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Showstring
Jayden Laine has spent his life in the city, dreaming of cowboys and cattle ranches. He looks forward to each fall when his life is exchanged for his dreams when the state fair opens.
This year when he steps into the barns he’s greeted by the sights he’s come to see, and one additional sight of Ben Ramos fighting to move a two-thousand pound bull that’s decided he doesn’t want to move. What happens next starts a juggernaut of emotions in Jayden that turn his world upside down. Now all he has to do is reevaluate his entire life and decide who to believe. And he has only a few days to do it.
This year when he steps into the barns he’s greeted by the sights he’s come to see, and one additional sight of Ben Ramos fighting to move a two-thousand pound bull that’s decided he doesn’t want to move. What happens next starts a juggernaut of emotions in Jayden that turn his world upside down. Now all he has to do is reevaluate his entire life and decide who to believe. And he has only a few days to do it.
33 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 22, 2014
17 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 9, 2017
A Joyfully Jay review.
4 stars
If this story were any cuter — and if the boys were any more sweet — I’d need an insulin shot! With a deft hand and a light touch, the author manages to create a pair of characters almost too perfect for one another. Where Jayden is a dreamer, prone to flights of fancy, Ben is grounded and prone to do things the way they’ve always been done. While he defies his father to bring the cattle to show at the State Fair, he does so not because it’s a known and safe step to take. But for all of Ben’s familiarity with cattle, it takes Jayden’s flash of inspiration to really get Norman moving in the show ring.
Ben is confident in himself, open about his sexuality, and patient enough to both show Jayden a possible direction, and then wait for Jayden to take the next step. They mesh so well, each bringing something to the relationship the other one lacks. Ben is earthy and calm while Jayden is airborne and anxious. But for all of that, it’s Jayden who is the braver of the two.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
4 stars
If this story were any cuter — and if the boys were any more sweet — I’d need an insulin shot! With a deft hand and a light touch, the author manages to create a pair of characters almost too perfect for one another. Where Jayden is a dreamer, prone to flights of fancy, Ben is grounded and prone to do things the way they’ve always been done. While he defies his father to bring the cattle to show at the State Fair, he does so not because it’s a known and safe step to take. But for all of Ben’s familiarity with cattle, it takes Jayden’s flash of inspiration to really get Norman moving in the show ring.
Ben is confident in himself, open about his sexuality, and patient enough to both show Jayden a possible direction, and then wait for Jayden to take the next step. They mesh so well, each bringing something to the relationship the other one lacks. Ben is earthy and calm while Jayden is airborne and anxious. But for all of that, it’s Jayden who is the braver of the two.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
April 19, 2017
~~I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads ~~
This is a short story which reminds us how bad things can be, and yet the human spirit retains hope in good. Jayden gets his chance to find out in this tale. I liked the story as a whole, although I did have a few doubts about the events as they progressed. I almost needed less plot, as even as a gentle scenario it would have still been a powerful message.
This is a short story which reminds us how bad things can be, and yet the human spirit retains hope in good. Jayden gets his chance to find out in this tale. I liked the story as a whole, although I did have a few doubts about the events as they progressed. I almost needed less plot, as even as a gentle scenario it would have still been a powerful message.
February 24, 2015
A short story about a young man, Jayden Laine who was forced to endure gay conversion therapy. The salve for his soul it the annual state fair with the cattle barn his destination. When he meets Ben Ramos and his show cattle, his life s forever changed.
A sweet, gentle story that is a salve for any soul.
A sweet, gentle story that is a salve for any soul.
February 16, 2021
Read as part of Rode Hard Anthology
April 25, 2017
Showstring is what I’d call a very sweet, short, light read. I liked the two main characters. I had a sweet spot for Jayden, with all his shyness and inexperience, and Ben turned out to be a good guy who takes Jayden under his wing and teaches him about showing cows, among other things.
This could have been a 4 or 5 star read, if certain areas had been more developed. Jon Keyes could have touched more upon the conversion therapy that Jayden went through, and what it was like to be brought up by people who could do this to their child. As it was, there were brief mentions of conversion therapy, and a brief guest appearance by a righteous father.
I would have also liked Jayden and Ben’s instant relationship to been more fleshed out. It all happened too fast for it to be true love, especially with Jayden being mess up by the therapy. It left some questions open that may be answered in a following story.
Reviewed by Kim for The Novel Approach
This could have been a 4 or 5 star read, if certain areas had been more developed. Jon Keyes could have touched more upon the conversion therapy that Jayden went through, and what it was like to be brought up by people who could do this to their child. As it was, there were brief mentions of conversion therapy, and a brief guest appearance by a righteous father.
I would have also liked Jayden and Ben’s instant relationship to been more fleshed out. It all happened too fast for it to be true love, especially with Jayden being mess up by the therapy. It left some questions open that may be answered in a following story.
Reviewed by Kim for The Novel Approach
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews