I’m not sure why this sat a few days on my shelf before I got to it because it has to be one of my favorite romances yet this year.
Lily Morton really ticked every box for me here on contemporary romances and then further with not one but two love letters to Majorca and Venice. These settings are clearly places the author is familiar with and loves. And it shows in each warmly described location and all the finely etched details. The lagoons of Venice, history, the twisty roads and beaches along with local foods… all folded in with a memorable, heartwarming romance.
That Prologue! Honestly. Starting a story with a prologue almost guaranteed to make you sniffle ! Blink and you are already invested 100 percent in Wren Robert’s story, why he’s fog bound at that airport. And bereft.
Then comes the story.
And what a fantastic, romantic, grand story it is.
I laughed, cried, laughed some more… sighed a lot. And was ultimately thrilled at the ending.
Lily Morton gives us a spectacular cast of characters here.
Wren Morton, the Cuckoo of the title. The foster child forever being deposited in someone else’s “nest”, but who grew up without self pity, self-sufficient, kind, and with a love for learning. How I fell deeply in love with this character.
Mateo Rossi, extremely wealthy hotelier, bored, multidimensional. Of an ancient Venice family as well as one in Majorca. A man of divided hearts. Watching Mateo interact with Wren, changing as he reveals more of his real self? Amazing.
While the story is told mostly from Wren’s perspective, every now and then we get Mateo’s pov, just when it’s needed. To see Wren outside of how he sees himself. I grew to anticipate those!
The other characters like Mateo’s mother and grandfather are people that are so well developed that I felt I just didn’t get enough of them. Same about Alfie and a certain glass artist.
I really hope to see a sequel to this story.
The Cuckoo’s Call by Lily Morton is such a remarkable romance that I felt 5 stars wasn’t nearly enough.
I’m highly recommending it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Synopsis:
Can a summer romance last forever?
Wren Roberts thought he’d found his fairy tale when he met Mateo Rossi on holiday in Majorca. The wealthy and successful older man swept him off his feet, and before he knew it, he’d thrown caution to the wind and was living in Mateo’s waterside apartment in Venice. It’s a far cry from his harsh upbringing and crummy flat in London.
But as the summer turns to autumn, cracks begin to show. Mateo’s family aren’t welcoming, and there doesn’t seem to be a place for Wren in Mateo’s world. He could have coped with all of that, but Mateo himself seems like a different person away from the sunshine island.
Should Wren have been more cautious in riding off into the sunset when he wasn’t sure what lay over the horizon?
From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a romance about two men who find that sometimes happily ever after doesn’t end there.
Hot as Heller by Lucy Lennox is a new release I happened to grab up as it’s tag line caught my attention.
Of course, it’s a middle book in a series. But I found this time that really didn’t make a difference for me understanding the characters or for getting a feel of place and community. Lennox does a good job of laying out her foundation universe. It’s folded into this story so well that it includes enough of all preceding storylines and history that the reader doesn’t feel lost when past events or people are mentioned.
Also each book represents a different couple so while minor threads appear from previous novels, each story can stand somewhat alone, with a support cast you can become familiar with if this is your first book. Or one you already know because you’ve read their stories. Either way, it works.
I enjoyed this story and felt that one of the elements was excellently on topic , especially given the timing. I’m talking about the current tragedy on the now shut down movie set of “Rust”, and the intense and much needed movie industry discussions going on about safety, stunts .and overall actor/support control.
I wonder if the author knew how on point and current this aspect of the story would be.
It was excellently written and the suspense almost made the romance take a backseat for me. It did have the effect of making me care about a character I was having trouble connecting with.
That would be Finn Heller, the child actor who’s the lead in this action movie being filmed in Aster Valley. Finn is/was a very problematic character for me. Most doormat personalities are. For the majority of this book , Finn let’s everyone make decisions for him. Whether to go to a bar when he doesn’t want to. He says no and goes anyway. He says no and does it anyway. For everything.
While the author is doing her best to explain his actions, that very personality is turning into white noise for me. Not good when he’s half of a main romance.
