Summer Drifter is the second is Scottās Whisper Ridge, Wyoming series and itās my favorite of the two.
I find that both men were easier to connect with, had huge chemistry with each other from their first meeting in the road, and their continued complex dynamics just made this story so enjoyable on a variety of levels that it was hard to put down.
Quinn, with his bright pink hair, big plans, ginormous out there attitude and vulnerability was such a standout characterā¦. Obviously!
He was made to love. By the reader and Levi. And we did. Even when he was making ,smh, incredibly poor choices, because of his inner turmoil you knew it was due to his traumatic past and confusion over what was best for all going forward. Poor choices done for the right reasons, at least in his mind. You could understand him.
The same went for Levi. His painful past history and fears were causing him to make his future based on his old memories and unwillingness to look past his pain to something more. Again we got him too. It took a bright pink haired Quinn to light the way to something new.
But in between thereās humor, horses, toddlers, young energetic boys, found family and a ranch to run.
It all melds together in one great story.
While Winter Cowboy laid the foundation, Summer Drifter filled out the universe and gave us a absolutely incredible love story and family.
Synopsis: One man craves family, the other isolation; neither of them was searching for forever love.
Experienced and much-in-demand horse trainer Levi doesn’t need or want people. With his horse and dog at his side, he lives out of his trailer and trains horses in the summer to earn just enough to head south for winter. Infrequent hook-ups with no-tell cowboys takes care of sex, but the moment any connection gets anywhere near complicated, he moves on. Losing a lover to violence has taught him that if he’s alone, he can’t get hurt, and in return, he avoids the pain of loss. Everything in his easy-going life is on track until he knocks over Quinn, a pink-haired stranger who pirouettes in front of his truck, sits in his lap and calls him cowboy with the sexiest voice he’s ever heard. Anger turns to frustration, lust turns to love, and by the end of the summer, Levi doesn’t know which way to turn.
Quinn loses everything when the cops find his brother’s body on the remains of a compound that belonged to a cult. Damaged and vulnerable, Max had been the only safe place for Quinn in his otherwise cold family, but finding out that Max might have had a son sends Quinn to Wyoming and the Lennox Ranch. When he’s knocked to the ground on day one at the ranch, he wonders if maybe he should have thought things through better. After all, he’d bought two horses and a house to get close enough to Lennox ranch just to see if he was an uncle. He craves love, connection and is excited to be part of a family, searching for a place where he can finally stop running. He never meant to fall for the closed-off cowboy, but somehow Levi steals his heart and Quinn falls in love.
Lane Hayes continues her Out of series for couple Gabe and Derek post college with two lovely, sweet short stories.
We meet again Hayesā great characters, in tightly plotted storylines filled with romance and hope for their dreams, individually and as a couple.
We follow them through each manās future plans, one for a restaurant and one for an Olympic spot, then to a wonderful romantic conclusion.
Both compliment each other and leave the reader happy and satisfied for the couple and with the stories.
What a lovely way to spend a couple of hours.
Lighthearted, humorous, romantic and sweet. I loved it and recommend both. And Hayes Out of series. Check them all out.
Synopsis:Out for the Holidays
A Dream Come Trueā¦
Derek-
This is it! Iām finally opening my own bistro. Iāve spent the last two years getting ready for this moment. I canāt decide if the holidays are the perfect time to begin a new venture, but Iām excited. It would be nice if my family were on board too.
Gabe-
I play water polo. I donāt know anything about the restaurant business, but I want to make sure Derekās grand opening goes according to plan. Iāll rally our friends, send out invites, and yeahā¦Iāll even deal with his mother. Heās my number one person and Iāll do whatever it takes to be sure weāre out for the holidays.
Out for the Holidays is a low-angst MM romance featuring Derek and Gabe from Out in the Deepā¦and a host of friends from the Out in College books!
Out for Gold
Chance of a Lifetimeā¦
Gabe-
Winning a spot on the Olympic water polo team is my lifelong goal and guess what?…I made it! Of course, nothing goes smoothly. This is a bad time for a shoulder injury and an even worse time for my dad to show up out of the blue. I might be doomed.
Derek-
Family isnāt easy. Trust me, I know. But in my experience, ignoring obvious issues only makes them more challenging in the long run. I canāt solve Gabeās problems with his dad, but Iāll help if I can. Win or lose, my man is going out for gold.
