| Title | : | Volley Balls (Balls to the Wall, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781936751488 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | ebook |
| Number of Pages | : | 101 |
| Publication | : | First published July 1, 2011 |
Australian Gareth Marshall needs to come out. A lifetime of hiding his orientation from his best friend and volleyball partner, Edge, as well as everyone else around him, has left him hurt and frustrated. When Gareth gets a load of David posing nude as the Michelangelo statue in the famous Laguna Pageant, he knows his days in the closet are numbered. And David is more than willing to help him take the first step out of the dark.
But Gareth’s teammate, Edge, has secrets of his own, and David's ex-lover will never be happy without David under his thumb. With everything stacked against him, can a gay Laguna man find happiness with an alpha male – or two?
Volley Balls (Balls to the Wall, #1) Reviews
-
Well, that was a huge miss.
This book was a disaster for me. I hated the instalove, I hated the strange homophobe-morphs-into-gay-lover plot, I hated the awkward menage, I hated the dialogue... I could go on and on.
David's hip pushed up as Gareth came down, and he knew his cock must be halfway to the big guy's tonsils, but he was taking it all, and shit, it was heaven. David couldn't help hoping that it wasn't Gareth's tonsils he was tickling. He hoped it was his heart.
Oh, gag me. And this was less than 48 hours after their first conversation, no less.
I couldn't wait for it to end.
**Read for project GRL 2014- My quest to read authors that I've never tried before** -
Art gallery owner David hasn't been lucky in love. With a restraining order out against his abusive ex he's trying to stay away from alpha males, even though they totally do it for him. But he can't help himself when he meets, and falls in love pretty quickly, with Australian volley ball player Gareth, who's still in the closet but willing to bust down that door for David.
Unfortunately, Gareth's best friend since childhood, and volley ball partner, Edge isn't happy with this new development - but the reason why is a complete mind blower.
Short, slightly angsty, and with a twist at the end that I absolutely did not see coming, it took me a little to get into the rhythm of the story, but once I was in I was riveted. A lot of that is due to Nick J. Russo's narration. While he doesn't have the best Australian accents, he does a great job giving each character a distinctive voice and with his timing and the way he performs the more emotional scenes was absolutely wonderful.
If you are looking for a super hot, sexy, insta-love romance with a twist, and great narration - this should definitely be on your listen list.
3.5 Stars
Audio copy of
Volley Balls (Balls to the Wall #1) provided by
Dreamspinner Press in exchange of an honest review.
This review has been cross-posted at
Gay Book Reviews.
**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**
Initial thoughts: Holy. Moly. I did not see that ending coming. Like...at all. And the sexiness in this couple with Nick Russo's narration was HAWT !!
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Wowza! 😳 -
This is my second ménage book I've read in a week...does that mean I need an intervention?
I don't think so because this one wasn't that good. I don't like insta-sex...or insta-love...or insta-ménage with the homophobic BFF. Like seriously??!! Nah, I didn't believe that for a second! It would have been more believable if it would have only been Gareth and Edge together since they've been best friends forever. But I still didn't believe Edge could be so accepting of David. Eh, worth reading if you are into all the insta-stuff. -
This is a really good story about 2 hottie Australian volley ball players, Edge and Gareth, and David, the man who makes both men come to terms with their closeted sexuality. The first 2/3 s of the book is about David and Gareth becoming a couple, Gareth admitting he's gay and dealing with Edge's homophobia. The reason i took off one star was because only the last chapter finally pulls Edge into admitting he's gay too and their becoming a menage. The ending was rushed and I was really wanting to know what happened to Phil, Davids abusive exboyfriend.
-
I read this 8 months ago and was so impressed I practically purchased every one of Tara Lains m/m books but it was before I began writing reviews. I have just finished book 4 in this series - brilliant! - and was just checking to see if there was any more new books I'd missed, when I noticed this only had one 3* review on Amazon UK. Why the problem with the condom I'm not sure... safe sex and responsible writing, surely? Didn't bother me but respect to others views.
