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75th out of 288 books
—
672 voters
Gambling Men: The Novel
by
Amy Lane (Goodreads Author)
Quent Jackson has followed Jason Spade's every move in business and in poker since their first day as college freshmen. Eight years later, when Jace finally decides Quent is the one man he can't live without, he sees no reason for that to change.
But as much as Jace believes that poker is life, no one gave Quent the same playbook. After their first passionate night, the rea...more
But as much as Jace believes that poker is life, no one gave Quent the same playbook. After their first passionate night, the rea...more
Paperback, 220 pages
Published
May 7th 2012
by Dreamspinner Press
(first published May 6th 2012)
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3.5 Stars
Undeniable wonderful couple in Jace and Quent as friends, business partners and sizzling hot lovers. Unfortunately, the poker metaphors almost everywhere for almost everything got to me. What I found witty, clever and fun in the first half became much less so and felt like overkill in the second half to the point where they almost overtook Jace and Quent and made the book less enjoyable for me overall after an amazing start. I probably should've known better from reading the blurb, but...more
Undeniable wonderful couple in Jace and Quent as friends, business partners and sizzling hot lovers. Unfortunately, the poker metaphors almost everywhere for almost everything got to me. What I found witty, clever and fun in the first half became much less so and felt like overkill in the second half to the point where they almost overtook Jace and Quent and made the book less enjoyable for me overall after an amazing start. I probably should've known better from reading the blurb, but...more
May 10, 2012
♥Laddie♥
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Absolutely everyone!! This one is a GEM!
Amy Lane Owes Me A New Phone (a.k.a) This Book Set My Phone On FIRE!
Someone should make this book into an erotic indie film. It has more than a few elements that would make for a fantastic movie.
The set-up
Two men who have been friends since their first day of college. Quent is the easy-going guy everyone loves, the peacemaker, the boy that mothers want their society daughters to marry. Jace is the shark, the predator, the leader that people respect, that intense guy who excels at every damn thi...more
Someone should make this book into an erotic indie film. It has more than a few elements that would make for a fantastic movie.
The set-up
Two men who have been friends since their first day of college. Quent is the easy-going guy everyone loves, the peacemaker, the boy that mothers want their society daughters to marry. Jace is the shark, the predator, the leader that people respect, that intense guy who excels at every damn thi...more
12 likes · like · see review
I thought this book was okay. This is the second book that I have read by Amy Lane... And I must say, although she seems to be a fan favorite, there is just something about her stories that does not fully captivate me.
I very much like the best friends-to-lovers genre, and this book fits that category, but I feel like it was one those situations where the reader is just told that the two MCs are best friends rather than feeling the bond between them. I didn't really feel the bond between the MCs...more
I very much like the best friends-to-lovers genre, and this book fits that category, but I feel like it was one those situations where the reader is just told that the two MCs are best friends rather than feeling the bond between them. I didn't really feel the bond between the MCs...more
3 likes · like · see review
Mar 12, 2013
Bev
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
amy-lane,
favorites,
feel-good,
gfy,
hot-and-steamy,
m-m,
really-good-friends,
total-keepers
Well Amy Lane, I love your books. This one is a total keeper, gets 5 stars
, and made me feel all warm and snuggly inside...Jace and Quentin have been best friends since college, now have their own brokerage business in San Francisco and are avid poker players
. Jace has always loved Quent but is scared to risk their friendship by acting on his attraction. One night in the gym’s locker room Jace takes the most important gamble of his life and Quent calls him on it. So, where do they go from here?...more
..wonderful! This is a highly erotic romance with lots of emotional intensity. Jace and Quent don’t have sex, they make love dudes 
, and they’re smokin’ hot! 
11 likes · like · see review
I meant them and deeply too.
