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82nd out of 313 books
—
502 voters
Rocking the Boat (CalPac Crew #1)
by
Christopher Koehler (Goodreads Author)
Nick Bedford, closeted coach of California Pacific College’s men’s rowing team, is struggling with professional ethics. He denies his attraction to Morgan Estrada, a rower on the crew, though the heated glances between them drive Nick wild. Then Morgan makes a move... and though Nick panics, Morgan gets what he wants: Nick.
Safely assured that he’s not preying on a younger...more
Safely assured that he’s not preying on a younger...more
ebook, 230 pages
Published
February 28th 2011
by Dreamspinner Press, LLC
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This was a great combination between a pretty realistic love story between two very normal guys and a slightly exotic setting. The world of rowing isn't one that I'm very familiar with, and I liked all the little details I learned about that sport while I was reading about Nick and Morgan.
Nick is the older of the two, a graduate student and a coach, and he knows he's in trouble if anyone finds out he's falling for his younger colleague. Since they are both students I didn't have any issues with...more
Nick is the older of the two, a graduate student and a coach, and he knows he's in trouble if anyone finds out he's falling for his younger colleague. Since they are both students I didn't have any issues with...more
Jun 13, 2012
Elisa Ramblings
added it
I was expecting something more dramatic, and this is not always a bonus for me, and so I was pleasantly surprised to find out this was a nice and sweet college romance. Now we are talking of students and coach, so it was also “sweat”, meaning that these are two men with their hormones all working at high speed, so there is also hot sex, and good teasing, and even some dirty dancing, but all in all this was a romantic story.
Nick is the 29 years old coach of a college rowing team and he is a littl...more
Nick is the 29 years old coach of a college rowing team and he is a littl...more
First of all, I know NOTHING about rowing, so this book is pretty intriguing for that alone. Mr. Koehler seems to do rowing as well so he knows a lot about the sport. The way he details on the practice and the race is good without being too technical. It seems like a good team-sport and I surely wish there are more movies about rowing.
I think this book presents a good issue of coach-athlete relationship. The portrayal of Nick Bedford, the coach (who is also 8 years older), who is trying to do it...more
I think this book presents a good issue of coach-athlete relationship. The portrayal of Nick Bedford, the coach (who is also 8 years older), who is trying to do it...more
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Nick Bedford is a grad student and a varsity rowing coach. He’s also very much in the closet, and very much interested in one of his athletes – Morgan Estrada. After a long time of lusting after each other and Nick trying to push Morgan away, the two of them starts going out. Unfortunately the college frowns upon relationships between athletes and coaches and so one day when a complaint is filed about an alleged relationship between Nick and an athlete all bets are off. Will their newfound and f...more
Awesome book!
As many others here I know nothing about rowing too, but I felt myself enthralled in the crew almast as much as I was into Nick and Morgan's relationship.
I liked the characters, although sometimes I wanted to smack them upside the head for the stupid things they'd done, but their flaws just made them more real to me :)
As many others here I know nothing about rowing too, but I felt myself enthralled in the crew almast as much as I was into Nick and Morgan's relationship.
I liked the characters, although sometimes I wanted to smack them upside the head for the stupid things they'd done, but their flaws just made them more real to me :)
Nick Bedford is one busy man. He is the coach of the California Pacific College rowing team, is in grad school, teaches and works off season in construction just to get by. Approaching 30, he is still a very fit man, and could still row on one of the teams he coaches. And he is gay and in the closet. And more and more, he finds himself thinking about one of the members of his team.
