(#gaymers #2)
by Annabeth Albert
Blurb:
Player vs. Player. Fight!
Brilliant graphic designer Ravi Tandel is ahead of the game—he's just been asked to present a top secret project at a huge conference in Seattle. All systems are go…until he learns his buttoned-up office nemesis is coming along for the ride.
Tristan Jones isn't really the gamer type, but he knows the back end of the video game business inside out. Together, he and Ravi will give an awesome presentation. If they survive the cross-country trip first.
Tossed together in close quarters, Ravi's shocked to see Tristan's sexy, softer side emerge from such a conservative shell. He's less shocked to learn his handsome colleague's prominent family would never support an out-and-proud son. But Ravi didn't struggle through his own coming out to hide who he is now. To be together, Tristan will have to push past his fear and ultimately decide: Does he want a future with Ravi? Or is it game over before they've even begun?
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Excerpt
Knock. Knock. A knock came from the connecting door, startling Ravi into hopping
off the bed.
“Tristan?”
he called before unlocking the door.
“Yeah,” came
the muffled reply.
“What’s up?”
As he opened the door, he realized that he didn’t even have a shirt on. After
his shower, he’d pulled on a pair of Star
Wars lounge pants that Avani had given him on his last birthday. He wasn’t
a modest guy, but this was a bit…exposed for
a late-night encounter.
“Um. Not
much.” Tristan stood there in ridiculous blue plaid pajamas and bare feet, hair
still damp and sticking up at weird angles. The overall effect should have been
one of Tristan escaping from whatever retirement compound Elmer called home,
but instead Ravi found it endearing.
You’re so screwed, man.
“Not much?”
Ravi raised an eyebrow. “But you knocked?”
“Um. Yeah.”
Tristan scratched his neck and shuffled one foot. “My room stinks.”
“Your room
stinks?” Ravi had to stop himself from laughing. As far as pretexts went, that was pretty
darn lame, high-school-campout-worthy stuff.
“It really
does.” Tristan gestured, and Ravi followed him in and took a deep sniff. Yeah,
the room did smell pretty funky.
“O-kay.” Ravi drew the word out. “Why don’t
you call the front desk? This is a pretty big place, and it’s the middle of the
week. I’m sure they can find you a different room.”
“Sorry. I
didn’t mean to bother you.” Tristan did the shuffle thing with his foot again.
“Never mind.”
“Tris.” Ravi
grabbed Tristan’s shoulders when he tried to turn away, forced him to look at
him. “What’s really up?”
“Nothing. I
was thinking we could watch a movie in your room, but you’re right, I should
call for a new room.”
“That’s what
you want? To hang out with me?” Ravi took a step forward, not dropping his
hands from Tristan’s shoulders. He could feel his warmth even through the soft
blue cotton. Their bodies were mere inches apart now. Tristan’s gaze went
straight to Ravi’s mouth before he licked his own lips.
Oh fuck. Killing me, Tris, you really are.
“I’ve got a
movie on,” Ravi said softly, making no move toward his room or to step away
from Tristan. There were a thousand reasons why he needed to step away, get
Tristan to call for a new room, and stop the energy arcing between them, yet he
couldn’t seem to find the one that would get his feet to move.
“Yeah.”
Tristan’s exhale ghosted across Ravi’s face. His eyes continued to look as
though they had a tractor beam on Ravi’s mouth. “That’s good.”
“I’ve got no
clue what the movie is.” Ravi laughed shakily.
“That’s
okay.” Tristan moved, subtly leaning forward before retreating a millimeter,
like he wasn’t quite sure how to close the gap between them.
Ravi knew,
but there were a whole host of reasons why he should retreat and lock the door
behind him, put a hotel’s worth of distance between himself and temptation. But
he didn’t move back, instead doing what Tristan was shuffling toward and closed
the distance between them, claiming Tristan’s mouth like he’d been obsessing
about for two days now.
Okay, okay,
perhaps a bit longer than that, if he were honest with himself. Tristan was
fussy and prissy and so not Ravi’s type, except he was cute and endearing and
eager to please and…
Oh fuck it.
They were so doing this thing.
Ravi’s lips
slid softly over Tristan’s, hands coming up to cup Tristan’s face. His skin was
smooth and slightly slippery, as if he’d shaved earlier. Tristan gave a little
sigh as their lips collided, a happy noise that went straight to Ravi’s dick.
Tristan tasted like a minty memory from Ravi’s teen years, a simple, classic
taste that totally fit with the rest of Tristan’s persona.
And the way
they fit together felt like a different kind of memory—like they’d done this
before and yet never before in the same instant. Brand-new and achingly
familiar. And far, far too sweet for Ravi’s blood.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Beta Test is the second book in the #gaymers series by Annabeth Albert. While this is a series the books could be read as stand-alones. The characters from the previous book are mentioned but are only a small part of the current book.
Ravi and Tristan both start new jobs with the same gaming company, but they're both very different. Ravi is a outgoing, slightly disorganized but brilliant graphic designer. Tristan is a introverted, lives by spreadsheets and lists for everything, and is on the back end as a part of the marketing team. Tristan however is hiding his inner gamer geek from everyone. While on the surface it appears that these two are very different underneath all the bravado and hiding they have a lot of the same issues they deal with through the story.
At work these two are frenemies while they work on the same special team together. Then they get stuck having to road trip their project booth to a gaming convention. That trip is a bit of an eye opener for both of them. They learn they might actually like each other and that they are both dealing with family drama. It impacts them though in very different ways.
Ravi embraces who he is, he loves his job, loves dressing to fit his personality, and handles his sexuality well. His very traditional Hindu family, in particular mom and grandma want to believe that being gay is a phase or that they can find the right girl to introduce him to and that will change Ravi. Tristan's family is very conservative and wants him to hide who he is, they'll 'allow' him to be gay but he must be discreet and keep everything quiet. This just causes Tristan to not want to involve anyone in his life and he keeps everyone at a distance.
I loved that these characters are multifaceted. Tristan hiding that he's a gamer geek until a LAN party with his co-workers one night was awesome. I loved the confidence boost that it gave him. That he and Ravi were total opposites that you wouldn't expect to end up with each other was a sweet and sexy twist in the story. They ended up working well because each had something in their personality that the other one needed. The drama with their families really did shape their story in a lot of ways. Tristan telling his family off was one of the highlights of the book, so was his and Ravi's relationship finally being out in the open. I have to say the first kiss between these two is so freaking HOT!!
This series is pure fun for this reader. I'm a long time MMORPG gamer grrrl, and have friends that are programmers so these stories are lots of gamer geekdom crammed into a sexy m/m romance. I can't encourage you to read this series enough. I think it's a well written, fun yet serious and sexy romance series. The characters are complex and show growth throughout the book, and the story is engrossing and perfectly paced.
So if you haven't read the #gaymers series yet, you need to dash out and grab the first two books right now and read them!
The Gaymers Series
Status Update
(#gaymers #1)
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About The Author
Annabeth Albert grew up sneaking romance novels under the bed covers. Now, she devours all subgenres of romance out in the open—no flashlights required! When she’s not adding to her keeper shelf, she’s a multi-published Pacific Northwest romance writer.
Emotionally complex, sexy, and funny stories are her favorites both to read and to write. Annabeth loves finding happy endings for a variety of pairings and is a passionate gay rights supporter. In between searching out dark heroes to redeem, she works a rewarding day job and wrangles two children.
You can find Annabeth at
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Loved the first book in this series and looking forward to reading this one! Thanks for the post.
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