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Two Marked Men
The town’s name was Repentance, which, judging by the behavior of some of its inhabitants, seemed a bit premature. They were still too busy sinning to have given much thought about repentance just yet.
Henrique Vermudez has barely been in Repentance an hour when he is forced to kill a man in self-defense. Suddenly he finds himself the target of the dead man’s brother and his bank-robbing gang in search of revenge. But Hank Dawson isn't the only one out for blood.
Also in town is a cowboy named Oren, a secretive man with a scarred face who understands only too well what the lust for revenge can do to a man. Oren and Henrique share a connection besides both being marked for death, and their fledgling love—as well as their lives—will be threatened by the single draw of a gun.
Henrique Vermudez has barely been in Repentance an hour when he is forced to kill a man in self-defense. Suddenly he finds himself the target of the dead man’s brother and his bank-robbing gang in search of revenge. But Hank Dawson isn't the only one out for blood.
Also in town is a cowboy named Oren, a secretive man with a scarred face who understands only too well what the lust for revenge can do to a man. Oren and Henrique share a connection besides both being marked for death, and their fledgling love—as well as their lives—will be threatened by the single draw of a gun.
- GenresM M Romance
Paperback
First published May 28, 2010
2 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Roland Graeme
115 books17 followersRoland Graeme is one of several pseudonyms used by a prolific writer of erotic fiction. Graeme, a descendant of Swiss immigrants and a native of Pennsylvania, resides in Buffalo, New York. He earned a Ph.D. in English by writing his doctoral dissertation on the novels of Sir Walter Scott (“Roland Graeme” is the protagonist of Scott’s novel The Abbot). His interests, in addition to literature, include classical music (especially opera), history, and world religions, as well as, not surprisingly, human sexuality, in all its variety and richness.
Graeme has been, at one time or another, a teacher, a factory worker, a civil servant, and a music critic. The one common denominator throughout his career(s) has been his passion for freelance writing. He continues to hold down his current full-time “day job” while writing in his spare time.
Graeme has been, at one time or another, a teacher, a factory worker, a civil servant, and a music critic. The one common denominator throughout his career(s) has been his passion for freelance writing. He continues to hold down his current full-time “day job” while writing in his spare time.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 19, 2010
Sadly I think this has killed any urge I had to read a western erotic romance for a while. While this story tries very hard to stay true to the setting, I found the writing sluggish and awkward. The prose constantly pulled me out of the reading experience in negative ways while the sex scenes actually turned me off. There are numerous sex scenes and I sadly didn’t find even one erotic or enjoyable to read. The theme is nominally about redemption, but the resolution is kind of weak with many issues still unresolved. The men involved don’t actually change much either and combined with the writing style that didn’t appeal to me and tells you the story versus showing you, I can’t recommend this.
The story is told from Henrique’s third person point of view as he describes riding into town and meeting a man named Oren. While the two become easy friends, a belligerent drunk keeps trying to pick a fight with both men. Unfortunately this altercation ends with Henrique killing a known criminal and the men leaving town to lay low further west. As the two travels, they find mutual desire and respect leading to a relationship and thoughts of the future. That of course is tested when men from their past find them.
The writing tries very hard to stay within a western, folksy feel. On the one hand, the description of the desert heat and hard working days invoke a classic cowboy tale with numerous small details that fit well within the 1880 time frame. Unfortunately the dialogue between the men feels stilted and the prose often jarring. Part of this frustration is the abundance of exclamation marks on everything. With over 400 “!” used, this punctuation soon loses its emphasis and becomes annoying instead. Furthermore, the prose often made me cringe or roll my eyes, frequently disrupting whatever flow I’d gotten into with the story.
This uncomfortable writing continues with the sex scenes, which I found not only awkward but also unappealing. I soon skimmed these scenes because I disliked the dialogue used, the prose choices, and none of it felt erotic or interesting. Here’s an example that combines unfortunate dialogue and the writing style in a sex scene:
---------
Henrique snickered. “Listen, sonny. This ain’t no Sunday school, and you ain’t no choirboy. And if you’re so hot to worship something on this Sunday morning, then you can start by worshipping this pecker of mine. Get down on your knees, open your mouth, and prepare to receive the holy sacrament!”
