Artist Daniel McCaverty and businessman Mitchell Brown were both close friends of Adam who has just died of cancer. His Will has irrecoverably changed both mens lives forever, leaving them intertwined with those of two young children, one a baby. Two men, two children, and one house . That’s equals a family…
Bigger Than Us is among the latest of what authors Jodi Payne and B.A. Tortuga are calling their “shoe stories “ and I call their cowboys n kids books.
They have cowboys, a city boy, kids, a second chance at love, and a major drama/trauma that pulls the two men together to form a family.
Here , as it’s been in several stories, it’s been a death by cancer of a guardian or parent, that lets the men step in and take charge.
I liked both characters of Dan and Mitch, both very different from each other. Dan for me was more fascinating and his background and history raised a lot of questions that were never satisfactorily answered. I think if I had gotten more of Dan’s past, it would have raised the rating higher. Because I felt we were going to get his background then the authors never came back to it. Too bad. He’s a compelling personality.
Dan and Mitch’s love story also comes about quickly. But they acknowledge the fast pace, communicate their doubts and questions about their situation, the kids, their relationship, everything that’s been fast tracked… just as adults should. And that element, the ability for the men to voice their own issues with everything that happened so fast actually makes the reader happier and ok with the love and warmth occurring on the pages in front of us.
The kids? Priceless. Act and talk like kids. Especially Vicki who’s hurting and acting up because she’s scared and mad and little. And wants her Dad back. Your heart will ache for her.
This story runs through Thanksgiving and ends at Christmas so for me it’s a holiday story. Sweet, sad, heartwarming, and loving.
I enjoyed it, especially the ending even if it stopped a bit abruptly. Still happy.
Side note. What is going on in Burlington, Vermont? Did I miss the heart eyes text for Burlington where it’s now the romance destination ?
Anyway, add this to your holiday TBR pile. You will absolutely enjoy it.
When Daniel McCaverty gets the call that his best friend and mentor up in Vermont has cancer, he expects to have plenty of time to go help. He never expects that Adam will be gone before he gets there, or that he will suddenly be in charge of Adam’s two small children. He’s a loner, an artist, and a wanderer. What’s he supposed to do now?
Mitchell Brown is a white-collar kind of guy. Organized. Careful. He has a plan in place for Adam’s kids long before Daniel arrives, and is shocked when Daniel is given custody. But for Vicky and Emory, he’s willing to put his hurt and confusion aside to help Daniel figure things out, to make the whole situation work.
Daniel and Mitch have to deal with a tidal wave of grief while getting one kid started in school, and keeping up with their work. But they’re going to have to figure out their unexpected attraction to each other if they’re going to build something together that’s bigger than either one of them alone
Cosy & Chill by Jackie Keswick really conveys so much of what I really think is authentic when it comes to the holidays. It’s never just that glitteringly happy, fun filled holiday. full of congenial family gatherings and mountains of gifts. No, there’s also the elements of melancholy, feelings of bitterness, loneliness, exclusion, family dysfunction, and outright pain and loss.
Yes, what the holidays can and does mean to people runs the emotional spectrum depending upon the person and their history. Judy Garland’s “Have Yourself A Merry Christmas” anyone?
Keswick brings us into Cosy & Chill as one being, a Fae, experiences the pain of betrayal, and extreme loss. She’s now trapped in the human realm by a theft of her amulet, her key home. Her anguish, loss, her rage is bone deep and as her search becomes ever fruitless… we connect deeply with her grief and loss of hope.
That’s just the beginning of this outstanding tale of renewed heart, new paths, personal growth, and learning how to reach for your dreams. While finding love and friends along the way.
Done through knitting and making ice cream! Oh, and a hunt for a silver amulet!
All the characters here are so remarkable. Whether it’s the Fae Roisen determinedly searching for her amulet through a mysterious clue, drawn to a house by magic, Finn Wooten, with his Cosy Etsy knitting store or Leo Wetherall of Chill organic ice creams, these beings and people come alive through their struggles and all the obstacles, small to large, past and present, they must overcome.
Really Keswick’s storytelling will captivate you!
Both Finn and Leo each had a wonderful supportive grandmother in their past as well as dysfunctional families. How badly dysfunctional varied. Each man’s past is rolled out and dealt with slowly as their relationship progresses and it gets closer to many important dates for all involved.
