Finding Forgiveness

Bent Oak Saga #1

by Ari McKay

Boston in 1888 is quite urbane, but unfortunately for Gil Porter, that isn’t the same thing as being understanding. When his sexuality is exposed by the scandalous suicide of his lover, Gil is exiled to the small town of Mercy, Texas, by his domineering father, George, who believes life on Vernon Porter's ranch will cure Gil of his “unnatural” desires. Grieving and ashamed, Gil is determined to keep his distance from everyone until he can return home. To his surprise, he finds acceptance at Bent Oak Ranch, especially from Matt Grayson, the handsome son of the ranch foreman. Knowing he must fight his attraction to Matt, Gil courts a local girl, but an unexpected encounter with Matt leads to his discovery of Matt’s feelings for him. Torn between Matt and his desire to be “normal," between returning to his old life and building a new one in Texas, Gil is faced with a choice—appeasing his father or becoming the man Matt knows he can be.

Genres: Historical, M M Romance, Westerns, Historical Romance, M M Historical Romance

200 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2014

About the author

Ari McKay is the professional pseudonym for Arionrhod and McKay, who collaborate on original m/m fiction. They began writing together in 2004 and finished their first original full length novel in 2011. Recently, they’ve begun collaborating on designing and creating costumes to wear and compete in at Sci Fi conventions, and they share a love of yarn and cake.

Arionrhod is an avid costumer, knitter, and all-around craft fiend, as well as a professional systems engineer. Mother of two human children and two dachshunds who think they are human, she is a voracious reader with wildly eclectic tastes, devouring romance novels, military science fiction, horror stories and Shakespeare with equal glee. She is currently preparing for the zombie apocalypse.

McKay is an English teacher who has been writing for one reason or another most of her life. She also enjoys knitting, reading, cooking, and playing video games. She has been known to knit in public. Given she has the survival skills of a gnat, she’s relying on Arionrhod to help her survive the zombie apocalypse.

Reviews

[Aղցela W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short quick read that I liked. Gil Porter was shipped from his home in Boston when his sexuality is exposed by the scandalous suicide of his lover, Gil is exiled to the small town of Mercy, Texas, by his domineering father, George, who believes life on Vernon Porter's ranch will cure Gil of his “unnatural” desires. Grieving and ashamed, Gil is determined to keep his distance from everyone until he can return home. Gil finds acceptance at Bent Oak Ranch and from Matt Grayson who is the son of the foreman Jeb who is in love with his uncle Vernon. As Gil learns to let go of the past and forgive himself he gets close to Matt. This was a good short quick read. This book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

[AngelFire · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 42%

I was curious about this one because it's written by a historical romance author I haven't come across before but after giving this story a shot, I'm not overly keen on exploring what else they've written because the story was very generic, predictable and felt old fashioned (and not in a historical sense).

The premise immediately appealed to me because we have rich boy Gil being exiled from Boston to his uncle's remote cattle ranch in Texas after Gil was outed by a former lover in the latter's suicide note. When at the ranch, Gil falls for the foreman's son, Matt. Ranch stories where one MC comes from the city and adapts to life on the ranch and falls in love with it is one of my favorite things, but that part of the story left me really disappointed. Gil starts out being overly formal and rude when he arrives but then he decides to work hard to prove to everybody that he's not as useless as everybody assumes he is and then we skip forward 2 weeks and we're told Gil has adjusted to life on the ranch and everything's going great. We do get a few on-page scenes where Gil learns new things about ranching but these scenes were few and far in between and they almost always had Gil being great at whatever new task he was given, which made him come across like a Gary Stu. In particular, I wasn't impressed during the scene where a mare was having a breech birth and she's surrounded by a dozen experienced ranch hands, but it's Matt and Gil who show up to do what needs to be done. In particular, it's Gil who saves the day while the ranch hands stand around, acting like he's a god and doing something none of them could have done or even thought of. It was ridiculous.

