A Lucy Review : Wrangling a Groom (Marital Bliss #2) by D.J. Jamison

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Can two men keep a childhood promise for marital bliss?

Wyatt is overwhelmed after his grandfather dies, leaving him to take over the cattle ranch. The Triple J is floundering, vandals are targeting him, and his first and only love is finally within reach–and still holding a grudge. Wyatt has wanted to marry Diego since they made a childhood pact, but Diego isn’t back for their second chance.

When a funeral calls Diego back to Texas, he comes face-to-face with the cowboy who broke his heart. Resentment has burned inside him for years, but his anger wavers as he realizes just how much Wyatt is struggling to keep his head above water. The man he once loved is lonely and burdened, and Diego feels compelled to help him rediscover the strong, capable rancher he knows him to be.

Hostility gives way to passion, then friendship as they fall into a rhythm of work and sex. Wyatt has renewed hope he might wrangle the man he wants to be his groom. But Diego has a life waiting for him one thousand miles away, and love may not be enough to prevent history from repeating itself.

The beginning of this book – with Wyatt and Diego as children making a pact to marry each other when they are 25 – is adorable and was my favorite scene. They are both six year old, both living on Wyatt’s Granddad’s ranch as Diego’s father was a foreman.   After seeing Granddad kissing Mrs. Fletcher, they make a blood swear that they will just marry each other.

Except life isn’t that easy, of course.  When the two best friends turn into more, Granddad is a homophobe and he puts pressure on Wyatt – break it off with Diego or lose the inheritance.  Wyatt chooses the ranch, figuring it will just take a little time for Granddad to come around and accept them and he and Diego can be together again.  But Diego leaves, hurt at not being first for Wyatt and doesn’t return until Granddad’s funeral six years later.  He hasn’t responded to any of Wyatt’s letters, either and carries that resentment with him.

And there is where I had some trouble with the book.  Right in the beginning Diego himself admits that while Wyatt did hurt him, it was both he and Granddad who pushed Wyatt to choose between them.  And he admits, “Maybe it’s time to go home” when he finds out Granddad as passed away.  Wyatt is now in charge of the ranch and has been struggling.  He has been the victim of homophobic vandalism, crew leaving now that Granddad wasn’t there to back him up and a cattle ranch that is too much work for the few people left on it. 

They do get past the majority of outright hostility and start sleeping together and working on a plan for rejuvenating the ranch, which desperately needs help.  The anger Diego carries comes through over and over again and sometimes I wanted Wyatt to just get up and leave – have some self-respect!

So I was expecting a reconciliation, some apologies and for Diego to jump in and help.  Some of that happens – Diego does help but he has such an attitude for most of it and seriously the way he treats Wyatt just ticked me off.  The man hurt you, I get that, and he’s apologized repeatedly.  If you can’t accept that, that’s okay but then move on.  They have sex repeatedly with Diego pushing Wyatt away after.

Wyatt is in a vulnerable place and really wants Diego to be with him.  In a letter to Diego (which was never acknowledged) Wyatt writes “I never thought the day you left that I would go so long without a word from you.  I hurt you. I own that and I’m sorry for it… Come home for a day, for a week, forever.”  So Diego knows how Wyatt feels and while I felt for Diego, “Wyatt had made his choice a long time ago, and it hadn’t been Diego”, I felt he was dragging things out. He is all about just sex, even knowing Wyatt wants more. Just FYI, there is a lot of sex in this book.

I like many of DJ Jamison’s books but this one missed the mark for me a bit and honestly, mainly it was due to Diego.   The writing is consistent and flowed well, if sometimes it felt a little dragged on. 

The cover design by Garrett Leigh, which I assume is Wyatt in an open shirt and cowboy hat, is a little generic looking and didn’t do much for me. 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal LinkExclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited 
 

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 305 pages
Published October 10th 2019 by Amazon Digital Services
ASIN B07YR3Z1JX
Edition Language English
Series Marital Bliss #2

Check Out the Exclusive Excerpt for the Blog Post and Giveaway for Wranging A Groom (Marital Bliss #2) by DJ Jamison

Exclusive Excerpt

In this excerpt, Wyatt turns the tables on Diego–who’s mainly taken the lead in their interactions–and pushed him to accept more intimacy than makes him comfortable. It’s a turning point for Diego, who has to face emotions he’s been avoiding.

***

“I want to make love to you.”

Diego didn’t answer verbally, though his heart skipped erratically in response. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. Wyatt was supposed to tease him a little, exert his dominance, and they’d both enjoy it.

“Tell me I can,” Wyatt said.

Diego swallowed hard. “Wyatt…”

“You said I could have you however I wanted,” he reminded Diego. “This is what I want.”

Diego’s eyes met Wyatt’s, and he saw everything there. The longing, the love, the fear of losing him. He couldn’t bear to look for long, so he closed his eyes and nodded. “Okay.”

“Say it,” Wyatt said, his voice holding the hint of demand.

“You can … make love to me,” Diego said, aware that his voice was thready with uncertainty. This was uncharted territory. He’d had a lot of sex with Wyatt, and he’d always known, deep down, it was more than sex between them. But this was labeling it, deliberately announcing its purpose, and he didn’t know how to feel about that.

“Good,” Wyatt said before kissing his way down Diego’s chest to his cock. When his familiar velvety tongue licked over Diego’s cock, he relaxed a fraction. Wyatt could call it whatever he liked, this was nothing they hadn’t done before.