The whole series has been a 5* rating for me and as book number 1, this too deserves 5 stars. David is adorable, Gareth and Edge are perfect as his love interests and its one of my favourite ' threesomes ', this is slightly different in so much as Edge is portrayed to be homophobic and very straight so it isnt an easy relationship but its great watching it all pan out.The love scenes and romance are sizzling hot and all the characters in Laguna Beach are quirky and loveable. Fun and so easy to read, I have loved every single one and hope there will be lots to come. In fact I'm going to have a " Balls to the Wall" back to back marathon to remind me of all my favourite characters. Putting the kettle on as we speak.............! -
Very sweet story! I read it in one sitting. David is super sweet. Gareth is sexy, especially after he becomes "friends" with David, though their relationship felt really rushed. Edge was a total jerk, but it seems he may have seen the light. We will see. The cover is super hot as well.
My only real complaints about this story are that it was too short, felt like everything happened too fast and too many descriptions/details were left out. Still couldn't put it down though, and am off to read the next one! -
Forse sto attraversando un periodo poco fortunato con le letture, però i libri precedenti di Tara Lain mi erano piaciuti e quindi pensavo che questa sorta di spin-off di Laguna fosse dello stesso genere.
Direi: non proprio. Nel senso che ci possono essere due registri di lettura per questo libro.
Se uno lo prende come una sorta di sogno onirico, una sorta di divertissement del tutto disancorato dalla realtà, allora ci può stare come lettura scacciapensieri, focalizzata soprattutto sul sesso. E addirittura con scene di ménage a trois, consumate in grande spensieratezza e senza tanti problemi pratici. W gli amplessi multipli tra ventenni, il mondo sorride dietro l’angolo, e non pensiamoci più. Qui darei pure 3 stelline e mezzo.
Se invece un lettore – suo malgrado – volesse leggerla comunque come una storia con una struttura, al di là delle scene hot, il tutto diviene molto ma molto surreale. Dire che è poco verosimile è un eufemismo: gente che lascia un continente per pochi giorni (il tempo di fare una gara) e poi decide di cambiare vita e stato, troncando in un colpo possibili legami familiari, in circa mezz’ora. Gente che si conosce, fa sesso, capisce di aver trovato l’amore eterno in quarantotto ore, e nello stesso sprazzo di tempo capisce pure che il proprio amore è ancora più libero e va ben al di là delle solite coppie. Sorvolo infine su chi passa dall’omofobia al “proviamo una volta”, sino all’illuminazione definitiva, in appena una notte.
A mio parere, si insiste un po’ troppo sull'alibi dei genitori ottusi (rimasti da qualche parte in Australia) per giustificare stravolgimenti esistenziali e legami di fiducia che hanno bisogno di ben più tempo per divenire così forti.
In conclusione, poiché non sono riuscita a decidermi per quale registro propendere, rimango su una votazione media. -
2.5 stars
This was an ok story, but the entire thing seemed rush. I especially had problems with this at the end - As a result, I didn't feel like I knew anything about their relationship as a threesome, and I always expect a little more explanation for these to work for me. -
This book is awkward. The instalove is awkward, the homophobe-turned-hot-gay-boy is awkward, the menage is beyond awkward. None of it really made a whole lot of sense, especially the menage since there wasn't much chemistry between the characters.
-
Tara Lain is one of my favorite authors and I have thoroughly enjoyed all of her books. So you can imagine that I was anxiously awaiting the release of her new book Volley Balls. Her previous two books Genetic Attraction and The Scientist and the Supermodel were wonderfully written. I didn't want them to end! Volley Balls was no different. This short novel is a sweet story about three men coming together unexpectedly and revealing things about one another they never expected. Oh yeah..... did I mention that it's HOT!!! The sex scenes had my heart racing and my body sweating. The image I had in my head (from Ms. Lains excellent descriptions) of how these men look made those sex scenes that much hotter!
David is a genuinely nice guy who has a past that he is trying to forget. He meets Gareth who is sweet and loving which is something that David is not use to. Can the feelings Gareth has towards David help bring him out of a closet he's lived in his whole life? Enter Edge, who is gorgeous but unkind to David at first. Why? Well, he has his own issues to deal with as well. Can these three gorgeous men find love?
Ms. Lain again did not disappoint. Her books always display an array of emotions. She has a way of grabbing the readers attention from page one and keeping it until the final page is read. Volley Balls is no different. I would have read this book in one sitting but unfortunately, life got in the way! This book made me smile and kept me fascinated. Ms. Lain is a terrific author and I can't wait to read Deceptive Attraction which follows Caleb from The Scientist and the Supermodel along with her m/m/m romantic suspense book called Golden Dancer.
So please visit her website
www.taralain.com to find out all the latest information on her books. And don't just take my word for it.... go and read them all yourself. I promise you will not be disappointed with any of them. So if you want a hot and sexy read while you are basking by the pool this summer, than this is the book for you. But make sure you are at a pool with lots of hot men so you can let your imagination go wild ;-)
Kelley1893 -
I love a story with alpha males and athletes and you can't go past a combination that includes an Aussie volleyball player!
This was a nice story with a few things really going for it: Gareth is gorgeous, Gareth's mum is fabulous, David is wonderful, it has a public coming out, there's humour, there's hot sex...
There were a couple of things that I found mildly annoying (that's probably not even the right word, they were more just things that stood out). Firstly Gareth's Australian accent - it seemed more New Zealand than Aussie (eg. 'Understend' for 'understand' and 'yis' for 'yes'). Plus it seemed he overused 'mate'. Yes, some Australian's say mate but not all the time and it sure didn't sound right in the middle of a sex scene! And the description of David just seemed too stereotypical of the effeminate gay man - hand gestures, swaying walk, high voice, tight clothes, bright clothes - I loved his nature and this is how the author portrayed him but for some reason wanted him to be a bit more unique.
The ending was a bit of surprise and it's a shame the story ended there. I wanted to read more of David, Gareth and Edge's story!
I now publish all my m/m reviews on my blog so if you want to see all my m/m reviews in one place come visit at
Because Two Men Are Better Than One! -
2.4 stars Extended 2017 edition. Overall, I loved this menage the way it stood by the end of the book. It felt balanced and I really liked each MC. Unfortunately, the story was too short and had some issues. The beginning of David and Gareth's relationship was just too instant. I thought it was awkward and unbelievable. Edge's relationship with the other two men was plausible, especially since he had a history with Gareth, but the fallout with his family was left out of the story. Both Gareth and Edges' new sexuality and lifestyle adjustment weren't fully explored either. I needed just a tad more convincing, especially with Edge since he had acted like a homophobe before Gareth came out. David's emotional and mental abuse by his ex wasn't resolved.
-
★★★☆☆½
Set in Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach mentions gets an extra 1/2 star from me since it's local.
David, local art gallery owner sees Gareth, hot Australian volleyballer across the beach before Edge, Gareth's bff and volleyballer partner and homophobe chases him off.
Of course, Gareth and David meet unexpectedly and sparks fly but David's not willing to go any farther unless Gareth is honest about his sexual orientation.
Gareth comes out and Edge doesn't take it so well. Edge has his own secret. Hmmmmm.
Everything is wrapped up in three days and love is in the air along with the volleyballs. Cute story. -
This is my third book in this series. I didn't expect to like it as well as Fire Balls and Snow Balls because of the m/m/m theme. But I actually liked it quite a lot. As usual, the writing is smooth and fun and the story went down in one shot. I liked all the characters but it did feel like the menage could have been a little more fully explored at the end. I guess it's a bit hard for me to understand how three guys could decide 'yeah, it's best like this' without some more detail. But, yeah, a nice book in the series. I've read there will be two more and I'm looking forward to them!
-
3.5*
I really enjoyed Golden Dancer so I was looking forward to this one!
It's an easy read and I finished it in one sitting, my only real complaint was the m/m going to an m/m/m was so fast and rushed. I would have liked a few more pages from the incident at the store to the three of them in bed.
Edge was a little creepy , but he grew on me. I also wanted to know if David pressed charges against Phil!
I wouldn't mind another one about these three! -
I have liked several books set in this world but not this one.
It was too short for the kind of work it was trying to do: setting up a poly relationship, coming out, dealing with an abusive ex, internalized and then externalize homophobia, friends to lovers, loved forever.
Every move was just too fast. -
I read the original edition and though this says it’s twice as long as the original, I can’t say that I noticed a heck of a lot of difference.
I love this series and though this wasn’t my favorite of the bunch, it’s still a lot of fun!
(I’m not sure if she’s redoing the entire series, but I see that there’s at least a new cover for book two so…) In any case, FAST Balls is my favorite of the series, reviewed here
http://openskyebookreviews.com/fast-b...) and I think that, though it’s not necessary, reading them in order helps to introduce the characters in a really nice way.
David is the owner of an art gallery who’s recently left an ex who abused him. He’s not really looking to date, but open minded when opportunity comes along. Edge and Gareth are Australian Volleyball players who are in town during a tournament. Gareth knows he’s gay but he’s deeply in the closet, Edge has some secrets of his own and some self-examination in his future.
