Title: Dar and Gregg (Jock Dorm 1)
Author: Bobby Michaels
Publisher: Loose ID
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
A Guest Review by Aunt Lynn
THE BLURB
If you think Jocks and Nerds have nothing in common, come to the Jock Dorm!
Cute, nerdish Dar has no idea what to expect when campus housing places him in the Jock Dorm. He certainly doesn’t expect his Jock-God of a roommate, tall, hunky, muscular Gregg the champion wrestler. Nor falling head over heels for him. Workouts, friendship, a little hurt and comfort, and pretty soon Dar can’t take being in love with his straight roommate.
But maybe Gregg isn’t so straight. He’s been keeping secrets of his own, like a murdered first love and a family that’s pretty much disowned him for being gay. Though he vowed never to fall again, he’s not figuring on Dar and how the cute little nerd unfreezes his fearful heart.
For once, the nerd gets the jock, but different interests are the least of their problems. They can’t keep their hands off each other, but coming out is the hardest part.
THE REVIEW
Dar and Gregg is the first book in prolific author Bobby Michaels’ Jock Dorm series. I will be reviewing the three-book series over the next week in order.
After starting his junior year at State a few weeks late because of a health problem, nerdy, closeted Dar is dismayed to discover that the only place Housing can now find for him to live is in the jock dorm. Upon reaching his room, he finds that it may be even more difficult than he thought as his new roommate, Gregg, is a gorgeous wrestling hunk who believes being nude is the best way to be when in one’s own space. Never thinking they could be friends — much less something more because Gregg is sure to be another straight, homophobic athlete — Dar is surprised when Gregg turns out to be not only a great, sweet guy, but also happy to become friends, work-out buddies, and secure him a job on the wrestling team as well. Unfortunately, Dar finds himself falling for Gregg and steels himself against unrequited love. As they become closer, Dar is shocked to learn that Gregg isn’t so straight; in fact, he’s gay, has a tragic past that led to him being disowned from his hyper-religious family for his orientation, and loves Dar right back. Can these two survive both the rest of their college careers and the challenges they face?
I am a big fan of Bobby Michaels from back in his Nifty days, reading just about everything he has published under the name RimPig there. If you haven’t already read something by him, there are a few things to note before diving into any of his stories, including this one. First, I find his writing to be honest, opinionated, heart-felt and more-often-than-not very sexually graphic. He makes no secret about where he stands on social and political issues, and many times his stories are commentaries on one or more subjects, such as prejudice, gay marriage, gays having/adopting children, gay coming of age/coming out, parental acceptance and support — or not — of their children’s homosexuality, religion, politics, war, the Marines, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” There is also no doubt that these are guys who love guys, with prevalent kinks including fit, athletic bodies, raunchy man scents, and rimming sessions that go on for days (note that there are other, less conventional ones on Nifty that don’t appear in his commercially-published works). Additionally, there is a healthy dose of autobiography in his stories; he has many decades of both writing and loving — his love life is legendary — and his stories usually touch upon some aspect of his many experiences. He is not to every reader’s taste, but I think his stories are worth it.
I liked this sweet, coming out story very much, and I really liked Dar’s voice as first-person narrator. He is quite a smart-ass with little censor on his mouth and very self-aware. Raised in a small town in the Midwest, he has hid his orientation for fear of backlash in the closed-minded community — including that of his parents. Transferring to and arriving at the state college a nineteen-year-old virgin and resigned to remain that way as long as he lived in the Midwest, he is surprised and unhappy to find himself not only attracted to, but falling for his assumed-to-be-straight roommate. As I said, he is self-aware and also realistic, so I liked that he realized the futility of that early on:
I was not going to get hung up on some straight jock who would probably, at best, kick me to the side of the road, or, at worst, kick my ass if he found out that I was gay. No way was that going to happen to me. I wasn’t going to pine my heart away for a guy who would spend the rest of his life breeding. Not this boy.
