Take It Outside

Trailhead #1

by Landry Brennan

The Trailhead Saloon, a gay country bar near Los Angeles, is home to loud music, shirtless bartenders, and endlessly affectionate banter. It’s also where two strangers think they must be enemies, decide they could become friends, and do their best to ignore how much either of them wants an unfathomable happily ever after.

Beau Davenport has been a regular at Trailhead for far too long, his bartender ex-husband one of a few bad excuses to stay, and he’s surprised the night he finds one more reason to stick around. Adrian Ortega is new to California, and it’s not his decision to show up at the bar in the first place. Once he’s there, though, sipping his Jack & ginger and watching Beau dance, he isn’t in a hurry to leave.

But both Beau and Adrian have wounds—some poorly healed and others freshly made—and after weeks of never speaking to each other, the night Beau finally introduces himself is the same night everything goes wrong. “I think I hate you,” Adrian tells him, and Beau doesn’t have it in him to disagree. The two make things worse between them before they consider trying anything better, and then they quietly work through years of guilt and grief together when they finally realize they don’t have to do it alone. No matter how much they both want more than their tentative friendship, chasing a first kiss after ruining everything the night they met seems impossible. Maybe if they can find ways to keep spending time together—to keep touching each other—it will be enough.

***The first of the Trailhead series, this explicit MM romance features some emotionally difficult plot points/themes. Content warnings DO contain spoilers, so only read on if you're concerned about potential triggers. Adrian and Beau's story includes a minor character death (off page); discussion of mental health/depression and fatigue regarding the care of a loved one; and a conversation surrounding a character's past suicide attempt, during which the dialogue is blunt/harsh.

Genres: Contemporary, M M Romance

421 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 27, 2025

Reviews

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

gorgeous devastating not at all what i usually want to read but i devoured it anyway landry writes her ass off y’all

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

*slight spoilers in review*

Brennan's newest novel is an excellent story of how two people navigate through grief - grief of lost lives and lost love - as they find their way to love through all the mess. Adrian is a fantastic character and so far, my favorite of Brennan's so far. But I guess I gravitate towards the "messy bitches." I also love the side plot of the bar's uncertain future. It's an excellent way of setting up Trailhead as a character as well. It's more than a location to these characters, it's a beacon and they love they have for it is worth the stress of a few lost paychecks and uncomfortable marketing walks through West Hollywood.

I'm eager for the continuation of this story and to read more about Trailhead's well-developed cast of characters. Brava!

[zahlibeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride! Take It Outside pulled me in from the first chapter and didn't let me go. The characters are so real and rounded and fun and nuanced and I adore all of them. They don't just stick to their archetype either; Beau is strong and gentle and kind but he's also rough and bitchy when he feels it too. I fell accidentally in love with at least two of the side characters too and I hope both Riley and Darren get their own happily ever afters some day!

Their story isn't easy, there's a lot of pain and guilt and grief to contend with, a second chance at love for both of them. It's engaging the whole way through, and all the ups and downs and twists never feel contrived, just the realistic mess of two people struggling through. There are plenty of moments of lightness and fun as they try to be Just Friends and fail miserably (ohhhh tequila night!), as well as the deeper thoughtful moments that skewer you. I laughed, I cried, thoroughly recommend.

If you've read Margins, the lyrical prose and painful honesty will be familiar, but this is also much more raw. The feelings are closer to the surface and everything is amped up; where Margins was quiet and gentle in many ways, this is loud and rough and I love the change.

Can't wait to see what the rest of the series holds, I'll be waiting impatiently for each one!

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Landry Brennan does not let her characters take the easy way out. The trauma, the history, the hangups, the grief, the fears and flaws and ferocity that make Beau and Adrian the kind of fascinating people you want to read about–none of that is set dressing. It doesn’t get set aside or easily overcome by the power of (super hot) sex. They have to earn every step forward.

Watching them put in that work, to claw their way to the future, is as much the joy of their story as watching them fall in love. They have every reason to hunker down on their barstools and shelter themselves from further heartache, but they make the choice to reach for more, reach for each other and push through pain to get there and I was rooting for them through every page.

Beau and Adrian walk a challenging trail and they fight their way to the top together in a beautiful, wrenching journey that culminates in a sweaty, glorious, hard-won view of the horizon and the future ahead for both of them.

Take it Outside is such a satisfying story with a truly rewarding happy ending. I can’t wait to return to the Trailhead over and over again and explore all of the many paths and stories that branch out from there.

[Sarah☀️ Somerville · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. I need more Landry Brennan in my life.

But.

There was one thing I didn't love, and that was the blurb. I felt this way about Margins, too. When it came out last year I read the blurb and initially passed on reading it... then it turned out to be one of my favourite books of the year. I was always going to read this one (because I loved Margins so much and the content warnings appealed), but when I read the blurb my first thought was, "That's what you chose to write? Really?"

