Customer Reviews

Bareback

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Wow I really loved this book. The plot is pretty simple. Two extremely attractive cowboys meet, fall in love, and get married.

And they have a lot of really amazing sex.

The first half of the book is devoted to them falling in love, having that really amazing sex I mentioned earlier, and rebuilding their public and private lives after they are outed on the ranch. Yes, they have to deal with hate and violence, but they also receive love and support from many around them. The Boss is an especially sympathetic character as a loving and kind father figure to Jake.

The second half of the book is even better. It's the "what happens when you live happily ever-after" part that never makes it into the romance novel. We watch Jake and Tor deal with the realities of living together, working together, of just plain being married. They struggle with their own definitions of gender roles and expectations. Neither has a great track record when it comes to long-term commitment and it shows. Yep, they fight, have make-up sex, and fight some more, just like married couples everywhere. And they have to learn the dreaded "C" word, Communication. ;-)

This book is a true romance novel (in the best sense of the word). There is never a moment when you don't feel the love that Jake and Tor have for each other. After watching Brokeback Mountain, a movie that pretty much ripped out my guts, Bareback gave me the happy ending I desperately needed.

I highly recommend this novel.

Amazingly, "BAREBACK," this pinnacle of gay romance, has been brought about by a relative unknown: this writer, this Master of the Novel, this Chris Owen. I have yet to encounter any other author who is as able to produce scene after scene after scene of arousing male sex and love-making and do so by giving each what must be called an aura of rightness, with every encounter being beautifully, and differently, described from its predecessors. And it's all done with simple, 'impactful' writing, unusually free of the very distracting grammatical and typographical errors so often found in gay romance. In sum, Chris Owen, as a writer, is a true wonder.

In this novel we've been given one of the most memorable (and masterfully described) relationship-beginning, love-making scenes ever put to paper, and it all takes place within the first 12 pages. More correctly, though, I should have described this initial introduction as sex-making, not love-making. Why? Because the thrilling 'fall into love' by our two cowboys, with its ensuing love-making, comes later during this story's timespan.....and when it does, Owen ever so vividly makes us in-your-face witnesses.

He should be crowned "Master of Sex Act Description" (it's raw, it's romantic, it's heated, it's loving.....above all, it's memorable). He manages these intense love scenes on the average of every 10 - 15 pages---all different, all stellar. Plus, it's not just that he can give us super-heated 'foursomes,' it's that he gives them with style.....and even more notable, every other author's run of the mill 'twosomes' Owen is able to give to us with a depth, an ache, a hope that is breathtakingly unforgettable.

All of you know how it is when you are given characters who you "like", who you wanna be with (in this case: Jake, Tor, Elias, The Boss). That's a special something that doesn't happen often in reading......but I'm telling you that it 'happens' here (and you can spell that with a capital H and A and P and all the rest of em as well). Indeed, in this respect Owen is simply amazing. He gives us REAL people and what REAL people do, and he gives us this in REAL depth (when we're given a character talking to his horse, saying things that you and I might say to a close animal or pet, and it feels right, you just have to tell yourself that this is a writer who can, and does give us REAL people). And the all-important sex isn't just "quickies"---he gives us time with the 2 lead characters (Jake + Tor), time after their sex play, time in which they hold and snuggle with one another, time that other writers don't give us after the physical release of sex.....yes, Owen gives us that very 'special time' which leads to love.....and, quite notably, he gives us one of the most romantic post-coital scenes you're ever gonna read.

As a concluding thought, I just have to add: If "Brokeback Mountain" made it to the screen, "Bareback" deserves no less. Let the world see that not all of us are ready to in some way hide, or to check out.

PS--No, Owen has paid me nothing for setting up the preceding comments---they all come from the heart. I will add, here, that I have finished reading his latest effort: "An Agreement Among Gentlemen" (2006). Does it "stand up" to its big brother? I'll be placing my own thoughts on the matter in that particular title's web-page. If you're interested, see my thoughts there.

****

After reading the Amazon reviews, I have to say I had high hopes for this novel. And for the first 2/3 of the book they were mostly met. Then it was ruined completely.
SMALL SPOILER alert: Jake and Tor fall for each other and begin a relationship. It's obvious they are in love. They do have their problems like any couple. Then, we learn Tor is cheating on Jake, and has been for some time. The author tries to resolve it; Jake is crushed by the betrayal and Tor felt horrible about it. They break up, but eventually get their happily every after. But, I couldn't enjoy it. I'm not a prude, but I have trouble buying that a person could cheat on someone they supposedly love so much. We learn that Tor wasn't happy, and that it happened because the boys weren't communicating with each other. So? I know this happens in the "real world" but that's not why I read M/M erotic romance. Silly as it seems, Jake forgave Tor, but I couldn't. There is a sequel, "Natural Disaster", but I'm not certain I want to read it.