I found myself forgetting my own lists, things I really need to get to, as I sank into this tale of discovery, self determination, courage, hope, love, and, of course, Holiday spirit….in a Fae sort of way.
As the author put The End to this story I couldn’t help but hope that next Christmas Keswick sees us making a return to a certain shop on High Street, Number 13 to be exact. And all who live overtop and within.
I’d love to catch up with them. You will be enchanted and wish for that too!
Cosy & Chill by Jackie Keswick goes to my top five holiday reads this year. I’m highly recommending you out it in your own stocking and your TBR pile!
What a joy!
Synopsis:
Knitting. Ice Cream. And a Matchmaking Fae.
Quiet, industrious Finn dreams of his own knitting store. He needs Leo’s enthusiasm to make him reach for what he wants.
Cheerful, adventurous Leo sells artisan ice cream but shies away from fulfilling his grandmother’s last wish. He needs Finn’s love and support to put his past to rest for good.
Add a Saxon treasure, a fae stranded in the human world, and an empty store with very unusual rental terms – and falling in love is not the only challenge Finn and Leo have to face.
Making a dream come true takes work. But there’s magic in dreams if Finn and Leo can hold on tight.
***
Tags: I’m only here for socks and ice cream. Sometimes you just click with another guy even if you’re opposites. I look at you and know what I’ll be knitting. How to share a house with someone you’ve just met. Utensils don’t sparkle, right? Grandmas rock. Making a deal with a burglar. Roisin is a decorating wiz and Finn worries about antique furniture. If you don’t talk to me, I can’t help you. Finding treasure at inopportune moments. And yes, there’s a happy ending
I love a good fantasy fairytale romance and Yours, Forever After by Beth Bolden definitely fits that category.
It has young royalty fleeing great evil that wants their blood. It has a Prince who will lose his kingdom if he doesn’t get help. And it has magic.
Those are the basics that Bolden uses to build a grand emotional journey for two men towards a HEA for themselves and two kingdoms. And perhaps one magical being.
It contains anger, loss, betrayal, issues with communication, and all the usual barriers that occur with new relationships under stress. Also sword fighting , cause fairy tale!
It’s main characters under go personal growth and change into men determined to make their commitment to each other and their people work.
I was connected to Gray from his perilous flight away from his castle as a young boy and then to Rory as his true nature slowly reveals itself to Gray as they tackle obstacles together. They figure out how to communicate.. eventually. As the story and their pursuit of justice., for themselves, and to rid their lands of the evil battling against them, everything about their roles and their relationship feels real.
I love them so much . And was delighted with the promise of a continuation of their story with a sequel to come.
It’s a novel I’ll eagerly await.
Until then, if you like fantasy romance and fairytales, this is a story you’re to enjoy. Well written, terrific plots and characters I love. I’m definitely recommending it.
Synopsis:
Fifteen years ago, Prince Graham of Ardglass barely escaped from the ancestral castle with his young life. Rescued by a magical creature and spirited off to a faraway valley, he grew into a strong, capable man—never shirking his duties on the farm, but forever bitter over his father’s betrayal. But just when he has finally come to terms with being lost and staying lost, a visitor arrives in his valley and changes everything.
After a lifetime spent lost in his beloved books, Prince Emory awakens to find his villainous aunt working to usurp the throne of Fontaine. When she sends him on a dangerous quest, he’s certain the journey is a trap, but he’s not willing to accept defeat without a fight.
But a fight is something Rory is unprepared and untrained for, until he’s saved by a handsome, unassuming farmhand and his snooty, smug, and surprisingly talkative unicorn.
Yours, Forever After now includes an epilogue novella, completing Gray and Rory’s magical quest for true love.
Holigay is a term that denotes someone who is gay or gay curious just for a holiday vacation. Once again home, they return to their safe sexual orientation.
Holigay by K.M. Neuhold is a sweet best friends to lovers, sexual discovery holiday romance. It’s frankly adorable.
It helps that the men involved have known each other all their lives and their dialogue reflects that long time familiarity and deep love for each other. For it to move from one type of love to a romantic, sexual love felt easy and natural.
