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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
This is a m/m cowboy BDSM romance with a demi, pro-dom LI, which sounds awesome, but the characters and set-up do not feel believable to me even in the "cowboy romance suspension of disbelief" sense. WHY do we keep hearing about Avery's sensuous waist-length hair and why does he keep referring to himself as "Colt's Sir?" And also I felt that the whole "history of the west" thing was a bit chilling since, at least in the part I read, there was no awareness of Indigenous people.
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual violence, Abandonment
I am a huge fan of this author’s work and was really looking forward to this book but I was a little disappointed. The D/s relationship between the two characters wasn’t what I expected and didn’t like it between them.
We didn’t get to know Avery very well in book one but I was intrigued. However, the more we learned about him the more I did not care for him. He really was just a selfish prat and almost emotionless at times…and the inner dialog of ‘does he love me for me’ grew tiresome for me.
I liked Colt – his outgoing and exuberant personality just makes him likeable. He is super sweet and sensitive…the antithesis of Avery. I guess opposites attract. I sympathized with Colt’s situation with Mack and was glad to see them start to mend their relationship. I also was glad to see how things progressed with Colt’s family. He definitely showed growth and maturity throughout the story.
I’m interested in what should be the next couple (based on foreshadowing in this book). I’m hopeful their story will be on par with that we normally get from this author because they have amazing potential.
We didn’t get to know Avery very well in book one but I was intrigued. However, the more we learned about him the more I did not care for him. He really was just a selfish prat and almost emotionless at times…and the inner dialog of ‘does he love me for me’ grew tiresome for me.
I liked Colt – his outgoing and exuberant personality just makes him likeable. He is super sweet and sensitive…the antithesis of Avery. I guess opposites attract. I sympathized with Colt’s situation with Mack and was glad to see them start to mend their relationship. I also was glad to see how things progressed with Colt’s family. He definitely showed growth and maturity throughout the story.
I’m interested in what should be the next couple (based on foreshadowing in this book). I’m hopeful their story will be on par with that we normally get from this author because they have amazing potential.
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
This was hot and Colt and Avery had a lot more emotional dynamics than Mack and Wes.
I'm not sure what to say about this one because, for a lot of the book, it really wasn't working for me and I thought Avery was an absolutely selfish arse.
The last 20% went a long way to bringing the rating up though and I liked the stuff with Avery's mum and grandparents and the bits when Colt went back to the ranch he'd left aged 18 when his dad had turned his back on him for being gay.
Unfortunately, the major aspect of the narrative - a Sir/pet BDSM dynamic really really didn't work for me. Every time Colt referred to Avery as "his Sir" in third person it just made my hairs stand up like chalk on a blackboard.
As I had an ARC, the formatting wasn't finalised and at times it made it more difficult to work out who was speaking or being referred to and the time jumps into their past relationship had some really odd use of tense and grammar.
But, on a positive note, I love the setting this series is based in, the secondary characters, the family feeling of this group of men making themselves a home and I loved Colt, for his unashamedly open need to have Avery back in his life.
I am looking forward to more in the series and especially to hopefully finding out more about Reyes.
#ARC kindly provided by the publishers Carina Press in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
The last 20% went a long way to bringing the rating up though and I liked the stuff with Avery's mum and grandparents and the bits when Colt went back to the ranch he'd left aged 18 when his dad had turned his back on him for being gay.
Unfortunately, the major aspect of the narrative - a Sir/pet BDSM dynamic really really didn't work for me. Every time Colt referred to Avery as "his Sir" in third person it just made my hairs stand up like chalk on a blackboard.
As I had an ARC, the formatting wasn't finalised and at times it made it more difficult to work out who was speaking or being referred to and the time jumps into their past relationship had some really odd use of tense and grammar.
But, on a positive note, I love the setting this series is based in, the secondary characters, the family feeling of this group of men making themselves a home and I loved Colt, for his unashamedly open need to have Avery back in his life.
I am looking forward to more in the series and especially to hopefully finding out more about Reyes.
#ARC kindly provided by the publishers Carina Press in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
*I received this book in exchange for an honest review*
First of all, I found it pretty much impossible to understand the beginning of the book without first reading the previous one so it is definitely not possible to read it as a standalone. It starts with some scenes that are more explained in the first book and it also gives a reason why Colt’s ex comes to the ranch.
The book deals with the restoration of the ghost town discovered in the previous books and features a lot of characters from the first one. Actually, I think they all appear at least in a small side role.
I got an ARC copy through NetGalley so I will assume that formatting was not finalised yet as the jumps between Colt and Avery were not marked and it was sometimes hard to follow. But as it is an ARC, I did not factor that in the review. What was important though, was jumping between times for memories and for general story. While I can understand it, and it sometimes made it easier to figure out when a particular part was happening, it was still a bit annoying.
I did like how Colt and Avery slowly built the relationship again. I would have liked it if they talked a bit more, but Colt seemed to trust Avery, as his Dom/Sir and as a person. Avery on the other hand had more doubts whether Colt just wants his Dom or him as a person, so that would be nice if it was a bit more dealt with.
The fact that Avery was a responsible Dom, and the fact that he and Colt signed a contract when they started the whole BDSM thing was a huge plus, but not enough to really improve the rating much.
I also liked that Colt, after being away from his family for a long, long time, went back and it was nice that some of the family members accepted him, his relationship with Avery.
It was an okay-ish book, but nothing special or spectacular.
First of all, I found it pretty much impossible to understand the beginning of the book without first reading the previous one so it is definitely not possible to read it as a standalone. It starts with some scenes that are more explained in the first book and it also gives a reason why Colt’s ex comes to the ranch.
The book deals with the restoration of the ghost town discovered in the previous books and features a lot of characters from the first one. Actually, I think they all appear at least in a small side role.
I got an ARC copy through NetGalley so I will assume that formatting was not finalised yet as the jumps between Colt and Avery were not marked and it was sometimes hard to follow. But as it is an ARC, I did not factor that in the review. What was important though, was jumping between times for memories and for general story. While I can understand it, and it sometimes made it easier to figure out when a particular part was happening, it was still a bit annoying.
I did like how Colt and Avery slowly built the relationship again. I would have liked it if they talked a bit more, but Colt seemed to trust Avery, as his Dom/Sir and as a person. Avery on the other hand had more doubts whether Colt just wants his Dom or him as a person, so that would be nice if it was a bit more dealt with.
The fact that Avery was a responsible Dom, and the fact that he and Colt signed a contract when they started the whole BDSM thing was a huge plus, but not enough to really improve the rating much.
I also liked that Colt, after being away from his family for a long, long time, went back and it was nice that some of the family members accepted him, his relationship with Avery.
It was an okay-ish book, but nothing special or spectacular.
*Received ARC from Netgalley*
This one took me a little while to get into. But once I did it worked for me. I loved seeing Colt & Avery find their way back to each other, though I wish it had been more balanced. It feels like everything is blamed on Colt and all the faults are laid at his feel, when Avery was just as responsible. It takes two. Everything is put on Colt, and Avery never has to compromise or adjust. The last misunderstanding really highlights this. Colt does something, Avery FLIPS out, is pretty insulting and dismissive and storms off but when it's resolved it's Colt apologizing. It's Colt making concessions. It's Colt adjusting his expectations. Avery doesn't do anything but be "magnanimously forgiving". It honestly ruined it for me a little bit. The entire book is Colt trying to prove himself to Avery...while Avery doesn't do half as much to prove himself to Colt. It's so frustrating. This isn't to say I hate Avery...I don't. I just wanted more balance. I loved seeing the ranch, and the characters that live there. I liked seeing Mack move towards forgiving Colt and realizing he was going through stuff as well. Intrigued by the hints of who is for Reyes, I think I'll love that book. I liked the scenes with their respective families. I appreciate that while Colt's were happy to see him they weren't magically accepting (they weren't jerks) and that while Avery's mom was a little standoffish she had her reasons and she comes around.
This one took me a little while to get into. But once I did it worked for me. I loved seeing Colt & Avery find their way back to each other, though I wish it had been more balanced. It feels like everything is blamed on Colt and all the faults are laid at his feel, when Avery was just as responsible. It takes two. Everything is put on Colt, and Avery never has to compromise or adjust. The last misunderstanding really highlights this. Colt does something, Avery FLIPS out, is pretty insulting and dismissive and storms off but when it's resolved it's Colt apologizing. It's Colt making concessions. It's Colt adjusting his expectations. Avery doesn't do anything but be "magnanimously forgiving". It honestly ruined it for me a little bit. The entire book is Colt trying to prove himself to Avery...while Avery doesn't do half as much to prove himself to Colt. It's so frustrating. This isn't to say I hate Avery...I don't. I just wanted more balance. I loved seeing the ranch, and the characters that live there. I liked seeing Mack move towards forgiving Colt and realizing he was going through stuff as well. Intrigued by the hints of who is for Reyes, I think I'll love that book. I liked the scenes with their respective families. I appreciate that while Colt's were happy to see him they weren't magically accepting (they weren't jerks) and that while Avery's mom was a little standoffish she had her reasons and she comes around.