What do you think?
Rate this book
Poker Night #1
Texas Hold 'Em
Book one in the Poker Night SeriesA pizza delivery never felt so good.Zac Grainger's life is pretty quiet. Other than coaching high school football, the only excitement he gets is playing poker with his close friends every other Saturday. That is until he opens the door to the hottest pizza delivery man he's ever seen, and man, does Zac want a piece of that pie.Eric Stanton spends long hours as an intern at one of the largest hospital in San Francisco. To help keep a roof over his head, he also has a part-time job as a pizza delivery driver. When a gorgeous customer tries to flirt with him, Eric's too tired to reciprocate.Just when Eric wonders if he'll get a second chance with the guy, an order is placed requesting him personally. Tired or not, perhaps things are looking up.
89 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 6, 2009
28 people are currently reading
276 people want to read
About the author
Carol Lynne
251 books1,199 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
erotic & gay romances
erotic & gay romances
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
May 25, 2011
The Poker Night series features a group of 6 gay men (Zac, Bobby, Trey, Angelo, Marco and Kent) who have been friends for almost 4 years and get together to play poker, drink beer and have fun every other Saturday. As the series starts, they're all single, but it's obvious that each of them is destined to find their HEA as the series progresses.
The 1st book in the series, Texas Hold 'Em, is Zac's story.
Zac Grainger is a high school football coach and the regular host of the bi-weekly poker night. As he answers his door for the pizza delivery guy during one of these poker nights, Zac's interest is more than piqued by the tiny little blond Adonis holding up 4 pizza boxes at his door. Mmm, yummy! Zac will definitely be ordering pizza more often. ;)
Eric Stanton is a medical intern who moonlights as a pizza delivery man for his uncle, so he can make enough money to pay back his student loans. That means that he's basically dead on his feet most of the time and has no social life. He doesn't fall in lust with Zac at 1st sight, though. Not that Zac isn't yummy enough, it's just that Eric is barely awake then. (I couldn't help thinking how dangerous it is to be driving when you can barely keep your eyes open, but anyway...)
When Zac and Eric meet again - because, you know, Zac's been ordering pizzas all week so he can "catch" his blond Adonis again -, Eric is more alert and reciprocates Zac's interest. But how will they make it work considering how hectic Eric's life is? Will Zac's instinct to take charge and fix everything scare Eric away? Will Eric realize that there's more to life than work?
That was the basic conflict in Zac and Eric's relationship. I was glad to see them working it out fairly quickly, even though a little more angst would have added more depth to the story. I loved Zac and all his poker buddies (especially Bobby and Marco), but Eric was too "intense" (aka stubborn) for my taste. All in all, this was a sweet, feel-good read. I liked CL's writing and will read the next books in the series.
The 1st book in the series, Texas Hold 'Em, is Zac's story.
Zac Grainger is a high school football coach and the regular host of the bi-weekly poker night. As he answers his door for the pizza delivery guy during one of these poker nights, Zac's interest is more than piqued by the tiny little blond Adonis holding up 4 pizza boxes at his door. Mmm, yummy! Zac will definitely be ordering pizza more often. ;)
Eric Stanton is a medical intern who moonlights as a pizza delivery man for his uncle, so he can make enough money to pay back his student loans. That means that he's basically dead on his feet most of the time and has no social life. He doesn't fall in lust with Zac at 1st sight, though. Not that Zac isn't yummy enough, it's just that Eric is barely awake then. (I couldn't help thinking how dangerous it is to be driving when you can barely keep your eyes open, but anyway...)
When Zac and Eric meet again - because, you know, Zac's been ordering pizzas all week so he can "catch" his blond Adonis again -, Eric is more alert and reciprocates Zac's interest. But how will they make it work considering how hectic Eric's life is? Will Zac's instinct to take charge and fix everything scare Eric away? Will Eric realize that there's more to life than work?
That was the basic conflict in Zac and Eric's relationship. I was glad to see them working it out fairly quickly, even though a little more angst would have added more depth to the story. I loved Zac and all his poker buddies (especially Bobby and Marco), but Eric was too "intense" (aka stubborn) for my taste. All in all, this was a sweet, feel-good read. I liked CL's writing and will read the next books in the series.