Honestly, when I read these books I felt like they'd been written for me, and the fact that both blurbs didn't really appeal to me all that much suggests there's something kind of wrong with them.

[Tulip · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story between Beau and Adrian is one of love, grief, healing, and the people in their life who make everything just that little better.

I love that we get a point of view of each love interest to help us pull back the layers they can’t yet reveal to each other.

They’re not the “meant to be” kind of couple who get together because the story requires it. They earn it through their desire to get better and be better for themselves so they can be better for each other.

The story delves into the painful aspect of digging into pain and guilt that often accompanies grief after the sudden death of a loved one. Their journey is necessary but satisfying when they can finally decide for themselves who they’d like to continue their life with.

Landry Brennan has a wonderful way of making the story feel poetic.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. Very interesting premise but I was waylaid by the confusing opening chapters and mysterious dynamics between, well, everyone. As it progressed, there was no shortage of Big Talks between the MCs, and I did appreciate all the empathy they had for each other, as well as their ability to compromise. With all the Big Talks going on, there were times where certain dialogue patterns annoyed me, but a lot of it came from the feeling that I was missing something the whole time. Like I had inadvertently skipped another conversation scene somewhere. Just felt like I had missed a layer of characterization and everyone was on the same page except me, the reader.

Rounding up for the very well written sex scenes (hello emotional, intense intimacy) and one of my favorite microtropes: tattoo inspection with meanings.

[Book Addict · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mostly enjoyed this. It was deep and heartbreaking at times - feeling similar to a Marley Valentine book. For a bit, there was too much back and forth, push and pull. It was the absolute slowest of burns. The story got wordy and long, and I wondered if the main characters would ever figure their shit out. I hoped for a therapy storyline or mention to help them grow a bit, but that never happened. By 70%, I was ready for the story to move on, but in the end, it was only a minor launch. Writing wise, I often had trouble remembering which mc's POV I was reading as they seemed too similar with their issues, and the voices not different enough.

Despite those issues, I'll still give this a 4 star. This was my first book by the author, and I'll probably check out her other one.

[Louisa Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a completely different feeling to the books I usually read, I was confused at the beginning because the author introduces one of the main characters to a guy who isn't the final/main guy and a lot of the beginning of the book dedicates time to Beau getting to know Levi while they dance. There's an unexpected plot twists that left me feeling a bit empty and then we start getting to know Adrian.

Adrian and Levi walk into the Trail Head bar together, Beau notices both of them but for weeks Adrian never speaks to Beau. When they do speak the sparks fly and Beau understands what Adrian needs more than he does. What comes next is the journey of understanding, grief and learning to trust, in yourself and love.

This is a slow read, some steamy scenes and great characters.

[abookwithacupoftea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a new to me author, and the first book of a series. It's the story of two broken men who struggle a lot. Their story if full of pain, guilt and grief, and it's a hard fought HEA. I had a hard time to enter into the story because it's very slow burn and also the writing style is not really for me as there is a lot of half word dialogues and half explained situations, and I prefer less subtlety and more straightforward and "explained" situations, but that's totally a me thing. I still give it 4 stars because the story is beautiful, and once I got into it couldn't let it go.

I got an ARC and this is my honest review.

[Audie Godfrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I am going to admit it took a minute to get into this book...the early plot twist was unexpected, and Landry had my full, undivided attention. The story that unfolds from there is such a beautifully realistic love story.

There were moments when I wanted to stop reading and email Landry about all the ways that I was mad at her for ripping my heart out. Then, she would piece it back together.

This is an excellent start to a new series, and I cannot wait to read more about the happenings at Trailhead.

[Brittany Allyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so great. Adrian and Beau are the kind of characters you want to hug and shake in equal measure, which just goes to show how fleshed out and real they feel. Their story is achey and beautiful, and I couldn’t put it down. I also love the wider cast of characters, and I’m so excited to see them get their own stories in the future.

[Candace Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I stopped so many times just to appreciate the beauty of the writing that I started putting tags on the pages so I can go directly to those special places whenever I want. The characters are loveable and even now have me smiling!

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brennan writes beautiful prose and conveys vast emotional depth that carried me to the conclusion of this book. The POVs were a little confusing and started off a bit weird. The sex scenes were very well done.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

a delightful horny introduction to the world of the trailhead. who wouldn't want to be a regular at this bar full of these gorgeous kind gay people.

[susan durgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

A co-worker recommended this book and I was not disappointed. Quite the ride through love, heartache, to love again. ill be looking for the next one.

[MacTíre]

Strašně chaotický způsob psaní - alespoň pro mě. Nedokázala jsem se do ponořit do příběhu, ani fandit postavám.