Morgan Estrada is on scholarship at CalPac, majoring in Comp Lit and rows for Coach Bedford on the men's 8's. Part...more
Morgan Estrada is on scholarship at CalPac, majoring in Comp Lit and rows for Coach Bedford on the men's 8's. Part...more
My first read by this author. The story was both typical and atypical. Typical in that it was a sports story where fear of prejudice and discrimination has kept an athlete/coach in the closet but someone inevitably found out and now their sports career is threatened but they inevitably decide it's not worth livng a lie for. It was atypical in some ways, which was refreshing. The sport involved in rowing, which was unique. I learned a lot about the sport and enjoyed the different subject area. Th...more
Rocking the boat is a nice read. I really enjoyed the story and the realistic portrayal of a relationship. The whole arc of having a coach and one of his athletes pursue a relationship was tastefully done and there was no creep factor at all. In fact, it felt like Nick was just an older college guy who happened to coach and so the 8 yr age gap didn't really mean anything. Like other reviewers I know absolutely nothing about rowing other than the little bit I've seen of it in movies. I love books...more
This was a refreshingly sweet love story. No BDSM, no vampires, just two guys at a college who had the hots for each other and fall in love despite the fact that maybe, technically, they probably shouldn't. That said, I didn't feel like I was reading two hundred pages of skipping though daisies. There was enough tension to keep me reading. The rowing angle was interesting and unique, and Koehler's love of the sport really shows though. Fun AND educational! Perv that I am, I have to admit that my...more
9 likes · like · see review
The lure of perfect bodies in motion.
That's a good reason to be a sports' fan. Now as a coach that can be a bit tricky, especially if its' the bodies under your tutelage. A bit of an angsty tale of one coach trying to avoid the inevitable pull of one of his crew. But it's pretty hard to ignore all those fine muscles pulling with each perfect stroke. Morgan's caught in the dilemma of wanting what he thinks isn't playing on his field or available; Nick knows he shouldn't be playing at all, but for...more
That's a good reason to be a sports' fan. Now as a coach that can be a bit tricky, especially if its' the bodies under your tutelage. A bit of an angsty tale of one coach trying to avoid the inevitable pull of one of his crew. But it's pretty hard to ignore all those fine muscles pulling with each perfect stroke. Morgan's caught in the dilemma of wanting what he thinks isn't playing on his field or available; Nick knows he shouldn't be playing at all, but for...more
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The story as whole was interesting, but the couple just didn't have this HOT vibe which is usually felt while reading about really HOT couples. Both Nick and Morgan danced around each other with that shyness true whole book and it was just to much or for me, simple blah.... I know all man are not macho type, but two same types of characters, both being sweet, nice, dumb stuck in love with each other was just not attractive couple for me. The type of writing was to Vanilla or to young. I got this...more
2.75 stars. Do we have a listopia list for Gay Jock Fantasies because I think this book belongs in that category.;) It's a bit 'porn-y' and the MC's are fairly immature but it's ok for a laugh and the secondary characters are quite appealing. The second book Tipping the Balance is advertised at DSP for release this month and it looks interesting (I like the opposites attract theme), so I thought I'd read this one first.
I read "Tipping the Balance" first, which is a sequel to "Rocking the Boat" and was rated as the better book. I beg to differ - both books are equally good, albeit in different ways. First of all, I appreciate the fact that the plot devices used are all within the realm of ordinary human interaction. There are no high-drama "crutches" to add tension to the plot. There is tension aplenty, but all of it stems from the natural interaction of all the characters involved. No violence, earthquakes, ac...more
2.5 - I do not think this was the book for me. I especially do not think I should have read it right after I read some other books where I felt the MCs were making really stupid, unreasonable teenage like decisions. That was this book. We have a coach of a rowing team. We have a rowing athlete. We have lust between them. So basically for the first 100 pages we get the coach picking daisies saying, I should not want him, I want him, I should not want him, I want him. Should I go on for 100 pages?...more
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When I first saw this cover, I immediately knew it was something I'd want to read. One, it's drawn and I love drawn covers but two, the title and the paddle made me think it'd be something unique, that hasn't been written yet and I was right about that.
The story revolves around Nick, a men's rowing coach, and the struggle of falling for one of his rowers, Morgan. He struggles with the ethics of wanting Morgan and the angst of feeling like he's robbing the cradle. Morgan, however, feels Nick is...more
The story revolves around Nick, a men's rowing coach, and the struggle of falling for one of his rowers, Morgan. He struggles with the ethics of wanting Morgan and the angst of feeling like he's robbing the cradle. Morgan, however, feels Nick is...more
1 like · like · see review
Not a fantastic book. The over use of words, the misspelling of main character names, it left a lot to be desired.