He pushed Henrique’s arm away from his body, and licked his hairy armpit. “Oh, you’re the color of dark clover honey, fresh from the honeycomb, and you taste just as sugar sweet on my tongue!”
“And you’re all pale where you ain’t suntanned, Oren, like cream. Just pretend I’m a big ol’ hungry tomcat, lapping up all that cream!” Henrique retaliated by using his tongue on Oren’s body in turn, making him squirm. “Gonna wash you all over with my tongue, lick you clean, scrape the skin right off you,” the tomcat purred.
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Besides the unappealing writing, the characters felt flat and boring. Although Oren initially says it’s too soon to talk of love, the very next day they’re declaring their love for each other. Henrique is claiming he’ll love and protect Oren regardless of their words the day before that it was too soon to talk of that. Henrique also comes across as a man slut, willing to screw anything and even cheats on Oren. This is a confusing aspect since their fidelity isn’t talked about but rather assumed. Since Henrique feels guilty and tries to ensure Oren never finds out about the indiscretion, I can only assume they don’t have an open relationship. Thus when Henrique is thinking about cheating on Oren again at the end of the book, it just typifies how little the man has changed and remains and ultimately unlikable character. He’s brusque and aggressive, very one dimensional with unattractive dialogue during the sex scenes.
Oren unfortunately is no better as he alternates between being the strong, silent type with bouts of extended angst and tears. The flipping between personalities kept jarring me since neither felt natural to Oren and the story doesn’t really identify the true nature of the man’s character. He remains the underdog, used to keep the tension with the outlaws alive without really becoming interesting on his own. Oren perhaps learns the most with his final resolution, but he ends up loving Henrique much more than Henrique loves him and the final dichotomy is unsettling.
Overall I didn’t really enjoy this offering at all. I found the prose choices awkward and while they did convey a folksy, western feel – they also made me cringe a lot of the time. The sex scenes didn’t work for me with the almost clinical language juxtaposed with the supposed dirty talk between the men. Not to mention the fact that all the men are hung like horses and gay or accepting of gays. This creates an overwhelming positive and supportive gay community, which just doesn’t feel right considering the time frame. Unfortunately I’d recommend giving this one a wide berth.
The story is told from Henrique’s third person point of view as he describes riding into town and meeting a man named Oren. While the two become easy friends, a belligerent drunk keeps trying to pick a fight with both men. Unfortunately this altercation ends with Henrique killing a known criminal and the men leaving town to lay low further west. As the two travels, they find mutual desire and respect leading to a relationship and thoughts of the future. That of course is tested when men from their past find them.
The writing tries very hard to stay within a western, folksy feel. On the one hand, the description of the desert heat and hard working days invoke a classic cowboy tale with numerous small details that fit well within the 1880 time frame. Unfortunately the dialogue between the men feels stilted and the prose often jarring. Part of this frustration is the abundance of exclamation marks on everything. With over 400 “!” used, this punctuation soon loses its emphasis and becomes annoying instead. Furthermore, the prose often made me cringe or roll my eyes, frequently disrupting whatever flow I’d gotten into with the story.
This uncomfortable writing continues with the sex scenes, which I found not only awkward but also unappealing. I soon skimmed these scenes because I disliked the dialogue used, the prose choices, and none of it felt erotic or interesting. Here’s an example that combines unfortunate dialogue and the writing style in a sex scene:
---------
Henrique snickered. “Listen, sonny. This ain’t no Sunday school, and you ain’t no choirboy. And if you’re so hot to worship something on this Sunday morning, then you can start by worshipping this pecker of mine. Get down on your knees, open your mouth, and prepare to receive the holy sacrament!”