Out of Gold is a low-angst MM romance featuring Derek and Gabe from Out in the Deep in a full-circle quest for the ultimate prizeā¦love.
*OUT FOR THE HOLIDAYS was originally featured in the holiday collection, Gifts for the Season. Since the anthology is no longer available, I wanted to publish it on my own and add new content. OUT FOR GOLD is a brand-new novella that really brings the whole story full-circle. Both shorts feature Derek and Gabe from Out in the Deep.
Eden Wintersā Diversion series is one of my favorites. Itās so well written, highly complex, and the characters beyond amazing, with lives so layered , so thick with nuance , humor and peril that each book was a showstopper.
Never Underestimate an Omega sees Winters venturing into supernatural territory and for me the results are just a pleasant ok story.
Shifters romances, especially wolf shifters are plentiful. To stand out you need to add a new twist to the wolf shifter lexicon or give us a superb story that builds on the wolf shifter canon we already know.
This doesnāt do either , if anything it works against known canon in the worst way. Itās just a nice romance about a pack that needs rescuing, an omega included, and a alpha returning to exact revenge and take over the pack. Weāve seen this scenario before, multiple times. Including the fact that the omega turns out to be a stronger, more intricate part of pack dynamics then the old pack structure will acknowledge.
Again, nothing new. Although I enjoyed the omega Logan.
Alpha Grey, also sexy . And their relationship? What we see if it, which isnāt much until the very end of the story, is superficial. That doesnāt work or help to connect us to them as a couple.
What was confusing here was the whole mate recognition element. For one pair the mate factor/bond was immediate, although āoff stageā so we donāt see it happening. Weird.
For our all important main couple? The alpha seemed clueless which was incredibly odd when Logan knew Grey was it for him. However, that recognition was not the all powerful element youād expect it to be. That could be any instant love story tbh.
Wolves mate for life, something not even mentioned here.
Within this universe, the mate bond almost seems to be a ātake it or leave itā thing which diminishes the impact of any mating/bonding. At least for me. It feels all sorts of muddy here as a part of the shifter biology and that actually dilutes the importance of their relationship and impact within the pack structure.
In my opinion . At one part Logan debated even āreturningāā¦ which assumed that the entire mate aspect holds little physical or emotional sway. But for another pair itās the direct opposite. But again for them it comes across as more of a āweāre in loveā than a deep spiritual/physical imperative.
So is this in fact something the author intended or a continuity problem? I donāt know. Either way it was extremely confusing and deflating.
Itās not until the very end that they act or have any type of relationship that veers towards romance. Then itās really too late. Much of the story is spent on other issues and them apart, physically and emotionally.
While there are certainly some interesting characters here they arenāt necessarily the main ones.
Overall, as I said, itās a nice story. But not what I was expecting from this author whoās other stories are so extraordinary and complex.
If you ask me what I recommend? I recommend you read the entire Diversions series. Those are just great reads.
Synopsis:An alpha leader must have an alpha mate, but Gray wants only one man.
And that man is an omega.
Wolf shifter Gray Collins returns to his home pack to avenge his fatherās murder, never expecting to take on the role of leader. Gray is a loner with no desire to tackle the politics of being Pack Alpha. Worse yet, he falls for the man heās come to depend onāomega Logan Richardson.
According to pack lore, omegas are inferior, nothing more than lowly servants. Or are they? Logan is far too cunning, fierce, and bold to be a low-ranking wolf. While he keeps his head down in public, when theyāre alone, Logan stands toe-to-toe with Gray like no one else dares. Mutual respect grows into friendship, friendship into a white-hot desire neither can fight.
Despite the law and the odds, the two wolves form a tentative bond. Together they lead the pack through strife and threats, all while keeping a secretāa secret that could get them both killed, and plunge the pack back into the savage dark ages.
The entire Lycan world is on the brink of a hard-won lesson: Never underestimate the relentless force of an omega.
I have been looking forward to this book and series since itās origin story, A Brush of Blue, in her Colors of Love series. Itās there that we met Landon Reese, goalie/hockey player and his future husband, bandleader Montrell Pittman. And at the end they are facing a great future together, full of new journeys, including one that sees both at Landonās large spread in Wyoming, the Prairie Smoke Ranch.