Jun 01, 2012
Heather C
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Heather C by:
Lauraadriana
Shelves:
m-m,
pdoc,
contemporary-romance,
read-with-ang,
friends-to-lovers,
read-2012,
gfy-ofy,
ebook
Another great story from Amy Lane
It was such a sweet, hot, yummy story with no angst! Plus, I really liked Jace and Quentin, of course I almost always like stories about "het-friends-to-gay-lovers". I was really worried about it not holding my interest because the MCs were already having sexwith each otherbeforeI was even10% into the book, but it stayed pretty interesting and the pace was quick. I really enjoyed the dynamics of their relationship and how they (and Amy) integreated poker metaphor...more
It was such a sweet, hot, yummy story with no angst! Plus, I really liked Jace and Quentin, of course I almost always like stories about "het-friends-to-gay-lovers". I was really worried about it not holding my interest because the MCs were already having sexwith each otherbeforeI was even10% into the book, but it stayed pretty interesting and the pace was quick. I really enjoyed the dynamics of their relationship and how they (and Amy) integreated poker metaphor...more
9 likes · like · see review
I was going to write a limerick review, but that wasn't going so well. Apparently rhyming with Lane while discussing awesome romance/writing skills is rather challenging. For me, at least. I'm pretty sure Amy could do it- she's achieving m/m romance-writer godliness for me.
What can I say in this review that I haven't said in others? It's an amazing awesome heart-rending, intensely gripping character-driven romance. Crap. I said that last time.
In all seriousness- Amy always hits it out of the par...more
What can I say in this review that I haven't said in others? It's an amazing awesome heart-rending, intensely gripping character-driven romance. Crap. I said that last time.
In all seriousness- Amy always hits it out of the par...more
2 likes · like · see review
After years of friendship, Jason finally sees the sign he has been waiting for and makes a move on Quentin, revealing his true feelings.
There is no denying that these guys are hot and the sex that follows is sizzling!
Struggling to communicate, poker becomes the language to raise issues. Once they are able to admit their feelings to themselves, each other and their friends, the emotion is deep. When Quent and Jace are forced to acknowledge their feelings, they do so in a way that is honest, raw...more
There is no denying that these guys are hot and the sex that follows is sizzling!
Struggling to communicate, poker becomes the language to raise issues. Once they are able to admit their feelings to themselves, each other and their friends, the emotion is deep. When Quent and Jace are forced to acknowledge their feelings, they do so in a way that is honest, raw...more
Very good m/m romance about two guys who've been best friends and business partners since college, but suddenly up the ante to maybe being much more. I really enjoyed this... other than the pervasive sense of dread that things were going to become an angstfest at any minute. Fortunately, that didn't happen.
5 likes · like · see review
It’s the first ARC that I received on Netgalley and I am really happy that my request to read this one is approved by Dreamspinner Press who is provided this book. Thank you!
Amy Lane is one of my favorite writer. I adore her writing because it’s always touchy story yet heartwarming. She knows how to make me happy by giving me a mixed of sweet, funny, and HOT scene all over the book.
Before I start reading it, I never expected to get this kind of beautiful story behind of poker game. I thought Amy...more
Amy Lane is one of my favorite writer. I adore her writing because it’s always touchy story yet heartwarming. She knows how to make me happy by giving me a mixed of sweet, funny, and HOT scene all over the book.
Before I start reading it, I never expected to get this kind of beautiful story behind of poker game. I thought Amy...more
Posted on Romancing the Book's blog
Reviewed by Sabrina
Review Copy Provided by Netgalley
I was excited to read this book and I was NOT disappointed. The men in this story were three dimensional. They had development. The love scenes were really special. Sometimes they were sensual and sometimes they were HOT. It is not an action, adventure, plot driven novel. The novel is driven purely by the characters and it is a better story because of it. These characters needed nothing else.
The way Poker was...more
Reviewed by Sabrina
Review Copy Provided by Netgalley
I was excited to read this book and I was NOT disappointed. The men in this story were three dimensional. They had development. The love scenes were really special. Sometimes they were sensual and sometimes they were HOT. It is not an action, adventure, plot driven novel. The novel is driven purely by the characters and it is a better story because of it. These characters needed nothing else.
The way Poker was...more
great story where strength of character of both protagonists shines. I like this author's writing. She always does a great job with dialogue, character development, and description. This is probably my favorite of hers because of the lack of angst. While I liked "Locker Room", it was a heavy book to get through and left me feeling pretty bad, even at the end. Contrast that with "Chase in Shadow" which was also full of angst and very "heavy" emotionally, but left me feeling way better at the end...more
I so wish you could give half stars on here! 3.5 stars cause 3 just didn't feel like enough!
