Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Ashton lived for show jumping, until an accident killed his horse, Atreyu, and left him unable to ride. He blames himself for Atreyu’s death and has sworn off horses. Rubbing salt in the wound, his boyfriend and friends were okay with Ashton being ace, but not with his retirement. His mom has purchased him a house with acreage in the hopes that he won’t give up on horses entirely, and a puppy, Leia, but neither is able to pull him out of his depression.
Ty lives next door, and it’s a dream come true to find his idol is his new neighbor. Ashton wants nothing to do with him, but being trans in a largely-unaccepting world has made Ty stubborn, and he’s long-used to dealing with people who are hurting, so it’s going to take more than Ashton can muster to push him away.
Oh man, did both of these guys have trust issues. I know it comes with the territory a lot of the time with being ace or trans but they had a hard time letting it go even when reassured or shown they can be trusted. I liked how stubborn Ty could be as it was just what Ashton needed in his life but I couldn’t help but feel that Ty just quickly fell for the first person who really accepted him.
These two but heads more than not at the beginning and it seemed that Ty’s ability to cook Indian food was what won Ashton over. I was glad Ashton was able to find a balance with horses though didn’t like the fact that he felt he needed to hide to extent of his inability to ride from his mother. Ashton’s sudden turnaround didn’t work with the beginning of the story for me but I was more than happy for Ty to gain Ashton’s mother as a support when he had been left with none after his grandfather’s death. I wished we could have seen more of how their relationship continued to build than just down the line where they were now living together.
The cover art by Michelle Seaver is nice and gives a cute visual of Leia.
Sales Links: Less Than Three Press | Amazon | B&N
Book Details:
ebook, 34,000 words
Published: September 27, 2017 by Less Than Three Press
ISBN: 9781684310883
Edition Language: English
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 