Despite this, the story was well-written and the sex was hot. I consider this erotic romance, meaning less plot more hot, and have rated it as such. The infidelity bothered me (obviously), but may not bother other readers. I enjoyed "The Tin Star" by JL Langley much more--the angst and conflict was there without the betrayal and it had a nice mystery too. I highly recommend it. I also highly recommend Chris Owens' Deviations: Submission (Deviations) series, they were exceptional!

Cowboy Jake Taggart is in his thirties, he is foreman on an Arkansas ranch, working for a descent boss, Doug. Doug took Jake on at the ranch over ten years ago when he was released from prison having served a hefty sentence, the result of a drunken misspent youth. He was also punished by being disowned by his family. But he has since proved himself, and now loves his work at the ranch, that is apart from one dark haired, handsome and arrogant younger cowboy named Tornado, or Tor, who causes him nothing but trouble. Then one day Tor goes missing in a storm and Jake, none to pleased, sets out to find him, a search which takes several hours. Tor, whose truck has broken down, on the other hand is furious that it has taken Jake so long to reach him; fury leads to a violent argument and a fight in the mud and wet. But in the heat of the battle Tor's secret passions of a different sort are aroused and Jake finds Tor's lips pressed against his, and soon the two men are engaged in a very intense physical enjoyment of each other. The two cowboys subsequently carry on a secret affair until a false accusation from the boss's daughter forces them to reveal their relationship. While their boss Doug and most of the other hands are understanding, they do encounter and have to overcome a few attitude problems. But eventually things settle, and soon they are even able to live openly together on the ranch.
The biggest problem they face though is each other; they frequently argue, until thing come to a head after four years, when Jake discovers Tor in an act of betrayal. The fall out is disastrous, they split and finally Tor leaves the ranch. But can they live apart, and if not, how do they get back together? There seems no solution until one of them accepts some advice from some unlikely sources. But do they still have the will to give things another go?
This is a passionate and moving love story, admittedly it did not seem that way from the beginning of the novel, but as we get to know Jake and Tor it is hard not to feel for them; they have each had a difficult life with past problems to confront. The other characters are interesting and varied, some faithfully supporting the couple, others causing trouble in one way or another.
Jake and Tor, and occasionally others, enjoy some pretty extravagant sex, and Chris Owen does not hold back in vividly describing their activities together in the bedroom and any number of other locations.
I found this an enjoyable and moving tale that became more and more involving and intense as the plot progressed.

I have to say the "review of 1 star rating" is not fair. Note that Bareback was first published in 2003 as a e-book in Torquere Press, my favorite website for gay eroticas. That's right. Bareback is suppose to be a gay erotica and this should be taken into consideration when rating the book.

However Bareback is much more than a gay erotica. Besides the steamy sex, Bareback has a well thought out plot filled with angst and well flushed out characters in the 2 appealing protagonists. This places Bareback heads above most gay eroticas, and explains its popularity to justify the print format in 2005.

Bareback makes Chris Owen a must read in my list and her other efforts (e-book gay eroticas) has not proved me wrong. I last heard there may be a sequel to Bareback in the horizon, which I look forward to.

Ordering this book I hoped to get a nice erotic story, no more no less (writing a good porn may not be socially acceptable but it is far from easy).

In my opinion (well, the other reviewers say just the same) you get so much more than this: the (gay) sex is hot, never boring, inventing, interesting and this is no small feat but you get a good, romantic, believable story too.

Not that this novel be entirely flawless: more than some typos and minor inconsistencies which could have been avoided, one could point out that all the minor characters are rather out of focus and not really well rounded, something which lessens the depth of an otherwise outstanding novel.

