| Title | : | Necking |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1615813713 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781615813711 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | ebook |
| Number of Pages | : | 312 |
| Publication | : | First published May 1, 2010 |
Necking Reviews
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Will read and rate/review as I go along..
I'm sure they will contain some spoilers! ;)
An average of 3-4*
The Thank You Note by Jamie Freeman 3.5*
An established couple decides on a 3rd for their anniversary!
I liked the couple, they are very different like day and night and Aiden was cute!
This is another one of those stories I wish was a standalone and longer, I really would love more of these guys.
Not Just A Piece Of Meat by Zahra Owens 3.5*
Karl wakes up after a party and is in bed with is bosses!
Cute story with lots of hot smexiness!
Getting a Filling JL Merrow 3*
I'm guessing that Ivo might have gotten over his phobia of going to the dentist!
This is a short about a couple hooking up with the dentist!
1+1+1 is 3 by Evan Gilbert 3*
3 college guys hook up with a promise of more.
Beautiful Friend by Dar Mavison 2.75*
Mostly a sexy encounter with 2 regular hook-ups maybe they are in an open relationship I wasn't sure, and a very shy third that one of them had been having hook-ups with but never anal. Not sure where it was going or how what they really were to each other.
neighbors By Day Naughty By Night Devon Rhodes 3*
I liked this one, Kevin is a pushy guy, but I loved him! LOL
I would have loved this one to be longer!
Skunk, Bryan, Spoon ( and a Badger) by Aundra Singer 3*
This one is sci-fi , Skunk and Spoon hate each other ( or do they?) but Bryan has figured out a way to make them get along, at least if they want to get it on with him.
Homecoming by Emily Moreton 3.5*
This one starts out with a bit of a twist, but it only last for a few sentences then it's clear what's going on.
Lots and lots of sex, again one I wish was a much longer story! Matt's job would be interesting and finding out how the three of them got together!
Unwrapped: The Birthday Gift by Josephine Myles 3.5*
I'm suprised I liked this one as well as I did. A very in love couple picks up a 3rd as a 'birthday gift' !
Bacon Bits by GS Wiley 2.75*
His BFF comes to visit and they have a threesome. It was ok, I liked the 'voice' of the MC and the guys, but not much of a story.
Snowbound by Jana Denardo 3.25*
This is an historical AU ( set during prohibition in the US 1931) but these young men are part of a known group similar to the Knights Templer that fight demons.
It was pretty interesting and I might actually read a whole longer story about them, even if historical isn't my cupa.
The only thing that annoyed was. The constant use of 'the redhead' to describe one of the three!
Breaking The Habit Heidi Champa 2.5*
3 Roommates decide to quit smoking together and when it becomes too much they have sex to take their minds of smoking, Unfortunalty the first thing they do after is light one up!
Perform For Me by Lori Toland 3*
This one was a bit different from the rest, it starts with a man (Corey) watching a D/s scene at a club and then going home to his partner for his fun.
His partner knows about it and even encourages him to join in the next time if he wants.
it also has a somewhat open end concerning the threesome.
An American in Seville by Lenora Black 3.75*
Tony, poor Tony, stuck in a jobs and a life he never wanted but having trouble getting off the treadmill his life has become.
When a flamenco dance and Alejandro and Javier change his life or maybe help him start a life!
this is one that should have been or actually needs to be a longer story! please...make it a longer story!
Down the Middle Heidi Cullinan 3.5*
Lovers haven't fallen out of love-exactly, but the passion and even the friendship seems to be gone, all that's left is fighting and unhappiness.