I stupidly assumed that due to the terribly long lead up to the actual dating of Coach Nick and Morgan that the investigation to the allegations the Coach was dating an athlete would have been more substantial. Instead there was no investigation or the Director of Athletics left it at nothing but Nick sold it to Morgan and Drew as something bigger than it was. Lame.
I stupidly assumed that due to the terribly long lead up to the actual dating of Coach Nick and Morgan that the investigation to the allegations the Coach was dating an athlete would have been more substantial. Instead there was no investigation or the Director of Athletics left it at nothing but Nick sold it to Morgan and Drew as something bigger than it was. Lame.
First of all I know nothing about rowing and I tended to get lost in the beginning with all the new descriptions and foreign terms, but eventually I got it and I have to admit that the portrait of hot men rowing has been the subject of a few fantasies since reading this book. This was a great love story between Morgan and his rowing coach Nick. While technically what Nick did could be deemed wrong, he was grad student himself and it gave a great twist to the story. He knew it was wrong, his attr...more
Before I read it I knew next-to-nothing about rowing. After reading it, I not only felt more knowledgeable, I checked out local rowing sites, eager to see about maybe learning to do it myself. I didn't follow through (yet?) but it definitely sparked an interest. And it had great characters, lots of humor, and good tension and resolution. What's not to love?
The plot was realistic and flowed so that I was captivated from the first paragraph until the end of the novel. The characters were likeable and well rounded. The dialog was spot on, from the emotional scenes of an endearingly romantic setting to a rousing argument to the extremely clever banter between Nick and Drew. Speaking of Drew, Mr. Koehler set things up nicely for the sequel involving the Neanderthal-like Brad and the urbane and witty Drew. That should be just as exciting as the first bo...more
This was refreshing. Sweet, light, playful with a very real feel to it and just enough tension, conflict and dumb-ass moments to balance things out. There was a bit of erratic head hopping that was distracting at times, not too bad, enough for me to notice and back up. As much as I enjoyed Nick and Morgan's story, it was Drew that stole my heart, I hope he gets a story of his own.
I enjoyed this book and as many before me have mentioned, I learned a lot about rowing. It was detailed, but in an engaging way rather than boring. I did have to check how to pronounce coxswain though.
I liked the romance between the two main characters, Nick and Morgan, but to be honest the rowing and the competitions were more exciting. There is a slight age difference between the two men, but sometimes it felt like Morgan was the older one. Coach Nick had a lot of growing to do in the "get in...more
I liked the romance between the two main characters, Nick and Morgan, but to be honest the rowing and the competitions were more exciting. There is a slight age difference between the two men, but sometimes it felt like Morgan was the older one. Coach Nick had a lot of growing to do in the "get in...more
I like that book, it have good story plot and there is not to many bullshiting. But what did bother me is the way both main character are written. Either Nick nor Morgan pull me in, in any way. More interesting was Nick friend Drew.
Great guys and hot sex! ... okay, it was more than that. :) Enjoyable read. I liked the multiple points of view, which often reads as head-hopping, but Christopher avoided that pitfall. Ready to read the next one!
Coach/athlete, teacher/student, boss/employee: It's not one of my preferred romance tropes, but I really enjoyed this story regardless. Great characters, great setting, very enjoyable story.
This was really a great book, loved the struggle! I look forward to reading the rest of the series if they are all this good, plus I have to know if anything will happen between Drew and Brad!
LOVED this book! Great characters, great believable conflict, and a very strong overall read. Obviously the author knows a lot about crew, because I found all the attention to detail fascinating and spot on. I really, really enjoyed this...can't believe it's his first published novel! I'm definitely looking forward to more from Christopher Koehler...hopefully with some of the characters that were introduced in this book. Highly recommended!
Overall it's been a pleasant read (3.5 stars). Something felt amiss to me, even though I can't point my finger on it.
Impressed. I'll be watching for more from this author.
Fairly typical M/M, if more interesting since I had no prior knowledge of college crewing. A sweet build up and romance if a bit predictable.
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