Since the whole Gil-becomes-a-country-boy plotline was done through telling instead of showing, the story needed another source of conflict and that's where my other disappointment came in. The other conflict purely revolves around Gil being ashamed of his sexuality with Matt constantly trying to convince him that there's nothing wrong with being gay. Gil even decides to court one of the available young women in the small town and there's tons of angsting because both Gil and the woman are actually in love with Matt but neither can be with him. Everything about this plotline was predictable and felt dated. If this story had been written pre-2010 then it would have been more forgivable but this story is from 2014 and the genre had already moved to exploring other types of conflicts in MM romance so there's no excuse.

The reason this type of conflict annoys me isn't only because it's been done way too much but because it's so predictable. I read some reviews where readers stated they were very worried about whether the MCs would end up together or not due to the whole Gil-courting-a-woman thing...and I'm just sitting here, wondering if these people have never read a romance novel before. The HEA is a guarantee. It's a mandatory part of the genre. Readers typically don't spend time wondering IF characters will get together but how and when and why. In this case, none of those questions had interesting answers and that's why this conflict fell flat.

Sidenote: it also irritated me that the author threw in Big Numbers when describing the ranch but those numbers had no reflection on the plot. The ranch is 500,000 acres, it has 50,000 heads of cattle and employs 150 ranch hands, yet none of these things had any impact on the story. The few ranch scenes that exist show Matt and Gil working together and the other ranch hands barely even get mentioned. The small-family vibe that Gil, Gil's uncle and Matt's family had didn't match up with a ranch of that size which employed that many people, which led to a weird disconnect for me.

Overall, this was a disappointment for me. The premise had lots of promise but the execution wasn't what I was hoping for at all.

[Chris, the Dalek King · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review, I fear, has fallen victim to the plague that has beset my house…or in other words: I’ve got a cold and about three braincells up and running (and two of them are wholly focused on getting more tea) so this review is going to be probably less than perfect. I am sorry, just not sorry enough to put off this review (for like the third time). So…the review must go on!

Gil has found himself shipped off to Texas because his father was less than pleased to find out his one and only son has a bit of a thing for the menfolk. His father hopes that time spent on Gil’s uncle’s ranch will finally shape him into the man his father has always wanted. Too bad (for his father, at least) that the ranch happens to be rather less intent on shaping Gil, than it is on letting Gil shape himself. And Matt, the son of the ranch foreman, really does like the shape that Gil is turning himself into. Well…at least after Gil drops his holier-than-thou Boston elitist attitude. But Gil, despite how much he has grown, can’t seem to get past his past, or what he thought his future had to hold, so even though he finds himself attracted and damn well smitten he doubts that he could ever have what his heart desires. It is going to be up to the people of the Bent Oak Ranch to show him just how freeing the west can be.

This was a pretty light book, and it flew by quite quickly. And despite all his hemming and hawing about having to do ‘the right thing,’ I never really doubted that Gil would pull his head out of his ass and see that the future is whatever the hell you make of it. That it didn’t have to be dictated by every whim of his father. Gil and Matt were rather cute together and I am glad that they figured it out in the end. Even if it took Gild for-ev-er.

I just had some issues with the book itself.

The way it was written, and the way these guys talked, did not make it seem like it was set in 1880′s. Some of the characters talked, pretty much, like I would expect someone from now to talk. The dialogue, and some of the thought patterns, didn’t have any sense of age to them. It felt like if you had wrote this book to happen in 2014, you would only have to change a few things, like throw in a truck or two instead of wagons.

Also, while I am glad no one on the ranch was a homophobe or a bigot, that everyone was so loving and accepting seemed odd. And while Texas may be a great place to start over, where every man is judged on his deeds not his past–-at least according to everyone in this book-–it was also Texas in the 1880′s. Now, I’m probably going on about a thousand stereotypes about the south at this point, but the way that the characters here (except for the obvious bad guy: Gil’s dad) didn’t think it was a big deal at all to be gay, rung a bit false.

One of the things I love about m/m historicals is that pressure between who the men are, and what will happen if the world finds out who they are. And while I don’t expect everything to be all doom and gloom in every historically based book, I do want a little more reality than this. I wanted to feel like there were real consequences for Gil coming out-–if only to justify his fear of doing so. But there really weren’t, so I kept getting endlessly frustrated with him and his idiotic plan to marry a woman to be ‘normal.’

