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Carey PW
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Acing the Game Kindle Edition

by Carey PW (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.7 out of 5 stars 10 ratings

Is food really the way into a person’s heart?

Shep Lee thought he had it all. A successful restaurant, a loving husband who understood his asexuality, and most of all, the ability to be himself, a popular chef in the small town of Cloverleaf, Montana. That is, until his husband, Elmer Eshler, began pushing Shep more on sex.

Elmer doesn’t understand why he can’t turn his partner on—aren’t they perfect for each other? And Shep loves him, right? Shep, meanwhile, while confident with his body, is and forever will be sex indifferent. Why has Elmer suddenly changed his tune? But he doesn’t want to lose the man he loves so much. What can they do?

Shep convinces Elmer to try a polyamorous relationship. Elmer gets to have Shep and the sex life he’s always wanted. Shep gets a cooking buddy and a chance to experience a relationship and even try sex with a woman as his authentic gender. At first, Shep isn’t sure, but finds himself coming around—this feels safer than opening up the relationship. All three of them will be romantically involved, so that should ease any jealousy, right?

But when Willow Saint, a free-spirited, boisterous, and saucy young woman, comes into their lives, neither are prepared for the emotional and sexual rollercoaster that follows. Enthralled by Willow’s charm and kindness, Elmer and Shep struggle to understand what this means for their own bond. Can they become one happy family? Or will this ruin everything?

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  1. Print length
    279 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    February 18, 2023
  4. File size
    2.2 MB
  5. Page Flip
    Enabled
  6. Word Wise
    Enabled
  7. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BVQPBTFL
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Extasy Books Inc
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 18, 2023
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.2 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 279 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1487436797
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.7 out of 5 stars 10 ratings

About the author

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Carey PW

Carey PW

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Carey lives in Montana, and identifies as nonbinary, transmasculine (AFAB) and panromantic asexual. Due to the lack of resources in rural communities, Carey has discovered that writing about his lived experiences is a therapeutic outlet for him and hopes that his readers relate to his own personal struggles and triumphs shared through his characters’ narratives. He has also worked as a high school writing instructor and college writing instructor, earning a B.A. in English Literature, a M.Ed. in English Education, and Ph.D. in Social Foundations of Education all from the University of Georgia. In 2020, Carey earned his second M.Ed. in Counselor Education and works as a licensed clinical professional counselor, LCPC.

Readers can learn more about Carey from his blog, www.careypw.com. When he is not writing, Carey is busy training for marathons, parenting his six cats, sharing his culinary talents on social media, serving on the board for the nonprofit Center for Studies of the Person (CSP) and learning photography.

Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5 stars
10 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • The Polybrary
    3.0 out of 5 stars Love is complicated
    Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2023
    Acing the Game had me thoroughly invested in Shep and Elmer’s story and Shep in particular. He was just the best and sweetest cinnamon roll of cinnamon rolls and I wanted to hug him for basically the entire book. Shep is undoubtedly the best part of the story! I loved that he managed to be true to himself even while living in a small, backward kind of town that can’t wrap its head around queer people, let alone trans people. It starts off a bit slow as we go through Shep and Elmer’s back stories in some detail, from their finding of their identities, to their first romantic and sexual explorations as teenagers/young adults, through loss and finding new love. It really picks up after they’ve been together for awhile and Shep is running his restaurant – which, please, someone take me to this place, I NEED to try all these delicious meals. Eventually though, as often happens after relationships have been established for awhile, issues arise, insecurities crop up, and we try to deal with them in ways that may or may not be successful or healthy. Shep attempts to do this in dealing with his asexuality and Elmer’s desires for more sexual exploration, and…well. The results are a bit sticky.

    Overall the story has a very melancholy flavor and while I loved getting to see the journey of a trans person through finding themselves and finding love, I was disappointed in the ending between Shep, Elmer, and Willow. As a polyamorous person myself, I was so hopeful that it was going to be excellent representation for not only queer and trans people but polyamorous people too. Unfortunately that was not the case and I feel the treatment of polyamory was not well done. Sadly accurate, to the extent that people often dive into “trying out” polyamory without doing much research or introspection, but this was a trainwreck of an attempt at non-monogamy and not a good representation of it.
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  • S. O.
    5.0 out of 5 stars unique story
    Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2023
    This book wasn't at all what I was expecting, but I loved it. Rather than something fluffy/spicy, it's really more of a serious exploration of what being in a polyamorous relationship might be like both in a small town and if one of the partners is asexual. There were a lot of things that I really liked about this book. I loved how it recognizes that a person can be more than one thing--that every person's identity is unique to them--and that figuring yourself out is a unique experience. I especially love that the main characters are strongly into their second acts and that both (due to both geography and limited knowledge at the time) had had a previous lifetime where they weren't able to be their true selves but now later in adulthood they are embracing their identities. I think it's is a very important scenario to explore with Gen X characters and older, and I wish there were more books that covered it. The fact that this all plays out in a small town rural setting with highly visible community members makes me love it even more. Another thing that really spoke to me was how powerful a force personal insecurities can be. Even when there is a cognitive understanding that someone loves you, these self doubts can still absolutely wreck the entire relationship.

    I got this book because I had really enjoyed Grayality, and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.
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  • Felicia Renee
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting concept
    Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2023
    I just want to say how much I loved Tank, he was the best husband. I wanted an entire novel about him.

    Overall I did enjoy this, Shep and Elms story was lovely until it wasn't. I wasn't sure about Willow and even now im still not. It was nice to see an ace character and honestly for Shep alone it's worth the read.
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  • J. Faltys
    3.0 out of 5 stars Unique Characters In a Thought Provoking Open M/M Romance…..
    Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2023
    This is the second by Carey PW that I've experienced and I'm once again impressed by the depiction of diversity found within the pages. What starts out as a couple looking to change how they conduct their marriage eventually evolves into a journey of self-exploration. It's an uber-angsty journey though, one that frustrated me at times while also giving me a lot to think about when it comes to "definitions" and sexuality.

    Shep and Elmer are a compelling main couple, a far from perfect couple who feel their relationship is lacking and thus decide to bring in a third. That third is Willow, a likable woman with a background that I wish had been more fully fleshed-out. Her place in the trio added a lot of angst, a lot of frustration, and it took a lot of push/pull to make things work. Shep's a likable character, one who thought his marriage was good...until Elmer caught him off guard with wanting something new. I felt sorry for Shep in his desperation to make Elmer happy. I wish he'd communicated more but I was still rooting for him to make a more secure HEA for himself. Elmer was someone who angered me time and time again, often made things about him, but I still enjoyed the discussion he fostered in readers. Another character I enjoyed was Tank, a delicious husband and larger than life character who I wish had played a bigger role in the story.

    From start to finish this was a book that pushed buttons, one that was thought-provoking and had readers debating sexuality and self-esteem. Definitions are never easy and this book gives readers a lot to think about. While it's not a perfect read it's one that you won't forget anytime soon!
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  • Amanda Lynne
    3.0 out of 5 stars Decent story
    Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2023
    As an asexual person, I was excited to see a character mentioned in the description. I wish there would have been more character development, the dynamics of a relationship when sex isn't an important part of life for one or more partners. When both main characters connected with the 3rd of their group, I was expecting the asexual person to be different and for the story to delve into the different ways characters can connect rather than placing importance on sex like most other novels do already. Overall, the story line was interesting, I would have liked more back story rather than a listing of facts, maybe told in flashbacks thru the characters point of view? (This is specifically regarding the relationships the main characters had prior to finding each other.)
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