Good & Hot: Gay Erotic Romance by Rob Rosen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Rob Rosen is an author I tend to buy but his work can be hit or miss. Thus an entire collection of his short stories is along those lines with some hits, some misses, and a peek behind the curtain at what inspires him. Although Rosen always includes romance and a happy ending for his boys, the short stories are geared towards erotica. They’re hot encounters meant to get you off and sometimes Rosen’s prose doesn’t always do that for me. It’s gritty, dirty, and raw and sometimes just doesn’t work while it may for others. This collection is an interesting one and should work best for fans of the author.

Good & Hot is a collection of twenty short erotica stories. They’ve all been previously published in various magazines from 2005 to 2009. I personally think his writing has come a long way since then (pun intended) so some of these are nostalgic. The anthology begins with a clever man and Yeti combination then moves onto a somewhat cheesy and overly cutesy Vegas theme encounter. Neither of these really hit the mark for me and the language used made me cringe more than get excited. Some of it is personal preference (I hate the word “chute” used in sexual connotation) and perhaps I just don’t appreciate the wealth of possibilities to include gambling terms while getting it on. But I have faith in the author so I kept with the collection.

Things definitely pick up with a Woodstock inspired tryst and keep rolling through a delicious army set quickie. You definitely won’t want to miss that one and for me it was worth reading the collection but happily I continued anyway. The themes range from blackmail to rescue fantasies and each has a happy ending for those die hard romance fans. The point of each short story is unabashed erotica. It’s meant to titillate and arouse, get someone off with a particular fantasy. Whether it’s out in the woods, adversaries in the work place, two young guys in an arcade, alien encounters, dating ads, even something for those with a clown fetish, the scenarios are varied in how they start but always end with both men coming and happy.

The writing varies from story to story though Rosen’s touch is obvious in all of them. Some are better than others and I found the stories where the writing doesn’t try so hard to be the best. The prose is naturally amusing or arousing by turns and it’s only when trying to insert the obvious jokes or corny double entendres that the pace and language stumble. The natural sly wink to the words are enough and don’t always need to be talked around or pointed out so much. When this happens the prose can be clunky and awkward, too over written and trying too hard to be funny or hot. Thankfully these are the minority of stories while the majority let the flow of the sex simply take hold to its benefit.

Here’s a good example of the prose and sense of humor evident in the collection:

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I’d been standing naked in my bedroom, casually stroking a fat boner while I spied on my new German neighbor through a gap in my blinds. Hans didn’t believe in rolling up his shades or wearing clothes when he was at home. With a small set of binoculars I could easily watch him walk around his house, his hefty schlong swaying back and forth as he absentmindedly pulled on his foreskin.
And that’s when I spotted it.

Out of a corner of my eye – well, a corner of the lens, actually – I noticed a pinprick of bright light. I set the binoculars down and looked to my left, out to my backyard. My heart began a fast thump as I watched in stunned amazement while a small silver craft floated down and then silently landed.
E.T., apparently, didn’t feel the need to phone ahead. Still, I slipped on my robe, waited a few seconds for my prick to go semi, and then nervously walked outside. Sure I was scared as hell, but equally just as curious. So much speculation had been swirling about as to their appearance, and I was about to find out the truth, even if it killed me.

“Oh, please don‟t kill me,” I mumbled to myself as the door to the ship slid up and out of the inner light he appeared, dressed all in white and, much to my surprise, very un-alien looking. In fact, he looked quite a bit like Matt Lauer from the Today Show.
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Reader tastes vary so there is definitely something for everyone and their fantasies in this collection. I personally recommend “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” “Tilt,” “Invasion of the Butt Snatchers,” and “Copy Cats.” Don’t try to read the entire collection at once as the sameness will have the stories blending together. They’re all written in first person and tend to start the sex immediately. Pick and choose which of the stories appeal to you and come back to the collection when a new one comes to mind.

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