Better is Sheriff Declan Stone. Recently of LA’s PD, a corruption scandal involving his partner and just sick of Hollywood and its denizens, he’s relocated to small town Aster Valley for a saner, better lifestyle.
I liked this character immediately. He comes across as realistic, competent. At home in his skill set and person. He’s, in short, believable and someone we can connect with.
Which begs the question as to why he’s attaching himself to a doormat, however attractive. Finn does find himself undergoing a sea change before the story ends but I still found him not as fascinating a person. Oh well.
What I did fall in love with? The small town community of Aster Valley. I need dispatcher Penny to finish filling me in on the romance drama between Charlene Candy, her ex wife Clara Corn ( yep you see that coming), and her new love Clara’s brother. Plus there’s that thing with Colman and his wildlife…
Never a dull , funny , or just small town human moments. This book and the Sheriffs time of full of them. Those made it for me
The town, it’s people, the secondary romances, as well as other interesting , warm-hearted aspects to Aster Valley pulled me in and engaged my imagination to make me want to explore the rest of the series.
This has so many different terrific elements that I can definitely recommend it as a contemporary romance people will enjoy.
Aster Valley Series:
◦ Winter Waites #0.5
◦ Right as Raine #1
◦ Sweet as Honey #2
✓ Hot as Heller #3
◦ Thick as Thieves #4 – coming 2022
Synopsis:
The man asked me to valet his damn car.
Look, I left LA for a reason. I’ve had my fill of big Hollywood stars and their even bigger egos. I want something genuine. Something real. And it doesn’t get any realer than being the new sheriff of Aster Valley, Colorado.
That is, until entitled Finn Heller appears on the scene, handing me the keys to his convertible like I’m his personal servant.
The former child star and wannabe action hero is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. He’s also a snarky party animal with legions of adoring fans and attitude for days.
Or so I thought.
The longer the film crew stays in town, the more I begin to wonder if Finn is hiding his true self, one that’s as beautiful inside as out. He’s a star alright, but the kind that shines bright enough to light up the night sky… the kind I want to make a wish on.
A wish Finn will find a way to make things work with me, even if it means his next role is my very own leading man.
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
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?
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
What a wonderful holiday romance from Annabeth Albert! And it starts with the names of the characters, Gideon Holiday and Paul Frost.
How absolutely perfect, especially for a story about a small town full of historic restored homes known for their holiday decorations . It’s preparing for Thanksgiving, and then for all the various holiday lights displays to start appearing on every house for all the tourists that come to enjoy the celebration(and donate funds).
Albert has chosen the perfect format for her book that lets her readers into this wonderful community and sense of belonging. It’s that the What’s Up Neighbor app (or something similar) that many neighborhoods have in use these days that’s employed to connect neighbors to each other and the daily flow of their neighborhood. I’m on mine and my parents as well. It’s awesome.
Each chapter starts with a daily installment from their community’s What’s Up Neighbor chat… whether it’s an update on the schedule for the holiday lights or a grumpy text from the neighborhood “Scrooge” about the traffic or kids crossing the greenway. It’s brings us a perfect sense of community and the citizens we will meet along our visit here. It’s intimate, fun, and familiar.
Much like the characters and plot. It’s warm-hearted, personable, filled with lovely people with issues and conflicting feelings about the holidays. Everything about those elements will have the readers connecting with these men, their loneliness and their slow friendship as they make discoveries about one another over a crisis of house in need of a holiday makeover and a brother coming home to propose.
The story, the plot structure, the men, and community… it all grabs perfectly at your emotions.
The writing is sharp, the characters beautifully crafted, and everything is marvelously wrapped up ina way to make a Scrooge want to celebrate his best Christmas ever!
If you’re into your holiday reading or just enjoy a great contemporary romance, either way The Geek Who Saved Christmas by Annabeth Albert
Is a book for you.
It’s one I’m highly recommending.
Synopsis:
His grumpy neighbor needs some holiday sunshine…
Gideon Holiday is the perfect neighbor. Need a cup of sugar? Spare folding chair? Extra batteries? He’s always ready to help. And he’s waited years for his hot, grumpy, silver fox neighbor, Paul, to need him. For anything. But this December, Gideon would be happy if he could just get the Scrooge-like Paul on board with the neighborhood holiday lights fundraiser.
