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Bear Camp #0.5
The Uncut Wood
What do lumberjacks do at a gay, clothing-optional campground during the off-season? Play with wood, of course.
It’s time for the Jackolympics, the camp’s annual wood-splitting competition. This year I’m more determined than ever to win because I’ve got skin in the game.
I fell in love with Gunner the first night I met him. Two and a half years later, I’m still deep in the friend zone. I can’t go another season without telling him how I feel.
The wager is: if I win, he has to go on a date with me.
The Uncut Wood is a 12,000-word short story prequel to the Bear Camp series, featuring friends to lovers, a cabin in the woods, and a kilt-wearing lumberjack. This story can be read as a standalone.
It’s time for the Jackolympics, the camp’s annual wood-splitting competition. This year I’m more determined than ever to win because I’ve got skin in the game.
I fell in love with Gunner the first night I met him. Two and a half years later, I’m still deep in the friend zone. I can’t go another season without telling him how I feel.
The wager is: if I win, he has to go on a date with me.
The Uncut Wood is a 12,000-word short story prequel to the Bear Camp series, featuring friends to lovers, a cabin in the woods, and a kilt-wearing lumberjack. This story can be read as a standalone.
52 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2021
47 people are currently reading
282 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
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January 31, 2021A bit short to form too much of an opinion on. But I liked what I read and liked the writing style. Friends to lovers is my jam. This was a cute one and a good intro to a new series that piqued my interest. I’ll be reading book one soon for sure.
February 3, 2021
That was so sweet!
Although I was surprised at how young they were because, up until the point their ages were revealed, for me they'd read as much older than just mid and late twenties.
But the story itself is an absolute delight about two lumberjacks working at a clothing optional gay campground who are best friends and have been secretly pining for the other for a couple of years.
It's witty, sweet, charming and sexy in a short story which introduces the series and focuses on one specific day/night.
Although I was surprised at how young they were because, up until the point their ages were revealed, for me they'd read as much older than just mid and late twenties.
But the story itself is an absolute delight about two lumberjacks working at a clothing optional gay campground who are best friends and have been secretly pining for the other for a couple of years.
It's witty, sweet, charming and sexy in a short story which introduces the series and focuses on one specific day/night.
January 17, 2021
3 stars
I will read anything that promises me a bear (and not the shifter kind) and this didn’t disappoint me!
This is really short so I don’t have much to say but I really liked these two together, they were really sweet and matched nicely.
Also, I really enjoyed the author’s writting style. I really liked the setting for the story. And I adored all of the sexual puns thrown in. I’m really excited to read the upcoming first book in this series now.
Also, one of the main character, Gunner, is a bear, who wears a kilt, has a ginger mohawk, has a beard and wears eyeliner and sometimes high heels. Comon, how was I meant to not fall in love with him? He sounds damn perfect!
I will read anything that promises me a bear (and not the shifter kind) and this didn’t disappoint me!
This is really short so I don’t have much to say but I really liked these two together, they were really sweet and matched nicely.
Also, I really enjoyed the author’s writting style. I really liked the setting for the story. And I adored all of the sexual puns thrown in. I’m really excited to read the upcoming first book in this series now.
Also, one of the main character, Gunner, is a bear, who wears a kilt, has a ginger mohawk, has a beard and wears eyeliner and sometimes high heels. Comon, how was I meant to not fall in love with him? He sounds damn perfect!
December 30, 2021
2 Stars
The free-loving, clothing optional, bear camp setting will appeal to a lot of readers, I’m sure. I’m simply not one of them.
The free-loving, clothing optional, bear camp setting will appeal to a lot of readers, I’m sure. I’m simply not one of them.
June 27, 2022
This short is set in the Bear Camp series. It's about two employees of Bear Camp (a clothing optional camp for bears and friends) falling in love. And despite this camp being an oversexualized place, the boys there seem to find love in the most endearingly traditional ways.
Very cute!
Very cute!
April 22, 2023
I give this short story 🐻🐻. Well written but not for me.
January 24, 2021
Fun and sexy
I read this short once before I read Grumpy Bear, but wanted to reread with context. I enjoyed it the first time, but didn't really appreciate it as much as I did the second time. Fun, sexy, and surprisingly romantic for a short, it's a great companion story.
Slade James is a promising new author and I can't wait to read more from him.
I read this short once before I read Grumpy Bear, but wanted to reread with context. I enjoyed it the first time, but didn't really appreciate it as much as I did the second time. Fun, sexy, and surprisingly romantic for a short, it's a great companion story.
Slade James is a promising new author and I can't wait to read more from him.
March 1, 2025
I appreciate the foreskin representation. A rare beast in m/m romance. Cute, nicely written but a little too short. Everything happened quick and easy, I blinked and it was over. I wouldn’t judge the rest of the series based on this prequel.
