Product Description

Nothing to Lose by Mechele Armstrong.

Every weekend, former army man, Richard Rollins watches his new neighbors throw their decadent sex parties without feeling anything. All he does is watch, just as the neighbors do. The past has numbed his emotions, save one. Guilt. Until one night, Niki waves to him.

Niki and Bryan are intrigued by the man, who watches them, more than the people screwing in front of them. Their parties have become boring. So, they decide to find out just who this man is. Their way. With vibrators and remotes and lube. And each step takes them closer to knowing Richard and wanting to know more.

Suddenly under the aroused attention of his neighbors, Rich thinks it's a game, but plays along. Putting the control of their sexual exploits in his hand tempts Rich more than anything else has in a long time.

But when self-reproach seeps back into Rich about his past from when he served in Afghanistan and Iraq, Niki and Bryan will have convince him he has nothing to lose and everything to gain by falling in love.


For the Love of the Corps by Bobby Michaels

Mike learned a lot from the Corps, not least of all that he was gay. He fell in love with his boot camp best buddy Scott, and Scott loved him right back. But then Scott went and got himself killed in Afghanistan, and Mike wanted to die along with him.

Instead, he got wounded and had to drag his ass back to his unit so he could try again.

Then he made platoon sergeant and had his hands full keeping his unit together. It was enough, something to do, and then he met platoon lieutenant Paul and fell in love again. And this time they got out.

But with the war on in Iraq, it's an open question how long they stay that way.

Publisher's Note: The stories in this book contain explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Male/male sexual situations, m/f/m ménage.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #305442 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 296 pages

Customer Reviews

For the Love of the Corps (Veterans) by Bobby Michaels
As usually I have finished in a session the latest book by Bobby Michaels. How he manages to write about hot and dirty sex and still gives a feeling of romanticism in the story I don't know. But when I closed a book by him I'm satisfied like I was when I was reading my first romance and when the sex was still a discovery (more than twenty years ago... I'm OLD).

Mike is a only son of a single mother. He has never had the chance to have a real sense of brotherhood during school and when he enters the Corps he bakes in the feel to have finally a "family". He loves the Corps and loves to be a Marine, but he has to admit that he even loves Scott, his boot camp buddy. Mike is a big man, very selfconsciousness of his strenght and proud of it, instead Scott is shorter and leaner. When they confess their reciprocate feelings, is easy for Mike to take the upper hand in the relationship. It's not a thing about being bottom or top (even if Mike could frankly admit he prefers to top) it's more a thing of how they rely one to the other. Even if Scott is more experienced and in the beginnins he is who teaches to Mike the joy of gay sex, it's Mike who is the engine of the relationship.

They spend five years in the Corps and they are happy, stolen moments during their assignments to be together. But then Scott is killed in mission, and Mike is wounded. His big body manages to recover, but his souls is teared apart: he only wants to die and be forever with his lover. But duty calls, and he finds himself again in the Corps: good, he thinks, a way to go again in mission and kill himself without no one suspect.

His new officer, thought, has other ideas: Paul is a outed gay (not in the Corps, obviously, but with his family and friends) and the first day he meets Mike, he decides he will have this man. Paul is on the opposite of Scott, bigger, bigger then Mike, and with a leader attitudine given him by his well-born and wealthy family. He is not accustomed to being refused and Mike finds himself swept away by this man. For Paul is so different from Scott, Mike can love again: the new relationship he has with Paul is completely different from before, he knows he can let the hand to another person.

As always my problem (but it's not a "bad" problem which prevents me from reagind the book, instead I eagerly bought it and read it as soon as possibile) with Bobby Michaels' novel is to "really" believe in the sex scenes: they are extreme, exagerate and very, very explicit. Graphic and physical. But maybe the "problem" is that I'm a woman and I think with a "woman" head.

The book deals with a lot of issue: gay Marine, the war first in Afghanistan then in Iraq, the disagree among the officers for some political decisions taken by Washington, gay marriage, even a little hint to the gay adoptation... And overall you feel the love that Babby Michaels has for the Marine (a "pure" love, don't think bad... well, maybe not so pure...). The book is for entertainment, and it reaches its scope, but I can hardly definy it a "light" entertainment.

Not flawless, but I enjoyed both stories
Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

"Nothing to Lose" by Mechele Armstrong - 7/10

PROS:
- Some very hot sex if you're into m/f/m.
- One GREAT scene involving a cat and mouse game with remote-controlled vibrators.
- All three partners are giving and selfless with the others, not just in bed, but emotionally as well.

CONS:
- Didn't believe at the end that the three characters were "forever" together. I don't read a lot of ménage fiction, and the reason is that I want each person in a relationship to be as into his partner(s) as the other(s) are into him. The one ménage book I've read that I really enjoyed was 911 by Chris Owen because I felt that each of the three characters loved the other two equally; I didn't feel (although some other readers of that book did) that any one of the guys was left out. In Nothing to Lose, however, I felt that two of the characters just sort of allowed the other into their lives but that they were devoted to each other first and foremost.
- Slightly forced internal conflict in one of the characters. When the reason for his emotional standoffishness is revealed, I didn't think, "Oh, NOW I get it." Granted, I've never experienced what has him all tied in knots, so I'm probably being a bit harsh here.
- There's an intense, passionate sex scene about three-quarters of the way through the book that is HOT and HEAVY, but then the sex scene after it falls flat.


