Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Glenn Holloway’s predictable life ended the day he confessed his homosexuality to his family. As if that wasn’t enough, he then poured salt in the wound by walking away from the ranch he’d grown up on, to open the restaurant he’d always dreamed of. Without support from his father and brother, and too proud to accept assistance from anyone else, he had to start from scratch. Over time things worked out: Glenn successfully built a strong business, created a new home, and forged a life he could be proud of.
Despite his success, his estrangement from the Holloways is still a sore spot he can’t quite heal, and a called-in favor becomes Glenn’s worst nightmare. Caught in a promise, Glenn returns to his roots to deal with Rand Holloway and comes face-to-face with Mac Gentry, a man far too appealing for Glenn’s own good. It could all lead to disaster—disaster for his tenuous reconnection with his family and for the desire he didn’t know he held in his heart.
Glenn Holloway went from snarly jerk in Timing to redeemed, confused, and frankly adorable character in After the Sunset. It was there that you started to want to get a HEA or even HFN for Glenn. Mary Calmes let us see into his upbringing and life with dear old dad on the ranch which was not really a happy time. So with understanding came the ability to connect with the man who was starting to undergo so many sea-changes in his life. I’m sure Calmes was hearing from all her fans, as they clamored for his story.
Now here it is.
I have to say that while Glenn and Mac will never be Stef and Rand, the golden couple of the Timing series, they certainly are a wonderful addition. The story picks up a couple of years later in the timeline. Glenn has his restaurant up and running, the Bronc Burger having done it on his own. His staff a mix of LGBTQIA kids and adults who have become family, more so than his own who he only sees when Stef intervenes. And Stef is getting ready to do so again.
By getting Glenn to go along on a Red Diamond cattle drive, along with Rand and his brother, and people who have paid for the privilege. Its a huge undertaking and the last thing Glenn wants to do but he owes Stef a favor and Stef is collecting.
Its an interesting dynamics. Glenn wants nothing to do with ranching and cowboys (really his family per se) and now he’s going to be surrounded by them. Yep, its going to be intense. We’ve not gotten a hint as to who is to be Glenn’s romantic interest up ’til now. Usually you can tell in the books prior who someone is going to be in a relationship with but here? Nothing. So I was surprised to see that it was going to be Mac Gentry, someone we really don’t know much about. Mac’s been a bit of a shadow character. We “hear” all how “dangerous” Mac is, etc. But nothing of substance. That makes this somewhat one-sided going into the relationship. I wish we’d had more of a hint, or knew more about Mac before this story. Ah well.
Told from Glenn’s pov, Calmes still manages to show the reader where Glenn is making assumptions about the situations he’s in and the people around him. Glenn’s on edge and in retreat to the Glenn we first met. And he knows it. Enter Mac. Maclain Gentry. Its up to Glenn and Mac to introduce Mac to the readers and that becomes an interesting proposition. We have to accept that its a feelings first and quick jump to love, that it really is all about timing for both men. I think the author makes her case here. You did get a feeling of weariness from each, a need to have something more in their lives. I got it and connected with both men.
I won’t spoil the story. I think the path towards love for both Glenn and Mac was natural, and it worked. Being Mary Calmes, nothing is ever easy. There’s some real thrills here I wasn’t expecting. And some heartwarming moments when you get to see where Stef and Rand are with their family now that a couple of years have passed. You get caught up with the goings on at the Red Diamond, a place I can never get enough of.
I’m sort of hoping that Mary Calmes isn’t through with the Red Diamond either. She’s busy turning it into its own little bustling city. Surely there’s many more stories to come. While we are waiting, make sure you add When the Dust Settles to your TBR pile and all the stories in the Timing series. They are classic Mary Calmes and that’s not to be missed.
Cover art by Reese Dante. I love that cover. You can feel that cowboy’s eyes just follow you. Outstanding.
Sales Links
Book Details:
ebook, 107 pages
Expected publication: November 16th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781634778329
Edition LanguageEnglish
Series: Timing – add to your Goodreads shelf here:
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 