Paul Frost has no intention of decking his halls or blazing any Yule logs. Even if his spunky bowtie-clad neighbor does look perfect for unwrapping, Paul would prefer to hide away until December is done. But when his beloved younger brother announces an unexpected visit, Paul needs all the trimmings for a festive homecoming—and fast.
Luckily, Gideon is there with a color-coded plan to save Christmas. Soon Paul’s hanging lights, trimming trees, and rolling out cookies. And steaming up his new flannel sheets with Gideon. How did that happen?
It’ll take some winter magic to preserve their happiness and keep these rival neighbors together longer than one holiday season.
The Geek Who Saved Christmas is a low-angst m/m holiday romance with a guaranteed happy ending. This grumpy/sunshine, neighbors-to-lovers, found family tale features two heroes in their forties figuring out that maybe their sexily-ever-after was right next door the whole time. It stands alone and is not connected to any of the author’s other universes. However, it does contain a heaping helping of the same emotions and steamy moments readers have come to expect!
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?
Black Tie is that lovely macaroon, light, colorful, sweet, a perfect bite! Here the novella is a delightful send off to the Overtime series by giving Jackie Blue and Martin their intimate family wedding and a goodbye to everyone as they sail off, or in this case fly off to their honeymoon and new life together.
There’s nothing especially angst filled, no real drama, just a final look at the characters, as families and friends gather for a simple, quick ceremony and a flurry of laughter as everyone waves them off.
It’s a closure and a love letter by the author to fans of these men and at least two series.
I happen to love macaroons and think this was charming.
If you’re a fan of this series, you will too.
Synopsis:
Falling in love was easy. Saying ‘I do’ is proving to be the tricky part.
Now that he’s lived with the man of his dreams for close to two years, Jackie Blue Kalinski is finally ready to tie the knot. It’s not that he didn’t want to walk down the aisle sooner, but life kept putting obstacles in the way of the nuptials. A big move from Boston to Brooklyn, changing colleges, family being family, and juggling school while working in New York’s fashion district have stifled wedding plans. Add in that Martin seems to be speeding headlong into a midlife crisis, and it’s no wonder it’s taken them this long to get things moving. But now that the final stitches have been made on the wedding outfits, it’s full steam ahead to that happily ever after
Jackie Blue Kalinski has been a strong favorite character of mine in this series and the Cayuga Cougars series since I met him.
Uniquely awesome, endearing, funny, and able to be the focal point of every scene, regardless of the nature, Jackie Blue grew up through these books and is now a 19 year old ready for his future.
In other stories a 19 year old seems young, but Jackie is in college, is sure of what he wants out of life and who he is personally. He’s a centered being with the full support of his family.
Then he meets Martin McKittrick, Marine fire chief , 45, divorced father of two adults,soon to be grandfather. Martin is also a player on the gay hockey team that Vic, Jackie’s dad, coaches.
It’s a moment of intense instantaneous connection between them, making any differences in age vanish. At least for them.
The main thread is the intense romance and immediate bond between Jackie Blue and Martin. It’s also how their families and friends respond to them as a couple, see that 25 age gap as a factor as a part of a realistic relationship, and if it’s possible to have real acceptance for such a May/December couple.
Having a 19 year old and a 45 year old as a couple and the heart of your story is a risk. Having it be successful really hinges on the writer being able to make each of those characters a completely fleshed out person who’s personality is set out in depth for the readers across the story’s pages so we believe each man’s passion for the other. Including the fact that age has both been factored in, discussed, and then discarded, because it’s about the inner connection here.
Locey also is aware that there are readers that are looking at this couple and that age gap with real misgivings. It’s a honest reaction and one of many that finds it’s way into the mouths and dialogue of Jackie Blue’s dads (yep, Vic went off the rails) or one of Martin’s adult children. The characters for whom acceptance was not an easy road stood in as a family Greek Chorus of questions and honest disapproval, voicing thoughts that I’m sure there were readers out there thinking.