Matt, large, gentle and learning that Caspian isn’t merely his oldest and best friend but also the person he loves and wants to spend the rest of his life with? It’s a journey of joyous awakening as well as sexual pleasure. It’s as though everything finally makes sense. And for Caspian, it does finally as he’s long loved his best friend.
This is a sweet, absolutely romantic, low angst holiday romance. I adored this couple and story.
You will too.
Synopsis:
I’ve been in love with my best friend for almost as long as I can remember. The only problem is he’s straight. At least I thought he was.
But when he gets me to Fiji for Christmas, he’s suddenly looking at me in a way I’ve never seen before. Could this all be real, or is he just HoliGay?
Ah, time for that all important second book in a series review. So many questions and weighted hopes hangs on this follow up novel if the author is continuing an overall series arc.
Is there continuity and character growth? Does it flow somehow out from the events of the first book? Does it empower not only the characters but our imagination in the same manner the original launches us into this journey?
Hmmm, with Spellbound, the answers are a bit mixed.
Let’s tackle them one by one.
Plots.
The storyline that takes up the majority of this novel is wonderful. It contains so much depth and emotional layering that I expected. There’s a serious mother/daughter flawed relationship built on lies, love, and a great tragedy. Eden, the daughter is so relatable in her anger, pain, and apparent maternal abandonment. Her rage is both poignant and deeply frightening. We get it. This aspect of the novel, and everything that surrounds Eden is absolutely terrific. With an exception.
Eden is a high school student. At the end of this story, she’s found herself in a serious permanent as in forever relationship. With a ancient being. Now while we are all smacking our heads over that flag, I will say the author has several characters bring up the illegality of that issue as well as the idea that she’s not emotionally ready. Ok good.
But there’s no real resolution. So perhaps that’s to be addressed in upcoming novels but Eden clearly deserves a more defined finish here. She’s a marvelous character and so is this entire element of the arc.
Which brings me to
Series Arc plots .
As best I can tell, Salinger is slowly adding bits of pieces to her overall arc mosaic much like a 1.000 piece table puzzle . You fit a bit in here, several snap in together there. So hopefully, Eden and her new Dryad Prince are part of the huge battle group that will be needed to fight the Evil whoever who is trying to do whatever. Still not a clue. But Salinger’s strengths are in her ingenious storylines and layerings. She knows how to build a suspenseful scene, and then top it off with high action.
However , this didn’t move the overall arc along hugely. Did confirm new information about our main characters though.
That brings us to the aspect of characterization. What I thought worked and, frankly, what I felt didn’t.
Eden’s group and storyline. Those characters were new , including her BFF Lois and her family. All the beings that gravitated around Eden and her drama? They really worked as far as realistic emotional scenes and reactions to her dilemma. Again great job.
But, unfortunately, in what should be solid, continuing .character growth for Cassius and Morgan, our main couple and the series biggest heart as well as mystery? It felt as though we got a stripping off of layers instead of a depth of dimension.
In the first story, we saw the ages of wisdom, the compassion and pain coming through for Cassius. Now he’s a pouty, insecure lovesick being? What happened to the serious character of the other novel? He seems to have vanished, replaced by a boyfriend of Morgan’s. Who occasionally transforms into something cool. Morgan too is undergoing a bit of a metamorphosis, although into what exactly is anyone’s guess. But the gravity of these downright elemental or idk other worldly transformations seems to be missing.
Idk maybe they should actually stop having sex for a mo’ and figure out if this pertains to their missing memories, and maybe even the bad guy! Good grief.
Definitely not the same beings I liked in book one. They need to regain their gravitas, their focus, and personalities.
Almost missing main character. You all know how I feel about this. Here it’s Loki the magical cat, a main player in book one and the series arc. He lives with Cassius now. When do we see and here about him here? When the book is about 74% complete. Then Loki is mentioned as part of the growing mystery so , yes, he has to be trotted out in one scene so everyone sees he’s still around. That’s it. Done. He disappears again back into the apartment not to be mentioned again. It fed or whatever. So Loki could have starved because he’s not seen or mentioned even when they are back in the apartment. A huge change from book one when he’s a constant presence, weaving catlike around the feet or in their laps. SMH. Continuity and consistency!
All of which finally brings me to my last bit of griping. Since I had time to notice all the above, then the issues I had with the repetition of adjectives and certain author’s fondness of terms definitely continues on here.