April 9, 2009
This is a typical Carol Lynne novel. This new series is set up with a group of 5 men that have been playing poker together for three years. Each is vastly different and all are single.
Zac hosts the game and meets Eric when he delivers a pizza to the house. Zac is instantly smitten and semi-stalks him until he can get him to deliver another pizza so he can ask him out. Soon the boys have to find a way to merge two lives, one that is very busy, together.
In the meantime, the other friends are swirling around setting up plots for the next books.
Most of CL's books are light fluffy easy reads with lots of love and sweet moments and this one is no different. I enjoy them and look forward to the next 4 in the series.
Zac hosts the game and meets Eric when he delivers a pizza to the house. Zac is instantly smitten and semi-stalks him until he can get him to deliver another pizza so he can ask him out. Soon the boys have to find a way to merge two lives, one that is very busy, together.
In the meantime, the other friends are swirling around setting up plots for the next books.
Most of CL's books are light fluffy easy reads with lots of love and sweet moments and this one is no different. I enjoy them and look forward to the next 4 in the series.
September 13, 2012
3.5*
I like Carol Lynne's books ( usually) I know what I'm getting and it's a nice sexy romantic story.
If this had been another author I might have been annoyed at Zac for being 'too good' and a bit high handed in helping and meaning well...but alas...it's a CL book so I liked it! :)
I like Carol Lynne's books ( usually) I know what I'm getting and it's a nice sexy romantic story.
If this had been another author I might have been annoyed at Zac for being 'too good' and a bit high handed in helping and meaning well...but alas...it's a CL book so I liked it! :)
January 5, 2018
Review Coming
May 19, 2011
3.5 Stars
This was a frustrating read for me. Zac kept rushing the relationship and Eric kept fighting it. I just didn't get the feeling throughout the story that Eric loved Zac as strongly as Zac loved him. Thankfully, Eric made up for it in the end.
Complaint:
Because characters from subsequent books in this series were introduced, I do plan to continue with those books.
This was a frustrating read for me. Zac kept rushing the relationship and Eric kept fighting it. I just didn't get the feeling throughout the story that Eric loved Zac as strongly as Zac loved him. Thankfully, Eric made up for it in the end.
Complaint:
Because characters from subsequent books in this series were introduced, I do plan to continue with those books.
September 8, 2012
A nice safe easy feel good read. No real drama or angst, a typical Carol Lynne quick love story, even quicker if like me you skip the sex lol.
June 16, 2011
This has got to be one of my favorite series of all time. I've read it so many times within the last year.
Zac finds himself falling, and falling hard, for Eric, a medical student who works long hours at a hospital plus part time delivering pizzas. Zac takes Eric's warning that he doesn't have time for a relationship to heart and does everything in his power to spend time with the man, even making home-cooked meals at ten o'clock at night.
Eric struggles to accept Zac's advances and his own growing feelings, feeling over-whelmed by the whirl-wind romance. They have to figure out how to overcome misunderstandings and learn the art of compromise. I love the support system of friends, family, and coworkers throughout this book.
Zac finds himself falling, and falling hard, for Eric, a medical student who works long hours at a hospital plus part time delivering pizzas. Zac takes Eric's warning that he doesn't have time for a relationship to heart and does everything in his power to spend time with the man, even making home-cooked meals at ten o'clock at night.
Eric struggles to accept Zac's advances and his own growing feelings, feeling over-whelmed by the whirl-wind romance. They have to figure out how to overcome misunderstandings and learn the art of compromise. I love the support system of friends, family, and coworkers throughout this book.
September 5, 2012
This was a cute book to kick off this series. A friend of mine had to tell me that Zac was in the Campus Cravings series, which I didn't remember but was happy to learn. Zac hosts a bi-weekly poker game with his friends and when Eric Stanton comes to deliver a pizza, he is instantly enamored. This book had insta-love, which I'm not a huge fan of, but I supposed with a book of this length, there aren't many options for really deep development. But I liked the characters and it was a sweet, quick read. Nothing really bedazzling, however.