Wyatt sucked him, winding him up but keeping him far from the edge as he pressed fingers into Diego and prepped him efficiently. As he slowly coaxed Diego to relax and take his fingers, then pressed them expertly to his prostate inside, Diego realized that Wyatt must top more often than he’d expected. The man knew what he was doing.

The cool, wet sensation of lube touched his skin as Wyatt worked it inside. Diego had no idea when or where he’d gotten it, though he’d packed plenty for the trip. Soon, Wyatt’s fingers glided in with ease, and Diego wanted more.

“Wyatt,” he said, surprised to hear the strain in his own voice.

“I know,” Wyatt said. “I’ve got you.”

And he did. He read Diego’s body perfectly as he withdrew his fingers and positioned his now-sheathed cock. Diego gripped his thighs, pulling back his legs as Wyatt pushed inside him.

He didn’t even feel the burn, only the satisfying fullness of Wyatt inside him at last. Diego had always been versatile, though he didn’t often offer to bottom for men. That required more trust than he usually had to give. But he had an excess of trust for Wyatt, he realized, even as he struggled with that notion.

Diego felt a frisson of fear mingle with the rising sexual tension priming his body. Wyatt thrust smoothly, confidently inside him, perfectly comfortable in this role even though it differed so much from their usual pattern. But it was his intense gaze, zeroed in on Diego’s face each time he opened his eyes, that really undid him.

How can I give this up?

His heart thundered and his cock jerked as Wyatt hit his prostate. He groaned with each thrust, unable to control his vocal cords and not liking how vulnerable he felt. He couldn’t hide from Wyatt, not like this.

He and Wyatt were intrinsically connected. Even when they were apart, Wyatt had been a huge part of his life, if only through his resentment. And he’d come to realize, after spending time with Wyatt and so easily clicking with him once more that his grudge had only ever been a coping mechanism — a way to deal with the gaping wound left by Wyatt’s absence from his life.

And for that he could only blame himself. He’d torn them apart. He had refused to listen to Wyatt’s explanations or apologies.

“You with me?” Wyatt murmured, and Diego’s eyes refocused on the perfectly imperfect man above him.

“Yes,” he managed to say.

“You’re gorgeous like this. Your face is so expressive.”

“Fuck,” Diego said, grimacing.

Wyatt laughed lightly, his voice reverberating through them both. “I like seeing you.”

Diego knew he meant more than the arch of his eyebrows or the curve of his cheek. Wyatt liked seeing into him. To that knot of emotions that Diego kept a stranglehold on. He could feel the knot loosening, untangling, but he was afraid to let it unravel entirely. He didn’t know if he could handle it. Didn’t know if Wyatt could, though he seemed better equipped at dealing with his feelings.

He clutched at Wyatt’s ass. “Make me come.”

“As you wish,” Wyatt teased, increasing his thrusts with incredible accuracy, his thick cock battering Diego’s prostate. Diego’s breath caught in his throat, his ass tightening around Wyatt’s girth. This was better. He could hide inside the pleasure. Grasping his dick, he stroked it urgently.

His focus narrowed to the fullness inside him and the feel of his hand on his cock, tugging, squeezing, until the pleasure was too much and the coiled tension in his body suddenly released like the snap of a rubber band.

Diego came, back arching, harsh cry breaking from his lips for only Wyatt and nature to hear. The stars twinkled above in a dark blanket, or maybe he was just seeing stars from the intensity of the orgasm sweeping through him. He came harder than he had in a long time. He came with Wyatt inside him, on top of him, around him. Holding him close, filling him up.

It felt like home, being held like that, and it scared the shit out of him.


Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal LinkExclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited 
 
Length: 85,000 words approx.
 
Cover Design: Garrett Leigh @ Black Jazz Design
 
Marital Bliss Series
 

Book #1 – Surprise Groom – Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link

 
Blurb
 

Can two men keep a childhood promise for marital bliss?


Wyatt is overwhelmed after his grandfather dies, leaving him to take over the cattle ranch. The Triple J is floundering, vandals are targeting him, and his first and only love is finally within reach–and still holding a grudge. Wyatt has wanted to marry Diego since they made a childhood pact, but Diego isn’t back for their second chance.


When a funeral calls Diego back to Texas, he comes face-to-face with the cowboy who broke his heart. Resentment has burned inside him for years, but his anger wavers as he realizes just how much Wyatt is struggling to keep his head above water. The man he once loved is lonely and burdened, and Diego feels compelled to help him rediscover the strong, capable rancher he knows him to be.Hostility gives way to passion, then friendship as they fall into a rhythm of work and sex. Wyatt has renewed hope he might wrangle the man he wants to be his groom. But Diego has a life waiting for him one thousand miles away, and love may not be enough to prevent history from repeating itself.


Wrangling a Groom is Book 2 of the Marital Bliss series, but it can be read as a standalone.

 

 

Author Bio


DJ Jamison is the author of more than a dozen m/m romances, including the Ashe Sentinel series and the Hearts and Health series. She writes a variety of queer characters, from gay to bisexual to asexual, with a focus on telling love stories that are more about common ground than lust at first sight. DJ grew up in the Midwest in a working-class family, and those influences can be found in her writing through characters coping with real-life problems: money troubles, workplace drama, family conflicts and, of course, falling in love. DJ spent more than a decade in the newspaper industry before chasing her first dream to write fiction. She spent a lifetime reading before that, and continues to avidly devour her fellow authors’ books each night. She lives in Kansas with her husband, two sons, two fish and, regrettably, one snake.

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