Pls, someone either tell her about how to find and replace a word within a document, Thesauruses our old friend , (and edit) or point a great editor her way.
We are back to muscles jumping in every character’s face and often. Adrianne is saying things “leadenly”again. I pity poor Adrianne. No sex and the worst lines. A couple of female characters always “smile softly “.
There’s also a lot of “she___fill in the name___snarled,” “so and so hissed”,
Lots of hissing and no they aren’t snake shifters.
Also “growling “. Cedric growled. But it could have been and usually is another.
Plus a host of clenched whatever… jaw, fist… whatever can be clenched.
You get the idea. Salinger once she uses a word or term in a certain manner, it stays used. To the detriment of the story. And the reader’s, at least this reader’s concentration.
And that’s a shame, because the plots? Both one the book and overall series arc scale are imaginative and layered. They have grabbed my attention and the potential for a really great series shows everywhere….
But there’s some definite tidying up to be done. Both in the major characters personalities and language. I look forward to see what book three brings.
High marks mostly for Eden and her journey.
Fallen Messenger series:
Unbound #0.5
Fractured Souls #1
Spellbound #2
Edge Lines #3
Oathbreaker #4
Synopsis:
Can Cassius and Morgan overcome an elusive enemy and save a young girl’s life?
Eden Monroe has spent her entire existence believing she has no magic. Shunned by her mother Brianna and the magical bureau Hexa, she runs away from home when she is forced to embrace a future she never chose, only to fall into the hands of ghastly monsters from the Nine Hells. After being rescued by a mysterious Dryad with secrets of his own, Eden realizes there is more to her past and future than she could ever have imagined.
When San Francisco PD asks Argonaut to assist them in solving a series of strange bank robberies, Cassius Black and Morgan King uncover a disturbing plot that points to an unknown artifact hidden somewhere in the city. Their investigation soon has them crossing paths with a desperate Brianna, who seeks their help in finding her missing daughter. When the witch reveals the shocking circumstances surrounding her daughter’s birth as well as the deadly magic sealed inside the young girl’s body, the Argonaut agents realize their case is linked to Eden and the weapon of devastating power the bank robbers are after.
Can Cassius and Morgan defeat the malevolent organization behind it all and save Eden from her cursed fate? Or will the young girl suffer a destiny worse than death itself?
Spellbound is the second novel in the gay urban fantasy romance series Fallen Messengers. If you like your paranormal adventures full of action, magic, snark, and a host of steamy angels and demons, then you’re not going to want to miss this jaw-dropping, fun-filled ride!
Fractured Souls is the first book I’ve read by author Ava Marie Salinger but it definitely won’t be the last, if for no other reason that Fractured Souls is the first in a series.
But after reading this imaginative and gripping fantasy story (non-stop btw), I’m ready to rush headlong into the second round and more in this universe and series.
Salinger starts us off in a world where a cataclysmic event has already occurred hundreds of years ago. Then a tear in the void between worlds saw demons, angels and a host of otherly beings from all Realms fall to Earth. After much warring a peace was brokered and all species co-exist, tentatively side by side.
That’s the interesting basis that the author then starts really building her edifice upon. Salinger does so through her strong characters as they navigate her incredibly dark and complicated storyline, which includes murder, sacrifices, humor, action, surprise revelations, and just plain great plotting.
Much like her universe, we get a basic understanding of who her characters are and then the author proceeds to show us that’s just a mere outline she’s using to create something astonishing. Not just for one major character but for many as the revelations, small and large, stumble out .
What’s more remarkable is that not only is the reader highly surprised by each change or new element with regard to the characters but the characters themselves are shocked!
Yes The Fall wiped out most memories of past existence for those who survived it. Talk about a great concept! So both the readers and characters find out the new details about themselves at the same time. Love it.
Salinger has so many great details here to go along with a heinous murder spree. A series arc that’s delicious , devious, and dangerous in its own right. And characters that are just memorable in every way.
If I have a issue here it’s with the language or descriptions. While Salinger’s plots are stellar, the writing sometimes gets a little less tidy. Some characters get the same words used to describe them repeatedly.
Poor Adrianne. She comes to mind the most.
Adrianne said dully.
Adrianne said leadenly. (She does this a lot)
Adrianne snarled.