It was such an amazing story and that couple was so fascinating and diverse that I couldnāt wait to see how their lives continued and what happened nextā¦.on that ranch.
We get that here, although not as much as I had hoped to see of Landon and Martell. Here, we run across Landon most often as the carryover character. He owns the ranch after all. Of the complex , musical cross dressing Martell, we catch just glimpses.
No the focus of this novel is the Prairie Smoke ranch foreman, Nate Pearson and Dr. Bishop Haney, associate professor of Paleontology at UWW. Itās their love story, with heavy overlay plot lines of theft, bigotry, feuding ranches, rustling and more.
And that mixture of elements and storylines is both a blessing and , well not a curse then definitely a frustrating point, reader and review wise, about this novel.
Writing a series, authors can format their stories in various ways. Thereās a main foundation or universe, here itās the Prairie Smoke Ranch and itās location near the Tetons as well as surrounding communities, town and Native tribes.
Locey has established a great setting and niche community here. We have the larger towns and citizens referenced and secondary characters from there who make appearances.Thereās the smaller found family the author is slowly creating at the ranch itself thatās a combination of owners, ranch hands, and support staff. New people already situated or are soon to arrive within this group are those whoās relationships will be launched in the forthcoming books.
As I said, this series looks to follow the pattern of individual romances emerging from the ranch family that is growing before us on the page instead of following through on the couple already presented.
From foundation universe and main couple romance, then a author can layer on more themes or plots that get threaded through the narrative to further tie books and series together.
For me this has always been a somewhat tricky format to balance and have each tale remain satisfying in and of itself while moving the series objectives forward.
As a reader, I want to come to the end of each novel I read and feel happy (if itās that sort of fiction) as well as satisfied that some if not most of the plot lines raised have been concluded , even if itās not the arc storyline . Thatās more so the case because itās a anticipated smaller percentage in novels from a series because yes, you allow for a certain number of storylines to carryover into the next novel. I still emotionally need closure on something! Please donāt leave me with more questions then answers or spending hours wondering why I didnāt even connect 100 percent to our couple. More on that.
When that happens. Even if thereās no real cliffhanger (something I abhor in a series), having multiple major elements left dangling at the end , well frustrating is a nice way to put it. Then I start to look at every aspect of the story with askance.
That includes what seems to be a happy, loving main couple . Here after some thought, even their romance here feels just as unfinished as everything else. Definitely a HFN book. An air of uncertainty hangs ever present over all elements.
For me that perfectly frames out how Dawnās Desire reads and comes across at the end. I done nothing but think about this story and why I just felt unsettled and yup, frustrated by the end.
Letās tackle the romance first of all.
Itās very well written, especially when creating and defining the men who become lovers in this HFN story.
Nate has a tragic history which is easy to emphasize with and feel a part of this manās life story. I connected with Nate. And even now he stands out so clearly in my head. I know this man.
Bishop, all energized, nerdy yet capable, messy man bun and long limbs, is equally amazing and relatable. From his California great looks to his positive outlook, Bishop feels as real as Nate.
Their chemistry is off the charts hot and I can even believe they love each other at the end.
The author did such a thorough, great job in giving both men not only a layered history but each has an emotional richness to them. Nate speaks hauntingly and with deep conviction of his connection to the wide spaces of Wyoming and his almost sacred bonding to the land. As he spoke at times during the story of his need and emotional ties there , it was so moving and natural.
Bishop too has equally meaningful layers to him. Not surprisingly, these strong ties run from his joy and passion for paleontology . But on the same level as Nateās great need and love for the land surrounding the Tetons is Bishop ās innermost connection to the ocean, itās waters , smells, and sounds that speak to Bishop of his heart. Itās a immense part of his soul, one that he says feels empty when heās away from it. Yes, I understood Bishop too on a visceral level.
Sooooā¦ anyone seeing a potential issue here for a HEA? Because yes, Bishop is a associate professor at UWW, thatās a both a field that calls for major time spent on digs (wherever they may be found) but he likes the city and his oceans.
This may be a case where these men are so well crafted as to feel real. We understand their inner emotions and can then see past a simple relationship whereas love here being everything. For me instead of focusing on their HFN status, all I could think of is this relationship has a real time limit realistically speaking. That sometimes love isnāt enough.