I had a hard time getting past all this historical oddness to really enjoy the book. But then again, I’ve been spending the week wrapped like a burrito on my bed trying to convince my respiratory system, that yes, I do in fact need to breathe, thank you. I am not in the best place to gloss over inconsistencies in books, at the moment. I might have been more forgiving if I had not already had to deal with my body revolting against my every wish. So maybe it will not be such a big deal for others. It is a light read, if nothing else. And full of cute cowboys, and that is nothing to scoff at.


3.5 stars


This book was provided free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.

[Riina Y.T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a heartwarming, little gem.

#ALL THE STARS!



..because I was able to connect with both main characters, the writing was highly enjoyable, and well, it was just that satisfying :)

[Heather C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn’t what I was expecting…AT ALL!

The whole thing was frustrating, exhausting and feeling a bit contrived. But I still REALLY wanted the MCs to have a happy ending!! And they did…and it was sweet…and I was glad I stayed up all night to read it.

3.5 stars rounded up because I couldn’t put it down.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed some cowboy love, and this just hit the spot! fab!

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a good story. It's hard to be yourself when people are trying to make you be what they want. Freedom makes all the difference and people who stand behind you.

[Lena Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A gentleman is one who doesn't and can’t forgive himself for self-committed mistake even if others forget it and the self-criticism is a mark of his right attitude towards life.” ~ Unknown

To say that Gil Porter, of 'Finding Forgiveness' by Ari McKay, has a chip on his shoulder when he arrives at his uncle's ranch in Mercy, Texas, is putting it mildly. Gil considers it “cruel and unusual punishment” to be sent away and is determined to be miserable while he's there. He's been sent there hoping the manual labor will make a man out of him and squelch his affinity for other men. Gil hates the entire idea, but he decides it's best to make a go at having a “normal” life so his father will get off his back.

Once Gil is at the ranch, he's determined to do what's asked of him without complaint, even when he should be objecting to work under less than favorable situations, like when the work has caused a physical problem, such as bad blisters on his hands. After a while, Gill discovers that, instead of hating it in Mercy, he's actually beginning to enjoy being away from the pressures of his father and Boston's high society. He likes being in a place where you are judged on your own merit instead of what your last name is or how much money you have. As hard as he tries, Gil isn't able to remain detached, especially when Matt Grayson is around. There's enough sexual tension between them you could cut it with a knife, but Gil is determined to keep from becoming involved with Matt. Matt doesn't give up easily. He tries to play it cool and bide his time. Being friends is okay, but Matt wants more, much more, yet is afraid to come on too strong for fear he will drive Gil away. Gil confides in Matt about the reason he has been sent away. This goes a long way to explaining Gil's discontent, anger, and his standoffishness as well as his lack of trust. Once Gil and Matt have their first sexual encounter, rather than bringing them closer, Gil tells Matt: “This can't happen again.” Matt is disappointed, but, considering the heat generated between them he has little faith that Gil will be able to resist being with him.

Since Gil is so determined to have a “normal” life, he decides to court one of the local women, with the intent to eventually ask for her hand in marriage. Her parents are thrilled and consider Gil a great catch. He and Tabitha McManus have a pleasant relationship, but there's no real spark between them, which is not surprising since Gil isn't attracted to women. Matt and Gil have words about the ethics involved in dating Tabitha, asking her to marry him, knowing he will never be able to love her like she deserves. Gil is undeterred, deciding being “normal”, pleasing his father, is more important than being honest with Tabitha. Matt becomes distant after the discussion and draws away from Gil, determined not to be hurt any more than he already is. He's given up on Gil ever being brave enough to live an honest life, even at the expense of other people's feelings.

Even though I was thoroughly disgusted with Gil and wanted to smack him at times, I did understand his desire to gain his father's approval and the fear of his retribution if he could not. There is so much pressure on him as the only son and heir, there's no wonder he is conflicted. Fortunately, Gil changes his mind, with a lot of help from his uncle, who is very insightful and understanding, as well as Matt, whose love helps him see his true worth. I adored Jeannie, Matt's sister. She is the heart and soul of the family and really knows how to keep her men straight. Thanks, Ari, for reminding me that I need to love myself before I can love anyone else.

NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

[Penumbra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finding Forgiveness is the first book in the ‘Bent Oak Saga’. It stars Gil Porter, and Matt Grayson, a cowboy. This is told in third person from Gil and Matt’s pov, with an epilogue told from Vernon Porter’s pov, who is Gil’s uncle.

EDIT: I should mention that I’m just now getting around to posting this review. I’d written it up when I finished reading the book back in 2022, but didn’t post it. So here it finally is.


I’ll be honest and admit I wasn’t sure if I would like this story or not. I knew I’d like it because of the author team, and the fact that this was a historical. But what it also is, is a western historical, and I almost never read westerns, historical or contemporary. Color me surprised when I couldn’t put this book down. The authors did a great job creating a western setting, along with differing voices for the characters. Gil is from Boston and has a structured, polite, and restrained way of speaking. Matt, Vern, and the rest of the people on the ranch, all have relaxed ways of talking. I can’t say whether or not the way they speak is correct for the late 1800’s, but I imagine that speech patterns don’t change that much over time on a ranch or a town which is more isolated from outside influences than in a big city. There is a class difference in the speech of Gil and the rest of the people at Bent Oak Ranch. The only part I wondered about was Vernon’s speech. He had a strong Texas drawl, but he’d been raised in Boston. I don’t remember when he left Boston for Texas, but I’m doubtful that he’d have totally lost his Boston accent or speech even after having lived in Texas for decades. It just seems unlikely. Even in real life, most people hang on to some hint of an accent if they move. So, Vernon’s speech pattern wasn’t as convincing to me.

The blurb gives a good background to the plot so I don’t really have anything to add. The characters were well written and were consistent through to the end of the story. Descriptions of the landscape and action was just enough for me to imagine what was happening and where the characters were. I’m guessing that the title refers to Gil learning to forgive himself for things about himself that he’s learned to hate because of his father’s influence. That he’s not a bad person because he’s gay, and also finding forgiveness from Matt, after Gil hurts him.

Gil definitely had issues when he arrived. Uptight, a superior attitude, and didn’t want to ask anyone for help lest they thought less of him. All of that could be attributed to his jerk of a father who pretty much beat Gil because Gil didn’t act the way the father wanted him to. When he found out that Gil was gay, well that was it, he packed Gil off to Vernon’s ranch. But little did he know why Bent Oak was called ‘Bent’. I had to snicker at that. The authors did a good job of slowly loosening Gil up and letting him learn to trust other people. I felt sorry for Gil. He wasn’t his own person. Didn’t know how to be, and kept trying to live up to his father’s expectations even though he lived far away. Once Gil stood up to his father and broke free, and saw that other people liked and respected him, Gil became his own man. But not before he caused Matt a lot of heartbreak. Poor Matt. He was a nice guy. Very competent rancher, but also clueless because he thinks his dad doesn’t know that he’s gay. Little does he know that his father also has a secret. I liked Vernon. He was kind, understanding, and capable at running the ranch.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. Good characters, setting, and plot. I recommend this book to others and plan on reading the next book in the series. I give Finding Forgiveness, 4 Stars.

I received a copy of this book from the authors. I am giving my honest and unbiased opinion.

[Mari Cardenas · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars!

Gil Porter is sent from his family's home in Boston to his uncle Vernon's ranch in Mercy, Texas after the scandal of his lover committing suicide. He's resolved to not let anyone close to him, but Matt, the ranch's foreman's son, is equally determined to become Gil's friend. As time goes by, so do some of Gil's reservations, other than wanting to marry a woman and be 'normal', no matter if he's more attracted to the handsome cowboy than his intended.

I loved Matt. He was a great character, friendly and supportive and truly, he had the patience of a saint with Gil, who didn't always deserve it. It took me a while to warm up to Gil. He was so arrogant and prickly when he first came to Mercy and I just wanted to shake him when he would go on and on about getting married and being the 'normal' son his father wanted. Especially, since his father really didn't deserve it, he was a horrible man. Despite that, I liked seeing the character growth in Gil as he learned more about the ranch and became involved in all the daily activities. Matt and Gil had great chemistry and when Gil finally gave into his attraction to Matt, it was both sweet and hot.

This book had a great set of secondary characters, like Jeannie, Matt's sister, Carlos, Matt's ex-lover and friend, Tabitha, Gil's intended and Gil's uncle Vernon. I even liked Matt's father after a bit. I absolutely hated Gil's father, who didn't quite deserve the name and I wanted to throat punch.

Finding Forgiveness was a great start to the series, interesting and even if it held a lot of information regarding the day-to-day activities at the ranch, I was never bored. There were a lot of surprising twists and turns, especially near the end and one very sweet last chapter that I loved. One thing, though, is that I didn't quite feel like I was reading a historical book, which has happened to me with another western, too, I guess ranching in 1890 isn't all that difficult from doing it in the modern day.

Very recommendable!

*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

[Kendra Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is 1888 and not understanding of those that love their own sex. Gilbert "Gil" Porter is the only son and heir of a shipbuilding empire. His father is a hard core, unloving, dominant presence in Gil's life. When the scandal breaks that Gil has a male lover he's shipped off to Texas and his Uncle Vernon's ranch. Uncle Vernon is instructed to make a man of Gil and cure him of his "unnatural desires". Gil is determined to bid his time until the scandal lessens and then he'll return to Boston to have a "normal life". Matt Grayson is the foreman's son and is also attracted to men. He's determined to help Gil learn the ropes of ranch life. When he finds out the reason for Gil's exile to Texas he's determined to teach Gil that he's not unnatural. Through the hardships of a soft, rich man's son learning physical labor on a ranch, Gil comes into his own manhood. He learns he's not useless and there's better things in life than having a "normal life". Vernon is supportive of Gil and accepts him from day one. The foreman Jeb is not a fan of Gil and rides him constantly from day one.

This is one of the best books I've read in years. I literally felt all the feelings Gil had and his struggles with becoming a strong, independent man. Gil had to come to the realization that giving up his biological family, who didn't approve of him or love him, to make his own family was the right thing for him. In the end, he found true happiness. The love that Matt, Vernon, Jeannie and the ranch hands had for Gil was true and felt. He even wins over Jeb. I did not notice any spelling, grammar or punctuation errors. This is a very smooth, engaging read and I didn't want to put it down when life interrupted. Definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes an underdog coming into his own story. I'm really looking forward to book 2.

[Alexis Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was received free from the author in return for an honest review.

It’s 1888. Texas. A time when homosexuality was hidden and even the hint becomes a scandal. Such a scandal forces Gil Porter’s father to exile him to his uncle’s ranch. What Gil doesn’t know is that Bent Oaks is a lot more accepting than he’d ever expected. Gil is taken under the wing of Matt, the foreman’s son, who teaches him all he needs to know about working the ranch. Friends become lovers until Gil freaks out and turns his back on Matt. But when Matt's old lover returns, the green eyed monster looms. Gil has a huge decision to make. The majority of the story is taken up by Gil's insecurity and fears about not being normal and that is freakish because he likes men.

Although I don't have a great love of western historicals, this was excellent. Just enough to give us a taste without getting bogged down in minutiae. Who can't imagine a good looking, hard working cowboy and not swoon. Add in the chivalry of the 18th century and bam! So easy to fall in love with these characters.

PS The ending/epilogue was unexpected and very welcome. Definitely answered the question I’d been wondering the entire time I was reading.

[Matt L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet, simple story about simple people, but by no means boring. Fed my newly aqcuired taste for old west stories wonderfully. Very excited to read the rest of the series. Most likely will read again.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful story, I fell in love with the Main Characters, they were great. The story was well written, and had a good storyline. I loved it.

[Christopher Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

FINDING FORGIVENESS

Ari McKay

Buy at Amazon.com *

Blurb: Boston in 1888 is quite urbane, but unfortunately for Gil Porter, that isn’t the same thing as being understanding. When his sexuality is exposed by the scandalous suicide of his lover, Gil is exiled to the small town of Mercy, Texas, by his domineering father, George, who believes life on Vernon Porter's ranch will cure Gil of his “unnatural” desires. Grieving and ashamed, Gil is determined to keep his distance from everyone until he can return home. To his surprise, he finds acceptance at Bent Oak Ranch, especially from Matt Grayson, the handsome son of the ranch foreman. Knowing he must fight his attraction to Matt, Gil courts a local girl, but an unexpected encounter with Matt leads to his discovery of Matt’s feelings for him. Torn between Matt and his desire to be “normal," between returning to his old life and building a new one in Texas, Gil is faced with a choice—appeasing his father or becoming the man Matt knows he can be.

