Just One Night by Jack Harbon. Ninestar Press. 2018.
I enjoyed this m/m erotic romance novella! It was a fun read, with this lovely fantasy of going out with friends while on a business trip, brooding over a recent break up, and meeting the man of your raunchy dreams (who also happens to be an older billionaire) who treats you to the rough sex you always wanted but never got to have before, that helps drive any thoughts of your cheating ex completely out of your head. And it turns out, he lives in your city! Could a one night stand become a relationship?
Cam was endearing, and the way he was messed up over his ex resonated. I especially enjoyed seeing him with his friends. And I was charmed by Owen, along with Cam.
The joy of this story was in the details, from the pancakes to the flirting to all the friendship moments. (I heart Cams friends, a lot.) Also, the storyline about his issues at work was completely relatable, and gets resolved in a way that surprised and delighted me as a reader.
The sex scene is more rough sex than formal D/s, it’s not negotiated much, there is just a brief request that Owen be in charge and drive everything out of Cam’s head. It felt consensual to me as a reader, read through that lens. It has some delicious moments in it, and is pretty damned hot. I especially liked the way Cam asked Owen to talk about how much he wanted him, and the bit at the end with Cam’s nickname.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and I enjoyed his writing style. There are these sentences that just grabbed me, and the style of this piece really fit the MC and where he was at. I liked the resolution, it felt right for the story, more a HFN full of possibilities for the future than an HEA. I would be glad to meet these characters again, should the author want to write a follow up.
Representation
- Bisexual man MC
- Queer man love interest
- Black gay man author
Content Warnings (in white, highlight to read)
Reference to ex being controlling and cheating on the MC. Sex on the page. Rough sex including pinning him down, light spanking, teasing and denial, begging, orgasm control and light domination, without a lot of negotiation.
Disclosures
- Source of the book: ARC from the author.
- I am friends with the author on Twitter and will be interviewing him about an upcoming release soon.
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Related Posts and Reviews
- My recs list of Romance Shorts and Novellas
- Review of Thirsty Boy, another contemp m/m erotic romance novella
- Review of Whip, Stir and Serve, another contemp erotic romance novella
- Review of Ghost, another contemp m/m romance novella
- Review of Thrown Off Track, another contemp m/m romance novella
- Review of Level Up, another contemp m/m romance novella
- Review of Natural Enemies, another contemp m/m romance novella
Corey's Book Corner 
Sounds like this could be good! Not too sure about the non-negotiation/light on negotiation, but maybe that will be discussed in further stories?
Nice review. 🙂
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I’d say, based on my knowledge, it’s a common level of negotiation for one night of rough sex with a stranger, in queer men’s communities, but not the level of negotiation that you might expect if you were thinking of it as BDSM. The activities in the story straddle the line between the two. It didn’t feel non-consensual, if that helps. I did get the impression that there would be more conversation in the future. No idea if there will be follow up stories, though I’d love to read if there are!
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Thanks for your follow-up comment. 🙂 I might try this at some point.
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I like the sound of this! Adding it to my TBR! Great review, as usual. ^_^
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I think it might be up your alley. I’m excited to read more by this author; there is a holiday story coming soon!
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Oh goodie! 😀 I know he’s also got a story in an anthology I’ve been eyeing for the past couple months.
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