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| Caught Running | 
 enlarge | Authors: Abigail Roux, Madeleine Urban
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Category: Book
List Price: $11.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 12855
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 236
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 0.6
ISBN: 0980101883
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780980101881
ASIN: 0980101883
Publication Date: December 1, 2007
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Product Description
Ten years after graduation, Jake "the jock" Campbell and Brandon "the nerd" Bartlett are teaching at their old high school and still living in separate worlds. When Brandon is thrown into a coaching job on Jake's baseball team, they find themselves learning more about each other than they'd ever expected. High school is all about image - even for the teachers. Brandon and Jake have to get past their preconceived notions to find the friendship needed to work together. And somewhere along the way, they discover that perceptions can always change for the better. Read a full chapter excerpt at www.dreamspinnerpress.com
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
Couldn't put it down September 1, 2008
I'm not an avid book reader, but this book was just one of those stories that I couldn't put down. I fell in love with the characters, and their story of love and coming together. Thank you.
 A Fine Read August 15, 2008
This is another example of outstanding gay erotic fiction. There is a good story, the characters are well fleshed-out and well-developed, there are chatty and real-feeling secondary characters, and there is just enough danger and uncertainty to keep you reading and involved.
The principal characters are polar opposites in many ways (both no longer "young men") including a "jock type" (who is somewhat physically damaged by former athletic pursuits) and a "nerd type" who is actually smart AND a great athlete. Neither is at all sure the other is gay, and neither thinks the other is interested in someone as different as they are.
But hope springs eternal, and we are treated to not only a fine courtship but a fine romance which grows and deepens nicely through the skillful work of this author.
Truly a pleasure to read, filled with humor and warmth, this is a fine work of gay erotic fiction that does not disappoint in any way. If you're looking for deep meaning and jaw-dropping action and conflict, you won't find it here, but if you're looking for sweet romance and M/M heat, "Caught Running" won't disappoint. Enjoy!
A winner to me! August 9, 2008
I have been reading m/m romance/erotica for about a year now, starting with fan fiction and moving up to original character, for-pay stories in the last few months. Gobbling up what I can find, I admit that much of what I have purchased has been worse than some of the worst free fan fiction (and in some cases, the free stuff is amazingly more well-written and developed). I have been terribly disappointed with the unlikely story lines, laughable dialog, absurd character actions/reactions, bad writing and worse editing. I may not be a gay male, but I live in a very diverse community, have gay friends with whom I have had discussions about their lives and loves, and I can certainly appreciate a good story laced with hot sex regardless of the subjects' gender. For me, much of my immersion into books of any kind is the story, the character development, and the interactions, and the majority of what I have read so far simply doesn't do it for me. They are little more than PWP (Porn Without Plot), which I can get better for free through sites like Nifty.
Enter "Caught Running." I did not have high hopes as I read it in a string of terrible books and was prepared for yet another disappointment. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised! I really loved this book, and I can't say enough good things about it. I've read it three times and I'm starting on a fourth. Finally, a keeper!
This is a romance first, erotica (and there are plenty of steamy scenes!) second, so if you are looking for one tumble in the sheets -- or the hay, or the sand, or the back seat -- after another with little plot in between, this isn't the book for you. I am a sucker for stories where the protagonists meet again years later and/or where a relationship develops once friendship is established, so this one is a match on both parts. Don't get me wrong, I am certainly not a prude -- I wouldn't be reading this genre if I was! -- and I don't mind sex in the first chapter, but it was refreshing for the authors to wait until page 107 before there was even a kiss. It's a slow, gentle builder. I liked that the first half of the book was spent with them learning to put aside biases and prejudices to come to respect one another, becoming friends. Because of this, there is an emotional layer to the physical that many of the other books I've read just don't have. Not that there wasn't a healthy dose of Unresolved Sexual Tension, but that made it fun. I enjoyed watching their mutual attraction as they try to hide it from each other and themselves, and play the "is he or isn't he" game; seems to me that these boys have some broken gaydar! I was glad to see that their insecurities and worries were brought forth to us in a way that didn't make me want to tear my hair out at the angst. And once their relationship was consummated, I was in awe of their reactions to each other, especially Jake's to Brandon.
I can believe this tale; there is no major drama, no moral dilemmas, no character flaws so large that the Happily Ever After is threatened, no big misunderstanding, no secret past life that will come back to bite someone in the arse, no hateful antagonists trying to break them apart, no last-minute quickie tying up of the ends, no obviously contrived way to get these two together. None of the supporting characters seemed over-the-top in personality or interference, but were lovable and supportive in their own rights as good supporting characters should be. I thought the pacing was perfect: good buildup for attraction, consummation, commitment. It is a simple, gentle, sweet, romantic story that drew me in and made me want to care and root for Brandon and Jake. I believed in these guys, they seemed real, like they could be friends of mine. Despite their seeming incompatibility, they are perfect for and complement one another. Like other readers, I was disappointed that there wasn't any more of the book to come and felt sad for it to end.
Two small things that bothered me; neither ruined my enjoyment of the story nor would cause me to give this review less stars:
First, there was a portion of the plot line that wasn't fully developed that I would have loved to see. Without giving it all away, Brandon mentions wanting to help Jake with his medical issues and it never really happens. I kept waiting for it, but nothing after a first mention. It would have increased the UST between these two and maybe given Jake some relief.
Second, as another reviewer mentioned, the shifting point of view made me a little wacky at first. I often needed to back a paragraph or two to figure out which character I was living. Once I got used to it, though, I was fine and it flowed better.
Overall, if you're looking for a book in this genre, I can't recommend this book enough. Go read and enjoy.
One of the best gay romance novels I've ever read! August 7, 2008
I really enjoyed this book. I read it in one day, I couldn't put it down. I thought that it was really well written. Although there was hot sex, it wasn't on ever other page. There was actually a story to follow and a really good one at that. I actually hope that there is a sequel to this story, although it didn't leave you hanging. I just really enjoyed these two characters. I would definitely read these authors again.
The Best Part of Running is Getting Caught. July 30, 2008
We all know how high school is: the jocks, the nerds, the cheerleaders; the "in crowd" and the "outcasts", the former would never be caught dead associating with the latter. But everyone grows up and sooner or later, High School is supposed to be over and done with.
Brandon a.k.a The Nerd is now teaching Biology and is an all around Science teacher in his former high school. At the beginning, everything is looking the same it did back then for Brandon even though they aren't kids anymore, its painfully obvious that somethings don't change. The teachers in the loundge are still separated between the brains (academic teachers) and the brawns (P.E. and sports coach). Brandon also isnt the only one who ended up back at his old high school, Jake a.k.a The Jock, former varsity star ended up being Parkview's Head Coach. Even though they were in school together they never talked and barely acknowledged each other's presence. Brandon's life was pretty simple and filled with his passion for teaching. He came to school early in the morning to tutor, stay up late at night to grade and work on his doctorate. Living pretty far from school also meant for even shorter nights but he still managed to find time everyday to run. One day, his old geometry teacher now turned principal, Tom, announces that he needs someone to fill in for a few blocks of Health class and help coach the baseball team. It's going to be the turning point in Brandon's life considering Jake is the head coach. After spending some time together, they both start getting attracted to the other. They dance around quite a lot both thinking the other isn't interested and it builts pretty much the whole mood for the story. They discover things that they didn't know and realize there's a lot more then the image they project. Naturally with the attraction between them comes a rising tension that's not going to go away that easy.
When they finally come together, it's absolutely perfect, and everytime after that too, it's intense and deep, it pulls you in and leaves you breathless. Afterwards, it's the struggle and worries of not knowing how to act when they see each other at work and Brandon's lack of confidence to initiate anything faced with the clearly more dominant Jake. I'm still amazed at when Jake told him to be more confident and not be afraid to take the lead when he wanted to. There's always something that doesn't look comfortable or natural when it comes to role reversal in most books I read but in this one it was just effortless, natural and beautiful.
Althought it doesn't have a lot of pages I'm surprised at how absolutely not rushed it was. It seems impossible, I read a lot of books much longer than this that felt it all happened in one day. I was sad when I reached the end because I could have kept reading more and more, and there was plenty left to explore in their new relationship. But, all good things do have to come to an end. I wouldn't be against seeing a sequel in the future though!
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