A Chance encounter with a young David leads to them rediscovering eachother and their love, it's open ended as to David, if he will stay with this cople or not, but the relationship between these two seems better. -
This was a great anthology. All of the stories were good. However, my favorites (in no particular order) were:
Not Just A Piece Of Meat by Zahra Owens
Getting a Filling by JL Merrow
Beautiful Friend by Dar Mavison
Neighbors by Day, Naughty by Night by Devon Rhodes
Breaking the Habit by Heidi Champa
Perform for Me by Lori Toland
Down the Middle by Heidi Cullinan -
I think I might be taking a break from Dreamspinner anthologies for a while. I think honestly they just put too many similar stories together and this is third or fourth anthology when everything blends together into one long, tiring theme. That’s not to say there aren’t stand out stories on their own and if read piecemeal over a much longer period, several are quite enjoyable. Unfortunately read all at once this anthology blends into a lot of erotica and sex scenes, numerous justifications for why casual sex only bothers those petty and insecure, and light on the emotion and happy ending. Depending what you’re after, this anthology could delight or disappoint.
Necking is composed of 15 m/m/m stories and let me say first – almost all of them are incredibly hot. Whatever else may not work in this collection, the sex is incredibly smoking and delicious. There is also no shortage of it. There is so much sex that the collection when read at once feels like endless scenes of hot men, casual sex, and a parade of positions, talk, and fantasy. It’s probably enough to fatigue the most hardcore erotica fan, therefore the best advice I can give is read it very slowly. Read a story here or there, let the anthology stretch out.
Dreamspinner tries to cram too many stories, too many authors, and too much sameness into their collections which brings down the great quality the stories can really offer. While a lot of these stories are well written, there’s only so much variety in situations the stories offer so it decreases the enjoyment and originality to put too many together – at least in my opinion. Since the anthology is about hot threesomes, the themes usually involve established couples that are looking to play or even end up adding a permanent third. There are a spattering of three unrelated men coming together for sex and most of the stories end with a happy for now ending holding promise for a happy future.
The majority of the 15 stories offered are decent to good (~2.5 to 3 stars or so). A couple stood out above that such as Thank you Note by Jamie Freeman about an established couple having a fling with potential and wonder how to go about dating a new person. The characters are warm, fun, and inviting exactly like the hot sex they get up to. The story is well developed and the sense of fun, adventure, and possibility comes through very well. The sex scenes are a little clinical but the characters help override that. Another great mention is Neighbors by Day, Naughty by Night by Devon Rhodes about a couple that ends up with a naked sleepwalking neighbor and realizes the possibilities could just work out well for everyone. This is another well written story that blends great emotion and sex.
Likewise Unwrapped: The Birthday Gift by Josephine Myles introduces a sexy older man that shows a new couple about confidence and trust. This is one of the better stories that tries to touch on the idea of casual sex not altering a relationship. Instead of beating the reader over the head with the lesson that jealousy is petty like some of the other offerings, this story subtly and deftly shows how two people in love can navigate the potential dangers. Not only well written but pretty hot too.
The highlights for me were Beautiful Friend by Dar Mavison and Down the Middle by Heidi Cullinan. The former shows three completely different men that come together in a sex based story but alter the ideas of what’s expected. The beautiful, almost fey younger man doesn’t necessarily have to be the bottom partner and two sexy, muscle men who adore him teach some unforgettable lessons. The later story is the only one that touches on angst and offers the deepest emotion. Here an established couple is drifting apart and on the brink of breaking up when they decide to take a chance on a liaison with a younger man. While the sex verges into the territory of fixing serious problems, it’s meant to be just a step towards reconnection. It’s a lovely, well written one at that.
Overall I found the anthology to be too bland and same with a lot of sex and light emotion to fully satisfy. The few stories I mentioned are worth reading and on their own would have delivered a great collection. The rest offer hot sex and a variety of stories and themes from cute, funny banter to deeper connections and several are fluff stories with little depth. That’s not bad if you’re looking for that. Just spread it out and you’ll enjoy it more. -
This is another time when I wish we could use half-star measurements, so I could rate this a 4.5. Sometimes with anthologies, you have a couple of great stories and a lot of so-so stories. But the vast majority of these stories were terrific, with only two that I didn't really care for.
