2.75 Stars My first impression of this story was one of déjà vu and I kept wondering didn’t I read this already. It turnsReviewed on Hearts on Fire
2.75 Stars My first impression of this story was one of déjà vu and I kept wondering didn’t I read this already. It turns out I was getting it mixed up with “Chase the Storm” which had almost the identical premise. They both feature a cowboy broken hearted over the loss of a long term partner. They also both have a young city boy seeking to find themselves who ends up working on the ranch. They both even have the same type of older fatherly ranch foreman who provides all the gossip about why the cowboy is so sad. I do think reading similar stories back to back probably colored my view of this story
In this case the young man JT had already completed school but decided that he didn’t really want to go into the psychology field. The problem for him was he couldn’t think of an alternative career so was wandering the country trying to find himself. When he runs into a woman and her handsome cowboy son Brett, he gladly accepts the job to work on his ranch. It doesn’t hurt that he finds Brett quite attractive.
Both Brett’s mom and his foreman friend Ray, have decided that Brett has been grieving for his lost lover a little too long and manipulate Brett & JT to come together. This seemed unnecessary and something they both could have accomplished on their own. After all Brett is 41 which is a little too old to be needing your mother’s help in getting dates. Brett’s mother’s romantic history also left a lot to be desired so I couldn’t figure out why she was the romance expert. I also found it odd that they ignored real problems like Brett’s frequent binge drinking in favor of focusing on his love life.
The first part of the book was too passive. Brett & JT spend more time talking to other people than to each other. JT learns important information about Brett’s past more from gossiping with Ray & by other means involving some privacy invasion than he does from talking to Brett. It just felt like a whole lot of telling. I also had a sense in this story of waiting for something to happen, but the little action we do get near the end was taken care of quickly. In between all that is quite a few sex scenes although this is another of those books that have the irritating idea that only anal counts as real sex.
I find most M/M romance books a little too short but in this case I think this story would have worked better as a novella. I don’t think there was enough going on to justify the length. There were moments that I liked but there were times I felt the story drag and because of that it took me quite a while to finish. Brett & JT are sweet and their gentle romance was appealing but their characterizations don’t really go much beyond the country boy, city boy cliché.
A LHNB Story It's a very short but quite nice little story about a ranch hand, Jake, who's been given half of a ranch (by the former owner) that he A LHNB Story It's a very short but quite nice little story about a ranch hand, Jake, who's been given half of a ranch (by the former owner) that he has to share with the owner's son Daniel. Even though Daniel resents him, Jake secretly longs for one thing, a chance to dance with Daniel at least one time. Opportunity arises in the aftermath of a Twister. Other than one WTF moment (Jake is filled with lust for Daniel even while a tornado is right above their heads) this was a cute cowboy story. ...more
I’d read this author’s other book about bull riding called Bullheaded and found that an interesting look at a sport I was Reviewed on Hearts on Fire
I’d read this author’s other book about bull riding called Bullheaded and found that an interesting look at a sport I was clueless about so I was curious to read another story in this universe. This one takes a more light hearted approach.
Martin, or as he’s called Marti, is a flaming in your face kind of guy and his friends are less blatant versions of him. They decide to attend a rodeo to check out the bull rider’s hot assets and get an eyeful. They also get a little lesson on the sport from a female fan. She lets Marti know about the bar that the cowboys hang out in after the rodeo and Marti decides to check it out. It’s there he meets Jesse, one of the rodeo stars.
It took me a while to warm up to Marti. He seemed to go out of his way to court trouble whether it’s loudly discussing certain male attributes at the rodeo or going into a cowboy bar wearing mascara & swarovski rhinestones. I was somewhere between thinking he was brave to just foolhardy. But as we learn more about him he becomes less of a caricature.
Marti doesn’t get into too much trouble either, as there always seems to be someone who is amused or charmed by him. And when things hit the fan at that cowboy bar, he’s rescued by two hunky gay men. He’s one lucky guy as one of them happens to be the bull rider Jesse that he had found attractive earlier..
Marti and Jesse have an instant attraction but Marti is scared when he starts having real feelings for him. He’s worried that they don’t have much in common as he’s a city boy and Jesse is a country boy. And I have to agree as I have my doubts either one of them would really give up their current lifestyles. But I’m willing to be convinced if the writer wants to do a follow up as this ends in an appropriate HFN. This is a light romp and a sweet cowboy romance with some funny one liners. This is for those who enjoy opposite attract stories, cowboy tales or love flamboyant characters.
The title is so appropriate as these are some stubborn men. Cody's mom especially must have the patience of a saint as she cAnywhere from 3 to 5 stars
The title is so appropriate as these are some stubborn men. Cody's mom especially must have the patience of a saint as she constantly resists the urge to knock some sense into him.
The blurb mentions that Cody is an aging bull rider which he is at... 32. Read this book and you'll swear he's 102 as he's essentially browbeaten about retirement throughout. I personally think a man or woman should make their own decision about when they're ready to quit the game but whatever. Cody at the point of the story is on the top of his game, a rodeo star. He's got the large ego and confidence it takes to pull this off. Johnny is a bullfighter, the less flashy role of protecting the bull rider in the ring. Read this book & you'll learn what it all means.
