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38th out of 132 books
—
155 voters
Jump First
by
Charles Edward (Goodreads Author)
For Heath, the star highlight of every week is attending his writers’ group meeting. The leader, Marguerite May, writes romance novels, and not just any kind: The dude/dude kind that are so freakin hot, Heath gets embarrassed to critique them. But don't tell anybody: He secretly adores her books and buys them all. With a fake ID.
Marguerite’s son, Ryan, just happens to be t...more
Marguerite’s son, Ryan, just happens to be t...more
ebook, 104 pages
Published
May 4th 2011
by Dreamspinner Press
(first published May 3rd 2011)
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118th out of 332 books
—
529 voters
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Okay dokey...they say confession is good for the soul, so here goes...In the spirit of full disclosure I want to say up front that I consider Charles Edward my friend and I did critique part of this story before publication. Having said that, I'm not in the habit of recommending books to others I don't enjoy, and I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed this story!
A Brief Overview : Take one young, gifted writer (Heath), mix with a cast of writers and authors from all walks of life and one opinio...more
A Brief Overview : Take one young, gifted writer (Heath), mix with a cast of writers and authors from all walks of life and one opinio...more
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Ryan's final line is one of the cutest declarations I have ever heard or read. And the whole story is such a wonderful mess of fear and bravery and hotness and writing fiction. Love Heath's voice. Love Tippy.
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Aug 06, 2012
Elisa Ramblings
added it
I think Jump First was intended to be a light coming of age story, but I read a touch of bitterness that made it not so light to my eyes. First of all, while the author tried to make Marguerite a nice character to the reader’s eyes, at least at the beginning, I had an instinctively aversion on her regards. She seemed to me fake, and I tried to understand if the author was referencing to someone real, or if he was simply directing a group. In any case my first reaction to her was in the end the r...more
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Reviewed by Jamie: What a delight this story was! I devoured it very quickly and know I will read it again.
The plot features Heath, a sweet and shy high school senior who desperately wants to write so visits a writer's group every week, chaired by a published author who writes saucy male/male romance. Heath doesn't let the other writers in the group know that he adores reading the male/male themes in secret, as he's too shy to come out, especially to the author's own handsome son, Ryan, who just...more
The plot features Heath, a sweet and shy high school senior who desperately wants to write so visits a writer's group every week, chaired by a published author who writes saucy male/male romance. Heath doesn't let the other writers in the group know that he adores reading the male/male themes in secret, as he's too shy to come out, especially to the author's own handsome son, Ryan, who just...more
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Heath is a shy teenager who is thrilled to be invited to join his favorite author, Marguerite May’s, critique group. The bonus to this weekly meeting is seeing her son Ryan. Little does Heath know he was asked to join the group for alterative motives. Ryan and his mother are keeping a secret from the group and the world at large.
Ryan is harboring deep feelings for Heath but unsure if Heath shares the same attraction. Ryan uses Heath’s love of storytelling and writing to get to know him on a mor...more
Ryan is harboring deep feelings for Heath but unsure if Heath shares the same attraction. Ryan uses Heath’s love of storytelling and writing to get to know him on a mor...more
First up, I should mention that I helped Charles edit this book. However, I don't think that precludes me from rating it as really the book was there before I started.
Sure I helped him tweak a few paragraphs around and got him to expand a couple of sections, but my input was minor.
What I really liked about this book was that he got the voice, thoughts, insecurities and motivations of a young man just right.
It wasn't an easy job writing a book where the background is the scene of the genre it's s...more
Sure I helped him tweak a few paragraphs around and got him to expand a couple of sections, but my input was minor.
What I really liked about this book was that he got the voice, thoughts, insecurities and motivations of a young man just right.
It wasn't an easy job writing a book where the background is the scene of the genre it's s...more
Holy awesome snark! The entire book is basically a caricature of writing groups, which makes it both incredibly funny and vaguely offensive. I liked the definite teenage boy feel of everything. The romance in this is just perfectly paced, to the extent that I want to wag my finger at some other authors. I did feel that they should have been a little slower jumping into bed together, but this is a novella, and there's only so much time for such things to happen in.