February 14, 2014
Eric and Zac just make a great couple. While there is insta love it feels surprisingly rich within its relatively few pages (compared to full novel size). I am also very intrigued by the other guys and simply must know what happens with Kent and Marco. It would have been good to get more about the guys in this one but overall a strong introduction to this easy going (for the most part) perfect for a snow day easy read!
July 13, 2015
I liked this book. Zac and Eric was a little insta love but it was sweet.
Zac the high school coach meets intern Eric when he is at his second job delivering pizza for his uncle.
Eric is working to pay off his student loans early and has very little money left for anything else. Zac feels the need to look after him.
This was the first in a series of 5 books featuring different players at Zac's bi-weekly poker games.
I will certainly be reading the remaining books.
Zac the high school coach meets intern Eric when he is at his second job delivering pizza for his uncle.
Eric is working to pay off his student loans early and has very little money left for anything else. Zac feels the need to look after him.
This was the first in a series of 5 books featuring different players at Zac's bi-weekly poker games.
I will certainly be reading the remaining books.
December 29, 2011
My reading order is all messed up, so that's the third book I've read from these series.
I liked it a lot, but somewhere in the middle I started getting frustrated with Eric. I wanted him to reach toward Zac too, not just reject his offers over and over again. But his surprise Christmas visit fixed this for me, so I'm very satisfied with ending.
I liked it a lot, but somewhere in the middle I started getting frustrated with Eric. I wanted him to reach toward Zac too, not just reject his offers over and over again. But his surprise Christmas visit fixed this for me, so I'm very satisfied with ending.
January 19, 2015
"Texas Hold 'Em" is a great start to a series about average men doing average jobs. There is so much I loved about this book: it's heart-warming, it has humor and passion, and the main characters are very easy to love. I can't wait to read the rest of the books!
Thanks for recommending it to me, Susan.
Thanks for recommending it to me, Susan.
September 4, 2012
3.5
Pretty good, fast read.
Pretty good, fast read.
January 14, 2014
not great, but cute.
May 4, 2022
Pôquer Texano - Como trazer Seme e Uke para o universo estadunidense.
Prepare-se para rir, pois esse livro, apesar de não ser cômico, com certeza é uma comédia.
Não estou falando dos personagens, da escrita, ou mesmo da trama, estou falando do fato que o casal protagonista é tão dolorosamente similar ao apresentado em histórias yaoi (animes com teor homossexual, altamente estereotipados) que é impossível não rir a cada parágrafo lido.
Divirta-se com a uber doçura de Eric, o talentoso médico com físico e mentalidade de uma criança e seu par romântico, Zac, o sedutor atrapalhado e protetor.
O enredo é só meia dúzia de diálogos entre várias cenas de sexo, ainda assim é de rachar de rir. Se você nunca leu nada parecido, dê uma olhada, o livro é pequeno e não vai te matar gastar uns cinco minutos lendo... pois provavelmente a autora também não gastou nem cinco minutos escrevendo.
January 17, 2019
3 1/2 Stars
Loved the story hope to read about all the other guys. Kent and Marco seem to be a great couple to read about. Can't wait.....
Loved the story hope to read about all the other guys. Kent and Marco seem to be a great couple to read about. Can't wait.....
July 25, 2020
Pretty good
First time reading a book from this author. I enjoyed it. Got a little bored but it picked up. I will continue reading books from this author
First time reading a book from this author. I enjoyed it. Got a little bored but it picked up. I will continue reading books from this author
May 12, 2021
Texas Hold 'Em
Good book it is. A good series I love all in the series I've read most of Carol's books she is one of my favorite authors and I will read many more from her.
Good book it is. A good series I love all in the series I've read most of Carol's books she is one of my favorite authors and I will read many more from her.
