One Good Hand by Rowan McBride is a homoerotic fantasy story.

Ace is a high stakes gambler and he finds himself in the most unusual situation. The other gambler, Dallas, putts a man up as a stake instead of money and he is the most beautiful man that Ace has ever seen. Ace is angry the way that Dallas treats this man and in the end he wins all the spoils of the game. Ace doesn’t know what to do when the man says he belongs to him and will be whatever Ace wants, to the point of naming him. Ace doesn’t understand how other people came to own him and when the man refuses to take some money from Ace he ends up bringing him home and names him Spade. Things become even more surreal when Spade seems to know things about Ace that no one else does and he tells Ace that he will protect him. Ace becomes very enamored with Spade. As Ace falls deeper into his feelings, Spade seems to be changing more and more, physically, into the man that is everything that Ace could ever want. Who is this mysterious man and will Ace have a chance to truly be with his perfect mate or will the game get is the way of his happiness?

Mr. McBride has built a story around a game of chance and added twist of fantasy to enhance the plot line. I loved how Ace who at first appeared to be a hard bitten gambler, but underneath he has many frailties and needs that make him very loveable. Spade has many secrets that surprise and almost overwhelm Ace when he learns about them. I found the changes in Spade as interesting as how Ace saw and reacted to them. Together Ace and Spade created a love that seemed could overcome the odds that were as stacked against them as much as the games of chance that Ace loves so well. Thanks go to Mr. McBride for an interesting read.

Reviewed by: Teresa