Title: Ramping Up, A Personal Best Story
Author: Sean Michael
Length: 5,200 words (22 pdf pages)
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: m/m contemporary BDSM
Rating: C+
Blurb:
Mike and Jessy, from the Personal Best series, are back just in time for the Olympics. With it being an Olympic year, all of Mike’s sponsors want a piece of the gold-medalist for their ad campaigns, but Mike just wants to train. He’s only got a few weeks left before he and Jessy are off to London. Can Jessy find time for all they have to do, and make sure they make time for each other, too?
Review:
I have a bit of a soft-spot for this series, it was one of the first I read by Sean Michael, and lets say it involved several firsts for me, but this is just a fun look back at the couple 4 years after the last books ended more or less. Mike is preparing for the Olympics two weeks away, however his commitments to his sponsors is starting to interfere with his training as he can’t focus on swimming when he’s doing commercials and schmoozing with the business people. His frustration is starting to spill over into his relationship with his coach/lover Jessy as he’s getting snarky and lippy. Jessy knows he needs some play time to get his focus back.
There isn’t much to this story, beyond what is essentially the set-up and then two sex scenes, one at the site of a commercial shoot, and then a more extended intense BDSM scene at the house before they settle down to last-minute Olympic training. The scenes are hot and you know Mike and Jessy love each other, but I’m not sure that readers unfamiliar with the series would find it all that rewarding. Jessy and Mike participate in breath play which may turn some readers away, but for those interested, it’s something that doesn’t come up in romance very often, at least not in the stories I read.
It’s rather typical Sean Michael, however I liked that both characters came across as familiar even so many years later and as I said, I think Mike and Jessy fans will enjoy this as I did.
This series hasn’t ever tempted me… Maybe because I only ran into it after I hit Sean Michael overload?
Well, it’s pretty typical and overload on the sex. LOL
I think that I’m going to get this original book and read it soon. I like to read a Sean Michael every once and a while and when I first started reading m/m I meant to read this one right away, because I was reading other Sean Michael, but for some reason I never did get it. Sounds like a nice and hot guilty pleasure
If you’re in the mood for sex and more sex, it’s an excellent choice.
I think there are two or three books in the series, but you can try the first one and it doesn’t end on a cliff hanger or anything. I actually skimmed through it again after writing the two posts for old times sake (after I’d looked at the ratings on GR and noticed comments about sex, sex, sex) and yep, a series of sex scenes strung together near the end, but it is hot and steamy and sometimes a SM sex-fest is exactly what the doctor ordered. 