Some problems-
These people aren'...more
Some problems-
These people aren'...more
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3.5
Were there little things about this book that threw me off? Yeah, there were but the story's cute factor was high, making me push aside every little thing that bothered me.
I was in the mood for something sweet. Heath and Ryan were just what I needed.
I imagine that one of the hardest things about writing characters in their late teens is trying to catch the essence of that teen mentality. A lot of authors strip their 18 and 19 year old characters of that last bit of the bumbling innocence that...more
Were there little things about this book that threw me off? Yeah, there were but the story's cute factor was high, making me push aside every little thing that bothered me.
I was in the mood for something sweet. Heath and Ryan were just what I needed.
I imagine that one of the hardest things about writing characters in their late teens is trying to catch the essence of that teen mentality. A lot of authors strip their 18 and 19 year old characters of that last bit of the bumbling innocence that...more
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3.5 stars
What amuses me most about Jump First is the writing group scenes. I can imagine it so easily in my head, how these want-to-be-published writers meet and try to make each other's stories better. I also enjoy the voice of the narrator, Stuart (the story is written in 1st person view); his monologue/thoughts can be downright funny as hell.
Like this, for example ...
And then he took me in deep.
Oh!
That last “Oh”? Pretend it was followed by about thirty exclamation points. Real writers don‟t d...more
What amuses me most about Jump First is the writing group scenes. I can imagine it so easily in my head, how these want-to-be-published writers meet and try to make each other's stories better. I also enjoy the voice of the narrator, Stuart (the story is written in 1st person view); his monologue/thoughts can be downright funny as hell.
Like this, for example ...
And then he took me in deep.
Oh!
That last “Oh”? Pretend it was followed by about thirty exclamation points. Real writers don‟t d...more
2 likes · like · see review
As I am in a critique group as well (and subject some of them to my tame glbtq stories), I just HAD to read this. As far as the romance goes, I was very pleased by it. The boys were sweet together and the story had very hot romance without being PWP (plot? What plot?).
What I didn't think worked so well, was the mother. She went from one extreme to the other. I loved being able to hate her, but then she was all better and understanding by the next chapter. Maybe we just didn't get to see the tran...more
What I didn't think worked so well, was the mother. She went from one extreme to the other. I loved being able to hate her, but then she was all better and understanding by the next chapter. Maybe we just didn't get to see the tran...more
I just finished reading this, and I have to say I haven't read such a funny, light, cute and sexy little story in a while.
For one,it perfectly conveys some of the emotions everyone goes through with their first, more or less unrequited crush. That was excellently told. I loved all the inner musings of Heath and all the humor in this little story.
It was wonderful, quite realistic and as a writer and a not-straight person, I could totally identify with the characters.
Very nice writing, perfect len...more
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The story line was good, had a lot of humour in it. But I couldn't warm up to any of the characters. I thought Heath was acting silly at times and while I could understand Ryan's motivation, I still fail to find any shred of sympathy for Margarite.
Overall I have to say the book didn't hold my interest even though it had some good points going for it. The writing was descriptive but the characters simply weren't likeable to me.
It would seem I am in a minority with his, having read the other opini...more
Overall I have to say the book didn't hold my interest even though it had some good points going for it. The writing was descriptive but the characters simply weren't likeable to me.
It would seem I am in a minority with his, having read the other opini...more
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Initially, I steered clear of this book because I was not attracted to the cover (yes I occasionally judge a book by its cover...so sue me). But I heard good things about it so I decided to give it a shot. I am very glad that I did!!! This was a fun story about a high school senior realizing the boy he has crushed on for ages likes him too but it is also so much more. =) Throw in a little self deprecating humor, horny swimming and two adorable MCs and you get this wonderful book. If you have eve...more
Absolutely beautiful!!!
MJ suggested to people to read your latest release and I went and got this story to see what it was all about. I loved it, which in my world means you just got yourself another fan who loves your writing.
The story was too endearing for words. A little bit of misdirection, a surprised mom, mild BDSM and a beautiful love story. Basically all the ingredients of a kick ass book.
MJ suggested to people to read your latest release and I went and got this story to see what it was all about. I loved it, which in my world means you just got yourself another fan who loves your writing.