July 25, 2021
Nice summer reading
Read
June 5, 2009This is the first book in a new series by Carol Lynne, the Poker Night series. As the title suggests, it's the story of a group of six buddyfriends who meet every two saturday at the home of one of them, Zac. All of them is an ordinary man, with an ordinary job, more or less of success, but all of them with a thing in common: they are all gays. What probably the author would like to pass to the reader is that being gay doesn't mean being "different", and above all being a stereotype. Zac, Marco, Kent, Trey, Bobby and Angelo, from different culture and family social status are exactly like all the other single men in the world, they are more or less interesting in having a comfortable house, a nice place where spend time with good friends, and possibly a nice man to share all of it. As Zac said, looking at his garage apartment, being gay didn't automatically turn him in Martha Stewart. But Zac was raised good by his mother and so it's funny to see him reprimand his friends when they "use" his house as a crashing point, and he directs them as a mother hen; Zac is a high school football coach and he has the tendency to be a director also in his private life. And this is the reason why, maybe, when he meets Eric for the first time, he immediately plan an attack strategy, and when he has caught the "prey", he tries to direct him as he does with his friends.
Eric is a young doctor who is doing his internship while at the same time he is trying to pay his student loans. He has also a side job as pizza delivery guy and so he matches the strange hours he does at the hospital with the even more strange hours of the pizza delivery thing. There is something in Eric past, in his family origin, that forced him to behave as a workaholic, and this is not a good thing, since Eric stretches the concept of responsible guy into almost being a maniac. While I actually found a bit overwhelming Zac's tendency to be the dominant partner in their relationship, I found his behavior more excusable than Eric. Zac is a bit insensible, maybe also a bit obtuse, but Eric is totally stubborn; and for a doctor, he is not exactly behaving in an healthy way.
Being this the opening book in a series, other than Eric and Zac's story, we have also a glimpse on the future characters, and from my side, I'm quite interested in reading Trey and Dr Peters' stories (not together, I believe Carol Lynne has two different partners in mind for them). Eric and Zac's story is good, there is a right dose of conflict, that are almost immediately resolved, all the course of the book is very fast, in this respecting Zac's behavior that is, as I said, quite overwhelming. I have the feeling that Zac, other than being dominant in his personal relationship, he is also dominant in his everyday routing: he is the mainstay of all his friends (who, in fact, gather at his house), and so it's right that the first story is about him; I have the feeling that he will be a center characters in all the future stories.
Nice start for a promising series.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1907010920/?...
Eric is a young doctor who is doing his internship while at the same time he is trying to pay his student loans. He has also a side job as pizza delivery guy and so he matches the strange hours he does at the hospital with the even more strange hours of the pizza delivery thing. There is something in Eric past, in his family origin, that forced him to behave as a workaholic, and this is not a good thing, since Eric stretches the concept of responsible guy into almost being a maniac. While I actually found a bit overwhelming Zac's tendency to be the dominant partner in their relationship, I found his behavior more excusable than Eric. Zac is a bit insensible, maybe also a bit obtuse, but Eric is totally stubborn; and for a doctor, he is not exactly behaving in an healthy way.
Being this the opening book in a series, other than Eric and Zac's story, we have also a glimpse on the future characters, and from my side, I'm quite interested in reading Trey and Dr Peters' stories (not together, I believe Carol Lynne has two different partners in mind for them). Eric and Zac's story is good, there is a right dose of conflict, that are almost immediately resolved, all the course of the book is very fast, in this respecting Zac's behavior that is, as I said, quite overwhelming. I have the feeling that Zac, other than being dominant in his personal relationship, he is also dominant in his everyday routing: he is the mainstay of all his friends (who, in fact, gather at his house), and so it's right that the first story is about him; I have the feeling that he will be a center characters in all the future stories.
Nice start for a promising series.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1907010920/?...
October 7, 2015
Zac Grainger is hosting his buddies for poker night when he opens the door to the pizza delivery guy and falls madly in love with the little blond curly haired twink standing there with his pizza.
Eric Stanton is that pizza guy and he’s dead on his feet from having put in a full shift as an intern at the hospital and a second shift delivering pizza for his uncle, part of his efforts to fund his education. He rarely gets more than 3 to 4 hours sleep and doesn’t think twice about the guy making a pass at him, until a few days later when he’s delivering another tray and Zac makes his move to introduce himself and ask Eric for a date.
