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| 1685501125
| 9781685501129
| B09YPSPWJR
| 4.37
| 63
| unknown
| May 07, 2022
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liked it
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First - please don't pass on this book due to the dumb title! I'm not sure if the title was an attempt by the author to turn the MCs initial meeting i
First - please don't pass on this book due to the dumb title! I'm not sure if the title was an attempt by the author to turn the MCs initial meeting into a joke but it's one of the dumbest titles I've come across and I have no doubt that people pass on this little gem because of it. Second - no, this story doesn't involve the ocean or mermen, despite the title and cover VERY STRONGLY indicating that it does. The story revolves around two WW2 vets who have just come home from the war and one of them is homeless while the other has returned to his family's farm. Nothing about oceans or mermen. The MCs do meet when one of them is having a bath in the other's water tank and the book ends with the MCs playing around in the water tank together, so I'm assuming that's what the author wanted to represent by the title and cover...maybe? But the author clearly didn't account for the fact that many readers judge a story based on its title/cover without reading the blurb so I personally think this was a dumb choice. Anyway. This story is a very sweet, slow burn romance between two men who came home from the war and discovered that they don't have much to come back to. George's parents were killed during a bombing in 1942 while they were visiting London so he does have the farm to live and work on but he's very lonely. Peter was even worse off. His family had lived in London and their entire street had been decimated during the bombings so he has no family or home. Like hundreds of vets in Peter's position, he came home from serving in the war and wound up homeless, destitute and lonely. The story starts in 1947 and Peter has been hiding in George's greenhouse for several days and while he's having a bath in the water tank, George catches him. Since George is lonely and he could use more help around the farm, he asks Peter to stay and their relationship develops from there. While the story was very sweet, the historical details were great and I liked all the components of the narrative, the writing style wasn't my cup of tea at all. The story is 98% telling with a lot of the romantic development not being shown. In addition, both George and Peter are constantly monologuing in their heads about various topics and the author even repeats scenes from both of their perspective so we don't just get one MC's inner thoughts but also the other's. One of the worst examples of this was when Peter and George both spend time thinking about much they love their evening routine of having tea together and reading interesting bits of the paper to each other. But the actual evening routine is never once shown on page! This applied to nearly every interaction the MCs have, except for the very beginning and the very end. The problem is that this constant telling was boring and I found myself skimming, despite how short this story is. The lack of showing also meant I never emotionally connected with the characters or their romance. It doesn't matter how often the author would tell me that the MC is feeling XYZ - that doesn't work for me. I need on-page scenes SHOWING me what they're feeling in order for me to care. Overall, due to my main issue being this tell-not-show problem, I think this story would work really well for people who don't mind that style. The story really is a beautiful, sweet romance and I felt it was the right length for the premise. But please - if you see anybody else passing on this story because they think it's a merman/naval romance and that's not their thing, please do the author the favor of correcting those assumptions. Merged review: First - please don't pass on this book due to the dumb title! I'm not sure if the title was an attempt by the author to turn the MCs initial meeting into a joke but it's one of the dumbest titles I've come across and I have no doubt that people pass on this little gem because of it. Second - no, this story doesn't involve the ocean or mermen, despite the title and cover VERY STRONGLY indicating that it does. The story revolves around two WW2 vets who have just come home from the war and one of them is homeless while the other has returned to his family's farm. Nothing about oceans or mermen. The MCs do meet when one of them is having a bath in the other's water tank and the book ends with the MCs playing around in the water tank together, so I'm assuming that's what the author wanted to represent by the title and cover...maybe? But the author clearly didn't account for the fact that many readers judge a story based on its title/cover without reading the blurb so I personally think this was a dumb choice. Anyway. This story is a very sweet, slow burn romance between two men who came home from the war and discovered that they don't have much to come back to. George's parents were killed during a bombing in 1942 while they were visiting London so he does have the farm to live and work on but he's very lonely. Peter was even worse off. His family had lived in London and their entire street had been decimated during the bombings so he has no family or home. Like hundreds of vets in Peter's position, he came home from serving in the war and wound up homeless, destitute and lonely. The story starts in 1947 and Peter has been hiding in George's greenhouse for several days and while he's having a bath in the water tank, George catches him. Since George is lonely and he could use more help around the farm, he asks Peter to stay and their relationship develops from there. While the story was very sweet, the historical details were great and I liked all the components of the narrative, the writing style wasn't my cup of tea at all. The story is 98% telling with a lot of the romantic development not being shown. In addition, both George and Peter are constantly monologuing in their heads about various topics and the author even repeats scenes from both of their perspective so we don't just get one MC's inner thoughts but also the other's. One of the worst examples of this was when Peter and George both spend time thinking about much they love their evening routine of having tea together and reading interesting bits of the paper to each other. But the actual evening routine is never once shown on page! This applied to nearly every interaction the MCs have, except for the very beginning and the very end. The problem is that this constant telling was boring and I found myself skimming, despite how short this story is. The lack of showing also meant I never emotionally connected with the characters or their romance. It doesn't matter how often the author would tell me that the MC is feeling XYZ - that doesn't work for me. I need on-page scenes SHOWING me what they're feeling in order for me to care. Overall, due to my main issue being this tell-not-show problem, I think this story would work really well for people who don't mind that style. The story really is a beautiful, sweet romance and I felt it was the right length for the premise. But please - if you see anybody else passing on this story because they think it's a merman/naval romance and that's not their thing, please do the author the favor of correcting those assumptions. ...more |
Notes are private!
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2
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Jan 21, 2023
not set
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Jan 22, 2023
not set
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Sep 26, 2024
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ebook
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| 1786515679
| 9781786515674
| B09SPF39CB
| 3.66
| 68
| May 09, 2017
| Jun 06, 2017
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did not like it
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DNF @ 35% I was looking forward to this book so much! It's a cowboy romance but set in the Scottish Highlands, which was a great idea. Duncan had inher DNF @ 35% I was looking forward to this book so much! It's a cowboy romance but set in the Scottish Highlands, which was a great idea. Duncan had inherited his grandfather's ranch and saved the struggling ranch by turning it into a typical American dude ranch that happens to be set in the Highlands. So it combined two of my favorite things: rural Scottish Highland life plus cowboy life. Drew is a flamboyant gay guy who makes his living designing women's clothes and men's underwear and he's a walking, talking stereotype of what a Flamboyant Gay man would be but he's also comfortable in the ranch environment, having grown up on a Scottish Highlands country estate. It was also my favorite opposites attract scenario with Duncan being the shy, gentle giant and Drew being the loud, confident one. Unfortunately, the execution left me bored and annoyed and it's mostly due to the amateur writing style and amateur plotting. I'll list my grievances in a list but in no particular order. + Most of the dialog is unnatural, stiff and a lot of contractions were missing, which didn't fit how any of these characters would talk. + Duncan and Drew were supposed to be more than walking stereotypes and the author tried to pull this off by giving Drew strong horsemanship skills and a high comfort level with outdoorsy things and by Duncan apparently liking musicals. Unfortunately, the author focused way more on showing Drew's diverse interests instead of balancing the portrayals and that had the unfortunate result of having Drew come across like a Gary Stu (perfect in every way) while Duncan remained a walking, talking cowboy stereotype. + Duncan was supposed to be 40 so more than 10 years older than Drew, but the way Duncan was written made him come across as a typical 20-something guy just like Drew. The age gap was supposed to matter but it didn't due to poor writing. + The author seems to think it's their job to lecture readers about all sorts of gay related topics because the preaching was relentless. Somebody would judge Drew due to his flamboyant nature by making rude comments/assumptions about women and femme gays and then the author would always have Drew wag his finger in the person's face and lecture them about not being sexist/homophobic/judgmental etc. It wasn't just repetitive and thus boring but it was also condescending. It also didn't make sense most of the time. Most of the side characters who were judging Drew either already knew him so it made no sense for them to say those things or they weren't the kind of people who would make those comments in this day and age. But the author felt the need to lecture readers and thus, forced multiple of these conversations in the bit I read. + The plot moved at a glacial pace with many scenes not adding to the plot. Specifically, the frequent scenes involving the MCs interacting with side characters were boring and pointless. The reason Drew is staying at Duncan's ranch for a few days is because Drew's sister is marrying Duncan's BFF. Unfortunately, the author decided that this MM romance needed the presence of the het couple and constant reminders of their upcoming wedding, which meant we had to suffer through boring scenes like Drew working with the women on their dresses and a long, boring dinner with the entire wedding party. This isn't an MF romance so I didn't care about the MF couple and I hated spending so much time with them. The author tried to make those scenes relevant to the story by sometimes having the conversation discuss Drew or Duncan but these little bits of conversation weren't enough to make up for the long, pointless scene that they were stuffed into and it also lead to the following problem: + The MCs histories are discussed way too frequently and the same things are brought up over and over again. Stories about Duncan being bullied at boarding school and how his BFF helped him are brought up multiple times. We get tons of stories about Drew and his sister's childhood shenanigans, as well as constant reminders that Drew grew up on a country estate and thus, he knows country things. It felt like the author didn't have an outline or a solid idea of what to fill the pages with, which is why we got these repetitive conversations and why the MF couple took up so much space. + Due to the combination of bad dialog, zero chemistry between the MCs, boring plot and preaching tone, it's probably not a surprise that the smut scenes weren't well written and weren't enjoyable. You can tell that the author really tried but all the other factors heavily impacted my ability to enjoy the smut scenes, which was yet another disappointment. Overall, this wasn't my thing and it's clear that this author's work isn't for me. This story contained SO MANY things that I love so the fact that I DNF'd it early and I disliked it so strongly tells me it's not the story but the author's writing ability and storytelling that weren't working for me. Merged review: DNF @ 35% I was looking forward to this book so much! It's a cowboy romance but set in the Scottish Highlands, which was a great idea. Duncan had inherited his grandfather's ranch and saved the struggling ranch by turning it into a typical American dude ranch that happens to be set in the Highlands. So it combined two of my favorite things: rural Scottish Highland life plus cowboy life. Drew is a flamboyant gay guy who makes his living designing women's clothes and men's underwear and he's a walking, talking stereotype of what a Flamboyant Gay man would be but he's also comfortable in the ranch environment, having grown up on a Scottish Highlands country estate. It was also my favorite opposites attract scenario with Duncan being the shy, gentle giant and Drew being the loud, confident one. Unfortunately, the execution left me bored and annoyed and it's mostly due to the amateur writing style and amateur plotting. I'll list my grievances in a list but in no particular order. + Most of the dialog is unnatural, stiff and a lot of contractions were missing, which didn't fit how any of these characters would talk. + Duncan and Drew were supposed to be more than walking stereotypes and the author tried to pull this off by giving Drew strong horsemanship skills and a high comfort level with outdoorsy things and by Duncan apparently liking musicals. Unfortunately, the author focused way more on showing Drew's diverse interests instead of balancing the portrayals and that had the unfortunate result of having Drew come across like a Gary Stu (perfect in every way) while Duncan remained a walking, talking cowboy stereotype. + Duncan was supposed to be 40 so more than 10 years older than Drew, but the way Duncan was written made him come across as a typical 20-something guy just like Drew. The age gap was supposed to matter but it didn't due to poor writing. + The author seems to think it's their job to lecture readers about all sorts of gay related topics because the preaching was relentless. Somebody would judge Drew due to his flamboyant nature by making rude comments/assumptions about women and femme gays and then the author would always have Drew wag his finger in the person's face and lecture them about not being sexist/homophobic/judgmental etc. It wasn't just repetitive and thus boring but it was also condescending. It also didn't make sense most of the time. Most of the side characters who were judging Drew either already knew him so it made no sense for them to say those things or they weren't the kind of people who would make those comments in this day and age. But the author felt the need to lecture readers and thus, forced multiple of these conversations in the bit I read. + The plot moved at a glacial pace with many scenes not adding to the plot. Specifically, the frequent scenes involving the MCs interacting with side characters were boring and pointless. The reason Drew is staying at Duncan's ranch for a few days is because Drew's sister is marrying Duncan's BFF. Unfortunately, the author decided that this MM romance needed the presence of the het couple and constant reminders of their upcoming wedding, which meant we had to suffer through boring scenes like Drew working with the women on their dresses and a long, boring dinner with the entire wedding party. This isn't an MF romance so I didn't care about the MF couple and I hated spending so much time with them. The author tried to make those scenes relevant to the story by sometimes having the conversation discuss Drew or Duncan but these little bits of conversation weren't enough to make up for the long, pointless scene that they were stuffed into and it also lead to the following problem: + The MCs histories are discussed way too frequently and the same things are brought up over and over again. Stories about Duncan being bullied at boarding school and how his BFF helped him are brought up multiple times. We get tons of stories about Drew and his sister's childhood shenanigans, as well as constant reminders that Drew grew up on a country estate and thus, he knows country things. It felt like the author didn't have an outline or a solid idea of what to fill the pages with, which is why we got these repetitive conversations and why the MF couple took up so much space. + Due to the combination of bad dialog, zero chemistry between the MCs, boring plot and preaching tone, it's probably not a surprise that the smut scenes weren't well written and weren't enjoyable. You can tell that the author really tried but all the other factors heavily impacted my ability to enjoy the smut scenes, which was yet another disappointment. Overall, this wasn't my thing and it's clear that this author's work isn't for me. This story contained SO MANY things that I love so the fact that I DNF'd it early and I disliked it so strongly tells me it's not the story but the author's writing ability and storytelling that weren't working for me. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 29, 2024