He pushed Henrique’s arm away from his body, and licked his hairy armpit. “Oh, you’re the color of dark clover honey, fresh from the honeycomb, and you taste just as sugar sweet on my tongue!”
“And you’re all pale where you ain’t suntanned, Oren, like cream. Just pretend I’m a big ol’ hungry tomcat, lapping up all that cream!” Henrique retaliated by using his tongue on Oren’s body in turn, making him squirm. “Gonna wash you all over with my tongue, lick you clean, scrape the skin right off you,” the tomcat purred.
--------
Besides the unappealing writing, the characters felt flat and boring. Although Oren initially says it’s too soon to talk of love, the very next day they’re declaring their love for each other. Henrique is claiming he’ll love and protect Oren regardless of their words the day before that it was too soon to talk of that. Henrique also comes across as a man slut, willing to screw anything and even cheats on Oren. This is a confusing aspect since their fidelity isn’t talked about but rather assumed. Since Henrique feels guilty and tries to ensure Oren never finds out about the indiscretion, I can only assume they don’t have an open relationship. Thus when Henrique is thinking about cheating on Oren again at the end of the book, it just typifies how little the man has changed and remains and ultimately unlikable character. He’s brusque and aggressive, very one dimensional with unattractive dialogue during the sex scenes.
Oren unfortunately is no better as he alternates between being the strong, silent type with bouts of extended angst and tears. The flipping between personalities kept jarring me since neither felt natural to Oren and the story doesn’t really identify the true nature of the man’s character. He remains the underdog, used to keep the tension with the outlaws alive without really becoming interesting on his own. Oren perhaps learns the most with his final resolution, but he ends up loving Henrique much more than Henrique loves him and the final dichotomy is unsettling.
Overall I didn’t really enjoy this offering at all. I found the prose choices awkward and while they did convey a folksy, western feel – they also made me cringe a lot of the time. The sex scenes didn’t work for me with the almost clinical language juxtaposed with the supposed dirty talk between the men. Not to mention the fact that all the men are hung like horses and gay or accepting of gays. This creates an overwhelming positive and supportive gay community, which just doesn’t feel right considering the time frame. Unfortunately I’d recommend giving this one a wide berth.
March 20, 2011
Henrique and Oren end up in a gunfight with the brother of the local bank robbing outlaw gang. Since they were both involved in the shoot out, even though Henrique was the shooter, they band together and begin a journey that brings each of them more fully into the life of the other.
Along the way, they figure out they are both attracted to each other. Henrique is actually a slut where as Oren is much more reserved and emotional about his sexual activities.
The story itself is pretty well drawn out. The shooting, inquest, move to a new ranch and over the top shoot ‘em up at the end was sufficiently detailed. It had everything you would expect from a typical historical western. The problem is that Henrique is really not very likable. Although Oren quickly becomes his “pard” he looks at every man as a potential conquest. He talks about how hot they are to Oren, he gets jealous when they don’t all fall into his bed and worse, he cheats on Oren. Not only does he cheat on Oren, he never gets caught about it and as the book wraps up he seems to be making plans to cheat again with the ranch foreman.
I didn’t find this book romantic at all. Although it ended HFN, I feel that if the book continued there is no doubt that Henrique will eventually (sooner rather than later) break Oren’s heart utterly and without too much remorse.
It had erotic moments but the flowery, girly talk between the men at times was a turn off for me as well. The dirty talk during the sex scenes was more gritty but the conversations seemed too overly melodramatic
Along the way, they figure out they are both attracted to each other. Henrique is actually a slut where as Oren is much more reserved and emotional about his sexual activities.
The story itself is pretty well drawn out. The shooting, inquest, move to a new ranch and over the top shoot ‘em up at the end was sufficiently detailed. It had everything you would expect from a typical historical western. The problem is that Henrique is really not very likable. Although Oren quickly becomes his “pard” he looks at every man as a potential conquest. He talks about how hot they are to Oren, he gets jealous when they don’t all fall into his bed and worse, he cheats on Oren. Not only does he cheat on Oren, he never gets caught about it and as the book wraps up he seems to be making plans to cheat again with the ranch foreman.