To me, you have to just accept a lot on faith with this story. Don’t try to look at it too deeply- there are a lot of plot holes and amazing insta-love moments that aren’t terribly realistic. We don’t get a lot of relationship building here, as Gareth sees David once and is pretty smitten and makes some important life decisions with only a little bit of encouragement from David to go on.
The relationship between Edge and Gareth actually makes the most sense – given their history – and I guess the triad kinda makes sense – given that David is the only one with any real relationship experience at all. (This was the hardest for me to swallow. I could buy David and Gareth, Gareth and Edge and even David and Edge, but the three of them, coming together, and agreeing that this would work for them? I had a hard time seeing this given the brevity of their time together and the situation with Edge and… Well, it was a hard sell. The other thing that bothered me was the dialog – sometimes David and Gareth spoke in ways that didn’t always feel authentic. “Shall I …” etc. I just reminded myself this is fiction and kept reading. )
The sexy times are plentiful. Gareth’s mom is awesome. The art sounds fun. Seeing Edge switch gears and share with Gareth and David – super, scorching, hot and at times sweet, too. I didn’t really buy the triad, but found the guys fun to read about anyway, and I really enjoyed the other books in the series so…
3 of 5 stars
Audio
Nick is one of my favorites. Is his Australian accent good? Not the best. Is it good enough. You bet! I still loved this even though it wasn’t my favorite by this narrator. He’s still easy to listen to and fun. He’s great with the comedic timing and the smexy times and that makes this worth the money!
4.5 of 5 stars
Overall 4 of 5 stars -
This is book one of Tara Lain’s Balls to the Wall Series. It is a re-release but I never read the original so I’m not sure what, if any, changes were made.
In this story we have a guy, David. He owns a gallery, he’s out of an abusive relationship with Phil. David actually an amazing character. I enjoyed him a great deal. He may have been in an abusive relationship but he’s strong and has built a terrific life for himself. He’s surrounded himself with outstanding friends.
The book opens with David eating a sandwich on the beach and being verbally assaulted by one of these volley ball players. It’s harsh and of course David has residual fears from his past relationship.
The two volleyball players are Gareth and Edge. Edge is a homophobic guy. Gareth is in the closet. How they are best friends you will find yourself wondering often.
A lot happens in this story a twosome turns into a threesome. There’s very minor drama, little angst. Now, you need to understand; ménage is pretty much one of, if not my most, favorite trope. I read it with a skeptical eye. I get excited about the book and hope for the best.
Here’s the thing about Volley Balls; the chemistry wasn’t there. It was far too rushed and I didn’t believe it at all. One of the most amazing things about ménages is the psychology and I’m sorry to say all it felt like was a prolonged orgy to me. There was so much missing in that aspect and because of that this just wasn’t a book for me.
I am a huge Tara Lain fan so I was sad that this book didn’t work for me. I’m interested in the next book and will read it because the only issue I had with this was the believability in these three guys making it work. Other than that it was quite entertaining. -
Der erste Teil der Seitenwechsel-Serie von Tara Lain dreht sich um Beachvolleyball und homophobe Profispieler.
Zur Handlung. David Underwood ist Besitzer einer Kunstgalerie und hat eigentlich nicht viel mit Sport am Hut. Doch dann findet am Strand von Laguna Beach ein Beachvolleyball-Turnier statt und einige Mitglieder des australischen Teams laufen ihm zufällig über den Weg. Eine eher unschöne Begegnung, denn David ist schwul und verbirgt seine Homosexualität auch nicht. Deshalb wird er auch prompt von einem der Spieler, Edge, übel beleidigt. Doch dessen Teampartner und bester Freund kommt ihm unerwartet zu Hilfe. Für David ist es quasi Liebe auf den ersten Blick, obwohl ihm klar ist, dass er bei dem Hetero-Traummann Gareth keine Chance
hat. Zudem ist er eigentlich an keiner neuen Beziehung interessiert, da er sich erst kürzlich von seinem Ex, der ihn immer wieder misshandelte, getrennt hat.
Gareth Marshall ist Profispieler, ungeoutet und hat einen homphoben Vater. Niemand darf wissen, dass er heimlich auf Männer und seinen besten Freund Edge steht. Als er David kennenlernt, wird ihm klar, dass es Zeit wird seine Homosexualität nicht länger zu verstecken. Doch dieser Schritt ist nicht einfach. Denn nicht nur sein Freund Edge, auch Davids gewalttätiger Ex verursachen so einige Probleme.