I also liked Gregg very much, and although a pitfall of first-person narration can be a lack of depth to the other protag, we don’t get that here. Gregg is fully-fleshed and we get a very good idea of who he is, what makes him tick and what he wants. It is obvious to us that he not only loves, but adores Dar, and is not afraid to show it. In fact, he is unafraid of showing any emotion, letting fears and tears out as necessary, something that be said of both characters.
I am glad that these two found each other and that together they could face the issues and challenges before them. It’s obvious that they are good for each other. With Gregg’s painful past and Dar’s inexperience, they find ways together to help heal, learn and move forward. It was nice to watch them be a couple, sometimes in an “us against the world” way. I also like that there is no insta-love here, with the boys taking time to become friends over the course of the fall term.
The secondary cast is also well-developed, with major players being Dar’s parents (the accepting ones in this story), wrestling Coach Evans, fellow wrestler Vince, and toward the end, Gregg’s brother Drew.
A few things/niggles:
Regarding the smexxin, note that as is common with this author, there are quite a few, very long, explicit scenes, and after a time I found myself skimming and skipping them. Not only are they often repetitive, but I thought they were distracting from the rest of the story, which is very romantic. And if you are turned off by huffing (getting off from deep smelling) odoriferous man scents, rimming and some serious dirty talking, this may not be the book for you.
Also, reading a Bobby Michaels story can, at times, be like reading a textbook. There are often long dialog paragraphs where one character is educating or explaining to another person or people about something, oftentimes gay-themed. In this case, there are several conversations Dar has with his parents about being gay and why he chose to remain closeted for as long as he did, which felt instructional as opposed to conversational. Though this generally does not bother me, some readers may not like this style.
Lastly, and though it didn’t affect my overall enjoyment, I find that books by this author can be at times saccharine, at times preachy, at times contrived — all of which are intermixed here with the good parts (of which there are many). Other readers may find this as well to varying degrees of tolerance.
OVERALL
If you are in the mood for a sweet romance and can handle some graphic smexxin scenes, look no further than Dar and Gregg, the first installment of the Jock Dorm series. Now on to the next book, which is about Vince, a fellow wrestler, and Drew, Gregg’s brother, both introduced here.
Great review Lynn. I’ve read this one and really enjoyed it as well as the next one (Drew & Vince). You really captured the good and the “niggles” about it. I felt a lot of the same things when I read it. I really liked the characters and I look forward to the latest in the series.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting, TJ. If you liked books one and two, you should like three as well. Look for a review of that early next week.
Great review. I agree with your niggles and they occur in all 3 books, but I totally enjoy them all anyways.
Hi there Cosmonaut. I do like this series, issues and all. Bobby has had some health problems on and off for a while now and I hope he can continue to write because I know how much he loves it. Maybe we will see more installments of this series in the future.
I liked all three books. The review is right on, and thanks for the info about the other works. I did a quick search but did not find them. I guess I was a tad thrown by the name RimPig.
Evenin’ Heidi, and thanks. If you go to nifty.org, they have an “authors” button at the top, and under that is “prolific authors.” You’ll find him there in the left nav as RimPig. Just note there are some stories there that may not be to everyone’s taste and contain kinks that may squick out some readers, such as incest and golden showers.
Hi! I think you summarized Bobby Michaels’ style very well.
The books in this series are my favorite books by him, with David and Conner being the best one. One thing I like is how the characters often tell each other what they love and admire in each other. The support and love all the characters show their extended family is heartwarming.
Hi Sari. Yes, support — both, between themselves (i.e. “the team of us” idea) and the accepting ones in their families — is a very strong theme in this series and in much of what he pens, and one of the reasons I like his writing. And there is little doubt where the protags stand with each other for love and other feelings; they do not hesitate to vocalize their feelings.
Lynn
I don’t have to tell you that this is, for me, Bobby Michaels’ best series. It was a toss up whether I would give up my closely held books to you for review. 🙂 I have read these books time and time again over the years and this series is an “old favourite” and DIK.
