Golden Boy, Golden Man

by Claire Thompson

Golden Boy, Golden Man includes the stories: Golden boy and Golden Man This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1419956345
• ISBN13: 9781419956348
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Ellora's Cave
• Length: 402 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Romantic, but painful and hard to read at times

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS. Rating: 7/10 PROS: - Amusing, realistic secondary character in Amanda. She reminds me (almost eerily) of one woman in particular I know, with her light-hearted but at times serious attitude and her funky yet feminine fashion sense. - I enjoyed the depth of the world of the story, particularly the descriptions of the various settings: there are several gay settings described in the two novellas, and each of them is distinct from the others in a real sort of way: there's the elite BDSM establishment, the less choice BDSM club, the normal gay bar/dance club, the neighborhood pub, etc. With the exception of the extremely high-end BDSM place, I could align each of the settings with a real place I've been, and the book's descriptions are quite good. - Loved the "love at first sight" element of the story. It's incredibly romantic, especially when one of the characters is as much a Casanova as Eric is. - Johnny's nervousness and constantly fluctuating excitement and hesitation are endearing. - Surprisingly (and refreshingly) standoffish approach to the sex scenes. They're detailed, sure, but not near as frequent or graphic as the scenes are in most other BDSM novels I've read. This book focuses more on the aspects of control and sadomasochism than the erotic/sexual angle of the lifestyle. CONS: - There's quite a difference between the two characters. The age gap is only 6 years, but the differences in education and sexual experience are profound. Eric has been out and in the scene for a decade and has a Masters degree in psychology (and incidentally, I couldn't figure out why he was referred to as DR. Méndez; wouldn't he need a doctoral degree for that?), whereas Johnny has a high school education and is as green as grass both in the gay scene and in the BDSM scene. Granted, Johnny's lack of education and experience are not his fault, and he jumps head-first into attempts to remedy both situations, but I found their connection a little hard to believe in. - Hard to read at times. Johnny's dad--and older brother, to a lesser degree--is horrible. HORRIBLE. And there's a gut-wrenching scene in a club in which Eric pushes (and pushes...and pushes...) Johnny too far and forces him to safeword--in a BIG, unhappy way--that is wretched. What upsets me most about that scene (other than the obvious fact that I don't like reading about misery) is how Johnny reacts to it. Rather than retreating into himself and losing faith/trust in Eric, which is how I would have expected someone inexperienced in the scene to react, he gets over it rather quickly. He even reasons with himself that the scenario was partly his fault, a conclusion with which my mind (though admittedly inexpert with regard to BDSM) hastened to wholeheartedly disagree. Overall comments: This is a romantic story, despite its focus on some of the less sexual aspects of BDSM. It has the sex, don't get me wrong, but the amount of w

Golden Boy, Golden Man

Johnny Wilson is the youngest brother in a family of macho mechanics. Despite his dreams of a different life, his days are filled with the monotony of endless work interspersed with his brother's taunts. His nights are the only place where he will admit to his own secret desires and disturbing dreams that are quickly ignored when he wakes up. When Johnny is invited to the hottest gay club in town, he decides to accept out of curiosity, despite the fact that he isn't gay. Only, from the first moment Johnny spies the powerful Latino man across the room, he can't stop thinking about him. Eric Mendez is the most sought-after Dom in the BDSM gay Manhattan scene. Eric is constantly surrounded by men looking to him as a way to increase their own popularity and power within the community. Eric has a reputation as having a heart of ice, not willing to settle with any one man. Only Eric has a secret, he is truly a romantic Dom who is looking for someone to share a deeper connection with. At a club one night, as he is being fawned over, he glances over to see a stranger looking at him. Eric is instantly captivated by the golden boy who catches his gaze, but disappears before he can approach him. They meet again by chance and instantly become involved, but they have many things they must overcome in order to truly find each other. Because Johnny has always denied his true sexuality, he is confused about his reactions to Eric, and isn't ready to acknowledge his vulnerability. Eric too is scared of showing any vulnerability, not wanting to come across as being too needy. Eric wants Johnny in his life, not just as a casual sex partner but as a true submissive, someone who trusts him enough to take his every command. Only he doesn't know if this is something that Johnny can live with. When Eric pushes Johnny too far one night, they must decide what is more important, the lives they led before or a life together. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and felt drawn into every exchange, every sentence. Every time that Eric pushes Johnny to accept something new and frightening, I felt like I was being pushed as a reader to accept it at the same time. The Dominance/submission aspect of their relationship is scorching, and it perfectly reflects their love for each other. The supporting characters are interesting, and simply add to the already rich storyline. I simply love Amanda, Johnny's best friend. The way she always supports him is very touching. Everyone should have a friend like her! Claire Thompson has written a delightful story with Golden Boy, and I highly recommend it. Shannon reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Hot, sensual and sexually charged M/M BDSM.

This writer is known for her M/F BDSM. This I think is her first M/M erotica and she has given us one romantic, sensual and hot M/M BDSM, with 2 appealing characters in Johnny and Eric. First released as 2 novellas months apart, I am glad to have this finally in print. Eric exudes power and confidence at every step, and is worshipped as a top Dom. Johnny is the beautiful golden boy and deeply closeted. From the day they meet and once Eric recognizes the submissive tendency in Johnny there is no turning back for both men. The romance is sensually seductive and lovingly tender and their sex which is into heavy BDSM is sizzling hot and very erotic, some parts a trifle dark. There is one particular scene which is disturbing and heart breaking when the newly trained Johnny is tested beyond his endurance in the dom/sub club. An event which nearly shatters their fragile dom/sub relationship and a wake-up call for the over confident Eric. This story is as much Johnny's journey as he comes out at the age of 25, succumbs to his desires and finds the courage to confront family and friends over who he is. As for Eric, he never thought he would be able to find both the perfect submissive and love in one man. This is one well written, emotional, and hot romance erotica. Strongly recommended to all M/M romance fan.

Loving Submission

Romance duels with dominance/submission erotica for the theme of this book. It consists of two short novels combined in one, "Golden Man" being the sequel of "Golden Boy." Johnny is a gorgeous, 25 year old blond who is not even aware that he is gay, much less a natural submissive. Eric is an equally stunning, charismatic, 31 year old Latino dom, who has been playing the field for years, but never fallen in love with one man. They see each other at a bar and are both instantly attracted, then Johnny disappears. From there, the story line is pretty straight forward and rather predictable, but well done. Johnny was bullied and abused by his father, even denying his gay sexuality until shortly before he meets Eric. Eric is a highly competent psychologist by day and sexually very experienced and active dom by night, though he is becoming tired of the promiscuity and the fruitless search for the perfect submissive slave he seeks. Eric learns about Johnny and seeks him out, finds him, woos him, trains him, stands by him in Johnny's struggles with his family. The two have a few (not really enough) miscommunications and misconceptions to get past, but eventually develop a beautiful love relationship. This book is split about 50/50% between the romance story line and the dominance/submissive erotica. I am not into BDSM, so the erotica did not float my boat much and I won't try to review that part of the book. But I enjoyed the romance so much that it kept my attention all the way to the end of the book, despite the fact that the erotica is not my personal style. My impression is that someone into the BDSM scene will be very turned on by the erotica parts of the story, but that is something someone else will have to evaluate. Good book if you are looking for gay romantic story; possibly a great book if you are also looking for BDSM erotica. You need to be interested in one or the other or both to appreciate this book.