HOMECOMING, by Emily Moreton, was my favorite by far. There was something wonderfully urgent about the story, and even though it stays in Ben's POV, I really get a sense of all three characters as they reconnect to each other and Matt finds the emotional healing he needs. -
I always have trouble reviewing anthologies. Some stories really do it for me, some don’t. I never remember to write down which is which. Necking is dedicated to threesome relationships, men only. Needless to say this is erotica and there will be sex, lots of sex. I’m reminded that turn ons for me are squicks for other people and vice versa (for example, not unsurprisingly rimming is used heavily, one of my all-time squicks but it’s erotica and I wasn’t surprised to see it. I know how to skim so problem solved. Doing it in a dental chair also not my kink but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad story)
The ones I enjoyed the most are the ones that hit my genres. Another problem with this sort of anthology, most of it is just contemporary fiction and I knew that going in so I can’t whine too much. Still, I really liked Skunk Bryan, Spoon (and a Badger) because it was marginally SF and Snowbound for the 1930’s urban fantasy side of it. I also really liked An American in Seville, Down the Middle and Homecoming because there was enough plot to make me happy but all of the stories have their strengths and weaknesses and I think you’ll enjoy this anthology. -
Necking is an entertaining anthology of 15 M/M/M stories. The situations and relationships vary but all center around a menage. I enjoyed all of the stories, some more than others as is normal in an anthology. My favorites were Down the Middle by Heidi Cullinan, Thank you Note by Jamie Freeman and Neighbors by Day, Naughty by Night by Devon Rhodes.
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A sexy anthology of m/m/m short stories. Some are only meh, but most of them are really good. There's even one or two that are quite angsty and emotional which is pretty amazing to find in a short. Overall, 4 stars.
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Beautiful Friend was my favorite of this steaming hot anthology with a pretty good mix of threesome stories. Recommended.
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These are all m/m/m and despite people telling me to spread it out ... well, over 3 days is spreading it out for me. It was fine that way. I can't review all 15 or so here but I'll take note of some that I particularly enjoyed. They are a mix of bringing a guy home from the bar for a one-off (sometimes as a regular part of a relationship or as a truly one time event) and those in which the third is brought into the relationship permanently. I like both types and enjoyed a mix. They are mostly contemporary but there is one Sci-Fi outer space one and another that is a quasi-historical paranormal I'll talk about.
The Filling by JL Merrow - A funny story about Ivo who is terrified to go to the dentist. He brings his boyfriend Colin along to hold his hand. Ted is a very sexy gay dentist and while he's doing the exam Colin keeps up a running commentary of sexual inuendo that is hilarious. They run into Ted in the bar and go home with him and give Ivo something else to relate to a dentist chair than pain. Not really sure it's much beyond fun for the three but it was very amusing.
Unwrapped: The Birthday Gift by Josephine Myles - For his 25th birthday Dave decides he wants to have a threesome. At the bar they meet Pedro, a visiting American (they are in England) and they take him home. What I liked about this was Dave freaks because you find out Mark his BF had been in a threesome with Dave and his girlfriend which fell apart because he was attracted to Mark and he's afraid it will happen. They talk it out and after Pedro is very up front about his relationship with his partner back in the US and their feelings about sex and relationships not being mutually exclusive. So I thought that was a bit different than just jumping in with both feet.
Snowbound by Jana Denardo - If you've ever seen that old Star Trek episode where Kirk and Spock end up on a plant that is like the 1930's Chicago, but different, this is what this reminded me of. Caleb, Temple and Agni are demon hunters in 1931. They are in Philadelphia and get snow bound and have to hole up at a safe house. Temple comes on to Caleb who is sort of in a relationship with his partner Agni but Agni says go for it. After they fight off some snow demons and Temple almost dies they decide to all get together. It was kind of neat because of the time period combined with the demon hunting. It was a different twist which I enjoyed.
