Hi guys, we have Jay Northcote popping in today with the tour for his new re-release Nothing Ventured, we have a short excerpt and Leigh’s review so check out the post and enjoy! ❤ ~Pixie~
Nothing Ventured
Jay Northcote
Mud, sweat, and reluctant romance. Can Aiden and Matt sort out their feelings before race day?
When Aiden agrees to run the Mad Mucker—a twelve-mile muddy slog over an obstacle course—he’s expecting it to be a bit of a laugh. The training will be tough, but Aiden could use the motivation to regain some fitness.
Matt is the sexy cousin of one of Aiden’s coworkers and a last-minute addition to the team. When he agrees to train with Aiden, Aiden suddenly finds the prospect of regular workouts a lot more appealing.
Soon attraction flares, and they embark on an intense physical relationship. Matt doesn’t want to fall in love with a man, and Aiden doesn’t want to fall in love at all, but despite their insistence on no strings, they grow closer. As the day of the race approaches, time is running out for them to work out how they feel about each other.
As Sol tries to get closer, Noah tries to protect his heart by pulling away. If their relationship is going to survive, Noah needs to accept that Sol sees him very differently to how Noah sees himself. Because to Sol, Noah is something very special indeed.
Excerpt!
They moved on to discuss training more specifically. Liv, of course, had already planned out her schedule and suggested the rest of them do the same.
“It helps me focus if I make a plan and stick to it,” she was saying. “I’ll be running four days a week and going to the gym for weight training twice. That gives me one day of complete rest a week.”
“One whole day!” Aiden shook his head as he picked up his now nearly empty pint. “Careful, your muscles might atrophy or something.”
He drained the last dregs and wiped the foam from his lip with the back of his hand. He caught Matt watching him as he did it, and he licked his lips deliberately. He couldn’t resist flirting with the man even though his interest was completely unreciprocated. The bloke looked as though he had a stick up his arse, and Aiden couldn’t imagine he’d like anything more interesting up there. Shame. Aiden wouldn’t have minded trying.
Liv’s voice snapped him out of daydreams about Matt’s arse and back to the here and now. “So how many times a week will you be aiming to run, Aiden?”
“Oh… um, yeah. Three or four, I guess,” he said vaguely. “That sounds about right. And I’ve got some weights at home, so I can use those if I don’t make it to the gym.” They were at the back of a cupboard, gathering dust.
“Matt lives near you. Maybe you could train together?” Liv had a wicked glint in her eye. “It’s always motivating training with someone else. It’s so easy to wimp out on a rainy day if you’re not answering to anyone, isn’t it?”
“I suppose,” Aiden replied warily. “But I don’t think it’s necessary. I wouldn’t want to slow Matt down.”
He expected Matt to agree. Why the hell would Matt want to train with him? Aiden hadn’t exactly made a great first impression. There was no way he’d want Aiden tagging along behind him and cramping his style.
But surprisingly, Matt grinned at him. The evil, slightly too knowing look in his eye was familiar, and for the first time Aiden could see the family resemblance between him and Liv. “I think that’s a great idea.”
Aiden opened his mouth, but for once he was at a loss for words. He closed it again and swallowed.
“Brilliant,” said Liv. “Make sure you swap numbers, then, so you can arrange something.”
Matt got out his phone. “We can start tomorrow after work. What’s your number?”
Aiden knew when he was beaten. It seemed he’d acquired a training partner. An annoying, bossy, sexy but tragically straight training partner. But at least the view of Matt’s arse would be nice while Aiden was trying to keep up with him.
About Jay!
Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England. He comes from a family of writers, but always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed him by. He spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content.
One day, Jay decided to try and write a short story—just to see if he could—and found it rather addictive. He hasn’t stopped writing since.
Jay writes contemporary romance about men who fall in love with other men. He has five books published by Dreamspinner Press, and also self-publishes under the imprint Jaybird Press. Many of his books are now available as audiobooks.
Website | Twitter | Facebook profile | Facebook Author Page | Facebook Author Group | Newsletter | Jay’s books
Review!
Title: Nothing Ventured
Author: Jay Northcote
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novella (173 pages)
Publisher: JayBird Press (23rd July 2019)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖 4 Hearts
Blurb: Mud, sweat, and reluctant romance. Can Aiden and Matt sort out their feelings before race day?
When Aiden agrees to run the Mad Mucker—a twelve-mile muddy slog over an obstacle course—he’s expecting it to be a bit of a laugh. The training will be tough, but Aiden could use the motivation to regain some fitness.
Matt is the sexy cousin of one of Aiden’s coworkers and a last-minute addition to the team. When he agrees to train with Aiden, Aiden suddenly finds the prospect of regular workouts a lot more appealing.
Soon attraction flares, and they embark on an intense physical relationship. Matt doesn’t want to fall in love with a man, and Aiden doesn’t want to fall in love at all, but despite their insistence on no strings, they grow closer. As the day of the race approaches, time is running out for them to work out how they feel about each other.
As Sol tries to get closer, Noah tries to protect his heart by pulling away. If their relationship is going to survive, Noah needs to accept that Sol sees him very differently to how Noah sees himself. Because to Sol, Noah is something very special indeed.
ISBN: B07VPKZP55
Purchase Link: Amazon US | Amazon UK
Reviewer: Leigh
Review: Aiden is tricked into taking part of a race by his friend Liv, via the use of Tequila. One of the team members happens to be Liv’s Cousin Matt who has recently returned to the UK. Matt agrees to help Aiden train for the race.
From the get go Aiden is attracted to the buff Matt. But since Mat was engaged to a woman prior, Aiden has labeled him as straight. As the weeks pass and the truth is revealed. Matt is bisexual but hides his male loving side firmly in the closet. Matt’s father was a homophobe and even dead, his beliefs were still affecting Matt.
The two of them start a friends with bennies relationship. No strings attached is what they agree too, since Aiden has given up on relationships and Matt doesn’t want to fall in love with a man. So between Aiden with his relationship phobia and Matt with his internal homophobia the two had some things to overcome. Their no strings attached idea does not go as planned for either of them. As they continue to train and have sex both have to face the facts and finally come to terms and own up to their feelings for the other.
So minor angst caused some issues for the two MCs, but otherwise this was a very HOT story. The sex scenes are frequent and very descriptive. Since many of their sexy times happens after they have been working out it just makes it hotter. I did think the issues worked out a little too easy, but that is just my opinion.
This was definitely a light, sexy, and enjoyable read.