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Jul 2024
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Sep 21, 2024
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Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||
| 1611245885
| 9781611245882
| B00K1PABQ2
| 3.37
| 516
| Apr 20, 2014
| Apr 20, 2014
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liked it
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Throughout the whole book, I was sure this was going to be at least a 4 star read and I was loving it...until the book ended way before it should have
Throughout the whole book, I was sure this was going to be at least a 4 star read and I was loving it...until the book ended way before it should have. HFN endings can work in some cases but in this case, the MCs ended the story still having no clue how to navigate a relationship despite their many differences so it wasn't a satisfying ending. First, I want to quickly discuss the love triangle situation in this story. Some readers have stated that they were confused for much of the story and they didn't know if Graham would end up with Jackson or Kaz, but I never felt confused because this is a plotline that's been done many times before. (view spoiler)[Graham has been in love with his BFF Jackson for years and they fooled around once when they were drunk, which Jackson refuses to acknowledge because he's in deep denial over his sexuality. Despite Jackson being jealous of Kaz and finally admitting his feelings to Graham in order to compete with the new guy, it was always very apparent that Jackson wasn't ready for a relationship with anybody. In particular, Graham was struggling with his own issues (view spoiler)[(sexual anxiety, newly discovered love of BDSM, being in a gay relationship) (hide spoiler)] and he didn't have the knowledge or energy to deal with his own stuff as well as Jackson's. Kaz was confident and comfortable with his sexuality and all the other things that both Jackson and Graham struggled with so he was the better choice for Graham from the start. Having Jackson and Graham part on good terms with both needing a break from each other but vowing to preserve their friendship was a beautiful way to end that part of the story. (hide spoiler)] Overall, I liked Jackson's role in the story and this is one of the very few times that I would love to read a sequel featuring Jackson finding his own HEA. Anyway, the rest of my review will focus on Kaz and Graham. My favorite aspects were the BDSM stuff and the horsemanship stuff. Graham is a big, macho cowboy but he also struggles with anxiety related to sex and that's why he's never gone farther than quick hand jobs with strangers. Kaz is a skinny twink-type guy who also happens to be an experienced dom and that's what made me love the smut scenes in this story. (view spoiler)[Kaz and Graham both realize that Graham's anxiety can be conquered by tying him up (ie he can't screw anything up because he literally has no ability to do anything) and that allows Graham to finally have sex the way he's always dreamed about. (hide spoiler)] The smut scenes between these two were very well written, they were smoking hot and I loved that Graham was a very happy sub and Kaz was a caring and experienced dom. For those wondering, the kinks included were (view spoiler)[bondage and orgasm denial (hide spoiler)]. The horsemanship aspects were also great! I love cowboy romances and this one had the most in-depth details about horse related things that I've come across - to the point where I even learned a few things I didn't know and that typically doesn't happen when this subject matter is the focus of a romance. What was delightful was that the horse details weren't overwhelming or boring but there were relevant details inserted at points that made it very clear that Graham has been working with horses his entire life and this man knows exactly what he's doing. Specifically, there's a wonderful scene where Graham has to get a skittish horse into a trailer and the descriptions of the horse's behavior and Graham's actions were all portrayed incredibly well. I don't know if either author has firsthand experience with horses or if they did tons of research, but the level of detail and care that went into the horse related scenes were amazing! I also appreciated that the author (I'll be talking about Marie Sexton in this section because I have no idea how LA Witt approaches such things) used her usual nuanced approach when portraying two characters who had completely opposite opinions about many things. Graham is a lifelong cowboy who loves eating meat, earns extra money by riding in rodeos and loves most cowboy things. Kaz is a vegan and a radical animal activist who spends most of his time in far-left echo chambers and thus, has become hardwired to never support any opinions except his own and to demand that others support those same opinions. Putting these two together would normally be like throwing gasoline on a fire, but the author gives both characters development arcs that allow them to eventually meet in the middle. Graham has always been an open minded guy and he's always willing to engage in dialog with people who have different opinions than him in the hopes of learning something new. That desire is why the two of them meet up for drinks in the first place, which perfectly established what kind of a guy Graham was. Throughout the story, Kaz (view spoiler)[struggles with re-assessing some of his own opinions and learning how to compromise, which are traits that extremist groups don't encourage for obvious reasons. He's very happy when Graham agrees that some aspects of rodeo are cruel but he gets very offended when Graham asks him to consider stopping the rodeo protesting because the loud noise upsets the horses who are trying to rest in between their events. When Graham kindly cooks Kaz breakfast after their first night together, Kaz is outraged when he noticed bacon and eggs on his plate, despite him never having told Graham that he's vegan. I also appreciated that Graham didn't tolerate Kaz's rude behavior when it went too far and he'd point out when Kaz was being dumb or selfish or refusing to meet Graham half-way. (hide spoiler)] The fact that Graham already decided at the start of the story to quit rodeo in favor of focusing on other horse activities was definitely a plot convenience and I would have liked this development to be partially Graham's choice and partially his desire to meet Kaz halfway. For his part, Kaz (view spoiler)[does grow and mature throughout the story once he spends more time with Graham and learning what kind of guy Graham is, how he treats his horses and learning about horses in general (because ignorance about animals/biology/ecology is something a lot of animal activists sadly suffer from). By the end, he realizes that the loud protesting didn't have the impact he claimed to want and he's shifted his focus on more worthwhile efforts, like educational campaigns and political reform (hide spoiler)]. I loved this development because it provided a clear path forward for Kaz while also demonstrating how much he'd learned throughout the story. All of this was great, but the reason my rating slipped to 3 stars is because the story felt half-finished. Kaz's explanation that he's switching his activism approach was delivered as a throwaway line near the end and that's it. We're left with way more questions than answers. For example: (view spoiler)[1. Kaz had thrown a fit when Graham had made him that breakfast so how would Kaz deal with being in a long term relationship with a meat-eater and animal product consumer? 2. Kaz's entire friend group seems to consist of radical far-left individuals who would obviously not be happy by Kaz's choice in boyfriends. At the same time, most of Graham's friends are macho cowboys who wouldn't be kind to Kaz. How would the MCs deal with their friend groups being opposed to the person they were dating? What about their families? 3. Kaz is in school during the story and I normally don't care about an MC's future very much but in this case, I really wanted to know what Kaz would get up to after graduation. What organizations would he work for? Would he join Graham's rescue efforts at the ranch and slowly turn into a cowboy? 4. Kaz's ability and desire to compromise in order to be respectful of Graham and maintain a healthy relationship with him was in its infancy when the story ended. I don't feel confident that Kaz has changed enough to make a long term relationship with Graham possible. How would they resolve future issues where they're coming at things from opposite sides? Would Kaz keep running away and stewing in a cloud of self-righteousness? Would Graham keep letting his anxiety win and convince him not to chase after Kaz? (hide spoiler)] Overall, I really enjoyed this story and if it had been a complete story then it would have likely been a 5 star read because it contained so many things I loved. But at the end of the day, I'm left not knowing if the MCs would work out as a couple and I'm left with more questions than answers about their futures, which is why I can't rate this higher than 3 stars. Nobody is more disappointed about that than me! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 07, 2024
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Jul 08, 2024
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Jan 07, 2024
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ebook
| ||||||||||||||
| 1646567757
| 9781646567751
| B091NN3HMH
| 4.25
| 28
| Apr 17, 2021
| Apr 17, 2021
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really liked it
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This was such a sweet and wonderful story and it's definitely one of my favorite Ellie Thomas books that I've tried so far! This author is in the top-
This was such a sweet and wonderful story and it's definitely one of my favorite Ellie Thomas books that I've tried so far! This author is in the top-tier of writers in the MM romance genre who do the historical aspect properly (she's right up there with KJ Charles and Cat Sebastian) so it's always a delight to immerse myself in one of her stories because I know the historical details will be on point. This book is a perfect example of that. Every word, every action, every detail brings 1778 England to life and I loved every bit of it! I also loved the variety that this short story had where we alternate between formal social settings, informal rides through the countryside and also (view spoiler)[life on a sheep ranch (hide spoiler)]. Sidenote: I love, love, LOVE that cover! I know how difficult it is for authors to find cover models and artists who can make the cover match what's inside the story and not only does the cover model match Jacob perfectly (wearing his naval uniform, riding a horse in the countryside) but it literally looks like we're seeing a scene from Sebastian's POV as they're out riding together. This is one of my favorite covers and I'm so happy that the author (& publisher?) took the time to make the cover match the story so well. I adored every aspect of the story, particularly how much thought and effort the author put into creating these characters and their strangers to lovers romance despite how short the story is, and all while faithfully portraying the time period, setting and situations that were included. Jacob is a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and he's on shore leave to act as his sister's chaperone. They come from a loving but very big and not very well off family so when one of his sister's randomly receives an invite from a distant aunt to participate in Bath's Season for a few weeks, she jumps at this once in a lifetime opportunity. Jacob knows that the connections his sister will potentially make during these weeks is her one and only chance at a better life so he rushes to take leave so he can be his sister's chaperone. Normally I find social events in romances like this boring but the author did such a great job incorporating that aspect into the romance that I loved it. Jacob's determination to take his responsibilities as chaperone seriously while being an anxious, uncomfortable wreck in those social situations made me adore him right from the start. Both siblings take this opportunity incredibly seriously despite how nervous both of them are and I loved that. Unlike Jacob, Sebastian is perfectly at home participating in the complex routines that run the Season since he's the fourth son of a wealthy family. He identifies that the siblings are nervous but determined to make the best of their short weeks in Bath so he steps in multiple times to help both of them succeed, which emphasized what a wonderful person he was but it also created the perfect opportunity for Jacob and Sebastian to bond. At first, I had no idea how a romance between Mr. Working-In-The-Navy and Mr. Wealthy-Socialite would work, but then Ellie Thomas once again demonstrates how much thought went into this little story when we learn that (view spoiler)[Sebastian's off-Season home is a sheep farm and he's happiest when being the manager of his little ranch, spending time with his horses and sheep and various employees (hide spoiler)]. This enjoyment of being out in nature and working with their hands is something that automatically showcases how well the two MCs would work as a couple and things flow in a smooth, adorable fashion from there onwards. I really appreciated that the author incorporated a bit of angst into what would otherwise be a sugary-sweet story with little substance. While Jacob and his sister are like fish out water in the city and rely on Sebastian's confidence and expertise, the tables get turned when Sebastian (view spoiler)[invites Jacob to his ranch for a few days (hide spoiler)]. Unlike Jacob (who often engages in one night stands with random people while on leave), Sebastian has been hurt in previous relationships so he's the one feeling vulnerable and anxious when Jacob comes to stay with him and it's up to Jacob to be a reassuring presence. That role reversal beautifully illustrated how much these two cared about each other and how well their long term relationship will work. A word of warning: some readers might not find this short novella satisfying because there's no epilogue and the story ends right after the MCs have decided to be a couple. On one hand, I loved the story so much that I would happily read a full length novel of these two navigating their futures together but on the other, the author did a great job showcasing how these two would work as a couple and what their futures would look like. Yes, they'll be separated for long periods of time while Jacob continues his career in the military and Sebastian will spend that time (view spoiler)[on his sheep ranch (hide spoiler)] while also keeping an eye on Jacob's sister during her continued efforts at future Seasons. They'll only be together for a few weeks each year when Jacob gets leave and it's up to readers to decide when/if Jacob will want to leave the sea permanently. While I don't think it would be fair for me to give this book 5 stars purely due to how very short it was, I felt the ending was perfect for the small scope of the story and this is absolutely one of my favorite examples of a story of this length. If you enjoy historical romances set in this time period, I highly recommend this little gem! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 23, 2024
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Jun 23, 2024
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Jan 02, 2024
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Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||
| 1839432187
| 9781839432187
| B0B2P8R96J
| 4.00
| 11
| unknown
| Jul 26, 2022
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liked it
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Rating: 3.5 stars (rounded down) This was my favorite book of the series so far! The pacing and storytelling have once again improved from the previous Rating: 3.5 stars (rounded down) This was my favorite book of the series so far! The pacing and storytelling have once again improved from the previous book and I loved both characters and the story the author created for them. Also - I love that cover because both cover models perfectly represent the MCs, including their facial expressions and the clothing they're wearing. Great job to whoever designed and/or chose it! Unlike Book 2, this book once again immersed me in the 1920s time period and I loved that we got to spend time with two types of characters who we hadn't met yet in the series. George is an African-American Broadway performer who is in England with his performance group and Stanley is a former soldier who fought in WW1 and makes his living as a gardener, in the same small town where Charlie, Tanner and Frank opened their B&B 2 years previously. I loved George's role as a Broadway performer and having him be a lifelong performer, since music was such a huge part of this time period and the people who made their living based on that are rarely featured in such romances. I loved getting to learn a bit more about how a performer would make a living singing and dancing during the 1920s, especially while being a black man in both the US and England. This also gave the author a chance to highlight what was happening in the US versus England during this time period (one country is in the middle of Prohibition while the other is still recovering from a horrific war). I really enjoyed the entire story arc that the author came up with for this installment. The how's and why's of George going from the stage in London to vacationing at Charlie/Frank/Tanner's B&B were really interesting and once he meets Stanley, the author included (view spoiler)[a wonderful rescue situation that allowed them to grow close quickly, made me connect with Stanley's character (which I struggled doing with Michael in the previous book) and also highlighted the additional difficulties George faces in life due to the color of his skin (hide spoiler)]. All of this was great! In general, I'm so glad the author gave Stanley the background of being a WW1 vet and having him struggle with PTSD when he's confronted with large crowds and loud noises because George had a big personality and a complex story arc so Stanley would have gotten lost in the muddle without being a strong, dynamic character in his own right. Kudos to the author for that! I also adored that the author continued the trend of finding good ways to use Tanner, Frank and Charlie. Michael was barely present, which makes sense since the guy still runs his bookshop in the nearby town. The other three boys appeared and disappeared as the story required but they each have such distinct personalities and backgrounds that the author found good ways to use them in the story. In particular, my favorite part was (view spoiler)['Lord' Charles Fitzwilliam and his 'wife' rescuing George near the end of the story (hide spoiler)] (I refuse to provide more detailed spoilers because it's so awesome). That's a perfect example of being able to use side characters well and in particular, it's a great example of how to incorporate characters from previous books into future ones. It was awesome! That being said, this story comes just shy of getting 4 stars. The pacing was the best of the series so far but it was still a bit rushed at times. In particular, both scenes where Stanley runs off due to his PTSD being triggered were done too quickly and the entire end arc with George (view spoiler)[being 'kidnapped' twice within the span of a few pages (hide spoiler)] happened way too fast. There were also a few drama-llama moments for the MCs where they got a bit too mushy and there were a few pages where we had George, then Stanley and then Tommy (random side character who works at the B&B) all take turns crying, which felt OTT. While I believed the ILY from George (the guy is larger than life and wears his emotions on his sleeve), it still felt too rushed because he'd only known Stanley for a week and I definitely didn't believe that Stanley (Mr. I-Barely-Speak) would be crying and lamenting about his love for George after just a week. Compared to the other two books, this deserved to have 4 stars but when I compare it to my other 4 star books, it wouldn't be fair to add it to that list. But that all being said, I recommend this one if you enjoy 1920s historical romances. You don't have to read the previous two to enjoy it and while it's not a perfect story, I still had a great time reading it and I'm looking forward to future installments of the series. (except if Tommy is the MC because the guy was written like a 12 year old kid for most of this story so I was completely thrown when we learn near the end that he's supposed to be 28 (!!!)...that makes him a few years older than Frank, Tanner and Charlie, which was ridiculous) ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 15, 2023
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Nov 15, 2023
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Nov 15, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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| 1735443085
| 9781735443089
| 1735443085
| 3.90
| 1,186
| Feb 19, 2021
| Feb 19, 2021
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did not like it
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DNF @ 50% This was a highly anticipated read for me because I love rural romances but unfortunately, it's not working out. The pacing is way too slow d DNF @ 50% This was a highly anticipated read for me because I love rural romances but unfortunately, it's not working out. The pacing is way too slow due to the writing style and the narrative structure chosen by the author and I don't care about the romance between the MCs because I don't care about Adult-Lance. I liked the dual timeline structure where one chapter would take place in the present and the following chapter (or scene) would be a flashback. Lance grew up in an abusive, neglectful household and the Chases were his neighbors. The Chases consisted of three boys at the time with the oldest Robbie having custody of his two younger brothers following the unexpected death of their father when Robbie was 18. Lance was best friends with the youngest brother Danny and he was also friendly with the middle brother Johnny and he spent tons of time with the three brothers, which is how and why he developed a crush on Robbie. Lance had left town at 16 and the present timeline picks up six years later when he returns and through a series of circumstances, he ends up living with Robbie on the Chases property. The flashbacks were a great way to showcase what Lance and Robbie's relationship had been like when they were younger and it also helped build both of their characters. My big problem was that Adult-Lance seemed so different from who I thought he'd be (based on the flashbacks) that it was jarring. Even worse, Child-Lance had been such a complex character with a complex history that having Adult-Lance be bland and one-dimensional made the present timeline a lot more boring than it should have been. I also found the author's choices for Adult-Lance to be confusing. Being a model is usually something chosen by extroverts who love attention and that's not the kind of person Lance was in the flashbacks. In fact - staying quiet and in the shadows was how he survived living with his abusive, alcoholic father so it completely threw me when we learn that Lance has been making his living as a model and he's also posing seductively and purposefully trying to seduce Robbie using his body. This wasn't the type of characterization I was expecting after getting to know Child-Lance through the flashbacks so I wasn't a fan of that. But the biggest problem is that the story is boring and moves way too slowly. By the 50% mark, Lance had been living with Robbie for a grand total of 24 hours!! Every conversation between the MCs took forever because most lines of dialog were followed by paragraphs of internal angsting/musing or tons of narrative details. I think the author worried about writing talking-heads conversations where it feels like the characters are just standing in an empty room and talking at each other but the amount of narrative put into the conversations was way too much. Those additions were so frequent and so lengthy that I often lost track of what the characters were talking about. In addition, Lance was already a boring character and having him mostly hanging around in Robbie's home, not doing anything meant he was even more boring. Robbie went around doing his chores, making Lance food etc and Lance just hung around and did nothing. Sure, he'd only been there for 24 hours and Lance did join Robbie to go for a ride to see the Mustangs, but due to the excruciatingly slow pace of the narrative it felt like Lance had been there for ages without doing anything. Seriously - I DNF'd at the halfway mark and the only interesting plotline that had happened was that the boys came across a newborn calf in the snow which was close to death and they brought it inside to care for it. The existence of the calf plotline and Lance nearly getting hypothermia after the Mustang visiting meant the author knew what kind of plotlines would fit well into this type of story, but the slow pacing and the repetitive internal angsting by the MCs took up too much space. Lastly, I hated how much information the author kept from readers as we went. I like it when authors keep information about one or both of the MCs hidden and those reveals end up being massive plot twists, but the problem here was that the author kept information hidden that related to things and people I didn't care about. For example - why Johnny had abruptly moved out, why Robbie and Megan had broken up for good, what Lance's relationship with his (presumably) abusive ex-boyfriend was all about, exactly what Lance had done to get arrested, who is living at Lance's former house etc. There was so much information kept from the readers that some scenes and conversations felt pointless - as if the author didn't know what to write about while still keeping that information hidden. I understand wanting to keep stuff from readers to reveal at a later date, but enough information has to be provided to create an interesting plot that keeps readers attention along the way. Plus - those reveals have to be things that interest the readers and many of those things had nothing to do with Lance and Robbie's romance so I didn't care. I also found it odd that the author didn't provide some basic information that I would have needed in order to better connect with the story. The main example of this was the strange decision to not specify Robbie's age in the first half that I read. The flashbacks have both Robbie and Lance being different ages and sometimes Lance's age is provided but Robbie's age is a mystery (at least in the half I read). When I'm reading an age gap romance, it's really important for me to know how old the older character so it was annoying to not know. I also found it bizarre that Mrs. Chase was never referenced in the half I read. It almost felt like the author wanted us to believe that all three Chase brothers suddenly appeared in the field one day and Mr. Chase decided to keep them. I've never come across a story that features both flashbacks and present timelines that focus heavily on a character's family with one of the parents never ever being mentioned, even in a throwaway line. It was very strange. Overall, this was a miss for me due to the writing and narrative style. I love rural romances and I really liked Robbie and the level of detail that the author went into regarding the horses, the cows and the other animals but the rest of the story left a lot to be desired. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 04, 2024
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Sep 06, 2024
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Oct 01, 2023
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Paperback
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| B07CM46Q4W
| 4.16
| 1,766
| 2018
| Jul 23, 2018
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it was ok
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DNF @ 59% The fact that this didn't work for me isn't a surprise but what did surprise me was that I'm not DNFing for the reasons I thought I would. At DNF @ 59% The fact that this didn't work for me isn't a surprise but what did surprise me was that I'm not DNFing for the reasons I thought I would. At least - not all the reasons I thought I would. Plus - I liked certain elements of the story enough to read 350 pages of it, which is why I'm giving it 2 stars instead of only one. I wasn't going to touch anything McCade wrote ever again since my first try with him was My Cocky Valet, which is one of the worst books I've ever read. To my surprise, Over And Over Again isn't even comparable to the mess that is Cocky. My favorite aspect of Over And Over Again was the writing style. It's gorgeous from start to finish with the author going all-in with describing the beautiful scenery and ranch life. The writing made the story feel cozy, warm and comfortable, as if you're curling up on your couch with a cup of hot chocolate while wrapped in your favorite fluffy blanket. I also loved the beautiful descriptions of everything, whether the author was describing plants, weather or animals. Some examples (in no particular order and no connection between): The scent of fresh clover blooms was high and sweet; fat, furry bees swam through it, nearly drunk on the aroma. He'd [Imre] had massive hands, hands that could crush granite to dust, this great dark earthen god with the strength of stone, but he'd handled everything--from his tiny, bleating goat kids to the smallest clover flower to Luca himself--with a gentleness that flowed from his hands like water, imbued with a living warmth. A blaze of sunset had doused itself in the cooler purple waters of twilight by the time they rounded the last straggling goat into the paddock, closed the gate, and led the horses into the barn. I also adored Imre's characterization, for two reasons. He's a great example of a gentle giant and that quote above perfectly describes him. I also adored that he's Roma-Hungarian and that the author included a few Hungarian phrases here and there. I speak Hungarian and I've never come across a story with a Hungarian character before so that was a treat. An FYI for other readers: Imre's nickname for Luca is angyalka, which the author says translates to angel but that's not quite right (Google translate claims the translation is 'cherub', which I also don't think is quite right). Angyal is angel but adding the -ka to the end turns it into a cutesy endearment that parents would use for young children. The closest equivalent I can think of is little angel or angelkins. So the nickname was even more adorable than the author states it is. I was having a really good time with the story at the start. Luca is a moody, overly emotional 19 year old who acts exactly like the immature teenager he is. He's dealing with a lot of issues at home but Imre and Imre's farm have always represented safety and joy to him and he instantly feels better when he arrives. He's hero-worshiped Imre for his entire life and Imre has always adored his angyalka so they're both happy to be reunited. Luca takes to farm life like a duck to water and he happily learns how to ride horses, how to take care of the goats, how to work together with the sheep dogs during herding and how to collect apples/honey and other things. I loved having Luca learn about these things because I loved learning about them and I was hoping the story would continue on that track. Initially, I thought my biggest problem with the story would be the massive age gap. This story is known as having one of the biggest age gaps in the entire genre (Luca is 19 and Imre is 46) and I'm not a fan of age gaps. I was also wary about the familial relationship that Luca and Imre have since Imre has known Luca since he was a toddler. Luca's dad and Imre have been friends since their university days and Luca's family would often visit Imre's farm until Luca turned 9 and they moved to a different area so Luca and Imre developed a close bond when Luca was a young child. To my surprise, I found Luca's feelings for Imre very well done. He starts out hero worshipping Imre the same way he did when he was little but as he takes on more responsibility around the farm and learns more about Imre, he starts to view him as a person instead of just a superhero. Unfortunately, Imre's feelings for Luca were a bit...squicky for me. The reason is because Imre never stops associating Luca with the child that he'd known and loved. Since the author often portrayed Luca as being the immature, overly emotional 19 year old that he was and Imre often compares adult-Luca to the child-Luca and there are countless scenes of Imre calling Luca a child/boy and carrying him around and tucking him into bed, I had a hard time with Imre's growing sexual attraction towards Luca. This all being said, I might have gotten over it but I never found out if I might have because the reason I'm DNFing has nothing to do with any of that. I stopped reading because I was so bored that I was skimming pages without missing anything. This book doesn't have to be 600 pages. I read 350 pages and even that could have easily been cut in half. The reason this book goes on and on and on and on is because the author is having a great time putting words on the page, with no regard to whether those words advance the plot. The MCs spend the vast majority of the story navel-gazing and angsting over their attraction towards each other. Even worse - many scenes are re-written from the other MC's perspective, which adds nothing except more repetitive internal monologuing. I started out loving the overly descriptive writing in the first part but when the author didn't supplement that with sufficient plot, I got bored. The author insists on describing nearly every tiny detail in every scene that the MCs are in (weather, plants, animals, furniture), which got old fast but having the rest of the scene involve little more than navel gazing and repetitive angsting got on my nerves. There's no reason that the MCs don't get together before the 50% mark (which is 300 pages!!). It only happens that way because the author goes on and on and on. For context - the first two days of Luca being on the farm require 150 pages (!!) because of this writing/narrative style. When I got to a long scene at around 60% where Luca and Imre are dancing together and the scene drags on and on with countless details and internal angsting, I had to throw in the towel. As much as I loved that writing style to start with, writing style isn't a substitute for plot and there wasn't nearly enough plot happening for me to slog through the remaining 250 pages when it's taken me 5 days to get through the first half. Overall, I'm glad I decided to give this a shot. I was very sure I would be squicked out by the age gap too much to enjoy that aspect and I surprised myself by not minding it as much as I thought I would. Unfortunately, the drawn out style and slow pacing were way too slow for me and I'm going to call it quits. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 29, 2024
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Apr 02, 2024
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Oct 01, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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| 1615810706
| 9781615810703
| 1615810706
| 3.50
| 437
| Oct 01, 2009
| Oct 05, 2009
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did not like it
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DNF @ 75% This is a late DNF but I had lost all hope that things would improve and I couldn't be bothered to skim to the end. This story was published DNF @ 75% This is a late DNF but I had lost all hope that things would improve and I couldn't be bothered to skim to the end. This story was published in 2009 and the author took inspiration from the popular historical Western romances written in the 80s and 90s, which is something that would appeal to certain romance readers but not to me. Most of my issues with the story stem from this, as well as other issues. I'll discuss my issues in separate sections but they're in no particular order. Modern Language To the author's credit, a lot of the dialog sounded like it would fit the late 1890s era that the story was taking place in. Unfortunately, the effect was ruined by the constant inclusion of modern profanity and modern phrases. Ian = Terrible Reverend I have no idea why the author chose to make Ian a Reverend because the guy was the most unintentionally terrible Reverend I've ever come across in historicals. The guy swears constantly, he frequently uses the no-no God-related phrases (ex. Jesus Christ! Oh my God!) that people weren't supposed to use, he has no problem threatening violence when he's dealing with somebody he dislikes and he has no problem telling the people close to him that he no longer believes in God. Not only that, but we rarely see the guy doing his job. The only times he goes to do Reverend things is conveniently when he wants to run away from his problems with Bryn, but that's not how jobs like that go. The guy was supposed to be preaching at church every Sunday and regularly leading funerals/weddings/baptisms etc. The town seems to have quite a few people so you'd think the guy would be busy but he spends the majority of his time being a farmer. Ian was the least religious person in the entire book and that's why I thought it was hilarious and also dumb that he was chosen to be a Reverend. The story would have gone the same way if he was just a farmer or had some other job so I don't know why the author decided to go with that profession when it was clear Ian wasn't going to represent it properly. An Uncomfortable Romance Dynamic While I liked Ian and Bryn individually, certain choices the author made resulted in me not feeling comfortable with their romance. Bryn is 22 and Ian is 29 and this age gap is made worse at the beginning by having Ian be a lot more mature and experienced in all things (except sex) than Bryn. Ian is an established member of the community, he's comfortable with his career, he was married and had a child. On the other hand, Bryn has been raised by a neglectful, abusive father and due to the addition of extreme poverty, Bryn has no education, few social skills and is much less emotionally mature than Ian. At the start of the story, Bryn constantly displays childish behavior and Ian takes on a parental role with him, which made their growing attraction towards each other feel icky. The worst example of this was a conversation where Bryn is eagerly telling Ian that Ian's housekeeper had made Bryn chocolate cake 3 times while Ian had been gone and a short while later, Bryn pleads with Ian to be allowed to keep his special chicken in the barn instead of the hen house (where the little chicken was constantly being bullied by the bigger chickens). Ian responds the way a parent would and the whole thing made me uncomfortable. To the author's credit, Ian stops thinking of Bryn/treating Bryn as a replacement son at about the halfway mark but only because he suddenly becomes as emotionally immature as Bryn. It made the romance more palatable but it still wasn't enjoyable. Repetitive Emotional Conflict For the majority of the story, the main conflict between the MCs is always the same: Bryn's lack of self-confidence makes him doubt Ian's feelings for him and Ian struggles to accept his homosexual urges. Both of these conflicts were built on solid foundations since they strongly connect with the MCs' pasts (Bryn's abusive upbringing and Ian being a Reverend) but I ended up disliking both because the plotlines became very repetitive. Every single time somebody did something nice for Bryn, he went into OTT internal angsting - wondering if the person can truly like him, fearing that the person will abandon him etc. Every single time anything remotely sexual happened between the MCs or whenever Ian thought about it, Ian would melt down in OTT internal angsting regarding how bad his homosexual urges were. It was boring and very, very repetitive. Not only was the internal angsting boring, but I also got tired of the MCs constantly being drama-llamas. The two of them would constantly misinterpret what the other guy meant or make assumptions about the other person and then literally run off in a dramatic fit. There would be dramatic yelling and crying and when they ran off, sometimes they'd stay gone for days. It wasn't realistic that men their age and in that time period would behave like that but it was the strongest indication that the author was heavily inspired by the 1980s and 1990s historicals that featured similar interactions. Uneven Pacing For the first half of the story, the only conflict was the repetitive angsting that I mentioned above, as well as Ian grieving for his deceased baby son (view spoiler)[(Ian and his wife had never gotten along and she had killed herself and their child shortly after the baby's birth) (hide spoiler)]. Things improved at the halfway mark when the author introduced some external conflict that was interesting and well paced (view spoiler)[(ex. Bryn being badly beaten by his father and being rescued by Ian who invites Bryn to come live with him and his housekeeper, Bryn and Ian adopting an abused horse, Bryn revealing the existence of his young daughter and bringing Dandelion to live with them etc) (hide spoiler)]. Unfortunately, the story seemed to be taking place on a runaway train that had started out way too slow but then gained speed at a constant acceleration. By the 70% mark, tons of other plotlines had been introduced (view spoiler)[(Dandelion getting sick, Ian getting engaged to a woman, Ian's housekeeper's husband dying, Ian and Bryn breaking up, Ian helping the town during the influenza outbreak etc) (hide spoiler)], while the previously mentioned plotlines were all still in play which resulted in an overwhelming mess. None of the plotlines were getting the attention they needed and the characters were bouncing from one to the other so there was no chance for readers to connect with the things that were happening. Weird Writing Style A lot of reviewers have pointed out that the story suffers from terrible transitions and this is true, but not to the extent people say. The author doesn't use traditional scene break indicators but the first word of every new scene is always capitalized, which made it easy to determine if a new scene starts. That being said, the author had a tendency to switch POVs way too often and this meant having way too many scene breaks during certain interactions. Sometimes a character would only have a few lines of dialog before the author did a scene break and switched to another character for the next few lines and so on. It was a bit exhausting to read but I did get used to it. But that didn't address the weird way the author randomly ended scenes whenever they felt like it. Often, characters would be in the middle of conversations and then BOOM - scene break and the MCs are now in a different location, doing something new. First of all - the prior scene needed to have a proper ending. Second of all - there was no attempt to transition from one scene to the next. Third of all - the author rarely bothers filling in the blanks of what happened after the abrupt ending of the initial scene. It felt like the author just didn't want to finish certain scenes. In some cases, the author skips over material in order to make reveals more impactful, but it was still done in an amateur way that made the reading experience not enjoyable. Unsexy Smut Scenes I have no idea why the author's preferred term for male genitals in this story was penis but it didn't work for me. I don't like that word, I don't find it sexy and having it constantly appear in every single smut scene didn't work for me. In addition, the MCs don't know what they're doing when it comes to sexy times and Bryn's lack of confidence and Ian's shame result in their sexy times lacking emotion and not being sexy. Everything was clinical, crude and blunt and that's not my cup of tea when it comes to reading smut. There was also Ian's weird decision to call Bryn his concubine...? Bryn thinks the word means prostitute for a while and that leads to the predictable internal angsting on his end but then Ian explains that being a concubine is a position of honor and it indicates how much he cares about Bryn...? I didn't get it. It was weird and it added to my dislike of the smut scenes. Conclusion Overall, this was a massive miss for me. Many of the issues with it are sadly related to the era when it was written. Prior to 2010, the for-profit MM romance genre was in its infancy so authors were trying out all kinds of different formulas and approaches to see what they liked and what readers liked. This particular story obviously followed a formula that the author enjoyed but it's not my thing. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 18, 2024
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Jul 19, 2024
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Sep 09, 2023
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Paperback
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| B0C3ZD3BV2
| 4.41
| 1,701
| Jun 01, 2023
| Jun 01, 2023
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did not like it
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DNF @ 35% Despite having quickly DNF'd the only other book I've tried by this author, the stunningly high average rating combined with the rural settin DNF @ 35% Despite having quickly DNF'd the only other book I've tried by this author, the stunningly high average rating combined with the rural setting and the mature themes of grief and PTSD made me give this one a try. I was wary because I didn't trust that the author would handle the serious topics to my liking and I was also put off by the unusual length (400 pages). Well, it turned out that everything I feared came to pass and my number one sheep shearing MM romance set down under still remains Renae Kaye's The Shearing Gun. To the author's credit, I did appreciate that she didn't hold back on the NZ slang in the book and I liked that Gil's newbie status gave the author the excuse to explain the sheep-related terminology but I would have appreciate a glossary similar to the one Renae Kaye included in The Shearing Gun, since I was completely lost with some of the terminology and had to look some up for myself. Here are some of my favorites: + Jandals (I thought the 'j' was a typo, but no, this is the Kiwi word for flip-flop sandals) + Higgledy-Piggledy (an adverb meaning confusion/disorganization) + Chilly Bin (I propose that all English speaking nations adopt the use of chilly bin and replace boring old 'cooler') + Spit the Dummy (to overreact in a childish way) Info-Dumping At the start, I was very excited about the rural setting the author chose. It's a sheep station (a ranch for my fellow North Americans) located in the South Alps in New Zealand, where life is very different from anywhere else on earth. The low level areas are criss-crossed with glacial-fed rivers, which literally form part of the 'roadways'. The higher levels are extremely steep mountain ranges that are impassable for anything or anyone except sheep and the humans brave enough to care for them. These shepherds have been battling the harsh elements and inhospitable terrain for hundreds of years and I was thrilled to get the chance to learn more about this lifestyle. Holden runs a station that's 35,000 acres and he looks after 10,000 sheep and 300 cattle with less than half a dozen staff. When Gil is hired to be their new cook, I was thrilled because Gil is a city-slicker who knows nothing about ranch life. So I was hoping for a fish-out-of-water progression where the author will use Gil's ignorance as an excuse to teach readers about life on the station. While that was the case, the author seemed to get over excited about sharing everything she knows about this lifestyle and would dump enormous amounts of information on Gil and the readers when it wasn't required. Explaining what certain terminology means as it comes up is great. But having Gil and Holden meet up in the shearing shed and then having Holden spent several pages teaching Gil about wool quality and shepherding economics was boring. That information wasn't required at that point and it should have been shared during the actual shearing where Gil could have learned it through seeing how it's done and by talking to different characters. The wool discussion was just one example of the author putting the narrative on hold to give long lectures about station life, which was interesting but that's not why I picked up the book. Gil = Gary Stu Gil rubbed me wrong right from the start. The guy is a psychiatrist and he has this smug attitude in the way he approaches his own mental health issues. For example, the casual way he explained the details of his PTSD to Emily (Holden's mother) during the hiring process was bizarre to me. I know that the current generations of young folks embrace the idea of telling strangers intimate details about their issues and identity, but I don't jive with it. In addition, Gil had a really casual attitude towards his PTSD. I can't really explain it but it felt like he used it to brag about how much of an epic victim he was or something like that? It was very weird to me how he kept bringing up his PTSD in casual conversation, as if that's a normal topic to chat about in the first 5 minutes of having met somebody. I also hated that Gil wasn't the fish-out-of-water city slicker character that I like. I wanted him to struggle to fit in with station life and I wanted to see him slowly grow to appreciate that lifestyle. Instead, the guy is comfortably cracking jokes with Holden and Emily as soon as he meets them, he easily settles into his role as a cook (despite not having been in a professional kitchen for decades) and whatever the station throws at him, Gil easily adapts to it. Not only that, but he has a bit of a smug attitude about it - like he's humoring everything and everybody, amused by the idea that they would think he couldn't keep up with sarcastic zingers or wouldn't go for a swim in freezing cold water. It made him seem arrogant and I didn't like it. I'm sure that wasn't the author's intent but that didn't change the outcome. Fluffy Themes In a book that deals with grief, PTSD, financial hardship, having a patriarch suffer from dementia and there's a character who can't seem to stop talking about having PTSD, you'd think those themes would be front and center, right? Well, they aren't. To my surprise (and confusion), Holden and Gill tell each very personal information within the first hour of knowing each other. Holden tells Gil about his grandpa suffering from dementia and how that has negatively impacted the station for the last few years and Gil tells Holden about the car accident, his daughter's death and his PTSD. So that left no secrets between them and I was confused what the author's plans for conflict would be. Well...Gil decides not to tell Holden that he's gay because of...reasons. Holden told him within the first 5 minutes of meeting him but Gil decides to keep it to himself. That means the only conflict between these guys for over 100 pages is the boring old I-like-him-does-he-like-me, with the exciting added bonus of Holden thinking Gil's straight. Are you kidding me? You have such an interesting setting that's filled with unique plot opportunities and you give both characters such interesting backstories, yet they spend ages doing the same old blushing/avoidance/pining routine that's found in hundreds of other romance novels? What a disappointment. What was even more disappointing was that Holden acted much younger than his 30 years and I really struggled seeing Gil as a 39 year old man. He was arrogant, but he had that same immature attitude towards romance that Holden had, which is common for characters in their early-20s. The point where I DNF'd is a scene where both of them realize the other has a crush on them and they spend ages blushing and talking about it, which made the book seem like YA romance. Focus On Side Characters Since the author shot themselves in the foot by having the MCs reveal important information right off the bat and had the only conflict between them be mutual pining, the author had to find something else to fill the endless pages with...and the chosen focus was side characters. Yaaaayyyy.... Whenever a new side character is introduced, the author gives them way too much narrative space; physically describing them, telling us their history and their current personal problems. I won't bother going into detail but the MCs don't meet until Chapter 3 and the reason why is because it takes Holden FOREVER to leave the station to pick him up that morning because he keeps getting dragged into the role of narrator when different side characters cross his path and the author insists we need to learn all about them at that very moment. When I realized this was a continuous problem, I started skimming through scenes with any side characters and I wasn't surprised when it turned out that I didn't miss anything important. Conclusion While I love the premise and setting of this novel, this author's approach to romance novels isn't my cup of tea. The very high bar that's been set by The Shearing Gun remains untouched. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 10, 2023
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Nov 12, 2023
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Sep 03, 2023
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Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||||
| 0857156306
| 9780857156303
| 0857156306
| 4.09
| 1,496
| Aug 22, 2011
| Aug 01, 2011
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really liked it
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This was amazing! Another review mentioned that the author has said that this is her favorite story out of everything she's written and I understand w
This was amazing! Another review mentioned that the author has said that this is her favorite story out of everything she's written and I understand why. This is an incredibly unique romance that blended together elements that I've never seen combined. This story contains the following: + An alternate-universe historical western setting that's similar to our own but differs due to specific supernatural elements + An interesting twist on First Nations history in the Americas that incorporates magic, ghosts and issues of identity and cultural history that directly impact multiple characters + A wonderful rural setting where the harshness of that remote ranching life has a large impact on many plotlines + A great BDSM romance where the bigger/older MC is the submissive and sexually inexperienced one + Amazing character arcs for both MCs who come into the story carrying a lot of baggage from their pasts + A creepy and interesting supernatural/ghost plotline that's strongly connected to multiple things in the story but doesn't take the focus away from the MCs and their romance The Few Negatives Before getting into more details regarding my favorite aspects, I want to point out the minor issues that prevented this from getting 5 stars from me. First - it's a bit too long. I loved the slow, comfortable pacing that perfectly matched the rural setting but there were a few scenes that were repetitive and they could have been removed to tighten things up. Second - there's an (view spoiler)[unexpected threesome scene at 90%. I liked the third character who was involved and I understand what the author was going for with that scene, but I don't like threesomes and I particularly didn't like how this one came out of the blue (hide spoiler)]. It's also VERY long - it takes up entire Chapter 30. On the bright side - you can skip that entire chapter and not miss anything important. Third - Aren comes into the story with lots of baggage related to sex. He's been mistreated and also abused by many former partners. Specifically, he was a sub in these interactions (I won't call them relationships) and the doms took advantage of their power over him, his desperation and his naïve trust in them. When Aren gets involved with Deacon, Aren insists on being in the dominant role and thankfully, that matches what Deacon wants. But due to Aren's prior dom role models being horrible people, he doesn't always treat Deacon appropriately. He often doesn't ask for consent before doing something new and he often finds himself taking out his anger at his previous abusers during scenes with Deacon. None of this was appropriate and I did appreciate that Aren often realizes afterwards that he hadn't acted right. But the fact that Deacon always enjoys what Aren did was a plot convenience that meant Aren wasn't very motivated to change his behavior. I wish this had been explored in much more detail and that Deacon had pushed back more. In particular, the way the (view spoiler)[threesome (hide spoiler)] scene came about made me really uncomfortable (view spoiler)[(Aren ties a naked Deacon up and blindfolds him and then invites the third man into the room without asking Deacon beforehand and knowing that the man is still technically Deacon's employee so the situation would make Deacon very uncomfortable) (hide spoiler)]. But as I said - you can skip Chapter 30 and avoid the entire thing. But in general, I wish Aren's inappropriate approach to his dom responsibilities had been explored a bit more seriously. Fourth - I encourage you to not think about the magic/ghost plotline too deeply because you'll likely notice the many plot holes I noticed and that would take away some of your enjoyment. In a nutshell, the wraiths can attack people when they're outside at night so it's essential to ensure you're in an enclosed dwelling before the sun sets. The author uses the inherent danger of the situation to create tons of tense situations, but I realized many of the situations are dangerous because people haven't been using their brains. For example - (view spoiler)[one of the neighboring ranches is located two days ride away so a single, rickety shack has been built at the midway point. Riders have to reach this shack and spend the night there or the wraith will kill them and they also have to hope that the shack is in good (enclosed) condition when they get there. This plot point is very important and results in a lot of big issues in the story...but it's incredibly stupid to only have a single shack in that location. Why haven't they built multiple shacks? In fact - why not build shacks every mile or so along that route? (hide spoiler)] And if your entire society is based on not being able to go outside at night, why do they have separate buildings?? Why don't they have connecting hallways that would allow them to access different parts of the ranch any time? Anyway - these obvious plot holes are another reason why I can't give this 5 stars because the author could have fixed these issues with a bit more effort. Now I'll discuss some of my favorite aspects from above in more detail. Deacon's Cultural Identity I don't want to spoil things because the slow reveal of Deacon's past was wonderfully woven throughout the story and it's a huge part of what made me love the book. Right from the start, there are hints that Deacon and old, blind, crotchety Olsa aren't like the others on the ranch. If you pay attention to every detail in the story - Olsa's cryptic complaints to/about Deacon, the family dynamics of the ranch owners, the specific behavior of the ghost that haunts the cottage Aren's renting - you'll be able to put the pieces together yourself but the author does a wonderful job with the slow reveal and binding everything together. The exploration of this alternate version of First Nations culture and history was wonderful and I loved how the author combined it with Deacon's character arc and many other parts of the story (the wraiths, Aren's haunted house, Aren's character arc etc). The Side Characters It's always a good sign if I love the side characters in a romance because it means the author did a perfect job incorporating them into the story. This book contains a lot of side characters and I initially struggled to keep them straight, but then I realized that's the point. Due to the rural setting and the supernatural dangers, there are a lot of deaths in this book. Ranching accidents, the wraiths, violent disputes between people and a lack of external law enforcement - there are a lot of ways people can die in such a world and the author doesn't shy away from that. Essentially, most of the side characters exist to showcase these dangers and to allow the author to keep the ranch functional even if multiple people die or leave for errands. The important characters are given plenty of development and have essential roles so it's easy to keep track of them. In particular, I fell in love with Olsa, who was a very important part of the story. Deacon is a huge, powerful man who has absolute authority on the ranch and at the start, there are only two people who he bows down to - ranch owner Jeremiah and old Olsa. Aren joins that list too, but I loved that Olsa treated Deacon as if he's still a dumb teenage boy who doesn't care about his culture or history because for most of the book, that's exactly how he acts. Olsa was one of the best parts of the story. The BDSM I can't tell you how thrilled I was when I realized that Deacon would be the sub and that Aren would be the dom in this book! They're complete opposites with Deacon being older, bigger, stronger and having spent his life working on a ranch while Aren is the exact opposite in every way, including having spent his life living in the city and enjoying a pampered lifestyle at university. Deacon is a very grumpy, quiet individual who is an amazing foreman and an essential part of the ranch but due to his position, he has no friends. Everybody respects and relies on him but none of them are Deacon's equal; being either below or above him in status. Aren is the bookkeeper and while he does involve himself in helping around the ranch when possible, he's outside of the usual hierarchies that have kept Deacon isolated. That's why Deacon is so thrilled when Aren extends a hand of friendship and Deacon's quiet joy at finally having found a friend who he can relax with and be himself with was so sweet! But when they discover that Deacon is also gay and is interested in a BDSM relationship despite having zero experience with BDSM or gay sex, things get even better. Deacon has spent his entire life being the strongest and most experienced man on the ranch - the person everybody (including Aren) looks to during emergencies. His knowledge about ranching, the animals, the wraiths, the land and everything else is only surpassed by Olsa so he always has tons of responsibility on his shoulders. Being a sub allows him to give control over to Aren and having Aren be his equal means Deacon feels comfortable letting go. It's also why Deacon allows Aren to use the BDSM as a form of punishment, which allows Deacon to heal from many traumatic things he'd lived through. The BDSM kinks they engage in include (view spoiler)[bondage, blindfolds, orgasm denial, impact/pain play (using a riding crop and spanking via hands) and using that impact play as punishment from time to time (hide spoiler)]. I loved how they gradually built up the intensity of the scenes they were doing. In particular, I loved that Deacon isn't comfortable with any ass play at the start so Aren tops from the bottom for most of the story. Since Deacon wants to get more comfortable, Aren slowly incorporates little steps that gradually bring them to Deacon bottoming and I loved the pacing of the whole thing. Aren's Character Arc One of my favorite aspects of the story was the growth Aren undergoes. He comes to the ranch having been abused and bullied by others. He views himself as a weak coward who prefers to spend his time alone, sketching and hoping to avoid getting hurt again. Things start to change through his friendship with Deacon and their BDSM relationship, during which Aren is treated as an equal or a superior. (view spoiler)[Having a huge, strong man like Deacon respect Aren and submit to him goes a long way to repairing Aren's self-confidence, not to mention that Deacon adores everything about Aren, including his abilities as an artist and his bravery in staying in the haunted house. What's great is that Aren doesn't view these things as positives until Deacon points out that he should. In addition, Aren also starts helping out around the ranch with simple chores because he wants to spend more time with Deacon. An unintended side effect of that is Aren bonds more with the other ranch hands and family members, he earns their respect and he learns more about the ranch and gets physically stronger. (hide spoiler)] Aren undergoes a complete physical and mental transformation throughout the story and I loved how beautifully it was paced. Conclusion I truly adored this unique romance and all the wonderful elements the author incorporated into it. If you're a fan of BDSM, I highly recommend it. If you're not, I still highly recommend it because you can skip the BDSM scenes and still experience the wonderful ranching plotlines, the amazing romance and the beautifully paced character arcs. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 28, 2023
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Oct 02, 2023
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Jul 26, 2023
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Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||
| 177819558X
| 9781778195587
| B0C42FH5MJ
| 4.28
| 359
| unknown
| Jun 08, 2023
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did not like it
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DNF @ 11% I was really excited about this one because city-slicker-works-on-ranch is one of my favorite tropes. Unfortunately, the author's approach to DNF @ 11% I was really excited about this one because city-slicker-works-on-ranch is one of my favorite tropes. Unfortunately, the author's approach to the trope was the opposite of what I wanted and the writing style was weird and not enjoyable. My biggest issue is that Blaze is a billionaire city boy who has actually spent significant time at his best friend's ranch so he's fully comfortable living a rancher's lifestyle when he arrives. The summary does indicate that the ranch he goes to work at is in his hometown but the blurb doesn't tell readers that Blaze is a seasoned cowboy who will settle into life at the ranch instantly and he's even looked upon as an authority figure. The character arc I was hoping for wasn't going to happen so that was strike one. If an author is going to take an unusual but boring approach to a common trope, I think that needs to be advertised up front so readers aren't going into the book with expectations that the author has no intention of meeting. Strike two was the author's decision to speed through the MC's getting-to-know-each-other time by telling instead of showing us that they bonded during their weeks of guarding sheep together. We only get a tiny scene and during that scene, we're told the MCs only said hi and bye to each other each day but didn't interact otherwise. They just sat on their horses on opposite sides of the meadow, ogling each other. This is absurd! If these guys are spending about 14 hours a day together, every day for WEEKS then obviously, they would have talked and gotten to know each other. Not only does the author want us to believe that it didn't happen but then the author changes their mind and tells readers a few pages later that the MCs had gotten to know each other well during their sheep guarding weeks. Strike three was the awkward writing style combined with the author's disorganized plotting. The situation I mentioned in the previous paragraph is one example but then there was a much weirder one. The MCs are guarding sheep in one scene and there's a long, boring discussion over whether a young helper at the ranch house will be allowed to start doing ranch hand things. In the next scene, we're told weeks have passed and the MCs have bonded during that time and oh, by the way - River just got back from visiting his father in the hospital. The problem with that last tid-bid is that the author writes about it as if readers were aware of the trip and that River's father was in the hospital. It gave me whiplash because there had been no mention of River's father, hospitals or River going to visit him in the previous parts of the book. In addition, the author writes in present tense and while that normally doesn't matter to me, the author's weird approach to storytelling made the present tense feel really awkward. Overall, this was a big disappointment because I loved the premise and Blaze's strong southern accent but the author's strange approach to the storytelling and writing means I can't continue. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 17, 2024
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Apr 18, 2024
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Jun 08, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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| B07FT8RC7X
| 3.79
| 411
| Jul 23, 2018
| Jul 23, 2018
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did not like it
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DNF @ 44% Have I read worse? Oh, yes. But is it worth my time? No. Is it badly written, boring and unoriginal? Yes. Hence the 1 star rating. First of al DNF @ 44% Have I read worse? Oh, yes. But is it worth my time? No. Is it badly written, boring and unoriginal? Yes. Hence the 1 star rating. First of all - the author likes to play fast and loose with the definitions of various tropes, maybe because he doesn't understand what they mean or maybe it's a marketing gimmick. Either way, it's annoying. So the first line of the blurb says 'A First Time Gay Virgin Romance'. Wrong on all counts. Both MCs have had gay sexual encounters in the past so it's not their first time doing gay sex things and they're not virgins. Also - both MCs constantly muse about how their reunion means they have a 'second chance' to be with the person they've had a crush on forever. The use of 'second chance' and the framing of it makes it seem as if I'm supposed to think of this as a second chance romance. Except it's not. The MCs were teammates in high school but they barely knew each other. The closest they got was when Kyle tutored AJ for a few months. They both had crushes on each other but then they went their separate ways. Now 10 YEARS have gone by and we're supposed to believe that these guys are still mooning over each other? That their little teenage crush that was based on barely knowing the other guy is still going strong A DECADE later? Give me a break. Making things worse is that the MCs act like they barely know each other. They call each other by their last names and they act like they're meeting for the first time, yet we're told over and over by both of them how much their past 'relationship' meant to them. The other problem is that both MCs are supposed to be 30 but they're written as if they're early 20s or late teens. The plot moves at a glacial pace because the MCs spend the majority of their POV scenes obsessing over how much they like the other person and acting all confused over what it all could possibly mean. Are you kidding me? When Kyle (view spoiler)[randomly kisses AJ (more on that absurdity later), they make out and then Kyle runs away. That's followed by weeks of them not talking about what happened (hide spoiler)]. Everything about it was so childish and it's not how 30 year old men behave. Then there was my favorite scene. Kyle's in bed, thinking about AJ and how much he likes him except then....something SHOCKING happens!! Kyle's dingaling gets a bit too happy and then we get this: Surprise had me sitting up in bed, staring down at my thickening cock in surprise. Is this an R rated cartoon? I was picturing Kyle sitting there, his eyes bugging out like he's a cartoon character and question marks flying out of his ears. When we get to the (view spoiler)[post-make out part where Kyle runs away (hide spoiler)], I was again picturing him as a cartoon character, zooming out of the kitchen and leaving a trail of smoke behind. The worst part is that this isn't supposed to be a rom-com. The author is clearly taking the story seriously but the writing style is completely wrong. There's also zero chemistry between the MCs and the author seems to think that having the MCs spend page after page musing over how much they like the other guy is a substitute for them bonding. It's not and that's why when (view spoiler)[Kyle randomly kisses AJ (hide spoiler)], it feels like it comes out of nowhere and it's not earned. I was also confused over Kyle's weird characterization. He's fine when we're in his POV but when we're in AJ's POV, AJ doesn't seem to know what to make of Kyle's constant bad attitude and moping. For example, AJ notices that Kyle scowls or frowns at random times but he doesn't understand why Kyle does it and neither do readers and it's never explained. Then there are weird scenes where Kyle choses to play with fire when it comes to his employment status. So we learn at the start that Kyle is desperate for work. He's about to get evicted, he has nobody and nothing to help him so he needs to do a good job on this ranching gig. He starts out being very grateful since he has no recent ranching experience and he knows how lucky he is to get this job and he's determined to do his best. But during his first dinner with AJ and AJ's dad (a grumpy old man), Kyle is giving the old man his rude attitude right back to him. Really? On your first day of a new job, one that you desperately need? And AJ's dad wasn't harassing him or anything. He was just expressing doubts over Kyle's ranching ability and can you blame the guy? We're also told by AJ's dad that he doesn't tolerate any drinking or smoking on the property. The next morning, AJ and Kyle go outside and Kyle casually plays around with a lighter. He doesn't light up a smoke and it's not clear if he even smokes or has any cigarettes and AJ is confused over why the guy is playing with a lighter and quite frankly, I was too. It's like the author wanted Kyle to be an edgy badass but couldn't figure out how to make that come across. Never mind that Kyle in this particular story shouldn't be characterized as an edgy badass anyway. Overall, this wasn't for me. The writing style wasn't my cup of tea and the author's approach to everything in the story wasn't what I was hoping for with this premise. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 08, 2023
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Dec 09, 2023
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May 21, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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| 1610404521
| 9781610404525
| B00C2BXFCU
| 3.85
| 39
| Mar 26, 2013
| Mar 27, 2013
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DNF @ 40%. No rating. This story is available on AO3. While the author's usual historical authenticity was on full display, I'm finding that the story i DNF @ 40%. No rating. This story is available on AO3. While the author's usual historical authenticity was on full display, I'm finding that the story is more historical gay fiction than historical gay romance. I had similar issues with this author's historical western Dry Bones, which is what made me decide to stop reading. The MCs are interesting and the main reason I picked this story up was because I loved the idea of two random guys having a one night stand in a random Old West town and then unintentionally getting teamed up the next day when they're both hired/told to go solve a mystery. Unfortunately, their reunion ended up not having the emotional impact I wanted it to have, which was the first sign that the author wasn't taking the approach I wanted. The author made the unusual decision to skip over the scene where the MCs come face to face for the first time after their one night stand, as well as the scene from that evening where we're told they'll be sharing a room at a hotel before leaving town the next morning. These two scenes would have included tons of emotional upheaval so it was strange to skip them. But even worse, the MCs act like co-workers who did have casual sex with each other but that fact doesn't impact their interactions at all. The sex meant nothing to either of them. While that might be realistic, it meant there was zero chemistry or UST between the MCs and that's not what I want in a romance story. The ability to remain professional with fuck buddies is great, but I don't want such people as MCs in a romance. Another issue is that the author's approach to the historical time period didn't work for me. Both MCs had very formal speech patterns, which sounded odd and I didn't get why they spoke that way. They're both originally from the eastern US and ended up in California through random circumstances so they didn't start out life working on ranches but their speech patterns sounded so formal that they sounded robotic and too old-fashioned for 1869, even for well educated men. In addition, I found myself not understand a lot of what the MCs were talking about. The author went all in with the usage of historically accurate lingo and conversation topics but I know very little about California's history so I had no idea what they were talking about half the time, particularly because there was a lot of blending of English and Spanish terminology. But overall, my main issue is that the MCs had zero chemistry and while they do continue their casual fuck buddy dynamic, they don't seem to have any romantic feelings towards each other. Their non-hanky-panky interactions are all purely professional as they focus on the mystery of the 'ghost rider'. Since the mystery wasn't why I picked this up, I ended up feeling bored. This all being said, I only read 40% of it so I don't know if there's more romance as the story progresses, which is why I'm not rating it. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 17, 2023
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Dec 17, 2023
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May 21, 2023
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ebook
| |||||||||||||||
| 194218400X
| 9781942184003
| B00MTXABBO
| 3.70
| 1,664
| Sep 10, 2014
| Sep 10, 2014
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it was ok
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This wasn't marketed as being erotica but it should have been. The story starts out with a solid plot: having a spoiled, rude and immature Lucas be fo
This wasn't marketed as being erotica but it should have been. The story starts out with a solid plot: having a spoiled, rude and immature Lucas be forced to come work on Jared's farm when Lucas has annoyed his father one too many times. Their connection is through Lucas' half-sister, who is Jared's ex-wife. She only appears at the beginning but I really liked her character and it was a shame we didn't get to see more of her. In contrast with outgoing, confident Lucas, Jared is a shy gentle giant who struggles with social anxiety. He has no idea what to do with Lucas when the latter arrives but when Lucas decides to help with Jared's paperwork (Jordan is an amazing farmer and handyman but he's not good with technology), things were on the right track. (view spoiler)[They bond during evenings when they read and discuss books together and Lucas takes on a cooking role once he learns that Jared eats nothing but microwave meals due to a lack of time and cooking knowledge (hide spoiler)]. At about the one third mark, Lucas and Jared get into a disagreement (more on that later) and Lucas calls his father to have a temper tantrum about how hard Lucas' life is and he demands that his father fix it. To my delight, (view spoiler)[his father calls out Lucas on his immature, selfish behavior and he encourages Lucas to use this new opportunity to find a new direction for his life, which is something he would have struggled to do while living his party lifestyle in LA (hide spoiler)]. The way things were set up in the first third of the book made me really excited and I honestly thought this book had 5 star potential. I thought we'd get a nice, slow burn romance between Jared and Lucas as they get to know each other and I hoped the majority of the story would focus on Lucas' character development arc. I was worried when I realized how short the book was, but I remained optimistic. Well, I'm the fool in the scenario because the story veers off in a completely different direction after the first third. Despite Lucas agreeing to use the new opportunity to approach things differently (things like sex), he still (view spoiler)[shows up in Jared's bedroom that night and predictably, they have sex and from then on, they're 'boyfriends'. In fact, just a few days later, Lucas declares that he's in love with Jared. Uh huh, sure (hide spoiler)]. But the absurd instalove isn't what pushed this into erotica territory IMO. It was the ridiculous amount of instalust that was coming from Lucas. From the start of the story, the man is a walking sex bot. Sex occupies his thoughts 24/7 with him sexualizing and getting aroused by every single thing Jared did or said. His constant state of arousal would normally be a medical concern except this is erotica so it's used to justify getting the MCs into bed together way earlier than they should have. Here's the big problem with it: the author created Jared as a being a character who struggles with social anxiety and he's particularly shy around Lucas because he's had a crush on the guy forever. In fact, they have a big misunderstanding when (view spoiler)[a naked Lucas comes onto Jared in the kitchen and insists that they need to have sex ASAP. When Jared is obviously uncomfortable and trying to find a way out of the situation, Lucas keeps pointing out that Jared is turned on so that must mean that Jared wants to have sex so they need to get to it. The only reason Lucas doesn't get any further is that Jared pushes him away and walks out. The situation made me really uncomfortable and since that was followed by Lucas' conversation with his father, I was hopeful that Lucas would realize how inappropriate his actions had been and he'd apologize to Jared and they'd take things much slower. But no. Jared continues thinking about sex 24/7 and the very next night is when he barges into Jared's bedroom (once again, Lucas is naked) and this time, Jared is conveniently a willing participant who eagerly goes along with the sexy times (hide spoiler)]. The whole thing was a mess because a character like Jared isn't the right kind of character for an erotica scenario like this. It's no wonder that Jared's shyness disappeared once Lucas got into bed with him because otherwise, the readers wouldn't have viewed it as happy sexy times. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. The MCs were great and I loved the potential the premise had but it's clear the author wanted to churn out a quick piece of erotica instead of giving the MCs the story they truly deserved. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 30, 2023
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Dec 30, 2023
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May 16, 2023
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Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||
| B085LRTX87
| 3.80
| 737
| Aug 25, 2013
| Mar 05, 2020
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did not like it
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DNF @ 23% I'm so bored that I'm going to quit, even though I like the MCs and the setup. To the author's credit, they did a great portraying Brett's de DNF @ 23% I'm so bored that I'm going to quit, even though I like the MCs and the setup. To the author's credit, they did a great portraying Brett's descent into alcoholism and his grief process. It's been 3 years since Brett's husband has died but Brett still struggles on a daily basis to find the right balance between remembering his husband's memory versus not getting lost in his grief. The problem is that the author seemed more interested in Brett's grief and alcoholism than the rest of the story because barely anything else happened. JT is brought to the ranch by Brett's mother and then we're told JT enjoys working at the ranch and he and Brett spend the evenings hanging out, drinking beer on the porch and playing cribbage. We do get a few scenes where we're shown them hanging out but these scenes were separated by many pages of endless internal monologuing by which MC's POV we were in. Making things worse is that the internal rambling was repetitive. Brett's thoughts were always the same: referring to JT (who is 28 to Brett's 41) as a kid and feeling conflicted over being attracted to him. JT's thoughts were stuck on lusting over Brett's hot bod and angsting over having abandoned his supposed future career as a psychologist. Did you know that JT had started medical school but then dropped it because he wasn't interested? Did you know JT went into psychology instead and was working on his Master's degree but he dropped out because he was too empathetic and was told he'd burn out if he didn't quit? Did you know that JT's parents are surgeon snobs who look down on psychologists and JT's decision to go into psych led to conflict between them and JT? Well, don't worry! Because if you don't know these things or if you ever forget part of it, the author will remind you. Over and over and over again. It was so obvious that the author had no clue what to do with these characters because JT's background was constantly repeated to fill pages. Also - JT's connection with psychology was treated in a weird way. The author seemed to imply that JT having been a Master's student means he's the most intelligent guy to ever exist and the fact that he studied psychology means he can understand human emotions on a level like nobody else. But the problem is that the things JT was saying were common sense things. For example - JT notes that grief can change people permanently. This is treated as if it's some divine, complex idea and it's fully credited to him being a psych major. The whole thing was weird and dumb. There are multiple references to characters getting upset at JT for 'psychoanalyzing' them when all JT did was point out obvious things or ask generic questions. Anyway, I'm sad this one was so boring because I adored Brett's southern accent and I love ranch/cowboy romances but there wasn't enough plot to keep me reading. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 16, 2023
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Oct 17, 2023
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Apr 27, 2023
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Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||||
| 1632160463
| 9781632160461
| B00NPNN1PK
| 4.21
| 2,641
| Sep 14, 2014
| Sep 19, 2014
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it was amazing
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I loved this so much! I was going to pass on it because that cover is so bad that it's hilarious but everybody (and I mean EVERYBODY) seems to love th
I loved this so much! I was going to pass on it because that cover is so bad that it's hilarious but everybody (and I mean EVERYBODY) seems to love this book so I decided to give it a chance and I'm so glad I did because it was incredible! I adored every word of it! I loved the MCs, their personalities and how the author came up with amazing situations that constantly put them together and allowed them to demonstrate how much they cared about each other. I also adored all the side characters because they added so much to the overall atmosphere and the story as a whole. Making the whole thing perfect was that the book is also hilarious! In particular, Hank's sarcasm and humor were amazing and made me love him even more. I especially appreciate how many hurt/comfort scenarios the author included, which is one of my favorite tropes. When you have one MC be a gruff, tough farmer and the other MC is a city-slicker doctor, the situation is begging for tons of physical hurt/comfort scenarios and the author didn't disappoint. In fact, their initial meeting and the beginning of their entire relationship is built on a hurt/comfort scenario! (view spoiler)[Hank fractures his collarbone during a footie game and he goes to the clinic where he meets Elliot and gets taken care of. When Elliot goes to visit Hank a few days later (for unrelated reasons) and he realizes that Hank takes care of his farm/ranch all by himself so he's trying to do everything one handed, Elliot immediately jumps in to help him and our city-boy starts learning to love country life while making sure Hank is taken care of and doesn't damage himself further. Later, the author continues this trend of squeezing every drop of potential out of the collarbone situation by having Hank get into a stupid fight that results in him making the injury worse and getting banged up even more, which pisses Elliot off but obviously, he once again steps in to help our dumb-dumb recover. (hide spoiler)] There are other hurt/comfort scenarios that I adored, like (view spoiler)[Elliot dealing with the aftermath of losing a patient and relying on Hank for comfort and of course, the (view spoiler)[car accident (hide spoiler)] near the end (hide spoiler)]. What I especially loved about those scenarios was that each MC had the chance to be in the care-needing role as well as the caregiving role throughout the story. But what I loved most of all was the romance between the MCs. I loved how much they cared about each other and how well they clicked from the start, despite being complete opposites. Did I mention Hank uses two nicknames for Elliot? (view spoiler)[He calls him Ell and Quackle (Doctor = Quack, + Ell). (hide spoiler)] I love it when characters call each other by adorable nicknames so this just added to my love for the story. Another thing I adore is when one MC bonds with the other MC's pet and having Elliot not only bond with Hank's dog Buck but also having him learn how to work with Buck (to herd sheep) made the situation even better. The boys always respected each other and supported each other, even when the big differences between them (class difference, lifestyle difference, education difference etc) threatened to make one of them feel awkward and out of place. I also adored the city vs country themes that the book is based on. I love farming/ranching/country romances anyway and having a city-slicker come into the country and learn to appreciate and respect the lives that the country folks lead always makes me happy. It was so wonderful that Elliot threw himself into getting to know his new community and their lifestyles, even though he's been a city boy his entire life and he comes from wealth so he doesn't need to be dealing with country things if he doesn't want to. I love those kinds of stories where an outsider comes into a culture/community that he doesn't know anything about and once he demonstrates that he respects his new environment and he wants to fit in, he's embraced with open arms. Having that be a major theme throughout the story was such a treat! In addition, the way Elliot eagerly absorbed the knowledge that the other characters were happy to share was great because not only did Elliot learn about his new environment but it was a wonderful chance for me to learn as well. I was just as fascinated as Elliot was when Hank would explain things related to the sheep and how his farm operated overall. I have enormous respect for people who spend their lives living on the land and especially farmers and ranchers, whose work allows me to enjoy my much easier life in the city. This story was a love letter to farmers and ranchers everywhere and I loved that. In particular, I also appreciated how hard the author leaned into the Australian setting and how she refused to take it easy on people who might not be familiar with Aussie related things. I'm one of those people so I did appreciate the glossary at the start (which I had to consult a few times) but I loved how you could actually hear Hank and other people's strong Aussie accents just based on the way the author wrote their dialog. Every detail from large to small was Australian through and through and that was such a treat. I know everybody in the MM romance community puts NR Walker's Red Dirt Heart as their number 1 Australian ranching MM romance but I felt that book doesn't come close to the amazing experience that The Shearing Gun is. When comparing the two books, I felt everything was done so much better in this one. Overall, I adored every single thing about this story and I'm actually sad to say goodbye to the boys and everybody else in their community because I loved spending time with them. I'm so glad I decided to read this and I'm going to cherish my re-reads of it for years to come! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 22, 2023
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May 23, 2023
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Apr 27, 2023
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ebook
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| 1610402235
| 9781610402231
| B0058I6PNA
| 4.23
| 48
| Jun 13, 2005
| May 21, 2011
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liked it
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This story is available on AO3. I really enjoyed the historical details in this short Western but unfortunately, the romance felt incomplete due to the This story is available on AO3. I really enjoyed the historical details in this short Western but unfortunately, the romance felt incomplete due to the short length. While it was really great historical gay fiction, I wasn't satisfied with it as a historical gay romance. The historical atmosphere was incredibly well done and I immediately felt immersed in the 1896 Old West setting. I especially liked that Joss' speech patterns sounded very authentic for the time period and his background. If I were to judge this as being historical fiction, it would be fantastic. The story starts with Joss and Ox having been friends for years after getting to know each other when they happened to be working on the same ranch. Since then, they've travelled around together, finding work and taking care of each other with Joss being the extrovert while Ox is the introvert. Their dynamic first reminded me of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men and this worried me because I had a lot of issues with that book. But it turns out that any comparisons between Ox and Lennie (from Steinbeck's book) are only surface deep. Anyway, Ox is a very quiet gentle giant and for that reason, Joss doesn't know much about his partner's history and the reveal of that history is what the story's main focus is. I liked how there are small hints from the start that Ox comes from an upper class background, which Joss has picked up on over the years. The way Ox speaks, his mannerisms, his financial knowledge and his love for reading all connect to him having grown up in wealthy surroundings. I loved how this was contrasted with Joss, who grew up poor, was raised by a single mother and barely has any education. This class divide between them was beautifully balanced by Ox being the quiet one who is happy to let Joss take the lead when it comes to finding them work or getting them out of trouble. They've spent years teaching each other skills that their own lives had taught them in an exchange of knowledge that's designed to help both. For example, Ox taught Joss how to read while Joss taught Ox how to sew and fix tack. Their friendship was beautiful and I especially loved how it's obvious that these two boys deeply respect and care for each other, despite how opposite they are. The main plotline in the story involves the boys randomly getting involved with somebody from Ox's past, which is how Joss learns more about his friend and solves some mysteries that have been in place for years, such as why Ox barely speaks, where the scarring on his back came from and how a seemingly simple ranchhand obtained the education he has. Ox's story was really interesting and I liked how the author revealed bits and pieces of it so Joss and readers put things together at the same time. Unfortunately, the part of the story that wasn't well done was the romance. (view spoiler)[Although they've been friends for years, Joss never has a clue that Ox is gay and this is only revealed in the last third of the book when Joss is putting together the final pieces of Ox's mysterious past. As for Joss - he's never felt any attraction to a man. But when Joss learns that Ox is gay and has had past gay relationships, Joss suddenly decides that he's jealous and that he wants to do gay stuff with Ox too. In the last 10% of the story, Joss and Ox randomly decide to fall into bed together, which felt unrealistic and way too rushed. We don't get Ox's POV in the story because that would ruin the slow reveal of his past but because he's also very, very quiet, I finished the book being unclear on whether he truly has romantic feelings for Joss and if yes, how long he's had these feelings. As mentioned before, Joss has never felt any sexual attraction towards another man so his sudden interest in Ox felt gay-curious rather than anything romantic. It was a clear case of GFY and I'm not a big fan of that trope anyway, but I particularly didn't like how the GFY trope wasn't even complete in this story. Normally, the GFY MC gets together with the other one and that's followed by lots of angsting and questioning over what his sexuality is and what he wants for his future. There's usually some conflict that makes the GFY MC have to decide whether to spend his future with the MC or go back to being with women. But in this book, the story abruptly ends right after Joss and Ox's first sexual interaction. They make plans for where they'll travel next for work and that's it. The End. (hide spoiler)] Overall, I really enjoyed this as historical fiction and I'm going to check out the author's other work because I liked everything about the story except for the romance. I'll keep my fingers crossed that future books I try will have a more satisfying and complete romance plotline. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 22, 2023
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Jun 22, 2023
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Apr 27, 2023
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ebook
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| 1615817301
| 9781615817306
| 3.76
| 177
| Mar 03, 2011
| Mar 04, 2011
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did not like it
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DNF @ 19% Yet another highly anticipated ranching romance bites the dust for me. Despite a very shaky start, I got excited when I realized that the aut DNF @ 19% Yet another highly anticipated ranching romance bites the dust for me. Despite a very shaky start, I got excited when I realized that the author took the cattle ranching aspects seriously (we get detailed descriptions of what the ranch hands do on a daily basis). I also liked Ade's unique background. He's the son of the cattle ranch owner, but he's always been more interested in farming. Specifically, he's really passionate about crop irrigation. After finishing a farming-related degree at school, he joined the Peace Corps and used his knowledge and passion to go to third world countries where he helped villages install irrigation systems. This was really, really cool and I would actually love to read a book about that. Unfortunately, Ade returns to the ranch when his dad gets sick so none of that other stuff matters. I gave this book the side eye when I saw it was 320 pages because that seemed excessive for a straight forward ranching romance, but I gave it a shot because the characters seemed interesting and I love farm/ranch romances. Unfortunately, nothing worked for me here. The writing was the biggest letdown because it's not very good. In fact, it's distractingly amateur at most times. You can tell the author really, really tried to make the dialog sound cowboy-ish, but most of it sounds unnatural. One thing I found hilarious is that every single cowboy except Ade swears by saying 'shit' and it's always used as an exclamation at the start of somebody's dialog (ex. "Shit! I hear coyotes!"). There's no variation from this pattern except once when Jesse slips in a few fucks too. The writing itself is stiff, oddly formal at times and contractions are often not used. Even worse, there were significant formatting issues, such as every single apostrophe being a double quotation mark as well as the existence of random line breaks. I also very nearly DNF'd in the first few pages because the author likes inserting random lengthy flashbacks into the narrative. The problem is that the transition between the timelines isn't clear and the author just switches to italicizing text to indicate that a flashback started. Even more confusing - there was tense switching going on. The story starts in present tense and the first flashback is in past tense. But then the author forgets about the present tense and everything is in past tense. Due to the amateur writing, Ade came across as much younger than he actually was. He was supposed to be 31 years old so not much younger than Jesse's 38, but Ade was constantly acting overly emotional, making ridiculously formal declarations about how wonderful Jesse is and having lengthy, dramatic internal monologues about how he's attracted to Jesse but he doesn't know if Jesse's gay. Then he randomly kisses Jesse out of the blue, which isn't something a 31 year old man would do. Jesse's response was exactly what you'd expect it to be (anger/annoyance/shoving Ade away) but the fact that Ade did it at all was dumb. Then there was the final problem: the blurb indicates that Jesse had been married to a woman at some point and he had a 'turbulent' relationship with a man, which 'fell apart'. First of all - the divorce happen over a decade before the story starts so I didn't appreciate the info dumps at the start about his ex-wife, daughter and granddaughter. He has little contact with any of them so they don't matter at that point. Second of all - the author purposefully leaves out the most important factor of Jesse's relationship with the guy he was with. You see, the relationship didn't 'fall apart' and this wasn't a short fling. (view spoiler)[They had been together for years and Jesse's partner died, presumably from a drug overdose and Jesse found his body (it's not clearly spelled out in the part I read so some details might be wrong). Five years later, Jesse is still very much in love with his deceased partner and grieving intensely. (hide spoiler)] I normally avoid books that have setups like this because they don't work for me so if this had been spelled out clearly in the blurb, I would have avoided the book altogether. Sure, this book is long enough that maybe the author did do a solid job of having Jesse work through (view spoiler)[his grief (hide spoiler)] and then moving on to a new relationship with Ade but due to the poor writing, I'm not going to stick around long enough to find out. ...more |
Notes are private!
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Jan 15, 2024
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Jan 15, 2024
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Apr 27, 2023
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ebook
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| 095654262X
| 9780956542625
| 095654262X
| 3.79
| 239
| May 01, 2010
| May 01, 2010
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did not like it
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This story and its sequel have been made available by the author for free on AO3: Part 1 - End Of The Trail Part 2 - The Devil In Dead Horse DNF @ 30% Thi This story and its sequel have been made available by the author for free on AO3: Part 1 - End Of The Trail Part 2 - The Devil In Dead Horse DNF @ 30% This had so many things I love: a historical MM western, a badass outlaw who hides from the law by moving in with a rancher and developing a deep love for ranching, and a grumpy rancher who injured his leg and now walks with a limp and has chronic pain. Unfortunately, nothing worked for me here. I adore historical westerns but this one might as well have taken place on a ranch in modern times because the MCs speech patterns were too modern. There were also blatant historical inaccuracies, like John teaching Will about French Toast with the excuse that 'the Frenchies' taught him at some point. But my bigger problem was that I didn't like either MC and the relationship progression between them took place by telling instead of showing. Will was a boring character who spends too much time mourning for his deceased wife. Hilariously, the author uses a plot convenience at one point to move Will's young son far away from him which kept the kid out of the picture (I assume the author didn't want to bother dealing with a kid throughout the story) but had the side effect of making Will look like he didn't give a damn that his son was no longer living with him. As for John - he's supposed to be a bad guy; an outlaw who has murdered and robbed countless people. But the author took the approach that I hate by going overboard trying to make John be a Good bad guy. Please grab your tiny violins and join me in creating an appropriately tragic soundtrack for the following Epic Tragedy: + John has an incredibly angsty backstory and he was abused and hurt by practically every single person he's ever met + He was forced into every single act of criminality that he's ever done by circumstances beyond his control + He may have risen through the ranks and become an outlaw leader but he's the kindest and fairest outlaw leader to ever exist + He spends his days lamenting over how evil he is and in a crowd of people condemning John for his actions, John's voice is always the loudest And on and on and on. I hated every part of how John was portrayed. If you're going to have a bad guy MC then let him be a bad guy and give him a solid redemption arc. Not this stupid wishy-washy 'he's a bad guy but he's a Good bad guy' thing. Not only did I not care about either MC but their romance was absurd. Will comes across a badly injured John on his land and he takes him in so he, his wife and his young son can help John recover. Okay, fine - that's how things were done back in the day. But then we're told that they all become one big happy family within a few days and Will, his wife and son all adore John and they're crushed when he leaves. We don't see any of it, we're just told and the whole thing was incredibly rushed. And THREE YEARS later, John suddenly shows back up and Will recognizes his voice before seeing his face, as if that's realistic. But then Will randomly allows John to move back in with him and from that point onwards, Will is oddly comfortable around John. It made no sense to me because Will knows that John is a criminal so there's no reason for Will to trust him. But even if you ignore John's criminal history, it was still unrealistic to have Will accept John in his life so easily. Due to Will being lonely after his wife died and his son having been taken away, I could have believed the rushed pacing of Will allowing John into his life again but there's no chemistry between them and the majority of their interactions are done through telling instead of showing. I felt nothing for these MCs so I didn't believe in their relationship. Then at 30%, the author randomly shoves a graphic MFM scene into the mix, which I don't care for anyway. But everybody involved lacked hygiene and I didn't care about any of the three, so I was so grossed out that I had to stop reading. But in any case, I wasn't a fan of what the author did with this premise anyway. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 24, 2023
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Jul 25, 2023
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Apr 27, 2023
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ebook
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| 1623807875
| 9781623807870
| B00DUQ5ABK
| 3.91
| 1,343
| Jul 10, 2013
| Jul 10, 2013
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did not like it
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DNF @ 32% This was my first book by Rowan Speedwell and nothing about it is working for me, especially the writing style. Every review that mentions th DNF @ 32% This was my first book by Rowan Speedwell and nothing about it is working for me, especially the writing style. Every review that mentions the writing style talks about how enjoyable it was so I don't know if I read a different book than everybody else but the writing was so annoying that I couldn't focus on the story. Annoyances included: + Having multiple short sentences in a row that should have been combined to make the writing flow at a more natural pace: But everyone's folks did that, and he didn't know a single grownup male who didn't drink occasionally. It didn't mean they weren't happy. It didn't mean they weren't loved. He never doubted that. + Long sentences that included too many punctuation marks (mostly commas) and had sentence chunks placed in the wrong order: He'd hated Uncle Tucker seeing the scars on his arms; it was almost as if as long as he could keep those hidden, no one would know. + Sentences that were difficult to understand because of strange word order: "Since when you got delusions of being a shrink?" "I just am worried about the boy, is all." + Paragraphs that managed to combine many of the issues I listed above: Those cues were easy to read. The problems weren't easy to fix, but once they had an idea of what they were dealing with, they knew what they had to do. People, now? People were funny. They were smart, and peculiar. So knowing what would set someone off wasn't easy to pinpoint. + Using unusual phonetic spelling for words when there was no reason to change the spelling. I like having authors depict accents phonetically by changing the spelling of words to reflect the character's pronunciation but this wasn't that. The pronunciation wasn't changed, just the spelling: Mebbe (maybe) Figgered (figured) + Using unusual phonetic spelling for words that resulted in them being pronounced in ways I personally don't think reflects natural speech or any accent I'm familiar with: If you got et (if you got ate) Allus (always) I also had problems with the narrative. Eli is 33 and Josh is 28 so this isn't an age gap romance and there's no daddy kink. Yet, Eli calls Josh 'son' and 'boy' frequently. This was particularly annoying because Tucker (who is the father figure in the story) also calls both MCs 'son' frequently so having Eli use that language with Josh had very specific connotations. Then there was a scene where Josh freaked out about having to brace himself on Eli's shoulder when he was about to fall over. I understood his knee-jerk OMFG reaction to it because men touching each other was a big no-no in the gang he'd been in. But instead of just tensing up and pulling back from Eli literally and metaphorically as a way to soothe his anxiety, he rushes into the house and into his bathroom to have a scalding hot shower and he stays in the shower until the water runs cold. It's a pet peeve for me but I hate such childish OTT emotional displays, particularly from characters who are supposed to be grown adults and have personalities that don't line up with such ridiculous displays. So in general, I'm not a fan of either MC but the writing style is so annoying that I have to keep re-reading sentences constantly and as a result, the book is dragging for me. It's not my thing so I'm gonna pass. ...more |
Notes are private!
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Apr 27, 2023
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my rating |
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| 4.37
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liked it
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Jan 22, 2023
not set
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Sep 26, 2024
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| 3.66
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did not like it
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Jul 2024
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Sep 21, 2024
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| 3.37
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liked it
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Jul 08, 2024
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Jan 07, 2024
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| 4.25
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really liked it
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Jun 23, 2024
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Jan 02, 2024
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| 4.00
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liked it
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Nov 15, 2023
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Nov 15, 2023
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| 3.90
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did not like it
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Sep 06, 2024
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Oct 01, 2023
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| 4.16
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it was ok
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Apr 02, 2024
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Oct 01, 2023
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| 3.50
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did not like it
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Jul 19, 2024
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Sep 09, 2023
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| 4.41
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did not like it
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Nov 12, 2023
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Sep 03, 2023
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| 4.09
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really liked it
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Oct 02, 2023
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Jul 26, 2023
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| 4.28
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did not like it
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Apr 18, 2024
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Jun 08, 2023
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| 3.79
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did not like it
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Dec 09, 2023
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May 21, 2023
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| 3.85
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Dec 17, 2023
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May 21, 2023
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| 3.70
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it was ok
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Dec 30, 2023
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May 16, 2023
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| 3.80
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did not like it
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Oct 17, 2023
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Apr 27, 2023
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| 4.21
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it was amazing
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May 23, 2023
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Apr 27, 2023
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| 4.23
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liked it
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Jun 22, 2023
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Apr 27, 2023
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| 3.76
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did not like it
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Jan 15, 2024
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Apr 27, 2023
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| 3.79
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did not like it
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Jul 25, 2023
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Apr 27, 2023
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| 3.91
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did not like it
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Jun 2023
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Apr 27, 2023
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