Perform for Me by Lori Toland - Corey goes to a sex club regularly and watches a Dom and sub do their thing, gets turned on and goes home to ravish Justin. One night Justin suggests that Corey join in the fun at the club. Justin does but then freaks out a bit after and Justin has to calm him down and they discuss a threesome together. I really liked the twist on this and Corey having to deal with his kink for watching vs being on display and his relationship with Justin and Justin's kinks. I quite enjoyed it.
An American in Seville by Lenor Black - Tony is on a business trip in Seville, Spain with his boss and another suck-up coworker. His life is one big blah. His wife left him a year ago, he doesn't really like his job in Ohio, his boss is a typical rude American abroad who thinks everything is inferior to the old U. S. of A. Their last night in town they have to go to a flamenco show and Tony is fascinated by the dancer. He needs to get away from his annoying boss and slips outside where he find the dancer Alejandro and guitarist Javier. They talk for a minute and the guys invite him back to their place. At first he's not sure and then figures what the hell. He's nervous and scared but is tired of being afraid and stuck. It's not HEA but it wakes him up and makes him realize his ex was right, he has stagnated and this is the kick start he needs to move his life forward. I really enjoyed how Tony looked at himself and you could feel his apathy as he followed his boss around and just went with the flow.
Actually none of them were duds although the one with the guy called Skunk kind of irked me because I just can't get into stories with people with stupid nicknames. There were a couple in present tense which I also find hard to get into and with a short story it takes me till nearly the end until it flows in my head. It's almost like my mind tries to convert it to past tense and is struggling with what my eyes are seeing. LOL Not bad stories, but I obviously can't connect as well when I'm fighting to stay in the tense. I liked the ones that were a bit different, had a little twist or told the story from a different perspective, but as I said, they were all pretty good and for fans of m/m/m I think it will be an enjoyable read. -
Thank You Note (3 stars): This made a good intro to this characters. It set them up beautifully and gave a good feeling about them. But it felt very much like a beginning of a story and not a complete one.
Not Just a Piece of Meat (3 stars): I enjoyed the characters personalities in this one but there wasn't a lot more than sex.
Getting a Filling (4 stars): Funny and sexy. I loved alot of the humor and the fun in the dentist office.
1+1+1=3 (2 stars): The characters just did do anything for me in this one and was really short.
Beautiful Friend (5 stars): Love this one with a shy inexperienced third and two tough army men showing him pleasure.
neighbors By Day Naughty By Night (2 stars): The sleepwalking set up for this one didn't really do anything for me and I had trouble understanding where the characters were coming from.
Skunk, Bryan, Spoon ( and a Badger)(3 stars): The title of this kind of sucks but the story was funny with the two rivals fighting and the Bryan telling to suck it up or they aren't getting laid.
Homecoming (3 stars) - This felt like one giant sex fest. It was hot but not much in the way of story.
Unwrapped: The Birthday Gift (3 stars)- Hot PWP.
Bacon Bits (2 stars): Kind of strange and unlikely story. I really didn't get why they ended up in bed together.
Snowbound (4 stars)- Nice developed story for being a short and not all sex either. I would love to read more about these three.
Breaking The Habit (2 stars)- Over the top reference to smokers and ridiculous reason for a threesome.
Perform For Me (3 stars): Nice little mix of lite D/s in this one with a few surprises.
An American in Seville(3 stars): Nice developed characters and sexy. This is one that I could really see being a full length novel.
Down the Middle (3 stars): Story just didn't click for me alot. Nice sex and good characters I just didn't get into it. -
I think I only actually finished three stories before I called it quits and elected not to finish the anthology at all. Most of them were kinda of bland and I skimmed a lot.
I lost all interest once I reached Beautiful Friend by Dar Mavison. I found this story to be problematic and offensive as hell.
Tex likes being fucked and can't conceive of someone not liking being fucked. Even after he's told "Gabriel doesn't want to be fucked, don't go near his ass" Tex still, continually insists on trying to touch and grope, and whenever the story switches to his POV, we're treated to his whining about it, along with a litany of possible reason that Gabriel wouldn't like it. The entire idea being that there's something wrong with Gabriel (or really, any man) not wanting to be fucked, so there must be some sort of silly reason or explanation for it.