"For the Love of the Corps" by Bobby Michaels - 6/10

PROS:
- I love reading about masculine military guys falling for each other, especially since the American "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy makes it necessary for them to hide their feelings until their desire just can't be contained and comes bursting out.
- Lots of sex scenes that are loving, graphic, and...strangely, educational. I actually learned something I didn't know about uncircumcised bodies, which I'm completely unfamiliar with. And I had to look one thing up on Urban Dictionary.
- Good depiction of one man's fortune in having two different relationships (not simultaneously) with unique men, each of which is as loving as the other, but in different ways.

CONS:
- Little puzzled/disappointed by the amount of time spent on each phase of the narrator's story. Having read the synopsis, I thought the majority of the book would cover the relationship with Paul, who helps Mike to get over the death of his first love and move on with his life. But almost the first half of the novella covers his relationship with Scott--from their meeting through five years together. This isn't a problem in itself, but Michaels spends so much time developing the relationship between Scott and Mike that the emotional aftermath of Scott's death should be examined in detail, and it's not. It's brushed over in a couple of chapters, and then Paul is on the scene and things pick up with him.
- Quite a bit of telling as opposed to showing. Example: "The desert we had trained in was in the States and was nothing like the desert in Egypt." This is interesting to me; I've seen deserts in the States, but I've never been to Egypt. HOW are they different? The landscape? The culture? The weather? There are also some instances in which the text is needlessly repetitive: "I knew what I needed to do was to go home and see my mom, but I didn't want to do anything without Scott. 'I need to go home and see my mother. I know she wants me to come home, but I don't want to go anywhere without you.'" These sentences occur back to back. Very similar to John Simpson's writing style (same author, perhaps?).
- Unrealistic timeline with one of the relationships. I understand that some couples fall in love before ever touching each other, and I find that very romantic, especially since the resulting love scenes are tender and giving and passionate (another huge PRO here). All the great stuff sex scenes should have, in my opinion. But these two guys take a BIG step VERY soon after having admitted to each other their feelings and having had sex for the first time.

Overall comments: I've read other books that had better writing than these two novellas. But I really enjoyed the stories themselves. I liked all of the characters, and I never could get them out of my head while I was in the middle of reading their stories. I think overall this is a good read.

5 blue ribbons from Romance Junkies
FOR LOVE OF THE CORPS by Bobby Michaels
Being gay could result in Mike and Scott being ousted from the military and they take great pride in their occupation. Their loving relationship comes to an abrupt and violent end in the mountains of Afghanistan when their platoon is attacked. Mike is seriously injured and learns later when he wakes from a coma that Scott is dead. The loss is devastating but it isn't something he can share openly.

Living without Scott is extremely difficult and Mike alternates between rage and despair. He finally decides that the best way to kill himself would be to return to combat. The Marine Corps has other ideas and he's shipped back to the U.S. While he is still assigned to the Third Battalion of the Sixth Regiment he's been reassigned to the Alpha Company as a platoon sergeant.

His new position puts Mike in command of about forty men and under the direct command of First Lieutenant Paul Richards. From the first meeting, Paul's voice alone is able to calm Mike. It's the first time since Mike's release from the hospital that he feels any interest in another man. Guilt, fear, and confusion besiege him until Paul confronts him about his behavior and forces him to realize that it's okay to live and love again.

Bobby Michaels tells an emotionally appealing story with his contribution to the VETERANS series. FOR THE LOVE OF THE CORPS brings to light not only the effects of the military's `don't ask, don't tell' policy but also the closeness that recruits feel for each other - gay or otherwise. I loved the relationship between Mike and Scott. They were such a loving couple that it was heartbreaking when Scott died. Paul's entry into Mike's life couldn't have been more perfect. Paul accepts that Scott will always have a place in Mike's heart and that really endears him to me. There's something so pure about Mike and Paul's relationship that I just adored them and their families are simply wonderful.


NOTHING TO LOSE by Mechele Armstrong
The only pleasure Niki and Bryan are finding these days in their weekly sex parties is their sexy introverted neighbor Richard. The simple fact that he silently watches the goings on at their house on the weekends intrigues them. Richard is just as curious about them simply because while they are the ones throwing the sex parties, they never participate - they simply oversee them. On one such occasion, Niki beckons him to join them, but Richard stalks back into his own house rather than acknowledging the invitation.

Convincing Richard that they're genuinely interested in him is going to present a bit of a challenge. Niki and Bryan aren't above becoming a little inventive in the seduction department. The following Saturday evening Niki and Bryan put on a private display for Richard in their backyard and for once Richard doesn't remain detached. In fact, he's turned on by both of them but doesn't feel he deserves happiness. It'll be up to Niki and Bryan to show him that he not only deserves to be happy but the guilt he feels about the war is completely misplaced.

Mechele Armstrong finals out the VETERANS series with her contribution - NOTHING TO LOSE. Richard is a strong man who is living with some heavy guilt over events that happened during the time he served in the military. Niki and Bryan can understand his guilt but they're also able to help Richard view the events more realistically. This storyline has a lot of emotional appeal and of course contains plenty of hot sweaty sex that is sure to satisfy readers on every level.

Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)