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| Phoenix Rising | 
 enlarge | Author: Kimberly Gardner
Publisher: MLR Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.99
Buy New: $13.24
You Save: $1.75 (12%)
New (14) Used (7) from $10.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 141980
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 280
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 1934531170
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781934531174
ASIN: 1934531170
Publication Date: July 27, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new Book, ALL days Low Price !
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Product Description
Two dozen roses, one dozen balloons and a night with a sexy, young stripper. What a thirty-sixth birthday for Jimmy Trent. But the ultimate gift is yet to come as he finds himself falling in love with the beautiful dancer. Adam Hyland's life is in the dumps. Living in his car and stripping for his supper, he doesn't expect much when the birthday-boy invites him to stay for cake and champagne. Yet seeing the look in Jimmy's eyes, Adam dares to hope for more. Will their differences tear them apart? Or can their love take flight like a Phoenix Rising from the ashes?
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| Customer Reviews:
 Captivating story of love and life. November 2, 2008
Jimmy Trent was anticipating a rather quiet and depressing 36th birthday alone, until his co-worker Rene's present arrived: a "stripper gram" delivered by a 22 year old hottie named Adam Hyland. There was an instant chemistry between the two, but getting the relationship going would be quite a task, between Jimmy's shyness and being in the closet, as well as Adam's reluctance after his last relationship ended badly, plus his refusal to be anyone's "secret" boyfriend. Complicating the situation is the fact that Jimmy is part owner of a bar with women strippers (where Adam works, but where he also strips at their weekly "Ladies Night"), co-owned by his brother Laton, who doesn't know Jimmy is gay. As Jimmy and Adam try to be a bit more "out" in public, Jimmy's business becomes the target of homophobia, and it drives a wedge between him and his brother. Jimmy is also jealous of Adam's ex, who keeps contacting him, as well as a famous photographer who has made no secret of being infatuated with the young man. Adam and Jimmy love each other, but are wondering if their relationship is simply facing too many obstacles to succeed.
Ms. Gardner is a talented writer, who manages to create a simple but captivating story with realistic characters that drive the plot, even though the book is a bit on the long side. It is an erotic novel, but that content doesn't overwhelm the story, as it does in so many others. My one critique is one gratuitous "barebacking" scene toward the end of the book, which I consider irresponsible when dealing with non-monogamous characters, and having them say "I tested negative" doesn't excuse that. Otherwise, much recommended, 4 stars out of 5.
 RISING FROM THE ASHES October 4, 2008
Phoenix Rising is very interesting from many perspectives, and perspective is what we get in spades. When Adam Hyland meets James T. Trent IV the differences in their lifestyles could not be more apparent. Jimmy is a successful 36 year old entrepreneur who has everything except a life. He has no love interest and lives deep in the closet because he's afraid of the negative impact on his family and business if his sexual orientation were to become public knowledge. Adam, on the other hand, at 22 years old knows what he wants and where he's going. His life would be great if only he can find a decent job that pays good money and his bad knee doesn't give out at the worst possible moments! Their first night together was a dream come true for both of them, but with the bright morning light reality raises its ugly head and Adam leaves for yet another job interview and Jimmy is left with a bad taste in his mouth.
The story is told from alternating points of view and I didn't find that at all confusing or distracting because it revealed the protags' thoughts and desires and moved the story along at a brisk pace. Adam was the more interesting personality in my opinion because of his vulnerability and the distance he had traveled in his very short life. He was warm and genuine but for such a young man he was quite jaded and you get more than just a glimpse of this very complex and likeable character that I wanted to cheer for as he encounters and overcomes the bumps on the road in his life. Jimmy and Adam badly want to have a meaningful relationship but they find out that with the love comes heartache and loss.
This book was quite long at 280 pages, but I read it in one sitting because I could not put it down, which for me doesn't happen often. The story was engrossing and many of the secondary characters particularly Jimmy's manipulative brother Laton and Adam's good friend Jason, were well developed and added a great deal of depth to the plot. But the main focus of the story did not shift from Jimmy and Adam who continue to deal with everything that life threw at them, from feelings of betrayal to separations, without ever getting maudlin.
The sex scenes in the book were some of the hottest and most sensuous that I have read in quite some time and Kimberly Gardner does what a lot of writers can't seem to be able to do - she does not let the sex overpower the story and knows instinctively that the story and the characters are what make a book stand out in this overcrowded genre. Not only can she write a great sex scene but she can write a terrific book!
Phoenix Rising is an impressive read and I urge you to buy this book.
Dancing out of the closet September 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I greatly enjoyed this book, which I own as an ebook, but one aspect of the plot leads me to rate it at four stars instead of five. The erotica is wonderful, well worth high marks. The two main characters are credible and I liked them both. The important secondary characters, especially Adam's friend Jason and his photographer employer as well as Jimmy's stupid brother, were well drawn and played their parts well. The plot had plenty of conflict, including critical conflict between Adam and Jimmy. Frankly, as hot-tempered as Adam was and as "alpha" and almost controlling as Jimmy could be, conflict between them was inevitable. However, I felt that the way the author created the excuse for Adam to leave Jimmy was a bit artificial. It really wasn't enough reason to justify what Adam did, and I wondered why Jimmy didn't see through it and figure out what was going on and take appropriate action. Still, I loved the two guys and was satisfied with the final scenes and their results. Some good sex, some good romance, two lovable characters, worth the time and effort to read it. Flaws are minor and can be overlooked. Enjoy.
Phoenix Rising by Kimberly Gardner August 14, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Young friendly gay guy, talented but poor, meets older closeted gay man, wealthy and gentle. Is another Cinderfella's story? Not quite, since our two heroes will not leave happily ever after when the clock strikes the midnight, they need to suffer a bit before.
Adam is a classical dancer that at 22 years old, after a knee injury, had to give up his dreams and lives "between" homes in his car. He sometime works as stripper and one night he is engaged for a birthday party. But when he arrives at the home of the birthday guy (a mansion truth be told), he finds out that the party is a very small one, just him and the other guy. Jimmy is a 35 years old business man, with a good work and a beautiful house, but with a lonely life. And Adam is like a dream comes true. Not that Jimmy is an ugly guy, he is quite handsome, but till now he has had a very discreet life, and only when his desires became unbearable, he walked on the dark side, but always with one night stands and no string attached encounters.
The easy part of the story is for Adam and Jimmy to become lovers, the hard part is to remain lovers. Adam is a very independent man, and even if he has the body and the behavior of a twink, he doesn't like to be a kept man and stubbornly refuses every attempt of Jimmy to help him; plus he wants for Jimmy to come out but not for him, but when and if the man feels to do that... here is maybe where Adam is mistaking: usually a man needs a very good incentive to drastically change his life.
Actually Jimmy is not so much "in the closet"; it seems that everyone around him knows that he is gay, but they play to bury the head in the sand. More than in the closet, I really think that Jimmy is a man with a problem in showing his emotions; the man is eager to please Adam, and he is always ready to admit his faults, but still he makes them. Probably Jimmy is ready for a change in his life, but he needs for a strong hand to lead him, and maybe Adam is not strong enough. Adam is young, and with issues by his own, and this could drift apart them apart if they are not willing to make some compromises.
The story is pretty long, almost 300 pages, but it flows easy and smooth. Luckily the world where both Adam and Jimmy live, is a sheltered ones, even when Adam lives in a car, he is not alone, he has friends who care for him and a place to go if he wants. So the story is not too much angst, and all in all the problems are not so insuperable.
The first long novel by Kimberly Gardner is a light comedy of good feelings, like "In & Out" or similar.
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