While realistic, probably not the tone Locey was going for in this romance.
The story doesnāt address my concerns about the romance feeling like a summer ranch fling however much they declared their love.
Add that to the fact that none of the other storylines (entertaining and suspenseful major threads) come to any fruition . Each one is left to continue through to the next book. Not one is resolved.
I got to the end of Dawnās Desire feeling as though Iād read the first half of a book where the rest of it was missing.
Iām sure more information about each mystery and plot will be featured in book 2 in this series. However, that story doesnāt center around Bishop and Nate but another couple entirely.
And unlike Landon and Martell who communicated and worked , in that novel, how the complications from each manās job would fit into their newly domesticated lifestyle, here between Nate and Bishop we get nothing. Just a declaration of love.
Just not very satisfying, at least for me.
So finally, Dawnās Desire does a great job in setting up the foundation and conflicts going forward in the series. It does nothing to resolve any thread just a setup and move forward.
It does give us a age gap, layered realistic quick romance between Nate and Bishop, running from lust to love. We understand and come to love each man, easy to do as theyāre intelligent, funny, poignant, and sexy.
But is this a romance built or written in a way that feels lasting? Not so much. More like Nateās first step out of emotional hibernation than a HEA. And I could see Bishop, at another dig, thinking about Nate as the one thing he left behind. That feels believable.
Will the upcoming stories change them and my general feelings about this couple? Remains to be seen. Along with the conclusions to some of the mysteries started here.
Iāll be waiting anxiously for the next novel to see what it brings.
I really liked this story. For one, Bordenās series about the LA Riptide NFL team is marvelous and any new installment is exciting.
Two, Bolden brings into her Riptide universe, characters and couples from her other terrific series (Kitchen Gods , Kitchen Wars, and Food Truck Warriors). These couples are intertwined with each otherās stories and seeing them again here is a total pleasure.
Third and best reason? Bolden loves and knows the sport of pro football, every angle and aspect. From the Sports announcers/broadcasters like Terry Bradshaw , sitting crafty and country in his booth, to draft day to the locker room dynamics, itās all here.
Thatās understood immediately as we dive into the opening scene and mindset of defense end Spencer Evans. The Stars opponent has the ball and now itās up to the defense to stop them. Heās in the zoneā¦gameās onā¦heās mentally focused as the field and action unfolds before and around him. We are THERE with him, seeing it all and waiting for him to act.
What an awesome way to jump into the story and character.
From that scene Bolden takes the reader and her characters on a moving emotional journey of self growth, acceptance and love. But not before putting them and us through some real turmoil.
Thatās perfect and realistic when you have as tightly wrapped a person as Spencer and as deeply self protective as Alec Mitchell, the gay Sports super agent whoās had feelings for Spencer since the msn was first drafted. Each man has rejected, then been rejected over the course of a decades long complicated relationship. Spencer choosing to be drafted and then play for a decade for a team so toxic (the fictional LA Stars) that heās buried who he is so deep he no longer knows who he is. And Alec Mitchell has watched knowing the man Spencer was.Tough dynamics through a decade of complex emotions.
The journey for both men restarts afterSpencer decides to changeā¦everything.
Itās a moving read. Spencer, with the help of not only Alec but the surprise support of those heās hurt in the past, decides to tear down the walls he built, and find himself again.
We see the maneuvering to get trades done, team dynamics (both great and ugly), while feeling intimately part of this new path Spencer is taking along with Alec.
Great stuff. I was totally in the game as they say, with him all the way.
The romance? Just as complicated and rewarding. I love this couple. The chemistry is hot.
The story comes so close to perfect. But it contains one element that always makes the reader wonder and yes, something I find irritating. Probably because itās so correctable.
I call it the āmissing main animal character ā element. I canāt tell you how often Iāve seen this happen and it takes me right out of the narrative because Iām too busy wondering where the hell Soarky, Fluffy or what have you went.
In this case, itās a one-eyes black cat called Ignatius or Iggy for short. He belongs to Spencer. How that came about and their adorable relationship is a fairly big part of the story. Iggy acts as a fulcrum for a specific meeting. He also is used to show Spencerās vulnerability and ability to change. So yes, Iggyās a big deal.
