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The Longest Stride
More than twenty years ago, Branimir Javlosk moved from Montana to Kentucky, following the man he loved to a strange new place. They started a rescue farm and rehab center for retired racehorses, or any equine that needed their help. Branimir gained a reputation as a horse whisperer, able to teach the most frightened horse to trust. They were on top of the world—until Branimir's lover died in a car accident.
Since then, Branimir's continued on, allowing the horses that need him to fill the empty place left by his tragic loss. Yet Branimir has a secret hidden deep inside of him. One he lets out only on rare occasions when there is a need.
Austin Jameson Spellsin is the youngest and favored son of one of the country's richest men. But Austin's not interested in working in the family business of building oilrigs. He wants to ride horses in the Olympics, eventing, to be specific. Yet with all his money, he's never found the right horse for him. Until one morning, he stares at a scar-covered, half-starving mare named Mary's Gospel and sees the look of eagles in her unvanquished gaze.
Of course, falling in love with the damaged mare isn't going to make her want Austin, so he turns to the one man he knows can help him. Taking Mary's Gospel to Branimir seems the best way to win the mare's troubled heart. Little does Austin expect that Mary's Gospel will lose her heart to the older cowboy, but Austin will also find himself aching to heal the wounded soul hiding inside Branimir...
Gay / Contemporary / Fantasy / Shapeshifter
Since then, Branimir's continued on, allowing the horses that need him to fill the empty place left by his tragic loss. Yet Branimir has a secret hidden deep inside of him. One he lets out only on rare occasions when there is a need.
Austin Jameson Spellsin is the youngest and favored son of one of the country's richest men. But Austin's not interested in working in the family business of building oilrigs. He wants to ride horses in the Olympics, eventing, to be specific. Yet with all his money, he's never found the right horse for him. Until one morning, he stares at a scar-covered, half-starving mare named Mary's Gospel and sees the look of eagles in her unvanquished gaze.
Of course, falling in love with the damaged mare isn't going to make her want Austin, so he turns to the one man he knows can help him. Taking Mary's Gospel to Branimir seems the best way to win the mare's troubled heart. Little does Austin expect that Mary's Gospel will lose her heart to the older cowboy, but Austin will also find himself aching to heal the wounded soul hiding inside Branimir...
Gay / Contemporary / Fantasy / Shapeshifter
171 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 21, 2012
1 person is currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
T.A. Chase
161 books892 followersThere is beauty in every kind of love, so why not live a life without boundaries? Experiencing everything the world offers fascinates me and writing about the things that make each of us unique is how I share those insights. I live in the Midwest with a wonderful partner of thirteen years. When not writing, I’m watching movies, reading and living life to the fullest.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 26, 2012
It's A Shame
Oh where, oh where has my T.A. Chase gone? Because the T.A. Chase who wrote this book doesn't seem to be the same person whose work I loved when I started reading M/M romance.
There's nothing wrong with the premise of The Longest Stride. It's the story of Branimir, a horse shifter who lost his lover in a car accident five years ago, and Austin who's a wealthy event jumper that trains beginning eventers as well.
Branimir and Austin are brought together when they save, and beging to rehabilitate Mary's Gospel; a horse that was horribly abused.
Here's where the coulda-woulda-shouldas start.
The coulda
There could have been alot done with the idea of horse shifters. I, for one, am a little tired of the wolves, tigers, panthers, and bears oh my! Horse shifters are a nice change of pace. Unfortunately, at the end of the story I said to myself...
"Self, what did Branimir being a shifter have to do with anything?"
and the inner Laddie said...
"Oh, there was a shifter in this book? Oh, yeah, there was wasn't there? "
Except for the mention of Branimir being kicked out of his home by his father (the dominant herd stallion) and the couple of times Branimir shifted, most of the story had nothing to do with him being a shifter. It comes into play a bit at the very end but by then it seemed like a last ditch attempt to rev a story that had stalled, at about 20%, into gear.
I needed more evidence of herd politics than the mention of Branimir's banishment from his family. I needed more shifter personality and physical traits than Branimir's "larger than average" cock and balls. I really felt like this book was one big missed opportunity.
The woulda
I wish the author would have inserted something into the plot that made me more forgiving of the fact that there wasn't much of anything going on on the shifter end of things. There was nothing. I said to myself...
"Self, do you think something is actually going to happen soon?"
and the inner Laddie said...
"C'mon, what do you think?"
The inner Laddie is such a smartass...but I digress. The writing in this book was dry and, I hate to say it, a bit lazy. T.A. Chase's books used to pull me in. The last couple of books she's released have really taken the shine off of her writing, for me.
As a result of me not being invested in the story I started focusing on little things that annoyed me. At one point Branimir is said to touch Austin's asshole through his jeans. I spent the next few pages wondering how tight Austin's jeans were. Someone's jeans would have to be all up in their ass crack in order for that person's asshole to be molested. Then I spent the next five minutes going "Austin had to have a wedgie! How is that sexy?! Wedgies are not sexy!"
I should not spend 10% of someone's book thinking about wedgies.
The shoulda
The biggest "shoulda", in my opinion, is that the author should have made this story a bit shorter. When you put together dry writing and a thin plot that's in no way captivating, you get a story that should not have dragged on as long as The Longest Stride did. At about 55% in I said to myself...
"Self...hey, Self. Self! WTF where did you go?!"
and the inner Laddie said...
"Huh? Whaaa? Oh, damn, sorry. I drifted off. Are we still reading this book??"
All in all, there was just too much about this story that was lackluster. T.A. Chase's writing seems to be going through a devolution and it's a shame because her older stuff was good. I hope her next offering is better but, unfortunately, I can't recommend this book.
Oh where, oh where has my T.A. Chase gone? Because the T.A. Chase who wrote this book doesn't seem to be the same person whose work I loved when I started reading M/M romance.
There's nothing wrong with the premise of The Longest Stride. It's the story of Branimir, a horse shifter who lost his lover in a car accident five years ago, and Austin who's a wealthy event jumper that trains beginning eventers as well.
Branimir and Austin are brought together when they save, and beging to rehabilitate Mary's Gospel; a horse that was horribly abused.
Here's where the coulda-woulda-shouldas start.
The coulda
There could have been alot done with the idea of horse shifters. I, for one, am a little tired of the wolves, tigers, panthers, and bears oh my! Horse shifters are a nice change of pace. Unfortunately, at the end of the story I said to myself...
"Self, what did Branimir being a shifter have to do with anything?"
and the inner Laddie said...
"Oh, there was a shifter in this book? Oh, yeah, there was wasn't there? "
Except for the mention of Branimir being kicked out of his home by his father (the dominant herd stallion) and the couple of times Branimir shifted, most of the story had nothing to do with him being a shifter. It comes into play a bit at the very end but by then it seemed like a last ditch attempt to rev a story that had stalled, at about 20%, into gear.
I needed more evidence of herd politics than the mention of Branimir's banishment from his family. I needed more shifter personality and physical traits than Branimir's "larger than average" cock and balls. I really felt like this book was one big missed opportunity.
The woulda
I wish the author would have inserted something into the plot that made me more forgiving of the fact that there wasn't much of anything going on on the shifter end of things. There was nothing. I said to myself...
"Self, do you think something is actually going to happen soon?"
and the inner Laddie said...
"C'mon, what do you think?"
The inner Laddie is such a smartass...but I digress. The writing in this book was dry and, I hate to say it, a bit lazy. T.A. Chase's books used to pull me in. The last couple of books she's released have really taken the shine off of her writing, for me.
As a result of me not being invested in the story I started focusing on little things that annoyed me. At one point Branimir is said to touch Austin's asshole through his jeans. I spent the next few pages wondering how tight Austin's jeans were. Someone's jeans would have to be all up in their ass crack in order for that person's asshole to be molested. Then I spent the next five minutes going "Austin had to have a wedgie! How is that sexy?! Wedgies are not sexy!"
I should not spend 10% of someone's book thinking about wedgies.
The shoulda
The biggest "shoulda", in my opinion, is that the author should have made this story a bit shorter. When you put together dry writing and a thin plot that's in no way captivating, you get a story that should not have dragged on as long as The Longest Stride did. At about 55% in I said to myself...