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Re your comment about Bobby’s health, he has been in and out of hospital and it took him almost a year and half (I think) to write his latest, JD3: David and Conner – because of his health as well as issues around one of the characterizations in the book.
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I look forward to your review of JD2: Drew and Vince.
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Great job on the review and the warnings. 😀
Thanks, Wave. I was really surprised — and pleased! — that you offered this series up to me knowing how much you lurve them. I hope I did it justice, though I probably didn’t rate it quite as highly as you would have. 🙂
You did a great job on Dar & Gregg and you were much more objective than I would have been. Wonderfful review Lynn.
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I may have a couple more for you if you’re nice to me. 😀
Sometimes it’s like that.
Bring them on!
Great review. I agree, Bobby Michaels is a gifted writer of erotica.
Hi Jeff, and thanks. Though he does have PWP stories over on Nifty, I think I would classify him as a writer of romantic erotica, or erotic romance, one or the other. His stories are definitely graphically erotic, but many times have a very romantic, emotional plot.
I have read Bobby Michaels stuff over on Nifty and found his work to be just as you describe above. I think I’ll have to hunt up this series (even if I skim/skip the smex scenes too).
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Great review! Looking forward to more of this series. Thanks!
Good morning Merith. This series is definitely worth the read. Happy reading!
Great review – I totally agree on the good bits & the niggles. I just finished Drew & Vince last night & I will read David & Connor sometime in the next week. I am interested to see what your next reviews will say.
Hello Deanna. I’m glad my review was pretty spot on for folks so far. I’m sure there are those who disagree, and I’d like to hear from them as well. My review for book two will come later this week, and book three early next. Hopefully, I’ll do as well with them as this one!
I loved this book and Dar and Greg a lot and the other stuff to me is why I love Male writers.They don’t pull their punches. Very down to earth from their own experiences. I still love female writers but there is a difference like in this book and Bob by’s other books.
Hi Arlene. For me, some of the time, I can’t tell the difference — nor should it really matter. But there are some authors whose voice comes through so strongly of what their gender is, enhancing the experience, and Bobby is definitely one. William Maltese is another, along with Victor Banis and Rick Reed.
Yes, I skimmed through a lot of the sex scenes myself. And I definitely had a few “eww, yuck!” moments (smega!) as well as some “Oh, come on” ones. And the preaching was pretty obvious (preaching to choir!) but the monologues made are definitely on point. I really liked this book and the characters…..I’d hang with Dar, Gregg, and Vince. 🙂
Thanks for commenting Sherry. Yeah, there are definitely things that can and will turn off some readers, and I have found those…er…”cheesy” moments are one of them for female readers.
Regarding the preachy parts, chances are, like you said, if you are reading this book, you will agree with what is being said here.
I’ll try to let Bobby know his series is up for a review. He’s been relaxing and not looking at his computer as much as he used to. But I’m sure he’ll be interested.
Thanks Treva.
I thought your review was totally spot on. Very precise and accurate. I believe when he reads it, Bobby will approve. As Treva said, lately he’s been spending very little time with his computer but as he and I speak via phone every night I’ll be sure to mention it to him too. For those interested in his stories at Nifty, an easy way to get to them would be to join his rimpig yahoo group where all the links to the Nifty stories are in the files section. Hope it’s okay if I post the link for his group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Rim_Pigs_Stories/
I’m Bobby’s backup moderator and check for pending members etc every couple of days so I’ll try to get anyone who wants to join approved asap. One last thing. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Bobby says he will absolutely not be doing anymore sequels in the Jock Dorm series. He has several other projects in the works but no projected release times. Sorry!
Hi Kate, and thanks for letting Bobby know we’re reviewing the series. No problem about including the link off to the Yahoo! Group. Regarding the end of the series, I suspected as much, but one could always hope, yeah? 😉 Even though I haven’t gotten there for the review yet, book three was a fitting end. For new works, I look forward to them as they are published.