Die Story hat mir gut gefallen, die Schwierigkeiten beim Outing im Profisport wurden glaubwürdig geschildert. Spannend wurde es als Edge herausfand, dass sein bester Freund schwul ist. Umso überraschter war ich von dem Ende der Geschichte.
Die Story erhält von mir 5 Sterne und eine Leseempfehlung.
Mein Dank geht an Dreamspinner Press für das erhaltene Rezensionsexemplar. -
I love volleyball and was looking forward to this but honestly it didn't serve up! I found the story itself to be unbelievable in several ways! First off, our MC's meet several times in one day during busy tourist season. Their final meeting that day leading not only to making out but also to immediate feelings for one another. Secondly, the closeted MC decides to come out right away and does so with horrible timing then decides he's going to give up all sorts of things to move halfway across the world to be with the guy he just met. Throw me a little angst... a little drama! And then the cherry on the "Oh yeah right" sundae?? The homophobic best friend decides he's really gay after all and wants in on the action (which is immediately accepted).
As much as I liked the characters themselves and even some of the storyline, this was not really for me. Too much sex without enough story! -
I have yet to find an MMM romance that works IMO and this is no exception.
Edge and Gareth are best friends and Aussie volley ball players. David owns his own gallery. Both volley ball players are huge in build and David at 6-feet is apparently dwarfed by them.
The size difference between the players and David was emphasized over and over, to the point where I started wondering if this is some sort of fetish. David seemed more like a little toy for the big guys. The other weirdness the way they all hooked up...David and Gareth first - because Edge was supposedly homophobic. Then Gareth comes out, declares his love for Edge and David - next thing you know they are a threesome. It felt like David and Edge were being forced on each other (especially taking into account how they first met...which was not really addressed btw)...weird..... -
I really liked this one, but I wish it was longer and we got to see more of the couple as a threesome. They were all three great characters and I liked how David and Gareth came together. I was a little worried that I wouldn't like Edge, but he started to win me over near the end. I think I would have liked him more if there was more at the end.
P.S. - The cover is HOT!!!
******
If you liked this book you may enjoy the following groups:
Erotic Enchants Group
Menage Readers Group -
So many balls...
But as warned before, this is an MMM story. Naughty and dirty and kinky and a bit voyeurism..ehem.
Enjoyable if you set aside an insta-love among three guys.
But David can be a charmer, with his 'experience' as an openly gay living, he can easily made two super closeted gay men submitted to his will. Heh!
If you want your book a bit heavy, don't read this. But if you want some light entertaining, naughty, and some heat in this freezing holiday season, you'll probably need this one.
* I was given he ARC by the Publisher in exchange of an honest and unbiased review.* -
I was left with too many questions: What happened to the ex-boyfriend? How do the 3 guys deal with David's issues (are they that quickly solved?) How do 2 closeted athletes go from 0 to menage in 5 seconds? What issues come up in the relationship? How does Edge manage to stay in the U.S.? It was cute and instalove but there were too many questions.
I do love hot Australian volleyball players. -
Whew - HOT! HOT! Not overly plot-ful of course just a cute story and some hot man on man on man action. I liked David a lot - appreciated he was who he was. Gareth and Edge were whoa momma hot volleyball players. I used to work with a guy from the Brazilian team so I know how hot they are! All long limbs, smooth skin, and tanned bodies...ah...sigh. Anyway this was good. It was a insta-love and some parts were not believable but it's fiction.
-
this was an easy read. the writing was fine and the MCs were easy to like.
b/c the story was not long, i didn't have a chance to really get to know the MC's all that well but would have liked to read a bit more depth to them.
the MC's didn't start their mmm relationship till the end of the book so that part felt rushed to me.
but it was a feel good/hea story. and that's exactly how i felt when i finished. -
3.0 Stars
So, I think I'm gonna delegate all of this author's books to just "challenge" material from now on. I mean, this was sexy enough...but as much as I LURVE me some closeted bully action, this one felt too shallow as a whole; the "redemption" and apology was practically non-existent and didn't seem very heart-felt. IDK... -
3.5 Stars!
Can this kind of thing really happen...maybe, but I highly doubt it. Does it make for a fun story... absolutely! David & Gareth and Gareths homophobe BFF Edge, just from that I bet you can see where this story went. lol.
Word Count: 20,000+