"Self...hey, Self. Self! WTF where did you go?!"
and the inner Laddie said...
"Huh? Whaaa? Oh, damn, sorry. I drifted off. Are we still reading this book??"
All in all, there was just too much about this story that was lackluster. T.A. Chase's writing seems to be going through a devolution and it's a shame because her older stuff was good. I hope her next offering is better but, unfortunately, I can't recommend this book.
January 23, 2012
2.5 - So so so so so .....Cowboys, horse shifters, hot men, and hot sex. What could go wrong? Actually Bran and Austin were the best part and they gets over 3 stars. I think they were really great, did not rush into anything, they truly seemed genuine. There was just something off for me. Not withstanding the editing issues towards the end of the story, I was just left with a feeling that I was reading an outline. That has been happening a lot to me lately. It could be that I just need to choose longer and possibly heartier stories. To me, this could be the a la carte menu item you just are not sure you really want!
February 16, 2012
This started out as a story of two men realizing they’re attracted to each other, taking their time in getting to know each other, and building a relationship together. Although their mutual attraction is supposed to be fierce early on, and although Branimir thinks that he loves Austin after their first day together, they don’t act it out until Austin is healed from his injuries. (apropos, this was the first little bewilderment for me – I couldn’t help thinking, what, you can’t have/give a blowjob when you’ve twisted your ankle? ;-) ) The romance proceeds slowly, they talk a lot before jumping into the sack together, they’re very mature about it. A little too slow for me, but that’s a matter of taste IMO, others might love this aspect of the story. At least it was almost completely angst-free since both are out and confident in their sexuality.
The equine business which I think was supposed to make the backdrop for the romance actually took up center stage for a big part of the story. There are detailed renderings of training sessions for riders and/ or horses, blow-by-blows of horse grooming, hoof picking, saddle-and-bridle-training of a horse, we even get to be inside a horse’s head a few times. While this was nice in a way, it also reminded me of the “Poney Club” books I used to devour when I was little. To me, it was overdone and felt repetitive, but again, this is probably a matter of taste.
The shifter aspect of this book was very interesting. I’m generally not overly interested in the old were-whatever-finds-his-mate-theme, but a horse shifter? I found myself intrigued, but ultimately, also disappointed. Branimir is a horse shifter, but aside from his “above-average” cock, a tendency for dominance in bed and a few scenes where he runs through the night in shifted form, this didn’t really feel as if it mattered much. Starting with Branimir’s interactions with horses, for example. He IS a horse, after all, but he can’t communicate with them any better than other people with good horse sense. You’d have thought horses would trust one of their own instinctively? Particularly when he’s allegedly a dominant herd stallion? Generally I’d have wished to see more significance to the fact that Branimir is a horse shifter. As it is, this fact could’ve just as easily been left out without changing the story overly much.
But where this book lost me for good was during the last part, from the time where Branimir’s father comes into play. Not only does he act unreasonable and illogical (which he should, as he is crazy after all), there’s an internal inconsistency to his craziness which I just couldn’t wrap my head around. And then, well, Drahomir’s friend Mirek -there is one revelation about him that struck me as so totally out of place and ridiculous… if I’d been reading this as a paperback, I’d have thrown it across the room for sure at that point.
So this story that started out as a decent, if slow romance, somewhat dragging due to being fraught with details went downhill for me during its last third or so, in a way that I can’t recommend it without reservations. Then again, I’m only one reader with one opinion, and others might very well feel differently.
originally written for reviewsbyjessewave.com
The equine business which I think was supposed to make the backdrop for the romance actually took up center stage for a big part of the story. There are detailed renderings of training sessions for riders and/ or horses, blow-by-blows of horse grooming, hoof picking, saddle-and-bridle-training of a horse, we even get to be inside a horse’s head a few times. While this was nice in a way, it also reminded me of the “Poney Club” books I used to devour when I was little. To me, it was overdone and felt repetitive, but again, this is probably a matter of taste.
The shifter aspect of this book was very interesting. I’m generally not overly interested in the old were-whatever-finds-his-mate-theme, but a horse shifter? I found myself intrigued, but ultimately, also disappointed. Branimir is a horse shifter, but aside from his “above-average” cock, a tendency for dominance in bed and a few scenes where he runs through the night in shifted form, this didn’t really feel as if it mattered much. Starting with Branimir’s interactions with horses, for example. He IS a horse, after all, but he can’t communicate with them any better than other people with good horse sense. You’d have thought horses would trust one of their own instinctively? Particularly when he’s allegedly a dominant herd stallion? Generally I’d have wished to see more significance to the fact that Branimir is a horse shifter. As it is, this fact could’ve just as easily been left out without changing the story overly much.
But where this book lost me for good was during the last part, from the time where Branimir’s father comes into play. Not only does he act unreasonable and illogical (which he should, as he is crazy after all), there’s an internal inconsistency to his craziness which I just couldn’t wrap my head around. And then, well, Drahomir’s friend Mirek -there is one revelation about him that struck me as so totally out of place and ridiculous… if I’d been reading this as a paperback, I’d have thrown it across the room for sure at that point.
So this story that started out as a decent, if slow romance, somewhat dragging due to being fraught with details went downhill for me during its last third or so, in a way that I can’t recommend it without reservations. Then again, I’m only one reader with one opinion, and others might very well feel differently.
originally written for reviewsbyjessewave.com
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2012
TA Chase is one of my favorite authors. Her creativity is just amazing, and it stands out in THE LONGEST STRIDE. The story is about a man who loves horses, makes his living with horses, but has a deep, dark secret: he is a horse. That is, he can become one, because he is a horse shifter.
The first half of the book is about the horse show industry, including types of horse competitions, how horses are raised and trained, how riders train, and more technical detail about horses and shows leading up to Olympic competition that I expected to see in this novel.
The second half of the book gets into the horse shifting aspect.
The characters, while fanciful and imaginative, are well developed.
See my complete review at http://mrsconditreadsbooks.com/index.... (Feb. 1, 2012)
The first half of the book is about the horse show industry, including types of horse competitions, how horses are raised and trained, how riders train, and more technical detail about horses and shows leading up to Olympic competition that I expected to see in this novel.
The second half of the book gets into the horse shifting aspect.
The characters, while fanciful and imaginative, are well developed.
See my complete review at http://mrsconditreadsbooks.com/index.... (Feb. 1, 2012)
February 21, 2012
What I love and have always loved about TA Chase books is that they are stories about relationships, which means not only is there the attraction stage, the lust stage, but then the make it or break it, is this real, can it weather the storm. You get the whole process!
And to add to the mix, one of the lead characters is a horse shifter, so there is whether to share that secret because how will the other half react or deal with it?
I really enjoyed this story, it was well written, well paced and another winner from TA!
And to add to the mix, one of the lead characters is a horse shifter, so there is whether to share that secret because how will the other half react or deal with it?
I really enjoyed this story, it was well written, well paced and another winner from TA!
January 26, 2012
2.5 it was OK.
Timeline jumps at times without notice.
I didn't read the online version so not sure what was added, but usually the epilogue adds a big something to the story from the online. This one was epilogue was short and felt very rushed and was blah.
Timeline jumps at times without notice.
I didn't read the online version so not sure what was added, but usually the epilogue adds a big something to the story from the online. This one was epilogue was short and felt very rushed and was blah.
February 23, 2012
I want Drahomir et Mirek story!!!!
not-for-me
May 8, 2013Tina who loves and rates everything high gave 2.5 stars. LA could only suffer through 61% yeah um no thanks
January 26, 2012
The story was easy and enjoyable enough. This couple didn't pull me as much. Austin and Branimir were fine couple, but to ordinary. Their emotions weren't real or felt.
February 13, 2012
3,5 stars
March 15, 2012
Book was nothing special and the plot is very easy.
April 1, 2012
I like TA Chase books
This one was a good horse riding book with an easy start on the romance, with some conflict you knew the easy going main characters would weather just fine.
This one was a good horse riding book with an easy start on the romance, with some conflict you knew the easy going main characters would weather just fine.
August 8, 2012
3.5 stars
April 9, 2013
3.5 Stars
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews