A collection of stories all about coming out—whether that be a man discovering that he loves other men, or a man who knows he loves men finding first love. Most of the stories feature young men in their teens and twenties. In The Viking, a geeky gay college student ends up in bed with a studly frat boy and can’t believe his luck. In Larry and His Father, an awkward high school student comes into himself, finds first love, and develops the confidence to come out to his father when he starts taking judo lessons. In War and Peace, a young college student is angry at first when he finds out his roommate is gay, but then discovers something new about himself along with the pleasures of having sex with another man.

Overall, these stories are well-written, with well-developed characters and interesting plots full of the longing, excitement, and apprehension of coming out. There’s a good balance of romance and eroticism in each story. The sex scenes vary from sweet and loving to intensely erotic (or both), with a lot of erotic touching and kissing, fellatio, hand jobs, anal play, and anal penetration. One story features a dom/sub dynamic, but other than that, the stories are BDSM free.

The only complaint one reviewer had was that there are no stories featuring older men coming out. Note that one story (Coming of Age) does feature a realistic, non-consensual rape scene which the two victims recover from through loving sex; if that bothers you, you may want to skip that one (but the rest of the story is very good, and has a happy ending).

A good choice when you want a variety of well-written, sexy stories all about men coming out and trying things for the first time.

Editor: Richard Labonte
Length: 235 pages
Published in: 2009