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The Bargain Nexus - Caught Running
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List Price: $11.99
Our Price: $10.79
Your Save: $ 1.20 ( 10% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Dreamspinner Press
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780980101881
ISBN: 0980101883
Label: Dreamspinner Press
Manufacturer: Dreamspinner Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 236
Publication Date: 2007-12-01
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Studio: Dreamspinner Press
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous read.
Comment: I am a sucker for men who wear tight pants and sport stories and this book had them in spades. I had been trolling through Isan's library, a reader or great discernment, and saw it was given a 5 star rating.
When I initially started reading Caught Running I had a few problems with shifting point of view and had to keep going back and re reading to see who's head I was in. Anywho, after a chapter or so this gorgeous book smoothes out and slowly builds the tension between theses two men. One thing that I love in any book is an authors ability to provide anticipation. I read here, that Josh Lanyon has a less is more theory when doing sex scenes and in this book it works. An accidental touch, gaze under lashes, that feeling in their stomach, and heart in throat stuff that makes you stay up reading way past your sleep time. This was so hot that by the time the characters did get round to the smexy stuff I was on the edge of my seat and it was nearly 2 in the morning.
Jake is very much an alpha male kind of guy. He was a sports star in his day but due to injury is now teaching at his old school. While he is gay he does not advertise and this moves the plot in part. Brandon is softer but I did not feel he fit in a classic beta role. He is intelligent, reserved and occasionally unsure of himself. Both seem lonely and they fit together so well, and the emotional journey is rich.
Their world building was good and they had secondary characters that you cared about, especially Troy. I hope he gets a book! Please??!! One thing I'm a little unsure of were the female characters and their interactions with the main characters, one was a little two dimensional, manipulative semi bad guy character. The other seemed nice but a bit of a wet blanket. It made me think more than anything and did not detract from the book.
This is such a fab book and well worth a read. I really hope that Roux and Urban write together again, as they totally rock and their secondary characters could definitely have a story....like, ummm, Troy????!!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Definitely enjoyable
Comment: Okay maybe if you're looking at very realistic portrayal of what it's like to be a gay teacher at a high school this isn't the best book to pick up. It doesn't delve into the issues that surround what all of that entails. Nonetheless! I very much enjoyed this book. It's warm and melty and spreads in your insides until you become a puddle of goo - at least that's what it did to me. It's funny and cute and the protagonists fall in love. This may or may not be the type of story you want to read but there it is - and of course there's hot sex!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Comment: I'm not an avid book reader, but this book was just one of those stories that I couldn't put down. I fell in love with the characters, and their story of love and coming together. Thank you.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: A Fine Read
Comment: This is another example of outstanding gay erotic fiction. There is a good story, the characters are well fleshed-out and well-developed, there are chatty and real-feeling secondary characters, and there is just enough danger and uncertainty to keep you reading and involved.
The principal characters are polar opposites in many ways (both no longer "young men") including a "jock type" (who is somewhat physically damaged by former athletic pursuits) and a "nerd type" who is actually smart AND a great athlete. Neither is at all sure the other is gay, and neither thinks the other is interested in someone as different as they are.
But hope springs eternal, and we are treated to not only a fine courtship but a fine romance which grows and deepens nicely through the skillful work of this author.
Truly a pleasure to read, filled with humor and warmth, this is a fine work of gay erotic fiction that does not disappoint in any way. If you're looking for deep meaning and jaw-dropping action and conflict, you won't find it here, but if you're looking for sweet romance and M/M heat, "Caught Running" won't disappoint. Enjoy!
Customer Rating:
Summary: A winner to me!
Comment: I have been reading m/m romance/erotica for about a year now, starting with fan fiction and moving up to original character, for-pay stories in the last few months. Gobbling up what I can find, I admit that much of what I have purchased has been worse than some of the worst free fan fiction (and in some cases, the free stuff is amazingly more well-written and developed). I have been terribly disappointed with the unlikely story lines, laughable dialog, absurd character actions/reactions, bad writing and worse editing. I may not be a gay male, but I live in a very diverse community, have gay friends with whom I have had discussions about their lives and loves, and I can certainly appreciate a good story laced with hot sex regardless of the subjects' gender. For me, much of my immersion into books of any kind is the story, the character development, and the interactions, and the majority of what I have read so far simply doesn't do it for me. They are little more than PWP (Porn Without Plot), which I can get better for free through sites like Nifty.
Enter "Caught Running." I did not have high hopes as I read it in a string of terrible books and was prepared for yet another disappointment. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised! Finally, a keeper! I really loved this book, and I can't say enough good things about it. Seriously, I pimp it whenever I can. It's my feel-good book, and I've lost track of how many times I've read it.
This is a romance first, erotica (and there are plenty of steamy scenes!) second, so if you are looking for one tumble in the sheets -- or the hay, or the sand, or the back seat -- after another with little plot in between, this isn't the book for you. I am a sucker for stories where the protagonists meet again years later and/or where a relationship develops once friendship is established, so this one is a match on both parts. Don't get me wrong, I am certainly not a prude -- I wouldn't be reading this genre if I was! -- and I don't mind sex in the first chapter, but it was refreshing for the authors to wait until page 107 before there was even a kiss. It's a slow, gentle builder. I liked that the first half of the book was spent with them learning to put aside biases and prejudices to come to respect one another, becoming friends. Because of this, there is an emotional layer to the physical that many of the other books I've read just don't have. Not that there wasn't a healthy dose of Unresolved Sexual Tension, but that made it fun. I enjoyed watching their mutual attraction as they try to hide it from each other and themselves, and play the "is he or isn't he" game; seems to me that these boys have some broken gaydar! I was glad to see that their insecurities and worries were brought forth to us in a way that didn't make me want to tear my hair out at the angst. And once their relationship was consummated, I was in awe of their reactions to each other, especially Jake's to Brandon.
I can believe this tale; there is no major drama, no moral dilemmas, no character flaws so large that the HEA (Happily Ever After) is threatened, no big misunderstanding, no secret past life that will come back to bite someone in the arse, no hateful antagonists trying to break them apart, no last-minute quickie tying up of the ends, no obviously contrived way to get these two together. None of the supporting characters seemed over-the-top in personality or interference, but were lovable and supportive in their own rights as good supporting characters should be. I thought the pacing was perfect: good buildup for attraction, consummation, commitment. It is a simple, gentle, sweet, romantic story that drew me in and made me want to care and root for Brandon and Jake. I believed in these guys, they seemed real, like they could be friends of mine. Despite their seeming incompatibility, they are perfect for and complement one another. Like other readers, I was disappointed that there wasn't any more of the book to come and felt sad for it to end.
Two small things that bothered me, though neither ruined my enjoyment of the story nor would cause me to give this review less stars:
First, there was a portion of the plot line that wasn't fully developed that I would have loved to see. Without giving it all away, Brandon mentions wanting to help Jake with his medical issues and it never really happens, at least "on screen." I kept waiting for it, but nothing after a first mention. It would have increased the UST between these two and maybe given Jake some relief.
Second, as another reviewer mentioned, the shifting point of view made me a little wacky. I often needed to go back a paragraph or two to figure out which character I was living. It's unfortunate; I've read many books where the POV shifts successfully, but usually it is chapter-by-chapter, or by clearly defined sections. I must have gotten used to it, however, because after a while I barely noticed it.
Overall, if you're looking for a book in this genre, I can't recommend this book enough. Go read and enjoy.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Ten years after graduation, Jake "the jock" Campbell and Brandon "the nerd" Bartlett are teaching at their old high school and still living in separate worlds. When Brandon is thrown into a coaching job on Jake's baseball team, they find themselves learning more about each other than they'd ever expected. High school is all about image - even for the teachers. Brandon and Jake have to get past their preconceived notions to find the friendship needed to work together. And somewhere along the way, they discover that perceptions can always change for the better. Read a full chapter excerpt at www.dreamspinnerpress.com
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