There’s also a lot of “muscles jumping in cheeks’ of both sexes when upset. Including Adrianne’s. It’s as though the author knew she didn’t want her characters muscles to “tick” so they “jump”. Often, sometimes in the same paragraph. SMH. Anyway.
The plot kept my interest glued as the pace is fast and the events occurring are action packed. Had that not been the case, verbiage like those examples above would soon drag your attention out of the storyline.
Luckily, a great concept and enough mystery keeps your mind centered on the characters.
Here there’s no demons versus angels but all factions actually work together. More or less, power struggles not withstanding. Nice change that.
Cassius Black and Morgan King are perfect for each other. And their chemistry grows along with their complicated relationship.
All the support characters are equally strong and have the potential for more growth in the future. They make up a great team, one you connect with and invest yourself emotionally in.
I’m heading now quickly over to book 2 in the Fallen Messengers series. That would be Spellbound.
I’ll let you all know what I find. This was an terrific , exciting, sexy fantasy novel. And a great start and introduction to a new author and universe.
I can’t wait for my journey to continue with both.
Definitely recommended.
Fallen Messenger series:
Unbound #0.5
Fractured Souls #1
Spellbound #2
Edge Lines #3
Oathbreaker #4
Synopsis:
Humans are dying in San Francisco. The most shunned angel on Earth may very well hold the key as to why…
When Cassius Black moves to San Francisco for a fresh start, the angel’s hopes of staying below the radar of the supernatural organizations that oversee the otherworldly and magic users in the city are dashed when he stumbles across a dead body in the sewers. His grim discovery soon puts him in the sight of the Argonaut Agency and Francis Strickland, the bureau director who knows his darkest secrets.
Morgan King and his team of Argonaut agents have been hunting for the culprits behind a series of gruesome killings that have rocked the city all summer. Killings that bear sinister hallmarks of sacrificial rituals where the victims’ souls have been ripped from their bodies. When Fate brings Cassius in Morgan’s path, he realizes the angel everyone likes to call The Devil may very well be the only person who can help them track down the murderers.
Morgan and Cassius soon find themselves chasing down a sect of black magic sorcerers and cross paths with a mysterious warlock whose actions evoke disturbing echoes of an incident from Cassius’s past. As rumors of a potential plot to tear the Nether reach their ears, Cassius and Morgan must work together to defeat their common enemy and save the city from destruction, all while fighting their growing attraction for one another.
Fractured Souls is the first novel in the MM urban fantasy romance series Fallen Messengers. If you like action-packed paranormal adventures with romance and snark, then get this pulse-pounding book today and enter a world you won’t want to leave!
Ghost of Lies was a great read. A scary thriller of a ghostly murder mystery with a side of romance to spice things up.
As if it needed it.
Alice Winters certainly knows how to write a messy murder detective mystery. This was terrific, amping up our anxiety and suspense as the body count increases along with the suspects.
However, Winter added ghosts and the paranormal to this and the scary became horrifying. I LOVED this!
Hiro, Medium bookstore owner who’s surrounded by ghostly companies is seeking the killer of his brother ( who’s still very much a part of his life… non corporeal state not a issue). Along the way he’s assisting other ghosts to move along, and that brings him up against Def. Grumpy.
Maddox keeps running across this strange guy at his crime scenes, and his explanations for being there and disrupting the scene just don’t add up. When a serial killer strikes again, the man, Hiro, is there.
The characters twist and combust, especially after Hiro reveals his ability to talk to ghosts. Uh yeah.
Things are exciting, funny (ghost strippers and ravens), horrific (malevolence off the scale), great plot twists, pathos, and a very rewarding romance.
If I got a tad annoyed with Hiro’s manner in which he dealt with issues, then he absolved himself later on.
This had a surprising resolution which I didn’t see coming. Absolutely enjoyed that.
I can’t wait to see how this partnership continues. Next book out in January.
So if you enjoy mysteries, detective stories, ghosts, and romance? I got just the thing for you! Great characters, outstanding plots, swoon worthy romance. Scary stuff. There you go.
Highly recommended.