When they invite Gabriel to fuck Emerson, Tex seizes the opportunity to grope and prod some more (even despite Gabriel's continued reluctance) because I guess Tex has decided that it's his mission to show Gabriel all the wonderful pleasure he's been missing.
Fuck all of this. No fucking means no. If someone says "I don't like to be fucked" it's not your damned mission to show them they're wrong or what they've been missing or to guess possible explanations. Your mission is to show some fucking respect and not do the thing they've said they don't want you to do.
It's just gross. And frankly, I've no interest in continuing any further. -
A
Joyfully Jay review.
4.5 stars
I am an absolute sucker for a menage story. So much so that I’ll buy basically any m/m/m book that’s published. When I saw that the Necking anthology was full of m/m/m stories, and it contained several of my favorite authors, I jumped on the chance to review it. I can definitely recommend it to m/m/m fans. While I only reviewed eight stories, I read almost all of them, and they all ranged between 4-5 stars for me. I’ll admit that short stories often leave me a little unsatisfied, since I like a whole lot of character development, especially when it comes to a threesome situation, but this is definitely worth the time and money. After all, it’s a bargain! It’s hundreds of pages long for the price of a stand-alone book, and you’ll probably be introduced to some favorite new to you authors like I have.
Read Amy's review in its entirety -
The Thank You Note by Jamie Freeman - 2,5 stars
Not Just a Piece of Meat by Zahra Owens - 1,5 stars
Getting a Filling by JL Merrow - 2 stars
1+1+1 Is 3 by Evan Gilbert - 2
Beautiful Friend by Dar Mavison - 2 stars
Neighbors by Day, Naughty by Night by Devon Rhodes - 2 stars
Skunk, Bryan, Spoon (and a Badger) by Aundrea Singer - 3 stars
Homecoming by Emily Moreton - 2 stars
Unwrapped: The Birthday Gift by Josephine Myles - 2 stars
Bacon Bits by G.S. Wiley - 2 stars
Snowbound by Jana Denardo - 2 stars
Breaking the Habit by Heidi Champa - 1,5 stars
Perform for Me by Lori Toland - 2,5 stars
An American in Seville by Lenore Black - DNF
Down the Middle by Heidi Cullinan - DNF -
The Thank You Note by Jamie Freeman ***
Not Just a Piece of Meat by Zahra Owens **
Getting a Filling by JL Merrow ***
1+1+1 Is 3 by Evan Gilbert ***
Beautiful Friend by Dar Mavison ****
Neighbors by Day, Naughty by Night by Devon Rhodes **
Skunk, Bryan, Spoon (and a Badger) by Aundrea Singer ****
Homecoming by Emily Moreton ***
Unwrapped: The Birthday Gift by Josephine Myles 3.2
Bacon Bits by G.S. Wiley 2.4
Snowbound by Jana Denardo **
Breaking the Habit by Heidi Champa **
Perform for Me by Lori Toland **
An American in Seville by Lenore Black 3.3
Down the Middle by Heidi Cullinan 3,5 -
I have to say, I have read one of these stories in beta form and WOW! Its worth buying the entire book. ~nodnodnod~
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Since I'm in the anthology, I don't feel it right for me to review it but I think those looking for threesomes erotica would definitely find what they're looking for here
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About 1/3 of stories worth 4 stara, the others 3 stars.
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Fun and hot! A good mix of stories, excellent "bed-time" reading.
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Not bad for an anthology of short stories, I would give most of them 3,5*.
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4.5 Stars Avg. Review to Come.
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3.5 stars
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There were some really great stories in this anthology...some would have made great full length novels x
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3.5 stars with some really intriguing stories I'd like to read more about...
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Purchased: May 31, 2010 AND Jan 28, 2012
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3.5 stars
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