Eric doesn’t have a social life due to his busy schedule but he’s willing to meet Zac half way, so he agrees to come over after shift one night for a nice home-cooked dinner. Falling asleep on Zac wasn’t part of the plan but it goes a long way to endear himself to Zac and Zac’s tolerance for Eric’s sleepiness and crazy schedule go a long way toward endearing him to Eric. The two start up a relationship conducted more by phone than the few furtive hours they get together between Eric’s jobs, but it’s enough to help them along on the road to commitment.
This was a cute story of two men who found a way to make it work. Each of Zac’s friends were also briefly sketched in this installment of what will be a series and I’m sure each will have his own book in the future. I’m looking forward to reading some of them. As far as Zac and Eric—they have their ups and downs and misunderstandings but they manage to find their HEA in the end.
A great book for reading on the beach or before a warm fire on a cold winter’s day, I recommend this one to those who like their romance light and simple, but sweet.
Eric Stanton is that pizza guy and he’s dead on his feet from having put in a full shift as an intern at the hospital and a second shift delivering pizza for his uncle, part of his efforts to fund his education. He rarely gets more than 3 to 4 hours sleep and doesn’t think twice about the guy making a pass at him, until a few days later when he’s delivering another tray and Zac makes his move to introduce himself and ask Eric for a date.
Eric doesn’t have a social life due to his busy schedule but he’s willing to meet Zac half way, so he agrees to come over after shift one night for a nice home-cooked dinner. Falling asleep on Zac wasn’t part of the plan but it goes a long way to endear himself to Zac and Zac’s tolerance for Eric’s sleepiness and crazy schedule go a long way toward endearing him to Eric. The two start up a relationship conducted more by phone than the few furtive hours they get together between Eric’s jobs, but it’s enough to help them along on the road to commitment.
This was a cute story of two men who found a way to make it work. Each of Zac’s friends were also briefly sketched in this installment of what will be a series and I’m sure each will have his own book in the future. I’m looking forward to reading some of them. As far as Zac and Eric—they have their ups and downs and misunderstandings but they manage to find their HEA in the end.
A great book for reading on the beach or before a warm fire on a cold winter’s day, I recommend this one to those who like their romance light and simple, but sweet.
November 30, 2013
For only 99 pennies on Amazon, I picked this up without really knowing what is was about.
This was super insta-love and I am not really sure it worked. Guy delivers a pizza and all of a sudden he's in love? Okay. Whatever.
So Zac, a high school football coach, hosts a bi-weekly poker game at his house. Running late, he just orders a pizza and asks friends to bring snacks and booze. No big deal. That pizza delivery guy turns out to change Zac's life.
Eric, an intern at the hospital and delivers pizza in exchange for room and board plus car insurance from his uncle who owns the shop. He works practically 20 hour days, but he only has 6 months left in his internship and he's determined to pay off his loans early.
All Zac wants to do is help Eric out so he's not wearing himself out. But, pride gets in the way for Eric.
Will he learn to straighten out his priorities before it's too late?
I will say that I LOVE Zac's friends, especially Trey :) I CAN NOT wait to read his story, but I have to say Bobby's story is next and if it's like this...it's not worth the $6.13 :( Actually I just looked and the rest of the series is that price except the last book is $5.09. Sorry, but no.
This was super insta-love and I am not really sure it worked. Guy delivers a pizza and all of a sudden he's in love? Okay. Whatever.
So Zac, a high school football coach, hosts a bi-weekly poker game at his house. Running late, he just orders a pizza and asks friends to bring snacks and booze. No big deal. That pizza delivery guy turns out to change Zac's life.
Eric, an intern at the hospital and delivers pizza in exchange for room and board plus car insurance from his uncle who owns the shop. He works practically 20 hour days, but he only has 6 months left in his internship and he's determined to pay off his loans early.
All Zac wants to do is help Eric out so he's not wearing himself out. But, pride gets in the way for Eric.
Will he learn to straighten out his priorities before it's too late?
I will say that I LOVE Zac's friends, especially Trey :) I CAN NOT wait to read his story, but I have to say Bobby's story is next and if it's like this...it's not worth the $6.13 :( Actually I just looked and the rest of the series is that price except the last book is $5.09. Sorry, but no.