The plot is entirely believable: Tor and Jake are irresistibly drawn to each other and fall in love and before they can grow into it: as a consequence they have to face their emotional immaturity (and they are immature even if they are two gorgeous all-male hunks in their mid-thirties) and cope with their own's and the other one's ghosts all at once. The wonderful sex they share (I alternatively wanted them to be real to be able to spy on them like a real voyeur and to find such a love for myself) instead of helping them rather gets in the way, masking real problems and preventing them from communicate on a more rational level. The ups and downs of their relationship keep the reader constantly on edge and the (happy) end is achieved in a most convincing and satisfying way, with no good sugar plum fairy but a lot of honest, plain suffering and dialogue, a dialogue extremely well written and never boring.

Chris Owen held nothing back in this story of two headstrong cowboys! I think there was hot steamy sex on every page! It also had a good story and good character development. I thought some parts a bit over the top and contrived such as kissing scenes in front of the other cowboys who accepted them but kept telling them to take it to the bedroom. Also I didn't not really care for the cowboys playing with Lego! But it was another great read from Chris Owen.

A great read. This one will keep you reading late into the night to finish it. This book had me laughing, crying and biting my nails. The couple has their ups and downs like all couples, but in the end they have their happily ever after. If you like cowboys, and M/M you will love this story.

i waited for bareback to come out in paperback so i could sit back, relax, hold the book in my hand, and enjoy. well i did. it was more than i could have hoped for in a great read. the storyline was captivating. so much so i found it hard to put down. jake the foreman is my absolute favorite of all of the characters. he was bought to the ranch by a parole officer after he had been released from jail. the boss takes a liking to him and in time he comes to think of jake as a son. the boss' wife also thinks very highly of jake. the daughter would like to get real close to jake as you'll find out later in the story. and then there's tor who works on the ranch who at times gets on jake's nerves that is until he goes searching for him when he hasn't returned with the truck. it's raining, and jake's soaking wet and madder than a hornet especially after finding tor and he has the balls to ask jake where the f---- have you been? that started a fight which ended up with them making love. that was just the beginning of tip of the iceberg. they begin a love affair that gets hotter and hotter. but there's tor's rememberance of an old lover who died young. he can't seem to let go and gets in the leave me alone mood with jake. they have arguments which doesn't sit well with the other cowhands that have to live with them in the bunkhouse. you just have to adore elias. he's one of the ranch hands whose been around nearly as long as jake. every character from kip, bobby, to kirk play their parts well. hound has a small part but it hangs with you. his character is hard to forget. he's a young kid who signs up to work on the ranch but in time leaves. he lies to jake about why. he comes back for a visit with his lover only to discover tor had left. he and jake broke up after jake discovered tor having sex with another cowhand. hound climbs all over jake(which i still can't understand why), and after hearing hound out goes to tor and asks him to please come back with him. as i stated this is a very good love story with plenty of hot sex. i wish chris owen would come out with a sequel to let readers know exactly why hound left. did he leave because he fell in love with jake? is that why hound's lover barely speaks to jake and what happens with jake and tor? do they remain together for all time? these are all questions i'd like answered in a sequel. whatever, please don't miss out on this wonderful story. get prepared to spend sometime reading because as you'll discover it's one book that's hard to put down.

I am not much for cowboy romances and have to be one of the only people on the planet who did not enjoy "Brokeback Mountain" when it was originally published in the New Yorker Magazine, but when I read the glowing reviews for Bareback here I took a chance and ordered the book.

I have mixed reactions to the book. On the one hand, Chris Owens is a solid writer and the story flows fairly well. The characters are fully structured and feel real, not cardboard cut-out sterotypes as in some other m/m stories. However, as some other reviews stated there was too much sex. Yes, I cannot believe I said that. As a die-hard romance reader, I am complaining about sex? In the beginning of this novel I can understand wanting to establish an feeling of lust and then later as Tor and Jake's relationship progressed intimacy, but every chapter is stuffed with sex. In fact the foursome at the beginning of the book *totally* turned me off and almost had me toss the book out, but I keep reading hoping to get to more RELATIONSHIP issues, but that did not happen until much later in the novel. I wondered why that scene (the orgy) was even in the book, as usually these novels are geared towards a female readership and the majority of m/m readers (women) prefer just reading about the two main men.

(Spoiler - BTW, if you have problems with partner betrayal (main character cheating on his lover), then this is not the book for you. While I think the author handled it realistically, it was still a cliched way to drive a wedge between the two main characters and expose their relationship problems instead of creating something new and original.)

While there were some very strong aspects to this book - good, solid writing, likeable secondary characters, and a somewhat interesting plot, I was still left with a unsatisfied feeling after reading Bareback. While an interesting read, it is not a keeper, in my estimation.