August 7, 2023
Wait, I loved Gunner! This was such a cute best friends to lovers short, loved all the cabin/outdoorsy-ness going on, casual lumber jack/tree cutting competition. This was such a fun concept and now I need to read the rest of the series.
I also loved how Gunner played around with his expression and masculinity and loved all the descriptions of his clothing and makeup and long braided hair with a bow. Short, but felt complete!
I also loved how Gunner played around with his expression and masculinity and loved all the descriptions of his clothing and makeup and long braided hair with a bow. Short, but felt complete!
February 11, 2021
I honestly quite enjoyed this one! The author makes great use of the short story format and the entire read felt quite satisfying and complete. I enjoyed the characters enough that I wouldn't have minded getting more of them, but it didn't feel rushed or unfinished.
April 22, 2021
Enjoyable short story. I loved Grumpy Bear and this was a good story too. I’ll be watching for more from Slade James.
December 30, 2021
*2.5 stars *
A friends to lovers story with a lot of bad puns. It kept me entertained for one or two hours, but that's about all of it.
A friends to lovers story with a lot of bad puns. It kept me entertained for one or two hours, but that's about all of it.
June 13, 2023
Very cute.
Tags: friends to lovers, novella, lumberjack contest
Tags: friends to lovers, novella, lumberjack contest
September 5, 2023
I'm giving this story 3.75⭐, but I'll round it up, because i'm optimistic about this series.
I found this series because I saw the cover of Grumpy Bear and just had to immediately find out what it was all about! 😄
🟣 Best friends to lovers
🟡 Age gap - 5 years
🔵 Bears
🟢 Gay clothing-optional resort/camp (in the woods)
🟠 Good writing
🌶️ Little spice, not descriptive
The story is about Hank (24) and Gunner (29), who are two best friends working in a camp for gay men.
We're talking about cabins, public sex, bathhouses, events like chopping wood, you name it.
Hank has had a crush on Gunner since they've met about 2 years ago, but didn't act on it, because Gunner was all for polyamory and Hank didn't want to get his hopes up, so he was doing all he could do to become someone Gunner might want to be with, like hooking up with other men all the time, although that's not necessarily what he wanted.
"My heart was fucking beating out of my chest, but I was going to do this. I couldn’t go another season, another year, watching him—even thinking about him—with other men."
Hank and Gunner finally realise they both want the same thing from each other - and that's a relationship.
They get together and we get a glimpse into their intimacy, and I say glimpse, because it was done in a heartbeat, wasn't really dived into and i'm not saying it was bad, i was probably just expecting a little more.
Kissing was an important part in this story, since Gunner didn't kiss anyone, but then they were just "making out" and as far as sex goes, there was no build-up, so that was a bit disappointing.
The storytelling was somewhat poetic at times, almost explanatory even, but it wasn't too distracting for such a short novel, although I couldn't get into it as much as I'd have liked, because I really liked both MMCs and would have loved to experience more things with them - in detail.
Even so, i'm off to read the first book in the series with that gorgeous man on the cover!!! 🔥🔥🔥
I found this series because I saw the cover of Grumpy Bear and just had to immediately find out what it was all about! 😄
🟣 Best friends to lovers
🟡 Age gap - 5 years
🔵 Bears
🟢 Gay clothing-optional resort/camp (in the woods)
🟠 Good writing
🌶️ Little spice, not descriptive
The story is about Hank (24) and Gunner (29), who are two best friends working in a camp for gay men.
We're talking about cabins, public sex, bathhouses, events like chopping wood, you name it.
Hank has had a crush on Gunner since they've met about 2 years ago, but didn't act on it, because Gunner was all for polyamory and Hank didn't want to get his hopes up, so he was doing all he could do to become someone Gunner might want to be with, like hooking up with other men all the time, although that's not necessarily what he wanted.
"My heart was fucking beating out of my chest, but I was going to do this. I couldn’t go another season, another year, watching him—even thinking about him—with other men."
Hank and Gunner finally realise they both want the same thing from each other - and that's a relationship.
They get together and we get a glimpse into their intimacy, and I say glimpse, because it was done in a heartbeat, wasn't really dived into and i'm not saying it was bad, i was probably just expecting a little more.
Kissing was an important part in this story, since Gunner didn't kiss anyone, but then they were just "making out" and as far as sex goes, there was no build-up, so that was a bit disappointing.
The storytelling was somewhat poetic at times, almost explanatory even, but it wasn't too distracting for such a short novel, although I couldn't get into it as much as I'd have liked, because I really liked both MMCs and would have loved to experience more things with them - in detail.
Even so, i'm off to read the first book in the series with that gorgeous man on the cover!!! 🔥🔥🔥
June 26, 2021
[3.4] A short, sweet friends-to-lovers story! It touches upon Hank’s internalized homophobia, and while Gunner can come off a little preachy, what he says is facts.
Needless to say, *points to the title* the pun game in this is strong 🤣
Needless to say, *points to the title* the pun game in this is strong 🤣
July 28, 2024
Well that was a short fun little romp. It was cute! I liked it!
November 18, 2021
Short but very well written.
January 31, 2021
This was good but too short for us to really get to know the guys.
June 8, 2023
This is the prequel for Slade James's Bear Camp series. I actually read this after book 1, Grumpy Bear, because I didn't realize it was a prequel. While the couple is already together in book one - there's not really any spoilers either direction so it worked out.
Cute little short story focusing on Hank and Gunner. I think friends to lovers is great for short stories because there's already a lot of established history and connection between the MCs. Having worked at Bear Camp together for a few years Hank decides it's time to for them to become more. James's writing is equally emotional as it is hilarious. I just adore the banter between all the guys. I really feel that "found family" love.
Hot guys chopping wood. Swoony first date. HFN. All make for a delightful read.
6/7/2023 - rec by JP Jackson
Cute little short story focusing on Hank and Gunner. I think friends to lovers is great for short stories because there's already a lot of established history and connection between the MCs. Having worked at Bear Camp together for a few years Hank decides it's time to for them to become more. James's writing is equally emotional as it is hilarious. I just adore the banter between all the guys. I really feel that "found family" love.
Hot guys chopping wood. Swoony first date. HFN. All make for a delightful read.
6/7/2023 - rec by JP Jackson
July 13, 2021
January, North Georgia, USA. Bear Mountain Lodge, Men's Resort and Campground, clothing Optional.
The "Jackolympics" timber sports contest is held in January to draw some fun during the new year.
Sawing, wood splitting, hauling, and stacking is great fun for the locals, regulars and tenants.
Gunner, 29, and Hank, 24, are avid axe men.
Gunner is a ginger, Viking-looking free spirit and anything goes.
Hank is also a wild guy, and has loved him for 2 1/2 years, and this year, he's tired of waiting.
Humor and quirky fun for all. Hot toddies to drink, cheering, whistling, hairy muscles, and the crazy atmosphere is exciting.
A wager is made, so let the games begin!
ENJOY !
===========
The "Jackolympics" timber sports contest is held in January to draw some fun during the new year.
Sawing, wood splitting, hauling, and stacking is great fun for the locals, regulars and tenants.
Gunner, 29, and Hank, 24, are avid axe men.
Gunner is a ginger, Viking-looking free spirit and anything goes.
Hank is also a wild guy, and has loved him for 2 1/2 years, and this year, he's tired of waiting.
Humor and quirky fun for all. Hot toddies to drink, cheering, whistling, hairy muscles, and the crazy atmosphere is exciting.
A wager is made, so let the games begin!
ENJOY !
===========
February 1, 2021
This was a really short and very sweet prequel, with a whole lot of wood-chopping action as the background foreplay. What i loved about this was that when we meet both these characters they have already had their time in the world of hooking up, so when the book begins they’re finally at a place where they’re ready to take a chance in each other.
A very warm and fuzzy introduction to the Bear Camp series.
A very warm and fuzzy introduction to the Bear Camp series.
May 3, 2022
So cute! I've already read the book that came after this one, so I'm familiar with Bear Camp, but this was a lovely little intro to some of the other employees, sweet and smexy without being completely surface. I low-key adore Gunner now for all his words and opinions, but also for how quick he is to understand what's right for himself now in committing to Hank. (And no, I don't think that's really a spoiler for anyone at this point!)
July 8, 2023
3.5* rounded to 4*
This was a cute introduction to the Bear Camp series. Because it was so short, I couldn't get a good feel for how I will enjoy the writing and and flow of the main books. The series looks promising though and I'm excited to see where everything goes!
This was a cute introduction to the Bear Camp series. Because it was so short, I couldn't get a good feel for how I will enjoy the writing and and flow of the main books. The series looks promising though and I'm excited to see where everything goes!
April 4, 2021
This was really cute. Excited to read more from this author
June 3, 2021
As good as the first book, can't wait to read book 2 ❤
December 5, 2021
A 45 pages novella with friends to lovers trope, a cabin in the woods, and a kilt-wearing lumberjack. The writing is good but I found it too cheesy.
June 17, 2023
4.5/5 stars. Slade James is really good at creating memorable characters and a satisfying romantic arc in a small number of pages. The shorter Bear Camp stories feel just as complete to me as the longer ones; even though I’d love to read more about Hank and Gunner I don’t need more, which isn’t how I feel about most romance short stories. I also appreciated that James is able to create such distinct stories about the same setting. Every book feels like seeing a new facet of the camp and its community.
July 25, 2022
This was a fun beginning to what I hope is an enjoyable series. I liked a story about two strong men being vulnerable with each other.
January 19, 2021
A short story that is such a sweet friends to lovers romance. This is a quick prelude to the upcoming first book in this series. This short story is about Hank, who is in love with his best friend Gunner. I loved this. It was sweet and beautiful.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews