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wilt's reviews
91 reviews
On the Trail to Moonlight Gulch by Shelter Somerset
1.0
The premise of this book intrigued me. Dug up a craving for historical romance that I've been trying to keep buried. I yearned for an angsty slowburn romance set in a wilder world, with perhaps a twinge of gender crisis, if the universe would be so kind.
And for the most part, I did get that (without the gender crisis). But the writing style, with all the brisk fluidity of modern prose, consistently took me out of the experience. Where I wanted sepia tones and pungent sweat, I got HD stock photo images of a neat and clean western love story. But my gripes don't just end with the writing style.
The "love" in this love story felt weak, and the characters were unlikable. From the start, I thought Torsten was at most a 10 year old for his childish behavior. Finding out he was in fact an adult left me speechless and I almost dropped the book right then and there. But I pushed onward, hoping to find something worthwhile in the deep recesses of its pages. But Torsten never redeemed himself to me, and his love interest Franklin didn't have any substance to offer either. To top it all off, when they finally got together in a sex scene heated with dubious consent, it was immediately followed by a 4 day time skip, effectively skipping over any emotional connection we may have gotten from either of the characters.
I wanted to give this book 2 stars because I did really like the concept. But that's where the enjoyment ends. The writing, in all its facets, is weak and unremarkable. Because of that, this is probably the last book I'll be reading from dreamspinner press.
And for the most part, I did get that (without the gender crisis). But the writing style, with all the brisk fluidity of modern prose, consistently took me out of the experience. Where I wanted sepia tones and pungent sweat, I got HD stock photo images of a neat and clean western love story. But my gripes don't just end with the writing style.
The "love" in this love story felt weak, and the characters were unlikable. From the start, I thought Torsten was at most a 10 year old for his childish behavior. Finding out he was in fact an adult left me speechless and I almost dropped the book right then and there. But I pushed onward, hoping to find something worthwhile in the deep recesses of its pages. But Torsten never redeemed himself to me, and his love interest Franklin didn't have any substance to offer either. To top it all off, when they finally got together in a sex scene heated with dubious consent, it was immediately followed by a 4 day time skip, effectively skipping over any emotional connection we may have gotten from either of the characters.
I wanted to give this book 2 stars because I did really like the concept. But that's where the enjoyment ends. The writing, in all its facets, is weak and unremarkable. Because of that, this is probably the last book I'll be reading from dreamspinner press.