I didn’t find this book romantic at all. Although it ended HFN, I feel that if the book continued there is no doubt that Henrique will eventually (sooner rather than later) break Oren’s heart utterly and without too much remorse.
It had erotic moments but the flowery, girly talk between the men at times was a turn off for me as well. The dirty talk during the sex scenes was more gritty but the conversations seemed too overly melodramatic
August 29, 2013
I'm rounding it up to 4 stars because it's very well written and seems underated on Goodreads. The men didn't have the morals of today and that showed in how the acted and how they spoke. A lot of MM set in the past make their characters seem modern (and I suppose it's difficult to ignore how you'd like them to act and make them be what they should be instead).
The plot is entertaining and never seemed to drag on and the characters were interesting.
A very good MM western.
The plot is entertaining and never seemed to drag on and the characters were interesting.
A very good MM western.
June 17, 2010
2.5.
I might have given it more but I am not one for unrepentant cheaters. I disliked Henrique too much to really find the enjoyment that I should have in this old fashioned western.
Oren deserved a better man and no way is that relationship not gonna end up with Oren having a broken heart.
I might have given it more but I am not one for unrepentant cheaters. I disliked Henrique too much to really find the enjoyment that I should have in this old fashioned western.
Oren deserved a better man and no way is that relationship not gonna end up with Oren having a broken heart.
August 2, 2019
I rarely give up on a book -- especially one that I purchased -- but I did in this case.
The story started out fine, albeit at a meandering pace appropriate for a western. Early on, there was a shooting involved, and one of the main characters ended up consigned to jail overnight. It was here that a fairly interesting, slow burn western went through a portal and ended up in a parallel universe where everyday life is a porn set. The main character ended up having full on sex with a young guy also in jail overnight for public intoxication.
Besides the highly questionable ethical judgment displayed by the main character and the sheer logistical implausibility of it being ridiculous (they're confined to a cell in the town jail with a wall of bars and most likely, at least one guard just outside the small building, and open air windows through which sound could easily carry; this young guy just happens to be someone who frequently engages in man on man sex, etc.), what ultimately turned me off was the god awful writing. All that was missing was the canned music for the porn track. I found myself disgusted with the character and embarrassed for the writer. And the fact that he objectified one of the very few racially mixed main characters in this genre and made him so completely unsympathetic is, in and of itself, a crime.
I ended up ditching the book and deleting it from my e-reader. And from reading the reviews of others who stayed with it, I made the better choice.
The story started out fine, albeit at a meandering pace appropriate for a western. Early on, there was a shooting involved, and one of the main characters ended up consigned to jail overnight. It was here that a fairly interesting, slow burn western went through a portal and ended up in a parallel universe where everyday life is a porn set. The main character ended up having full on sex with a young guy also in jail overnight for public intoxication.
Besides the highly questionable ethical judgment displayed by the main character and the sheer logistical implausibility of it being ridiculous (they're confined to a cell in the town jail with a wall of bars and most likely, at least one guard just outside the small building, and open air windows through which sound could easily carry; this young guy just happens to be someone who frequently engages in man on man sex, etc.), what ultimately turned me off was the god awful writing. All that was missing was the canned music for the porn track. I found myself disgusted with the character and embarrassed for the writer. And the fact that he objectified one of the very few racially mixed main characters in this genre and made him so completely unsympathetic is, in and of itself, a crime.
I ended up ditching the book and deleting it from my e-reader. And from reading the reviews of others who stayed with it, I made the better choice.
May 26, 2012
I wanted to like this book. I like cowboys and the western setting. But Henrique and Oren just didn't do it for me.
November 28, 2012
I'm a sucker for western novels with a gay slant but although i enjoyed this, it definitely was not the best. Story was fine but the writing left a lot to be desired.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews