, poignant, sweet, charming, engaging, sexy, totally awesome, and delightfully different twist on the standard fake boyfriend/friends-to-lovers/first time gay tropes. I enjoyed reading it from beginning to end, and would DEFINITELY recommend getting this gem ASAP.

[Rowena · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good start to a new series.

An enjoyable M/M romance story with a different storyline and fun characters. I could imagine the first meeting of Bryce and Tristian which made me laugh. I loved that Bryce’s friend were there for him and that he was able to find his HEA. A good start to a new series that doesn’t disappoint.

[Denise GremoryKohta · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting.

This was something new from the author and I was keen to check it out. I like when authors go outside their norm. While I felt the pace was too fast and I had trouble connecting to the characters, I thought it was a nice change. I would like to see the author explore their possibilities more and look forward to seeing what they come up with.

[Torhild Borg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bryce currently is in a heterosexual relationship but the fire has ebbed out. His girlfriend is questioning their relationship, and she hires a stripper, Tristan, whom were at the bachelor party for a friend of theirs.
I got a dislike for the girlfriends whining about it, but I liked Tristan and his patient. But believeable+ More suspect in my opinion.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC review For honest review. With is a story of bryce a mechanic who at one of his friend bachelor parties and meets Tristan a guy male stripper that was sent as a joke to the party ,but Bryce finds through his girlfriend that he may be gay. I really like how everyone helps him. Awesome story

[Elaine Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no words to describe what I read in this book. My mouth was hanging open from the time the question was asked until the deed was done. It's different than what I read and it had my attention that I couldn't put it down. I wanted to see how it played out and it's and it's a gay for you book.

[Maria771 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of Tristan and Bryce. I like the concept of this story. With a little bit of work this story could beva great story.

I received this book as an Arc and I am reviewing it voluntarily.

[Stfnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stars are for the idea for the story. And the writing is not really bad, I’ve read worse, but it is not a book I was interested in finishing. Dnf

[devil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good insta-love story, with an unique storyline and interesting characters. There's a cute epilogue too.

*I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.*

[Penny Chelmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect insta-love with a dancer! The main characters are adorable and you can’t but want their happy ending. The story felt a little rushed, but still worth a read.
Would recommend.

[Vanessa Bitencourt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh gosh, that was a really bad experience. Just no.

[Amanda at WickedGoodReads]

DNF

[Jennifer Reilley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not finish.

[Pearl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tristan is Hawt!

Great sweet story about Bryce coming into his own and coming out. Tristan is his first love and they make a great couple together.