Medium Trouble series:
◦ Ghost of Lies #1
◦ Ghost of Truth – coming in January 2022
Synopsis:
Hiro
Though I was born with the ability to see the dead, I struggled with it until my brother was killed and his ghost was left behind. Now, I’m determined to figure out who is responsible for his death… the problem is that Detective Maddox Booker, the one working the case, is a grumpy and stubborn man who wants nothing to do with me and definitely doesn’t believe in ghosts. It doesn’t help that I keep finding myself looking ridiculous in front of the detective, thanks to interfering ghosts who enjoy laughing at my expense. Still, the more I’m around Maddox, the more I realize that beneath that surly exterior is a kind and caring man who will do anything to help.
Maddox
When another man dies, I know we have a serial killer on our hands—the same murderer who has remained elusive for a year and a half. To add to my frustration, I keep running into Hiro at crime scenes only to hear him claim that he can talk to ghosts. The words of the dead could lead us to the serial killer and even tell us who is next, but ghosts? There’s no such thing as ghosts. Hiro is determined and charming, and no matter what I do, I can’t stop letting him get involved. He’s definitely snagged my attention, but when he nearly winds up dead, I know he’s getting closer to the truth—and if I don’t do something soon, he might be next.
Ghost of Lies is full of action, mystery, humor, and romance. Though more is planned for this couple, the mystery is solved and there is a happy ending.
Five Dead Herrings is the first in a new paranormal series by E. J. Russell. And like many of this author’s other series, it’s part of a connection of characters and storylines that runs or rubs up against each other constantly as they share the same foundation and universe.
Matt Steinitz, human PI and employee at Quest Investigations has turned up as a secondary character in other books, briefly referenced here. Russell now takes the time to build out Matt’s personality and let him show a depth of character not seen previously. We get the flashes of insecurities, the humor, the joy of learning, and the terror and newness of his situation.
And the start of a new romance…
There’s a mystery involving dead fish, a grumpy gorgeous Selkie, a new adorable werewolf secondary character of boundless energy , and a ton of supernatural beings from books and series we loved to get reacquainted with.
In short, it’s a whole lot of fun. And ends with one mystery solved but some major loose ends needing to be dealt with. Which will lead us straight into the second book in this series.
Quest Investigations Series:
Five Dead Herrings #1
The Hound of the Burgervilles #2
Synopsis:
Something’s definitely fishy about this case…
On my last stakeout for Quest Investigations, I nearly got clotheslined by a grove of angry dryads. I expected my bosses to reprimand me, but instead they handed me my first solo assignment. Me! Matt Steinitz, the only human on the Quest roster!
Okay, so the mission isn’t exactly demanding. Obviously, the bosses wanted to give me something they think I can’t screw up. I’m determined to show them what I can do, however, so I dive right in with no complaints.
At first glance, it looks as simple as baiting a hook: A selkie’s almost-ex-husband is vandalizing his boat with unwanted deliveries of deceased sea life. All I have to do is document the scene, tell the ex to cease and desist, and present the bill for property damages. Boom. Mission accomplished, another Quest success, and as a bonus, I get to keep my job.
But then things get…complicated. Suspicious undercurrents muddy up my oh-so-easy case. Nothing is as clear as it should be. And the biggest complication? My inappropriate attraction to the client, who may not be as blameless as he claims.
Turns out those dead herrings aren’t the only things that stink about this situation.
Dammit.
Five Dead Herrings is the first in the Quest Investigations M/M paranormal mystery series, a spinoff of E.J. Russell’s Mythmatched paranormal rom-com story world. It contains no on-page sex or violence, and although there is a romantic subplot, it is not a romance.
Trial By Fire is another cowboy n’ kids story similar to that group of books I recently talked about when I reviewed another similar novel by this author.
Two cowboys, this time one is from a large cattle station in Australia. Kid element is a baby who’s parents were the siblings of both cowboys, also a frequent pairing. And the siblings have just died in some accident, in this case a plane crash.
Here the story deviates as the men squabble over rights to the children (versus pulling together), warring parents, and almost immediate action and angst brought on by plot threads that seemed to arise out of nowhere. This on top of a surplus of storylines that just didn’t feel smooth and relatable.
That includes the romance between Holden Sheffield and Aussie Lachlan McCoughney. While both characters, indeed all the characters here are finely crafted, the author never really developed any real chemistry between the men. I never believed in an immediate attraction, let alone a “love at first sight’ dynamic.
