P.D. Singer (–2020)

Eight Seconds on the Mountain by PD Singer opens at a rodeo in Jake’s viewpoint as he reluctantly follows his boyfriend Kurt into the restricted area where the broncos are stabled. Kurt wants to look at the horses. Jake keeps his attention on the increasingly hostile cowboys who surround them, and he knows that he and Kurt look out of place dressed in their Forest Service uniforms. He dreads what would happen if these men guess that he and Kurt are lovers.

Meanwhile, the cowboys are show more competing one by one in their event, which Kurt explains to Jake (and the reader) in a subtle, understated way. Each cowboy is trying to stay on the back of a bucking bronco for eight seconds while having his riding technique scrutinized from all sides by judges. To Jake’s horror, Kurt impulsively makes a bet with an obnoxious cowboy that he can ride one of the broncos for eight seconds. As the cowboys all throw down their money to bet against Kurt, Jake wonders how he and Kurt will get out of this disastrous situation.

Eight Seconds on the Mountain is a stunning short story, and I say this as a reviewer who doesn’t usually find enough plot in most short stories to satisfy me. Though it is book 4 in the author’s popular Mountain series, it can be read as a stand-alone story as well as a good introduction to the series. The story does a great job with two essential features. First, it restricts itself to the one perspective that will maximize suspense, the first-person viewpoint of Kurt’s exasperated boyfriend Jake, who has an incomplete context in which to view their situation.

Second, the sex scene is very hot and filled with moments that reveal much about the characters. Usually when a sex scene happens towards the end of the story, I think of it as the unnecessary “celebratory sex scene” that authors sometimes give the readers even though we have already learned everything about the characters. The best sex scenes contain a deeper level of meaning that reveals the lovers’ personalities and how they feel about each other, and this particular sex scene in Eight Seconds on the Mountain does this even while bringing the story to a close. Very impressive!

Val for AReCafe show less

Whoa! Fluffy romance, this is not. What I got instead was an adventure, suspense, and a gripping love story that had both men struggling with who they were as individuals and how they might (or might not!) fit together as lovers. It’s not the first time they try this either, they’ve been there, done that, and split up before. Yet there is an undeniable attraction between them, a need to be together, and an ability to work as a team that would have them at the top of their profession show more –diving for treasure – if they could only manage not to destroy each other in the process. As a result, ‘Diving Deep’ is a journey filled with emotional distress, dangerous escapades above and below the water, and a thrilling race for success and fame that had me turning the pages as fast as possible.

Lee is a dive-boat captain and survives on a combination of commercial runs and private charters. The need for repair money drives him to take on a few risky clients here and there, and his need to forget his lover’s daredevil antics while on dives makes him drink way more alcohol than is responsible when a clear head is required the next day. Then his lover walks away after one too many risks and drunken escapade, and Lee dives into the bottle even more deeply than before.

Bobby is an excellent wreck diver, but he, too, is an adrenaline junkie. He gets his kicks underwater and tempts fate on a regular basis, but the one thing he can’t stand is watching Lee drink his life away. So he leaves. Not that it helps – he can’t forget Lee, he can’t stop loving him, and when he calls with an offer to participate in discovering one of the most amazing finds ever, Bobby can’t resist. Especially since Lee promises him he is dry and will not touch a drop of alcohol while they work together to discover a missing ship at the bottom of the Atlantic.

The chemistry between Lee and Bobby is off the charts. And that is without any physical shenanigans. Just watching them work together, get reacquainted, and chase a historical legend was breathtaking. The longer they are together the more the old attraction begins to sizzle, but Bobby is not ready to give in and trust again – not after everything they have already been through. As the hunt for treasure gets increasingly exciting, their personal conflict comes to a head, and the sparks fly in every direction. What a ride and what a hard-earned happy ending!

If you like thrilling, suspenseful adventure stories, if you enjoy watching two men come together – or try to - who have the potential to either love wholly or utterly destroy each other, and if you’re looking for an exciting read that has the potential to mesmerize you, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. It left me spellbound and holding my breath more than once.


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. show less

This book was such a great pleasure to read! Set in 1911-1912 Belfast, it recounts the lives of Donal Gallagher and Jimmy Healy both of whom work for Harlan and Wolff, world renowned ship builder.

The writing is superb, often allowing me to "hear" the lilting Irish dialect. The historical details brings the time to life without overburdening the reader with dry, boring facts; everything is woven smoothly into the story's narrative.

Best of all, I enjoyed the sweetly innocent explorations of show more love between the MCs, watching their relationship grow from strangers to lovers.

A must read! Don't let the historical scare you away! show less

When I first met dive boat captain Lee and deep sea diver Bobby in ‘Diving Deep’, their story pulled me in from page one. I got an adventure, suspense, and a gripping love story in one and both men struggled with who they were as individuals and how they might (or might not!) fit together as lovers. At the end they had worked most of it out, but with a relationship as volatile as theirs had been before their hard-earned happy ending, I was curious to see how they’d face and deal with show more other challenges such as – Christmas!

The dive boat Bottom Hunter has become home to Lee and Bobby, and Lee is determined to give Bobby the best Christmas ever. A Christmas tree, mulled cider, and a toast to Lee’s first Christmas as a sober man are part of his plans. All of this on a boat in a storm and as far as I could see, more adventure was pretty much guaranteed – even though it is docked. Then it becomes obvious Bobby has some plans of his own and they made me smile.

If you want to know how Lee and Bobby are doing, if Christmas on a dive boat sounds like an interesting proposition, and if you’re looking for a quick, fun, and very entertaining read, then you will probably like this free short story. show less