Helpful Score: 3
This was the first book I read by this author and to say that I was pleasantly surprised is putting it mildly. The author hooks the reader with some scorching sex at the beginning of the book and then slowly winds the tale of the relationship between Jake and Tor. The author's ability to put the reader in the emotional place of the character is astounding. As a reader, I laughed and cried with the characters as their relationship changed. There are moments of great joy, great love, great loss, great understanding and great forgiveness. If you are looking for a male/male romance with good characters, great writing, hot sex and a fabulous story, I highly recommend this book - 5 stars.
Helpful Score: 1
I wasn't too sure about this book in the beginning until it really started getting interesting as the relationship part started to develop between the two. It really hit home the happily ever after, the reality of a relationship and the makings of making it last. It was a five star read with how Jake and Tor eventually work out.
Helpful Score: 1
This was my first Chris Owen. The author bio is unclear as to the author's gender. Chris Owen writes M/M sex like a man but writes romance and lover angst like a woman. This was an excellent book. I found myself laughing and crying. The character development was way more involved than most M/M romances or even mainstream quickie romances. Don't misunderstand, it is M/M erotica. There are alot of sex scenes, and they are scorchingly hot. I loved that it wasn't a formula HEA. The relationship between Jake and Tor was real, deeply loving and long-term before they hit the required-for-romance-novel black period. I truly wondered about (but fervently hoped for) their HEA. I never read ahead, ever. I was really tempted to this time, but was so glad I didn't. I highly recommend this book to anyone not uncomfortable with M/M romance, it is a great NOVEL, not just a romance or erotica book.
The first part is nothing but graphic descriptions of sex between the two main characters. This is what most readers, I suspect, are looking for. But it gets old after a while. Then there is a touching middle section involving the relationships Jake and Tor have with their families which might hit close to home for some readers. Then it's sort of back to sex and a drawn out ending which sort of satisfies. All in all, OK, but not spectacular. (By the way, never having lived on a ranch as a ranch-hand, I can't say for sure, but the childish games played by the bunkhouse mates seems unbelievable.)
This was an OK read for me. I enjoyed the book when it was developing the relationship between the two men. The relationship is, to me, the most important part of the story. While the sex scenes were HOT, at some points, I actually skimmed them to get to the rest of the storyline.