Cody & Johnny have been together for 2 years. They're in love but there's some cracks in the relationship. Cody is self centered and talks over Johnny a lot and basically plans things in their life. He's 10 years older than the 22 year old Johnny. Johnny starts to chafe and thinks that Cody doesn't respect him or his profession. Johnny ends up walking out on Cody.
Both these guys have their flaws. Cody with the aforementioned ego and Johnny who likes to run away from problems. Also Johnny says some pretty mean & cruel things on his way out the door. The book then chronicles each of their separate journey to eventually find their way back together.
I have some mixed reactions to some of this. The good part is we get both characters point of view which really helps the story. The bad part is breaking up means they have separate stories for a good portion. Also they both started having casual sex with strangers less than 24 hours after they broke up. Considering they were in a 2 year monogamous relationship and that Cody believed Johnny was going to come back to him & this was not a permanent break, it didn't ring true that they would both instantly pick up restroom trade.
In Johnny's case he's obviously making up for lost time and he goes after it with gusto. He even has an emotional connection with one older guy. Nice enough but I was glad to see the back of him as the story then switches to each of them making a tentative step toward each other again.
This is a story for people who have a tolerance for complicated & frustrating men who stumble around making mistakes before getting to where they're supposed to be all along, back together. This is also a really good sports story. I knew nothing about rodeo bull riding or bullfighting to start with but this book makes you feel like you're right there. There was a scene towards the end that left me smiling & almost teary eyed as it really captured that old sports cliche; "the agony of defeat and the thrill of victory." Just to get there & to their HEA made the journey of Cody & Johnny worthwhile. Recommended!
This story about a veterinarian who's moved to the country to escape his drug past & a cowboy was very nice & enjoyable. It's set in Australia and youThis story about a veterinarian who's moved to the country to escape his drug past & a cowboy was very nice & enjoyable. It's set in Australia and you can tell by some of the jargon like using the words 'shout' to mean to buy someone something. But otherwise it seems a cowboy is a cowboy no matter where they're at. This is cute. It didn't have a strong plot or I'd rate it higher. There was something about Michael's homophobic father at the end, but it's not really explored well. His sister seemed particularly obtuse about it and seemed to blame him for the estrangement between Michael & his father. Just for that alone I really didn't care for her. There was a potential for a strong plot involving Michael's past addiction but it seemed like it was just a plot device. If you're an addict you don't just stop because your boyfriend's mad at you and you also shouldn't be drinking so much & using marijuana. Really though, I'm making this story sound more serious than it is. It's a light story about two people slowly falling in love. ...more
The book was going along swimmingly and then we had to have another horrible female character, the so called best friend. I felt very, very sorry for The book was going along swimmingly and then we had to have another horrible female character, the so called best friend. I felt very, very sorry for Gabe if that's what he had for a friend. (view spoiler)[ She was a married woman who couldn't get pregnant so wanted Gabe to donate sperm. Then when Gabe said no, she went ahead and had an affair with Gabe's boyfriend at the time, Grant. Grant was the guy who cheated on Gabe repeatedly and left him when Gabe had an accident. He left him for dead. So this guy is some winner. Somehow this woman who betrayed Gabe with this loser and then got pregnant by said loser, lost the baby. Flynn's reaction is how sorry he felt for her. What!?? This is a woman who is so obsessed and spoiled that she cheated on her husband and betrayed Gabe. That's the kind of woman that shouldn't ever have kids. But no, the four men, Gabe, Flynn, Grant and Hunter decide to donate sperm so this unfit woman could have kids. And the poor husband she cheated on, well who cares about him right. Stupidest storyline ever. (hide spoiler)] The book was depressing as Gabe trusted this woman so much that he had her in charge of his medical decisions when he was incapacitated.
In addition, somehow we had to include Gabe's horrible ex and give him some undeserved happiness on Gabe's property. (view spoiler)[ Gabe's ex Grant had sex with his new love Hunter, in Gabe's hayloft. It's probably in the same area where Gabe laid for 3 days after he was injured and had to get help on his own because Grant never bothered to check on him. He was too busy having sex with all kinds of people including probably Gabe's best friend Cally. (hide spoiler)]
After all this I didn't bother to finish this one. Why saddle your nice characters, Gabe & Flynn with such poisonous friends. It ruined a perfectly nice story. ...more
3.5 I actually never heard of this book before but was looking for a book that took place in North Dakota and this one fit the bill. It was a nice bon3.5 I actually never heard of this book before but was looking for a book that took place in North Dakota and this one fit the bill. It was a nice bonus that I ended up really liked this story of a man, Jesse Wade, struggling to get over his grief from an old love in order to make him free to move on to his new love, Ade. There are some caveats. Since this book is about cowboys and ranching, it does go into some details about this, especially in the beginning. There's quite a bit of flashbacks in this book as well mainly concerning Jesse's prior lover Johnny. In fact, at times Johnny and Jesse takes over the story, instead of being about the main couple Jesse and Ade. Because this is a long story, though, you get to really see Jesse's struggles to get to a place where he & Ade can have their HEA. There was really just one thing that bothered me. (view spoiler)[ Johnny's character gets a little trashed by the end of the story. It would be nice for a change that the lover who dies doesn't have to be so flawed in order for the character to love again. Also the backstory on Johnny got way over complicated. (hide spoiler)]Other than that, this is a nice, somewhat angsty cowboy story ....more
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