The story was too endearing for words. A little bit of misdirection, a surprised mom, mild BDSM and a beautiful love story. Basically all the ingredients of a kick ass book.
2 likes · like · see review
I was looking for something on the lighter side of things when I decided to read this book. No complicated plot or overly angsty characters. Something sweet that would make me smile. I definitely got that with this book! Jump First is all about being brave enough to take chances and about first love. And about writing M/M romances! I loved Heath's personality and how he reacted to Ryan, but I also thought it was cool to see writing from a new author's point of view. The whole thing with Ryan's m...more
Great story but kind of short. The sex scenes were light compared to others and the plot kind of simple. But there's minimum angst so it makes for a perfect light reading material. If you are looking for a complex plot with a litmus character development this is not for you. But if you're looking for a nice mm story to introduce you to the genre, this is perfect.
Sweet story, I really enjoyed it. The writing group scenes were an utter delight. The teenagers really seemed like teenagers to me, teetering on that cusp between childhood and adulthood. And the mother was, I thought, realistically portrayed through teenage eyes. Especially through disillusioned teenage eyes in major lust with her son.
Will high-schooler Heath ever write something worthwhile? Will Ryan, the most gorgeous guy in the universe, come across for him? Will Ry's successful author-mother ever see the error of her ways? Neat characters, a lesson in how to plot and write a book, a central mystery solved, and…very hot M/M sex. What more could you want in a novella?
This is one of those stories that has you grinning from ear to ear. You just really *like* Heath and want good things for him, and you get what he's going through!! So stinking sweet! I will admit that the last bit threw me for a loop, but not really in a bad way. Just surprised me.
Funny, beautiful, sexy as hell. That's the short version. The long version, well... I've found I can't really give a long version without sharing the parts I loved the most -- the first time we see Heath arrive for the group crit; Heath watching Ryan diving; when they finally acknowledge their feelings for one another... *sigh* Yep, my review would end up being a total spoiler. I can say this though, Charles's writing, his voice, is a true pleasure to read.
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I felt like a bit of a perve while reading this book. But I dont mind being a bit of a dirty old perve - its good for my soul ;)
I think I can safely recommend this one to everyone. Its pretty sweet and gets a bit raunchy at the end.
I think I can safely recommend this one to everyone. Its pretty sweet and gets a bit raunchy at the end.
What an awesome book! It's going on my favorites shelf and I'd happily dish out a sixth star if I could. It was so well written.
I love how Heath really seems to come into his own by the end. He seems so quiet and timid at first. And I thought it was really sweet how Ryan tested him out to see if he was interested. By the end, Heath really knows what he wants :o) There's a twist that's pretty cool too. I disliked Marguerite from the start and never did grow to like her much even though she seeme...more
I love how Heath really seems to come into his own by the end. He seems so quiet and timid at first. And I thought it was really sweet how Ryan tested him out to see if he was interested. By the end, Heath really knows what he wants :o) There's a twist that's pretty cool too. I disliked Marguerite from the start and never did grow to like her much even though she seeme...more
Sweet teen/young adult story with the amusingly meta angle of a M/M authors writing group for a milieu. Ryan was a little too inscrutable for me, but Heath quite obviously loved him that way. Ryan's mom was somewhat over the top as well. The boys' first coming together was very touchingly done.
The story was rather simple. All characters in the story didn't feel real and emotions where rather bland and empty. It was like the plot had a lot of holes and that made this story simple bad.
Sweet, sweet, sweet... Lately I read all those too cute to be digestible stories ;) I'm a hopeless case, I know.
Extra star for the last scene with neckties. Yum!
Extra star for the last scene with neckties. Yum!
High DRAMA in the critique group! One of those books where the narrator isn't half as witty and clever as he thinks he is. Some interesting parts nevertheless.
3.5
This was such a great sweet short story infused with humor and discovery. Heath is adorable. Look forward to seeing more from this author.
This was such a great sweet short story infused with humor and discovery. Heath is adorable. Look forward to seeing more from this author.
Truly, a delightful and original tale. To read this review in its entirety, please visit http://www.darkdivasreviews.com/?p=5584
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