And as both the couple weathers obstacles, Jackie and Martin continue to communicate with each other’s families and inner circles. The couple talks to them about their relationship, allowing those close to see into their dynamics, and slowly the disapproval and misunderstandings dissipate. Each point that had been a major misgiving had been dissected through honesty and open communication in scene after scene. Great job by the author.
There are other elements to this story as well. Jackie adjusting to life as a partner of a firefighter and the stress that comes with that. That felt very well done.
Also the joyous aspect of Jackie Blue pursuing his career as a clothier and designer. This section I could see so clearly. His drive , the love of the clothes as well as fashion. It was perfect.
Draw turned out to be just like Jackie Blue. Unusual, unanticipated, unconventional, wildly moving, as well as satisfying. Turns out just what Jackie Blue hoped for and what he got. In every way.
V.L.Locey wrote an intelligent, beautifully crafted book. It had a risky premise but in her hands it turned into a gorgeous love story.
One I’m recommending.
There’s one last novella in this series. That’s Jackie Blue and Martin’s wedding. How could you miss that?
Now on to Black Tie (Overtime #3.5)
Overtime Series complete:
Rebound #1-Vic’s story
Final Shot #2 -Dan’s story
Draw #3 – Jackie Blue’s story
Black Tie #3.5 – a Overtime novella
Synopsis:
They say first loves never last. Jackie Blue Kalinski was about to show them—whoever they are—that the word never is not in his vocabulary.
From the time Jack Kalinski was a preschooler he had a good sense of who he was and where he wanted to go in life. His childhood was spent drawing beautiful dresses for pretty people, male and female alike. Growing up with two dads who played hockey wasn’t exactly conducive to late night talks about tulle or tailor’s chalk, but he never let that stop his dreams of becoming a fashion designer or expressing the genderqueer heart that beat in his chest. His family’s love and support helped him through some painful losses that shaped him into the strong, vivacious, and charismatic college student he is today. Life hasn’t been a smooth ride, but Jack has persevered and is about to take the fashion world by storm.
Little does he suspect that his tidy life is about to be scorched by a chance meeting with one of the men playing hockey on the gay team his father coaches. Martin McKittrick not only catches Jack’s eye, but the much older man wins his heart. The passionate affair with the captain of the Marine Unit of the BFD burns red hot until the new couple run into a few snags that might dampen the inferno: Jack’s ascent into the fashion world, Martin’s job and the inherent dangers that come with it, and the fact that the well-kept secret romance has just been exposed to the world in a rather big way.
I have enjoyed this series immensely. Which is why I’m so surprised and puzzled over the characters and storylines of The Wrangler and the Orphan , the 4th in the Farthingdale Ranch series.
Unlike the others, this book has some major elements and characters which unfortunately didn’t work for me and in cases actually, had me thinking of cautionary flags.
And it starts right with the main characters. And their dysfunctional backgrounds as well as current histories.
The characters…..
🌈Kit Foster. Abandoned teen, last enrollment and safe structure was middle school, regularly beaten as well as emotionally traumatized by his mother and her endless line
of temporary “boyfriends” to the point that’s Kit’s normality.
His mother repeatedly moves him, eliminating any support or security other than her, who again abandons him after stealing money from her latest target and taking off to Las Vegas.
So basically, Kit is a mass of Insecurities , unable to trust, a scared kid of scarred body and young unformed abused mind. Without even an abusive mother to hold onto, he’s desperation personified.
Worse, Kit has just escaped ,after being severely beaten by bar owner Eddie Piggot, and imprisoned in the bar’s basement. He’s got Victim written all over him.
He’s rescued by Brody, the ranch’s wrangler.
That would be…..
🌈Brody Calhoun, almost 30. Ranch Wrangler. Son of an abusive father who whipped , beat and starved him. Ran away with a older carny man, still suffers PTSD from his upbringing, nightmares which he treats with CBD oil. Which is fine except it would get him fired and the ranch in trouble if found. So he’s not exactly dealing well with his own past.
Brody never got the real help for the issues his brutal adolescent and background still causes him but looses himself in training horses for the ranch. And self medicating when necessary when the past catches up, including his nightmares.
Brody’s rescuer , the man who took him away from his abusive father, also works with him. His history is never far away.
He sees himself in Kit. And wants to take care of him? Finds the teen attractive in his totally needy, abused way? Everything about this , including keeping it a secret that Kit’s even at the ranch at the beginning starts the questions popping up in my mind about the relationship and storyline.
Kit is regularly referred to a “kid” and acts like one. Although it’s made a point that’s he’s of “legal age”, nothing in this story, from the descriptions to his behavior will ever be anything that resembles something close to an adult. Instead Kit just presents as a somewhat broken, utterly youthful ,uneducated if eager youngster. One in desperate need of therapy and stability.
What he gets a older man who’s been as much if not more abused than he was, who decides how to fix and take care of the kid. Not as a family but as a lover. Hmmmm.
One of Kit’s few happy memories of one of his mother’s temporary boyfriend was a cowboy, a bronc rider. Now Kit is rescued by a cowboy. Can we say transference? Kit’s now isolated on a ranch, with someone who just rescued him, who “glows hero”, but not once does anyone mention what specifically Kit has undergone or that he needs therapy to understand just what his past history has done so he can better understand the choices made going forward.
Things just continue to add up, and not in an enjoyable way.
The author uses terms such as “kid, scared kid, scared foal, young animal, torn sneakers, skittish” over and over , adjectives used to describe very young people or animals when referring to Kit. These are not words I’d choose when applied towards adults or anyone of legal age.
Example of elements I found problematic. One scene that threw up a big question for me. Brody turns grooming a horse into a sexual/comfort effort after Kit ends up in a fetal position just from enforcing close proximity to a horse. FYI Kit’s informed Brody he’s terrified of horses.
The author/Brody says he’s soothing him like he would a skittish young animal. Hmm. Putting your arms around him and your groin up to his ass while someone is in a fragile emotional state? I know what I call that outside of this novel. Taking advantage of someone in a shaky state. Maybe something harsher.
Also there’s that weird element that the ranch hands refer to Kit as a orphan and he tells them he’s not. Truth. You may not like that he’s got an abusive mother but that’s downright odd denying someone’s truth.
Where during the rest of the story Kit is still making impulsive “young “ decisions based on his abusive upbringing….because you’d expect a teenager to at this point. He’s still new to the situation and people.
But why is the author not addressing this ?
Kit’s damage from his mother and upbringing doesn’t disappear nor should it. Brody‘s scars are inward as well as laid across his skin. So why is there no real acknowledgment that healing for something of that pain and depth is more than to “cowboy up” and a quick romance.
By the end Brody takes” the place of his mother in Kit’s eyes . Kit’s words🤦🏼♀️. In the epilogue, Kit is comparing his life he had with Katey(his mother) versus the life he has now with Brody, how ones so stable. SMH.
As readers how are we supposed to feel about this? In another age gap novel I just finished, where the gap between lovers was larger, the author used other characters as stand-in’s for readers perspectives who might feel uncomfortable, voicing various opinions. Allowing us to think about the pros and cons of such a romance through multiple characters.
But also those characters weren’t damaged and knew fully who were supporting them.
Here, we are supposed to connect with a brutalized teenager and a damaged man, both of whom need help to deal with their traumatic memories and childhoods. But instead dive immediately into a romance.
For this reader? Doesn’t feel healthy.
Several times this came close to a DNF as it was just an uncomfortable read. Trust me, not the age gap but the characters, their issues as well as their ages. It was everything here I found challenging.
It was odd because it felt as though this did not fit in among the other stories.
And as such, I just can’t recommend it.
Synopsis:
Some scars run soul-deep. Some scars only love can heal.”
Brody is the wrangler at Farthingdale Ranch. He knows a lot about horses, but not a whole lot about people.
He is so broken, he cannot imagine anyone would want to love him. Then along comes Kit, a young man in need of shelter, searching for a forever home.
In Kit, Brody sees the scared young man he used to be. In caring for Kit, Brody is in over his head.
But as Brody makes room in his heart for Kit, both their lives begin to change.
A gay m/m cowboy romance with hurt/comfort, rescue, age gap, fish out of water, opposites attract, midnight rendezvous. A little sweet, a little steamy, with a guaranteed HEA
