The Dating Game
Genre: contemporary m/m romance
Length: 30,000 words
Publisher: Jay Northcote
Blurb
Five sex-free dates—how hard can it be?
When they were at uni, Owen always had a bit of a crush on Nathan. But Nathan was apparently straight, and Owen was too busy with other guys to take his crush seriously.
When Nathan moves back to Bristol after a year away, Owen hears that Nathan has come out of the closet, and he propositions him. Nathan doesn’t want to be just another notch on Owen’s bedpost, though, so he challenges Owen to prove he can be serious: five dates before they have sex.
Owen doesn’t think that sounds too difficult. He’s expecting Nathan to find his charms irresistible anyway. But as they grow closer, Owen begins to care more about proving himself to Nathan than he does about getting him into bed.
My Review:
As the blurb says, five sex free dates, that shouldn’t be too hard. But it is, apparently, and so we follow Nathan and Owen stumble through a lot of hot situations, even if no sex is allowed. The rule doesn’t stop them from getting into a lot of sexy encounters, although at one point even a walk in the park is too hot for these two.
I won’t tell you whether they make it, you have to read for yourself (yes, I’m mean like that).
But I’ll tell you I liked the idea of the story and how Jay created her protagonists. The Dating Game is a funny, steamy (yes, it get’s steamy) romance about one guy who doesn’t believe he’s relationship material and one guy who never thought he’d catch the other’s eye.
My Rating: 4,5 of 5 Stars
Buy link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NF6TM00
The Marring Kind
Series: Owen & Nathan – part 2
Author: Jay Northcote
Genre: contemporary m/m romance
Length: 35,000 words approx
Release date: Friday 17th April 2015
Publisher: self-published (Jaybird Press)
Editor: Sue Adams
Cover artist: Garrett Leigh
Series info:
The Marrying Kind is a sequel to The Dating Game. It continues Owen and Nathan’s story, so I recommend you read The Dating Game first. I have no firm plans for more stories about Owen and Nathan. The Marrying Kind has a definite happy ending, so please consider their story complete for now.
Blurb:
Nathan wants to put a ring on it, but is Owen the marrying kind?
Two years on from their first date, Owen and Nathan are living together and life is good—except they’re not on the same page about marriage.
A traditionalist at heart, Nathan wants it all: the wedding, the vows, and a pair of matching rings. Owen, on the other hand, believes marriage is old-fashioned and unnecessary. They don’t need a wedding to prove their commitment to each other. Love should be enough on its own.
All it takes is one moment of weakness on a night out to force the issue. Owen finds himself engaged after a half-drunk proposal, and Nathan’s enthusiasm sweeps him along. But as the big day approaches, the mounting tension finally combusts.
If he’s going to save their relationship, Owen will need to decide once and for all if he’s truly the marrying kind.
My Review: I really enjoyed the Dating Game, but this story gave me some trouble. This might be based on my own beliefs about marriage, but I didn’t get Owen and his views on marriage. I understood his background and his past, but I wasn’t able to relate to his fears. He loves Nathan with all his heart, and for me it’s a clear thing then. The reasons why he panics every time he thinks too much about marrying were (for me) just not valid enough to feel with him. I had the constant urge to shake him and tell him to pull his head out of his ass.
I’m going to give the story four stars, as it’s well written and funny. I’d just have loved to get deeper in Owen’s mind, to see more valid reasons for his aversion against marrying.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VXB8WHI
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-themarryingkind-1780025-149.html
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/534516
Author Bio:
Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England, with her husband, two children, and two cats.
She comes from a family of writers, but she always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed her by. She spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content. One day, she decided to try and write a short story–just to see if she could–and found it rather addictive. She hasn’t stopped writing since.
Chris McHart 