January 31, 2012
I love the relationship between Zac and Eric. Although everything happens fast, it's not something that seems unnatural and it makes the whole thing a lot easier to accept. The way Zac treats/wants to treat Eric is so adorable and precious and I kinda felt bad for Zac when Eric at first denied him the oppotunity to take care of the man he so clearly loved.
Also Zac poker friends seems like the perfect bunch of friends for both guys and I still find Marco and Kent's biggering funny! They are like an old married couple nagging on each other XD
And lastly I could have just kissed Eric's "mentor" for given him a kick in the butt and making him realize just how much Zac actually means to him and that love is more important than anything else in this world!
Also Zac poker friends seems like the perfect bunch of friends for both guys and I still find Marco and Kent's biggering funny! They are like an old married couple nagging on each other XD
And lastly I could have just kissed Eric's "mentor" for given him a kick in the butt and making him realize just how much Zac actually means to him and that love is more important than anything else in this world!
September 21, 2013
3.5 stars--This was a quick, fun read. It was a case of instant love, but I guess this shouldn't be surprising in a 1.5 - 2 hour read. This was actually a much sweeter story than I was expecting. It definitely wasn't just all steam--romance was involved as well.
Even though this is part of a series of short stories, and I would recommend reading them in order, the emotional commitment is not overly strong. So unless you feel the need to finish one series before starting something new, this would be a good set of books to keep around for those times when you have a couple hours and are looking for some mindless entertainment--a great beach read!
Even though this is part of a series of short stories, and I would recommend reading them in order, the emotional commitment is not overly strong. So unless you feel the need to finish one series before starting something new, this would be a good set of books to keep around for those times when you have a couple hours and are looking for some mindless entertainment--a great beach read!
September 28, 2012
I enjoy Carol Lynne's writing and this one is no different. It's a nice easy, simple read and a cute story. Eric delivers a pizza to Zac's place one night and Zac is instantly interested. He makes sure to order another pizza so he can ask Eric out.
Yes, it's a bit of insta-love, but for some reason it doesn't worry me when it's this author's writing. We still got to see a little of the relationship building and not everything just falls into place immediately. I enjoyed it enough that I'm definitely going to be looking at the next ones in the series.
Yes, it's a bit of insta-love, but for some reason it doesn't worry me when it's this author's writing. We still got to see a little of the relationship building and not everything just falls into place immediately. I enjoyed it enough that I'm definitely going to be looking at the next ones in the series.
December 12, 2012
I read all of the Cattle Valleys Series up to like book 23, then I was ready for something fresh. Found the Poker Night series and WOW WOW WOW WOW!!! Fell in absolute LOVE, read everyone of them in one week. I got lost in the characters, each story was a great plot and loved how the lives and stories intertwined but not overly confusing. Please introduce new characters for Poker Night, Carol, Pleaseeeee. Jonesing for more!!!
November 26, 2013
I haven't read that many Carol Lynne books but a few and this felt like a typical one. Easy to read, no need to think about things and in a couple of weeks I won't remember it. It's not a bad thing it's just that it is that kind of book, it amuses me for the moment and I'll probably read the rest of series or at least a part of it in the future but it will not leave a big inprint in my life. Even now I can't remeber the names of all the guys at poker night, a few but not all.
May 31, 2009
I concur with JenMcJ's review completely.
Mainly I think this is the set up book for the new series.
Sarah -
I don't remember noticing a lot of 'self pleasuring" not anymore than usual anyway!
Mainly I think this is the set up book for the new series.
Sarah -
I don't remember noticing a lot of 'self pleasuring" not anymore than usual anyway!
September 6, 2015
Short read. Zac pushes fast for a relationship with Eric from the moment they meet. Eric is just too tired to do anything much. The story was cute. Though it was a bit shallow you still see good characters and a solid story line. It's a lighter read and fun as such:)
August 24, 2013
Ooohhhh sexy little short story. I loved when Evelyn told about how she knew what Zac did with his magazines down by the pond. And then when she went down and hollered to ask them to supper was hilarious. All the friends are great and I'm excited to read about them as well.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews