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raynebair's review
4.0
I just love Tara Lain. Her books are definitely comfort reads for me. And although I haven't read book 1, I don't think I suffered in having read book 2 first. I love how Laurie was all femme yet he was a spitfire with guts. The switch from the classic roles between Laurie (super femme, queeny top) and Danny ("manly" cowboy bottom) were awesome!
galleytrot's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
READ: Jan 2024
FORMAT: Digital
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 3.75 / 5⭐
TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 3.25 / 5⭐
FINAL – OVERALL: 3.5 / 5⭐
Book two of the Cowboys Don’t series follows Danny, a ranch hand with a pretty face and a rough past that he’s long left behind, now squirreling away money for his future plans. His appearance lends itself to expectations within the hookup scene that don’t align with his true desires, but it’s better to go with the flow than to invite even more ridicule and hate into his life. When a guest arrives at the ranch looking like Danny’s unicorn wet dream (and one he can’t have any part of, no less), it leaves him off balance. Laurie is a temporary distraction in a stylish package, and his looks are endlessly deceiving, hiding surprise after surprise.
So the biggest downfall this book had for me was that I couldn’t get myself completely on board with Laurie’s character. I do love a strong-minded, effeminate firecracker of a man with a dominant streak, but I just felt like Laurie lacked the punch that I would expect from such role. He is unfairly treated as an accessory by most of the people in his life, which would absolutely support the difficulty he has in putting himself first, but that’s also sort of the reason why he doesn’t mesh with what I picture Danny to be looking for; especially after dark.
I also never got past the feeling that the only thing Danny and Laurie shared together was their sexual compatibility, leaving their romance a bit of a head-scratcher. And does anyone else think it’s a bit of a shame that Danny shows interest in Laurie’s nightwear, but we aren’t treated to a single scene of him getting to experience it first hand?
The strongest thing this book has going for it are the bull riding scenes; they show not only an impressive amount of research, but are also easily the best-written moments in the entire book. They were entertaining, a world of fun, and I honestly couldn’t wait to get to the next one. Opposite these scenes were the more serious fights, brawls, and attacks that weren’t remotely as engaging, but I give them props for being far more believable compared to the extremely over-the-top moments of the first book in the series. Compared to those, these were downright realistic.
This book has representation for gays and lesbians. Several characters are presented as non-white.
The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.
This book contains: homophobia; fatphobic comment potentially encouraging an eating disorder; alcohol use; sexual harassment, threat of rape; fighting/brawling, assault; improvised weapon violence (razors, wood, wires); sexual assault on a sleeping person; infidelity; past exploitation and wage theft by a parent to their child; hate crimes, past and present; attempted gaslighting; toxic, manipulative parent/spouse; mention of drug addiction; past death (hate crime/murder, gun violence); attempted murder; and, blood and injuries (split lip, bruising, concussion).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Cursing, Fatphobia, Blood, and Medical content
Minor: Gun violence, Gaslighting, Murder, Addiction, Death, and Drug abuse
inmyhumbleopinion's review
4.0
m/m
San Francisco meets California country. Cowboys Don't Ride Unicorns is a sweet tale of an urbanite and a cowboy. San Francisco decorator Laurie Belmont may look like a twink but he prefers to top. Champion bull rider Danny Boone is a handsome hunk of cowboy and Laurie Belmont may just be his unicorn. I really like Laurie. He is who he is and is comfortable in his skin. Danny has paid the price for being gay in a homophobic sport but he too is comfortable in his skin.
This story runs the gamut of emotions from love to hate and everything in between. It is a well rounded story that will keep you entranced from the first page till the last.
Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
San Francisco meets California country. Cowboys Don't Ride Unicorns is a sweet tale of an urbanite and a cowboy. San Francisco decorator Laurie Belmont may look like a twink but he prefers to top. Champion bull rider Danny Boone is a handsome hunk of cowboy and Laurie Belmont may just be his unicorn. I really like Laurie. He is who he is and is comfortable in his skin. Danny has paid the price for being gay in a homophobic sport but he too is comfortable in his skin.
This story runs the gamut of emotions from love to hate and everything in between. It is a well rounded story that will keep you entranced from the first page till the last.
Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
wildfaeriecaps's review
5.0
This ended up being a much more serious book than I anticipated and I loved every page of it.
dreamofhorses24's review
4.0
I was initially intrigued by the title of this book and it fits. I love cowboys in romance. There's just something about the way their jeans fit, the hat, the horses and the drawl. *swoon* This book was fantastic. The storyline is well written, the characters are great, and the sexy times are hot!
liza5326's review
4.0
This was a delightful surprise! You have Danny, the rough and tough cowboy, and Laurie, the femme interior designer. Take every expectation of that pairing and flip-flop it! I love that Danny is a bottom and Laurie is a bossy top. There is plenty of laughs, romance, just enough drama, and sexiness to keep the story moving right along. Laurie's mother . . . . Oh, that woman was infuriating!! Like what century are you living in, lady?
jugglingpup's review
3.0
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got an ARC of this book.
I never see femme tops, so I was all about this book immediately. I needed it. The title was goofy and I enjoyed that, but it also annoyed me. Unicorns generally refer to bi women who date couples in the polyamorous world, so it felt like it was a weird word to choose. There was also no real explanation, but the MC started referring to the other as a unicorn out of nowhere and it just stuck for some reason. So mixed feelings, but it worked to suck me in so it really did its job.
The characters didn’t feel as alive as the ones in the first book. The main couple really felt flat until mostly through the book. Once there was some more backstory to Laurie I actually liked him, before that I didn’t see why anyone would like him even based on physical attraction. This book relied so heavily on looks for attraction that it was a bit far fetched for me too. One of the first twists/big plot points relied on someone giving up everything they had worked for for someone they barely knew based on a sexual attraction. Maybe I am just too ace to understand giving up everything over an erection.
I did like that there was lube and condom used during the sex scenes, but I had some huge issues with the sex scenes. The first one lacked consent and a condom. There was no condom used for oral sex at any point in the book. There was also not a lot of stretching done, despite one bottom even admitting that he didn’t bottom often despite liking it. There was no talk about STI risk and there should have been, since one character relied on hook-ups and the other found out other risk factors.
The background characters really drove the story. This story was not as wholesome and relied on abusive parents for both characters. There was a lot of homophobia through violence and sexual assault, which felt like overkill to have it happen so often (says the guy in Kansas). It felt like Lain had run out of ideas, which didn’t fit the rest of the story and how complex some of the plots were. It felt beneath her and what I have come to expect of her.
I am still excited to read the third book, but this one just wasn’t as fun as the first book. It felt more like a bridge between the two books. It did introduce the man of the third book pretty early on and give a little bit of a view of him. I am really curious about him.
Overall, I loved the idea of this book. I needed a femme top. I just didn’t want to hear so much calling femmes who have not said they are women or ok with femme coded language called ma’am. I didn’t want to hear “well he is a guy because look at that penis” sort of commentary. It felt so binary and so stilted, so straight female author who bases knowledge of femme culture on Drag Race. So this book was really mixed for me.
I got an ARC of this book.
I never see femme tops, so I was all about this book immediately. I needed it. The title was goofy and I enjoyed that, but it also annoyed me. Unicorns generally refer to bi women who date couples in the polyamorous world, so it felt like it was a weird word to choose. There was also no real explanation, but the MC started referring to the other as a unicorn out of nowhere and it just stuck for some reason. So mixed feelings, but it worked to suck me in so it really did its job.
The characters didn’t feel as alive as the ones in the first book. The main couple really felt flat until mostly through the book. Once there was some more backstory to Laurie I actually liked him, before that I didn’t see why anyone would like him even based on physical attraction. This book relied so heavily on looks for attraction that it was a bit far fetched for me too. One of the first twists/big plot points relied on someone giving up everything they had worked for for someone they barely knew based on a sexual attraction. Maybe I am just too ace to understand giving up everything over an erection.
I did like that there was lube and condom used during the sex scenes, but I had some huge issues with the sex scenes. The first one lacked consent and a condom. There was no condom used for oral sex at any point in the book. There was also not a lot of stretching done, despite one bottom even admitting that he didn’t bottom often despite liking it. There was no talk about STI risk and there should have been, since one character relied on hook-ups and the other found out other risk factors.
The background characters really drove the story. This story was not as wholesome and relied on abusive parents for both characters. There was a lot of homophobia through violence and sexual assault, which felt like overkill to have it happen so often (says the guy in Kansas). It felt like Lain had run out of ideas, which didn’t fit the rest of the story and how complex some of the plots were. It felt beneath her and what I have come to expect of her.
I am still excited to read the third book, but this one just wasn’t as fun as the first book. It felt more like a bridge between the two books. It did introduce the man of the third book pretty early on and give a little bit of a view of him. I am really curious about him.
Overall, I loved the idea of this book. I needed a femme top. I just didn’t want to hear so much calling femmes who have not said they are women or ok with femme coded language called ma’am. I didn’t want to hear “well he is a guy because look at that penis” sort of commentary. It felt so binary and so stilted, so straight female author who bases knowledge of femme culture on Drag Race. So this book was really mixed for me.
jacqueleenthereadingqueen's review
4.0
Danny is a bull rider. Well he's sort of a bull rider. Even though he could win the big rodeos, he stays off the circut riding small town bulls. He did the big circuit before, and there's a reason he isn't going back.
Laurie is a gorgously femme designer. His rich boyfriend has taken him down to the dude ranch for a little vacation time away from the big city. I'm sure he didn't plan on the handsome cowboy Danny working the ranch to catch his flamboyant boyfriends eye.
From the moment they meet Danny and Laurie feel the chemistry, but Laurie is attached, and Danny has no illusions a poor cowboy is not even close to his league. Or is he? I have to stop here with a warning! There is CHEATING. It is also done in the strangest way I have ever seen. Although the bf deserved in my opinion, that still doesn't excuse cheating.
The rest of the book is spent in a will they or won't they struggle over their stations in life. Laurie dreams of owning his own design company in the city, Danny dreams of a ranch to call his own. Neither fits in the others life, nor do they want the other to give up their dream. Love isn't always easy and these two had to work to find a way to be together without making the other resent it. It definitely took time and work, but I think it worked out perfectly in the end.
Laurie is a gorgously femme designer. His rich boyfriend has taken him down to the dude ranch for a little vacation time away from the big city. I'm sure he didn't plan on the handsome cowboy Danny working the ranch to catch his flamboyant boyfriends eye.
From the moment they meet Danny and Laurie feel the chemistry, but Laurie is attached, and Danny has no illusions a poor cowboy is not even close to his league. Or is he? I have to stop here with a warning! There is CHEATING. It is also done in the strangest way I have ever seen. Although the bf deserved in my opinion, that still doesn't excuse cheating.
The rest of the book is spent in a will they or won't they struggle over their stations in life. Laurie dreams of owning his own design company in the city, Danny dreams of a ranch to call his own. Neither fits in the others life, nor do they want the other to give up their dream. Love isn't always easy and these two had to work to find a way to be together without making the other resent it. It definitely took time and work, but I think it worked out perfectly in the end.
myzanm's review
4.0
I know I did a review, but it's gone...
Well, I liked it a lot so I'll probably come back and fill one out later.
Well, I liked it a lot so I'll probably come back and fill one out later.