Very few authors can write a full-length novel whose entire storyline revolves around one emotion but Amy Lane manages it, and manages it well! Gambling Men is a story about fear. Particularly Jace's fear of heartbreak. He's lost all of the people in the world that mattered to him early in life and as an adult he's built his defenses strong. But Quent, his best friend since freshman year in college, know...more
Very few authors can write a full-length novel whose entire storyline revolves around one emotion but Amy Lane manages it, and manages it well! Gambling Men is a story about fear. Particularly Jace's fear of heartbreak. He's lost all of the people in the world that mattered to him early in life and as an adult he's built his defenses strong. But Quent, his best friend since freshman year in college, know...more
Thank you, Miss Amy. Many of your groupies (and I think I am the Oldest one) will now stand up tall and applaud, especially if they have kept up with your Novellas featuring Jace and Quentin. We became unraveled at the love these two men have for each other in a series of stories you have written about them. Now everyone's Thank You's are in order to Dreamspinner Press who have realized we want everything published that Amy Lane writes. They have now published Gambling Man-THE NOVEL, and I am so...more
2 likes · like · see review
Poker is Life...You gotta to go all in sometimes to WIN BIG...Jace Spade was a man that liked to take a gamble and when it came to Quent Jackson he had been waiting to play his cards just right. Because Quent he was the BIG WIN...The one that once you had it, you could walk away without looking back.
Eight years they had been friends. College roomates, business partners and Quent was always happy to let Jace take the lead. Quen trusted Jace with his life, and would have happily followed him where...more
Eight years they had been friends. College roomates, business partners and Quent was always happy to let Jace take the lead. Quen trusted Jace with his life, and would have happily followed him where...more
16 likes · like · see review
Ever since I read Gambling Men as part of "Curious A Woman's Introduction To Gay Romance" anthology, I was looking for more Amy Lane's work. But her work is like hit and miss on me. I was hardly get into some of her story (It took me months to finish "Chase In the Shadow" :P). But, this Gambling Men: The Novel, was definitely a HUGE HIT on me!! I can't put it down from the first page!
1.This story was HOT & STEAMY! It's full of sex scene throughout the story. But who can't resist a well writt...more
1.This story was HOT & STEAMY! It's full of sex scene throughout the story. But who can't resist a well writt...more
4+ stars.
I really enjoyed this book. It was less of a romance and more of a portrayal of the relationship. Regardless, the personalities and writing were vivid and engrossing, and I felt like I was right there with Jace and Quent as they learned how to express their love for each other and navigate the ins and outs of their relationship. I stayed up well past my bedtime (is that the sun rising? yes, yes it is...) because I just couldn't put it down.
THE STORY, IN BRIEF
Jason (Jace) and Quentin (Qu...more
I really enjoyed this book. It was less of a romance and more of a portrayal of the relationship. Regardless, the personalities and writing were vivid and engrossing, and I felt like I was right there with Jace and Quent as they learned how to express their love for each other and navigate the ins and outs of their relationship. I stayed up well past my bedtime (is that the sun rising? yes, yes it is...) because I just couldn't put it down.
THE STORY, IN BRIEF
Jason (Jace) and Quentin (Qu...more
3 likes · like · see review
I have to admit – I LOVE m/m romances but I am very picky. Very few have measured up to my high standards: I don’t like overly effeminate men, I like it when the men are involved in more traditionally “manly” careers or pastimes, I like a good mixture of romance and plot along with juicy sex scenes, I like it when there is an emotional or interpersonal struggle as opposed to a mystery of some sorts, and so on. Very few m/m romances have done it for me – in fact the only ones that immediately com...more
Oct 09, 2012
Gwenith
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone that can stand the heat, cuz this is HAWT!
Recommended to Gwenith by:
Nobody, I Just Love The Writer!
4 Lovely Stars~ THIS WAS A COOL READ`IT HAD ME LAUGHING MY ASS OFF!
Gosh~It took me a minute to get into this one~ Poker Lingo/Metaphors is not my thing~(view spoiler) But, still it was a lovely read!
Gosh~It took me a minute to get into this one~ Poker Lingo/Metaphors is not my thing~(view spoiler) But, still it was a lovely read!
Review posted at The Armchair Reader.
Oh Amy! You slay me!! How do you do it? Seriously! Every book I read I think, this is my new favorite couple! And then I think… but what about all the other ones I love, they're still great! I guess I'll just have to find room in my heart to love them all, and move over because Quent and Jace have just climbed to the top of the (very sexy) pile.
