Rhianne Aile

Three stars is a fairly poor rating for me, and I feel bad about giving this one this since many people like it. But, I didn't really care for it. I REALLY struggled to keep my attention on it. Lots of times I had to flip back a few pages to reread as I found my eyes passing over words while my mind was elsewhere. Like analyzing why I didn't connect with these characters.

I can't help comparing this to [b:Promises|7493186|Promises (Coda Books, #1)|Marie show more Sexton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1262658310s/7493186.jpg|9639749], which is another GFY that is a favorite of mine that I just reread. The first thing this comparison leads me to think is that part of the issue is the lack of setting. Promises has a very clear setting: small town in a moderate state. That means small local minds, but decent legal protections. Here? I finish this book with questions. How big is this city they're living in? It's obviously not that small if it can support two newspapers, but there's a difference between having a gay revelation in a blue state and a red state.


Second, Promises deals with both sides of the going-gay coin: 1. the personal, internal battle, and 2. the external consequences. This one really only addresses #1. Coming out in the epilogue? Will that affect their careers? It was hinted early on that someone (the boss? a coworker?) would have a cow about it. Is the job at the newspaper going to be downsized after this revelation? What about families? Family background matters even if you aren't close to them anymore (or if they are deceased), because your ingrained morality about it largely comes from there. Sure, when you're 40, family doesn't matter the same way as it does when you're 15 or 20. But it still matters.

Finally, Promises opens with us getting to see the friendship grow between the two characters. I think this gives the reader a solid foundation for the chemistry. Here, it felt very inconsistent. At the start of the story, they're best friends, supposedly. But he hadn't met the other's cat? Didn't know about poker night? Didn't know he was GAY? I mean, in order to not know that, you have to have either lied about, or never discussed, your personal/dating lives AT ALL. show less

I enjoyed this story and have re-read it. I like the gentle way that romance developed from friendship, with some pretty passionate encounters along the way. The characters took some time to get to know each other on this new level, as neither of them wanted to lose the friendship, if things didn't work out romantically.

Although, from the way he was described I was never convinced that Trace was straight. Also from David's side how could you know someone well enough to give them a key to show more your place and not tell them you're gay. They work in the same town, in the same industry, with mutual aquaintances, does nobody gossip??? show less

Even if the title is the same of the first story, the book is really two complete stories of about the same lenght.

In the first, To Love a Cowboy, Patrick is a 45 years old foreman of a wealthy horse ranch. He is also the owner of the 45% of that ranch, being an old friend of the boss, and he is also in love with the 25 years old son of his friend, Roan. Roan has a crush on Patrick since he was 14, and he has also managed to sneak an handjob with said foreman when he was 18. But soon after show more Patrick had chicken out on the prospective to be in love with a so much younger man and Roan went to college and never back home for seven years. Now he is again at home and he has every intention to bring down the walls Patrick has built around him.

I like the story, even if I find strange to read of a total acceptance of manlove in a small town. No one says nothing, nor Roan's father (and maybe this is due to his long date friendship with Patrick), or the people on the ranch, or in the village. And around the ranch there is not one but even two gay bars, or at least a place where gay couples can hang out without problems... Apart this strange feeling (strange but not bad...), the two main characters are really charming. Patrick is a a one piece man, who believe in the forever love and family. Maybe a bit stubborn in refusing a good thing when it's right in front of him, but ready to admit his mistakes. Roan is the classical eager puppy lover: young and not still enough confident of his powers, he relies on sex to stake his claim. And to prove a point. When refused at eighteen years old he has not adopted the mourning lover beahviour, and instead he has made as much experiences as he could, and now he is ready, and willing, to admit that his first love was the real one. If said love is willing to say the same.

The second story, Justice, has an historical setting in a late nineteen century Far West small town, the Justice of the title. But it is also a alternative world setting. In fact, in the small town, all the main characters are gays: the hotel owner, the saloon owner and his lover, the brothel owner, the librarian... only the stable owner is not gay... she is a woman and she is lesbian! Three (gay) brothers arrive in this fantasy land town in search of vengeance upon an old enemy, and instead they find love. The younger, Nate, is involved in a threesome with Luke and Jamison (saloon and brothel owners) and the middle, Noah, with Simon (hotel owner); instead Adam, the older, is a bit reluctant to surrender to the courtship of the librarian, Dale. Most of the romance is spent telling us of the newborn couples and the revenge plan is put aside until almost the end. Probably the characters who win the main scene are Noah and Simon. Adam and Nate play the role of supporting characters. Again the total acceptance is a little disconcerting, but in this case is more 'normal', given also the introduction of the author where she tells us as she dreamed on the old western movies imagining to remove the weak heroines.

If you love the western setting, contemporary or historical, and love your M/M romance a bit sexy and erotic, these two stories are for you.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0979504880/?tag=elimyrevandra-20 show less

I was a little hesitant about this book when I first read the summary and I'm not sure why. But can I say how glad I am that I still went ahead and bought it? It had everything a good werewolf book needs~ Plenty of action and intrigue to unfold with a good dose of males testosterone induced fights! The path to true love is never easy. After certain revelations made near the end about Tristan's twin brother William's mate, I'm desperatly waiting for "Betrayed", which will be Will's story. I show more can already see it being just as amazing and angst filled as this one! I think what captivated me immediatly in this book is the background historical settings of 1500's and the witchcraft. It really felt like we saw the centuries pass with both family even though the book doesn't give us much details besides that faithful night of cursing.

After being betrayed by her lover, Anne Northland, a once peaceful witch who specialized on healing, turns to darker magic in an effort to seek revenge and soothe her broken heart. Deaf to her twin brother's warning that using such strong magic would come back to them threefold, she sets about to cast a spell binding the Sterling family and any heir they might produce to the curse of the full moon. By succesfully casting her curse, her twin brother's fears come through, cursing the entire Northland family and their future heir to forever lose the person they love to an early death.

The centuries pass, and with them they see the hope of ever being free dwindling with both families' attempt to break the curses in vain.

Tristan Northland was always fascinated by werewolf, ever since he was young he set out to learn everything he could about them. Having in his possession his grandmother's diary retailing the curse of the Sterling's family, Tristan feels deep inside of him that he is the one to break the curse and end the centuries long suffering of both families. While Tristan's twin brother William is reluctant to let him go meet with the current Sterling heir, he sees in his brother's determination that nothing will stop him.

Benjamin Sterling is a man that has more or less learn to live with the beast inside of him but if he could spare that pain to his young son he would do anything in his power to rid his family of the dreaded curse that manifests itself at puberty.

When Tristan arrives out of the blue and introduces himself as "Northland", Benjamin is skeptical and doesn't think even he can break the curse. Still, he feels an instant attraction for Tristan and something inside of him demands he gives him a chance.

Sometimes a curse can be so much more than just that. show less