I’m not sure if the issue was that Lachlan was a Aussie and missing that bone deep knowledge Tortuga has of her Texas/New Mexico/western cowboys .That entire Australian section,, from people to tiny things meant to be “Aussie “ fell flat against a Texas sky.
Especially since some of the other secondary characters were fully realized, including one who’s death and funeral elevated this story for its sheer poignancy and depth of feeling.
That romance? It felt rushed and unrealistic, while there were so many other elements piled on top almost as distractions.
Another real issue for me was the nonchalant way the author treated the characters future plans. The 6 months in Australia or in US, with a baby who’s a US citizen with one openly gay parent who is the legal guardian. Then casually mentioning marriage and adoption for the Aussie boyfriend/partner. All without taking into consideration Australian visas, LGBTQIA marriage laws with regard (and consideration for) the LGBTQIA community there. Were there any then considering this is a re-release?
LGBTQIA marriage, adoption, and Australian laws has been written about more widely and in depth by Australian authors. Usually accompanied by pain, frustration, waiting, and angst. Same about visas. So this lack of research was puzzling and seemingly showed a lack of care towards this serious topic imo. Realistically not going to be the “smooth sailing “ it’s made out to be here, even for the wealthy.
This story has some solid elements, some wonderful characters but together it’s never solidified. Just felt forced.
I love this author and have other books of hers to recommend. I’m just not sure this is one of them.
Great cowboy funeral though.
Synopsis:
One Aussie. One Texan. One baby. One hell of a fight.
When his sister and her husband are killed in an accident, Aussie cattle station owner Lachlan McCoughney rushes to Texas to rescue their infant daughter, Chloe. He expects to find his niece living in squalor with the Sheffields, a rodeo family.
Instead, Lachlan finds Holden Sheffield, a salt-of-the-earth cowboy running a huge business operation. They want to explore their mutual attraction despite the many problems thrown their way, and together, they must find a way to give Chloe a new family and find a love that spans thousands of acres and two continents
B.A. Tortuga writes a whole group of books I fondly call her cowboy n’ kids stories. They contain usually a cowboy, maybe two, one’s possibly a rodeo man. One or both with a loose connection to a passel of kids or just one in need of a family.
Throw in some adorable animals, wide open spaces out West to serve as a background for a simmering passion between these men and path to love for each other and, boom, you have the main elements for this heartwarming and sweet bunch of romances.
Of which Cowboy’s Law is one. One I really loved. As I do just about all of these books.
Found families is a trope that’s a top five favorite genre. This author excels at this.
Her knowledge of cowboys, that hard scrabble ranch lifestyle and rodeoing is almost cellular at this point. As is her vernacular. Her dialogue is so spot on, so localized to the area, and type of people it helps the book sing with life.
Same goes for the small town lifestyle of Friday night high school football, band dad’s jobs, and near constant family schedule demands. Of 4H, dance class, homework, and home chores. The tears, the laughter, the Wonder Woman bandaids, and the love that holds everything and everyone together.
There’s nothing about this book, from the kids to the weary men that reads anything less than flat out real and downright human.
Tortuga even covers the injured soldier here in Low and friends. Another group she pulls in and understands so well. The mixture of the cowboy and vet is perfect and their romance and path to love and family is a story you will want to read.
I don’t know if BA is figuring on giving Hunter his own story but I hope so. He too deserves a HEA. As does Win and Moose.
Meanwhile, if you love found families, cowboys and weary ex soldiers looking for love, you look no further then Cowboy’s Law.
I’m definitely recommending it.
Synopsis:
When rodeo cowboy Seth’s best friend dies unexpectedly from cancer, he finds himself taking on a ranch and a bunch of his friend’s younger siblings, because they have nowhere else to turn. Seth loves those kids like they’re his own, and he settles in well to his new life, which is why he’s pretty wary when his buddy’s older brother finally makes it home from a long stint in the military.
Law knows he might get a chilly reception at his brother Pistol’s old ranch, even if the kids living there are his half-siblings. He didn’t make it to his brother’s funeral, after all, but to his credit, he was blown up trying to come home to do just that. He’s fighting injuries and insecurity, but when Seth welcomes him to the family ranch, Law knows he’s pretty much in love. Even if he thinks Seth was his brother’s lover. Can these two find a way to let their emotions out before tragedy strikes their family again?