However, the last , important, third of the story? No Iggy. Not even a mention of someone taking care of him, introducing him to Alecā¦nada. Iggy disappears.
Now I understand that the author has goals, narrative stages she wants to tell and/or hit as the storylines start to come together and the book heads toward The End. However, at least IMO, better to either never have such a animal character in the first place, use another device to accomplish the same meeting, then to create (extremely well btw) and then dump said animals.
Itās noticed. And in my case bothers me enough every time I see it to deduct rating points. š¤¦š¼āāļø. Just no.
So yes, great story, wonderful characters and romance. Missing cat.
Maybe Iggy will find a home in the next book. Which I will surely read because I do love the Riptide team and itās players.
Unfamiliar with the inter workings of pro ball? Donāt worry because youāre going to feel like a football veteran after reading this, as well as her other books. Enjoy!
There are 3 terrific books in this series, I recommend them all.
Synopsis: Spencerās deep in the Red Zone and itās time to even the score.
Nine years ago Spencer Evans became the first player out of the closet to be drafted into the NFL. Everyone believed he had aspirations to change the world but all Spencer ever wanted to do was play football for a team that accepted him wholeheartedly. But they never would, and Spencer began to conceal all the parts that made him different.
When a terrible injury forces him to re-evaluate his life and his choices, he realizes thereās only one man who can help him.
The very first gay sports agent, Alec Mitchell has given his life and his career to making queer athletesā dreams come true. He canāt help but think of Spencer as the one who got awayāprofessionally and personally.
Alec thought heād buried his desperate longing for Spencer ages ago but it turns out it was just lying dormant, waiting for the right spark. When he begs Alec to take him on as a client, everything theyāve been burying for years surfaces once again.
With Alecās help, Spencer can change everything about his life heās come to hate. An extraordinary futureāand an undeniably extraordinary manāare waiting for him. The play has been called. All he has to do is catch the ball and score
All Quinn wants is his fairy share of happiness. Is that so much to ask?
Now on book 3 of Meghan Maslowās Starfig Investigations series and, as they say, the plots just keep getting thicker! Much to my total delight and absolute entertainment.
I say plots because this series and each story contains multiple storylines, each as convoluted and mysterious as the next.
And with each new case and adventure (or should that be misadventures) our stalwart found family and couple set out on, we get more! More of the questions each book asks, more enhanced landscape of the world map and cultures, and yes, new characters and relationships.
We are left joyfully panting for answers as well as the next book and case. So are our couple, Twig and Quinn.
His Fairy Share has to be the most poignant and moving story yet of all the three tales. Needing answers to the questions about their potential mate bonding and Quinnās powers, and with a Witches Council summon in hand, they head to the last place Quinn ever wanted to returnā¦the human realm.
Is there ever any element more fraught with dread anticipation, pain, anger, and the ability to bring forth the worst as well as the hopes of the past then returning home? Especially a home that helped sell you into sexual slavery?
Maslow does an incredible job of getting into the emotional state and mind of Quinn as he enters back into the quagmire that is this realm.
The author creates a place of ritual, magic, rigid regulations to go along with a Witches culture so hidebound and structured that itās claustrophobic almost to read certain passages. We are truly there in spirit and itās awful.
Such a place is lightened by some new splendid characters like Two Toes the Tavern keeper, librarian Beckett, and , of course, that irrepressible younger brother Zak!
Honestly this story belongs in the movie theater! Thereās sea battles to take your breath away, pirates, ghosts, more amazing heart racing action than you can imagine.
All executed beautifully and with great passion by Maslow.
The most magnificent is towards the endā¦ something I will absolutely not spoil for any reader but it will have you cheering. Just warn the neighbors if your walls are thin.
The ending is just the right touch after all the high action that went before. Instead of blasting, fire, and hells a blazing, we get subtlety, mischief, love, and a whole lot of more questions, in the very best of ways.
To sum up! Magnificently written, fantastic moving storylines, and characters to die for. My favorite yet.
Donāt miss out on this book or this incredible series. They should be read in the order they were written for full plot development and characters/relationships growth.
I consider all three must reads and canāt wait for the fourth installment coming out in September!
Need a new fantasy book and series? Start here. Highly recommended.
What can I say? What a outstanding story! And not the least of which because every element comes across as a fully adult intelligent relationship thatās being explored, grown, and in the end, committed to.
Hallelujah
Rainbow Cove is a terrific series, heartwarming, rainbow, and yes, kinky.
Hope on the Rocks delivers up the story of bartender/co owner of Rainbow Tavern, Adam Ringerās, path to a very beautiful and somewhat kinky HEA.
His partner to be? Dr Quinn Strauss, the townās GP whoās current heartbreak leads him to Adamās bar, a load of cocktails and a drunken confession about his secret desire for a Daddy.
Which just so happens to fit beautifully in with Adamās need to be a Daddy, especially to the appealing man before him so in need of being taken care of.
What follows is first an agreement for a summer friends with benefits arrangement, no ties, to help Quinn explore fully his sexual/emotional desire for a Daddy.
As with the previous story. Lumber Jacked, which explored rope kink, beautifully so, Hope on the Rocks focuses its men and their burgeoning relationship around their mutual desire/need for Daddy kink. Albert expertly uses her characters and their relationship to explain exactly what this type of kink means and how it fits into a committed partnership.
Far from any sort of sex tutelage into Daddy role play, we get a sexy, moving, and meaningful story, full of adult communication on each otherās needs, expectations, and secret desires. Safety and trust, patience and love. All seen and experienced by Quinn and Adam as their summer and relationship deepens.
What barriers there are to overcome are ones that are equally realistic and ones I appreciate as they affected their dynamic. Demands by family, fears generated by past history, even work schedulesā¦..all that rings so true.
The men are so sympathetic and engaging, both separately and as a couple that I read this story from start to finish without stopping. Thatās a true measure for me of how much I love a book and how fully Iām involved in that universe and couple.
Here? It was 100 percent, I was all in and didnāt want to leave them and Rainbow Cove behind at the end.
I have no idea how many more stories the author intends to write in this series but hereās hoping that Rainbow Coveās future is bright, as shiny and wonderful as this story and all those before it.
Thereās no literary voice like BA Tortugaās . As I read one of her stories, the richness of the regional dialect that rolls out from the mouths of her characters rings with such authenticity that I can still hear those words and sentences even now.
Itās not just a muttered āsweet baby Jesusā or a āall you allā. Nor is it all the many local dishes eaten, barbecue grilled ( btw Iām definitely taking up the pickled mustard seed tyvm), or even the Tex mex delicious drool worthy food her characters devour, nope, itās more. Itās small town Texas itself, the good, the heartwarming, and yes, the ugly. BA Tortuga knows the land and itās people on a truly cellular level and is able to take that knowledge and love and pour it into her books.
I always feel as though I honestly know these people, these flawed human beings she writes so well. Here itās Jericho and his children, a rancher neighbor of Baileyās. Sheās got a stalker and called her brother Anderson back in California for help. A brother bullied as a youth in school there in that small Texas town and now reborn as Logic, a highly successful tv robotics Star, writer, and robot builder. The renewal of acquaintance sparking more, being in town pulling up old memories.
Both the sister and Jericho have children and again, these kids are so well written. Perfect for their ages, each voice memorable and funny, engaging and sweet. When Travis meets his hero Logic for the first time and thinks heās being punked? Perfection!
I could read that and enjoy their relationship over and over.
In fact all the interplay between the families just draws you into this incredible dynamic and makes you want to be a huge part of it as well.
Thereās drama, hurt/comfort elements. But also for me thereās that great ending..
Iāve really debated with myself over how much to say here about it. Because at one point I thought BA was going to go a certain way with it ( shame on me, should have known better) because hey, isnāt that what happens with romances like this.
I know I know. Wet noodle time. Trust in the Tortuga.
So yep, fantastic endingā¦.. ok I wanted more but I say that about all her stories. Canāt stop now. Thatās because I never want them to end. Sue me.
But this one? Itās so special. One of my favorites out of so many of hers. Read it and I think youāll agree.l
Winter Cowboy, the first story in a new series by RJ Scott, has a full and varied narrative plot/theme list.
As the first book in the series, itās required (and does) set in place the history and universe for Whisper Ridge and itās foundation characters.
We start with Micah Lennox and his sister, Rachel, and her children. The Lennox ranch. The town and its people. Daniel, now the townās doctor, along with Micah and Danielās deeply troubled past. A past that includes a traumatic accident, prison, death, and more.
Thatās the past. Turns thereās the present with much for multiple characters to deal with on a daily basis. We see elements of PTSD, past evidence of domestic violence, child battery (never seen but referred to), cults, and murder. The aftermath all that takes on a person, no matter the age. As well as everyone, including Danielās family, dealing still with the ramifications of that car accident years ago that shattered lives.
I havenāt even mentioned therapy (thankfully and responsibly the author shows the importance of getting help for all involved).
And we havenāt we begun to talk romance yet. We can talk lovers reunited, enemies to lovers, second chance at love? All fav tropes of mine. Yep. All here. Even hurt/comfort. A bit of that too.
Yes, Winter Cowboy carries a full load but in the very capable hands of RJ Scott it all melds together in a cohesive and moving story.
If I had a wish , it would be that Daniel and Micah had more time as a reconciled couple in the story, well yes maybe more than a bit more. I really wanted to get more a feel of them as a couple as we spent so much time on the deep traumatized past that kept them apart and broke up their lives. It was brutal constantly revisiting that accident while no one had really moved on. When they finally forgave themselves and each other the story was almost over. And I wanted more of them new and exploring what it meant to have a āusā again.
There is a ābridgeā chapter/prequel after the end of Winter Cowboy that leads us into Summer Drifter, book 2 , in the Whisper Ridge, Wyoming series.
After reading it, I can see we will be getting deeper into the past events mentioned in Winter Cowboy. Hopefully we will see Micah and Daniel too at the next stage in their relationship.
Iām now looking forward to the next in the series and more of the Lennox Ranch and the tantalizing glimpse I saw of one of the main characters.
Read Winter Cowboy, Daniel and Micah and all the friends and family thatās making Lennox Ranch home!
Top Shelf (Boston Rebels #1) by RJ Scott and VL Locey is the first book is a new hockey romance series by two of my must read authors
Long and eagerly awaited, as is any new LGBTQ2+ hockey romance tale, Top Shelf more than delivers
As you all know hockey is my jam! And Rainbow š hockey love stories? Well, be still my heart š! There are many excellent authors in this genre and the writers RJ Scott and VL Locey are at the top of my list among them
Why? Because like the others, they are passionate about the sport of hockey, itās players and teams. They know the sport and itās translates into excellence in fast, accurate action on ice scenes that gets the reader going and engaged with the team and itās season while still threading through the storylines, full of romance, rocky paths and heartwarming emotions.
Thatās all presented here as we meet a team in need of rebuilding. Thatās a highly volatile situation for all involved. It means saying goodbye to older players not yet ready to go and learning to accept new younger players stepping into holes in teams not ready for them to be filled.
Add in several players admission of LGBTQ2+ identification when one player comes officially out? And for everyone the team becomes a new uncertain future for all, especially management
This is the universe we are meeting throughout this story. Various players, a team and people in transition
First itās the tight friendship, on and off the ice, of Xander and Eli. Brothers in all but name and Railers, theyāve had a third tagging along most of their lives. Mason, Eliās younger brother
Mason, never much interested in hockey past the fact that Eli and his forever crush Xander played, is now grown. And determined to make Xander see him in a new light.
Xander has recently come out after hiding his sexuality. Here the authors excelled at showing Xanderās confusion and fragility over how exactly he becomes a truth heās never allowed himself to have or be. Heās raw, more than a little depressed, and no one is picking up on his uncertain emotional state.
The teamās turmoil is adding stress all around to major players and again the elements and reactions feel so realistic. Our own emotions fall readily into the storylines filling out before us. We not only want more of these teammates histories but we need to know
Thatās on top of Xander and Masonās romance which has its own tensions with Masonās new business (that remains unresolved in my mind) and Xanderās future
I honestly thought the realism here, all the various issues raised as well as the feeling that the relationship needs more work and communication was wonderful. After all, itās new. Both men have so many new elements to deal with as well as making their relationship work that leaving this a HFN, a work in progress to return to makes sense
Itās great and leaves me wanting to bribe the authors for much much more. Not just the next couple in the series which is coming in Back Check- see below.
So yes, I loved my story, the new series, and team
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 