Quentin and Jase have been best friends ever since their days in college. It has now been eight years (four in schoo...more
Oh Amy! You slay me!! How do you do it? Seriously! Every book I read I think, this is my new favorite couple! And then I think… but what about all the other ones I love, they're still great! I guess I'll just have to find room in my heart to love them all, and move over because Quent and Jace have just climbed to the top of the (very sexy) pile.
Quentin and Jase have been best friends ever since their days in college. It has now been eight years (four in schoo...more
I’m a fan of Amy Lane’s work and this is a good example of her writing and I enjoyed it. However, having said that, I think the story is very safe for the author and entirely expected. So much so that while I could appreciate certain technical aspects of the book and writing, overall I found the story repetitive and ho-hum. Part of this could be from my fatigue with my favorite authors, who seem to put out the same book over and over with minor differences, so I’ll try to separate my personal is...more
The last time I read a book from this Author I had a huge disappointment, and I though I would never buy or read this author again.
Well, I'm so glad I changed my mind and I read this book.
This story was fantastic, awesome, lovely, cute, funny.
There are so many words I could describe this wonderful story.
The sex scenes were also divine.
Well, I'm so glad I changed my mind and I read this book.
This story was fantastic, awesome, lovely, cute, funny.
There are so many words I could describe this wonderful story.
The sex scenes were also divine.
I admit, I stopped reading this for a while (maybe a week), because really, there was no huge "climax" and it dragged on a bit for me. I swear I only meant to put it down for a bit, but by the time I finished another book I had convinced myself that this book was really boring.
And then I picked it back up again.
And BAM!
It was fabulous, sexy and funny. But I'm not going to take back what I said earlier about it dragging on a bit.
There was a lot of sex (which is fine but perhaps contributed to the...more
And then I picked it back up again.
And BAM!
It was fabulous, sexy and funny. But I'm not going to take back what I said earlier about it dragging on a bit.
There was a lot of sex (which is fine but perhaps contributed to the...more
The best way to sum up this book is to share a quote that Quent used to describe his relationship with Jace: "Their time together had been punctuated by small lessons where Jace used sex and poker to communicate, and Quentin followed wherever he led--and showed him that love was not limited to lessons about sex and poker."
And that's about all that happens.
Jace and Quent don't talk unless it's about poker, even typically only talking about their relationship with poker metaphors. It was interest...more
And that's about all that happens.
Jace and Quent don't talk unless it's about poker, even typically only talking about their relationship with poker metaphors. It was interest...more
I love, love, love Amy Lane, and have highly rated almost all of her books. This one didn't do it for me. I couldn't get past the first 90-some pages. Unlike most of her books, where there is a slow build up of the relationship and sexual tension, with the 'first time' being a major plot point, this book started with the sex right away and kept with it. True, the characters have known each other a long time, but I missed the build of up 'I want you but I can't have you' and 'when will they and h...more
I have to admit, I have a special warm love for Amy as a person.
Now that all the legal disclaimers are out of the way, let's talk about the book.
Without giving too much away, Jace and Quent's developing...and then established... relationship played out fantastically on the page. They gave and take in equal measures, although really Jace was the pushier of the two. Even though in a position of "more power" than Quent, he still had to learn when to bend to Quent's needs. Their own quibbles and t...more
Now that all the legal disclaimers are out of the way, let's talk about the book.
Without giving too much away, Jace and Quent's developing...and then established... relationship played out fantastically on the page. They gave and take in equal measures, although really Jace was the pushier of the two. Even though in a position of "more power" than Quent, he still had to learn when to bend to Quent's needs. Their own quibbles and t...more
This book is like a paean to the idea that guys don't talk to each other. The main characters were together for years, not just as friends but as roommates and then as business partners, before either of them made a move about their mutual attraction. And after they did admit their interest in each other, they are still completely unable to communicate their feelings and concerns except in scorchingly hot sex and cryptic poker metaphors and similes. I loved the guys and was irritated by them in...more
4 likes · like · see review
Rating 4.5
I really, really like how Amy Lane writes. I love that in each of her stories I am introduced to new characters. Characters that I get to know and love over the course of the story. Her characters are not recycled nor are her plots. Long or short, I have finished every one of her books feeling very satisfied.
This book is no exception. I loved Jace and Quent! Thought they were perfect for each other, flaws and all. Loved when tough, alpha male Jace was vulnerable and tender with Quent....more
I really, really like how Amy Lane writes. I love that in each of her stories I am introduced to new characters. Characters that I get to know and love over the course of the story. Her characters are not recycled nor are her plots. Long or short, I have finished every one of her books feeling very satisfied.
This book is no exception. I loved Jace and Quent! Thought they were perfect for each other, flaws and all. Loved when tough, alpha male Jace was vulnerable and tender with Quent....more
4.5 stars
Sometimes love’s a gamble. Sometimes you go all in, you throw in all your chips, you lay down all your cards, and sometimes you lose your shirt. But sometimes that’s okay because if you never lose your shirt, how will you ever be able to tell the game’s getting interesting?
Poker is pretty much a metaphor for life, or maybe life’s just a metaphor for poker; at least that’s the way Jace Spade sees it. For him, life’s about playing his cards close to the vest, watching for tells and capita...more
Sometimes love’s a gamble. Sometimes you go all in, you throw in all your chips, you lay down all your cards, and sometimes you lose your shirt. But sometimes that’s okay because if you never lose your shirt, how will you ever be able to tell the game’s getting interesting?
Poker is pretty much a metaphor for life, or maybe life’s just a metaphor for poker; at least that’s the way Jace Spade sees it. For him, life’s about playing his cards close to the vest, watching for tells and capita...more
This game is rife with poker metaphors, but after you read this book "Go Fish" will become your favorite game. Trust me on this one.
Quent Jackson and Jason Spade have been friends since college. Four years of rooming together and four years of partnering in a business together have made them inseparable.
What makes this book special to me is that it skipped all the relationship angst of 8 years of "I'm in love with my best friend but don't want to ruin our perfect friendship" and took us right t...more
Quent Jackson and Jason Spade have been friends since college. Four years of rooming together and four years of partnering in a business together have made them inseparable.
What makes this book special to me is that it skipped all the relationship angst of 8 years of "I'm in love with my best friend but don't want to ruin our perfect friendship" and took us right t...more
One of my favorite all-time m/m books is The Locker Room by Amy Lane, a book I cannot recommend more highly. Since I’ve read that novel, however, it seems Ms. Lane has moved into two distinctive genres: heavy angst (e.g. Chase in Shadow, Keeping Promise Rock) and lighter, non-angsty (e.g. It’s Not Shakespeare, Super Sock Man) books. In my opinion, Gambling Men fits more into category two.
As I understand it, Gambling Men started out as short stories, which have now been revised and edited into th...more
As I understand it, Gambling Men started out as short stories, which have now been revised and edited into th...more
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Amy Lane dodges an EDJ, mothers four children, and writes the occasional book. She, her brood, and her beloved mate, Mack, live in a crumbling mortgage in Citrus Heights, California, which is riddled with spiders, cats, and more than its share of fancy and weirdness. Feel free to visit her at www.greenshill.com orwww.writerslane.blogspot.com, where she will ride the buzz of receiving your e-mail u...more
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“Excellent. We keep your furniture. Whose bed?”
“Yours.”
“Why mine?”
“It’s bigger, for one.”
“And for another?”
“Mine doesn’t have the sort of headboard you can tie someone to. I’ve always sort of wanted to do that.”
“Bend over. Now. Take off your pants and bend over. I’ll be done in five minutes. No one will ever know.”
—
9 people liked it
“Yours.”
“Why mine?”
“It’s bigger, for one.”
“And for another?”
“Mine doesn’t have the sort of headboard you can tie someone to. I’ve always sort of wanted to do that.”
“Bend over. Now. Take off your pants and bend over. I’ll be done in five minutes. No one will ever know.”
“Yeah. That's why I seduced you, so you'd reach for the stars."
Quent snuggled. "I caught one. He's prickly, but surprisingly soft inside."
"Aw, shut up so we can do to sleep."
-Jade and Quent pillow talk”
—
8 people liked it
More quotes…
Quent snuggled. "I caught one. He's prickly, but surprisingly soft inside."
"Aw, shut up so we can do to sleep."
-Jade and Quent pillow talk”
Aug 24, 2012 07:35pm
Aug 25, 2012 04:10am