Give Me A Hand
A Beyond Desire Series, Book 1
Gwen Martin
M/M Romance, New Adult, Friends to Lovers, College Roommates
Release Date: 03.10.20
Blurb
THEIR WORLD COLLIDED. EVERYTHING CHANGED.
Cam and Jude had been college roommates for two years, fitting into each other's lives with ease.
That is, until Cam walked in on Jude getting off alone in their shared dorm bathroom.
Everything shifted between the two of them, awakening feelings Cam hadn't felt for anyone in a long time. Feelings Cam believed had shriveled up after surviving a near fatal car accident to then suffer a disastrous breakup with his first love.
Since then, Cam kept his heart sealed tight in a fortress, keeping himself busy with a lot of mindless hookups and a steadfast refusal to ever commit.
Cam's life had been predictable. He knew what he wanted.
Until that impromptu mutual orgasm with Jude.
Cam didn't want a boyfriend, and he certainly didn't *need* a relationship.
But he knew one thing he did crave and that was more of Jude Ellison.
Will Cam be able to work through his painful past if Jude offered him a chance at more?
***Give Me A Hand is the first book in the Beyond Desire Series, but is a standalone novel. Each book in the series will feature a different couple, but the couples will show up throughout the series. It is approximately 50,000 words and a New Adult Friends to Lovers romance between two men with explicit language and graphic sex intended for Adults Only.***
Cover Designer: StudioNP https://studioenp.com/
Universal Link: http://bit.ly/GiveMeAHand
Excerpt
Their bodies pressed together, faces a breath apart. Cam noticed the faint flicker of green around Jude’s pupils, and tiny droplets of water from his shower caught in his stubble along his jaw. Cam brushed the fringe off Jude’s forehead and watched, transfixed, as Jude wetted his lips.
Cam loved the way Jude responded; he reveled in Jude's eyes fluttering shut as Cam’s fingertips grazed down his neck.
“God,” Jude moaned with a sigh, “I’ve been thinking about this all day.”
Cam grabbed a handful of sheet in a tight fist in an effort to ground himself in the dizzying whirlpool he was sinking in. He was floating with desire, and shaky inside from the intensity of it. Cam’s mind warred with wanting it to stop and never letting go.
“Have you?” he murmured against the warmth of Jude’s skin.
Cam leaned down, his lips brushing against Jude’s collarbone. His heart pounded inside of his chest, and he was nervous, but he was excited. Cam hadn’t felt this way about being with someone since high school.
He swallowed hard and placed a small kiss on Jude’s collarbone.
Jude combed his fingers through the hair at the base of Cam's neck, gripping a handful and jerking Cam's head up. Cam expelled a sharp moan, and his heart revved into overdrive when Jude’s face grew so close he turned into a blurry mess within Cam’s swimming vision.
“You,” Jude said in a low, commanding voice, “are wearing far too much clothing.”
Cam licked his lips and nodded. “Okay,” he said, leaning back to give himself room. “Right, okay.”
He lifted an arm, and Jude helped pull his shirt off. Jude tossed it to the other side of the room without breaking eye contact with Cam, and lifted a single eyebrow.
“You need to be more naked for what I want to see you do.”
Cam bit down the whine itching in the back of his throat. The roughness of Jude’s voice was doing a million things to Cam’s body, including surging warmth in his chest. There was an old familiarity to that, and a warning bell went off inside of his head.
He swallowed hard and changed his focus.
“Oh yeah?” he teased, hoping his voice didn’t give away his nerves. Cam glided a hand down the front of his chest towards the button of his jeans, and a thrill jolted through him as Jude positioned himself on his elbows. Jude watched with such naked appreciation, Cam had to take several breaths before he could speak again. “And...what is it you want to see?”
Carra's Review
This is the author’s debut full-length novel, and it’s a pretty solid story all around. The premise indicated in the synopsis was an immediate attention-grabber, so I was eager to get started reading this book.
I did like both main characters, though Jude definitely was my favorite of the two. He just felt more genuine to me, whereas Cam’s “we’re just friends getting off together” outlook that he kept trying to convince himself of did irritate me just a bit.
One thing the two absolutely had in spades was their physical chemistry, which was blatantly in evidence from their very first intimate scene together. The story does focus heavily on their physical connection, with the emotional side being more of a “tell not show” deal. And while every intimate scene is definitely hot and steamy, they did reach a point where what they were doing leveled off and didn’t advance any further—even though every scene as you get deeper into the story has you expecting them to venture into more explicit territory (read as: penetrative sex) at any moment. I only mention that as I’m well aware there are readers who expect this in their romance books as a matter of course; so if you do, you may be a tad disappointed in that aspect…but this is the first book in a series so let’s see where it goes from here before getting judgy, m’kay?
The requisite conflict is one we’ve all seen before, and for me personally the minor misunderstanding/aren’t we just friends bit is one that I’m not fond of in my romances. But in the end, I was still happy with how things turned out and I did enjoy the overall story. Give Me A Hand was a 3.5-star read for me, and will be enjoyed by most new adult M/M romance fans. This book is for readers 18+ for adult language and sexual content.
About the Author
Gwen Martin lives in Florida where the sun is always shining, the humidity is always high, and Disney is just a hop skip away. When she’s not trying to write one of her million story ideas, she’s usually hanging out with her husband and four cats.
Gwen first started writing at a young age, coming up with stories in class instead of paying attention to the math lesson. Since then she has been exploring her love of writing in various fan communities where she has learned how to cultivate character development and romantic interactions.
She has a strong love affair with cold brew coffee, black cats, and nerding out in various fandoms. When she’s not writing, she’s reading everything she can get her hands on, listening to a lot of lo-fi and making playlists, chilling with her four gatos and obsessing about Pusheen. Because it’s always about Pusheen.
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