This is what you call a period piece in historical fiction. The atmosphere of the time and place is what’s important, not the actual historical accuracy. Even so, with some minor details, I’d say this charming and very gratifying story will provide plenty of warm fuzzies for the reader.

Two things stand out as not being my historical cup of tea. One is that there seem to be a lot of gay men in 1888 Mercy, Texas, who though not out and proud have managed to gain acceptance from a broad number of people. The ranch owner is gay, the ranch foreman’s son is gay, the ranch owner’s nephew is gay, and, [SPOILER] the ranch foreman is, as I suspected all along, gay. Oh and one of the hands, too. This is hardly impossible, but you’d think someone on the ranch would suspect, especially when Gil’s father shows up and starts screaming about his son’s “unnatural” desires. The worst I would call this is sloppy, but it’s with good intent.

The other thing is that at one point early in the novel Matt tells Gil that the Bent Oak Ranch has 150 ranch hands. Where do they put them all? How do they feed them all? They explain the bunk house is a bit off from the main house and complex, but it must be the size of a Motel 6, and the ranch hands carefully stay away from the rest of the ranch as they never seem to show up and ask questions or for a drink of water or anything. Yes, a few do make their appearance from time to time, but I have this image of dozens of ranch hands wandering about the corral, gathering in small groups to gossip or drink or eye the daughter of the house or at least try to lasso something. Some of the ranch hands are of Hispanic descent and it’s nice to see that at least in one pocket of 1888 Texas society Mexicans are fully accepted and integrated.

What this points out more than anything is that there are historical novelists and then there are historical novelists. Some track down every little detail, as I do, and others just want their readers to sit back and enjoy the story. This is clearly the latter. I am the sort of historical novelist this book is not intended for.

However, in spite of these two slight flaws, I did enjoy the book. The Bent Oak folks are warm and lovely and the work hard and manliness-building, and Jeannie is sweet if bit doormattish, and Gil really needed a place like this to get over himself. So close Wikipedia and sit back and enjoy.

Oh, and I don't understand the title. I guess everyone in the story needed forgiveness from everyone else, but it did not seem especially compelling.

GLBT Bookshelf www.glbtbookshelf.com

[Bo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovingly Paced Romantic Romp

This is a wonderfully written, sweetly plotted, and ultimately surprising historical romance of the Old West. The main characters, Gil (foreground on the cover) and Matt, are supported by a stellar array of friends and relatives who are believable because they all have faults, as well as redeeming values.

Gil Porter's evolution from Boston Dandy to Texas cowboy is well paced and driven by his lust for Matt Grayson, whose father and sister work the ranch owned by Gil's uncle Vernon.

There are conflicts galore in Gil and Matt's relationship, some so sad that you might wipe an eyelid. But all of it is logical within the confines of the era.

The wonderful last quarter of the book contains a number of surprises that if you paid close attention and were particularly expansive in assessing characters you might have figured out. No spoilers, though.

With this book and "Heart of Stone" the duo named Ari McKay has shot to the top of my list of historical novelists.

[Heather York · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love discovering a new author, or at least new to me. Ari McKay's knack with historical romance is obvious with their detail to accuracy. Gil is definitely a fish out of water when he's been banished to his Uncle's Texas ranch, couldn't be further from Boston if they had sent him to Timbuktu. Watching him discover his true path in life as well as finding a new family is entertaining, at times heartbreaking but also very heartwarming. Gil has a lot to learn but with unexplained acceptance from his uncle and immediate friendship from Matt, he learns the way of the ranch quickly, unfortunately he doesn't learn the way of his heart quite so easily. A great addition to my historical western romance collection and a definite plus for cowboy lovers.

[Fff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Très différent de ce que j'ai lu précédemment, une histoire tout en douceur et sentiments. Un livre plaisant à lire, avec des personnages attachants.
Même si quelques détails nous rappellent que les événements se déroulent à la fin du XIXème siècle, on ne peut s'empêcher de penser que certaines choses n'ont pas tellement changé depuis...
Accepter sa sexualité et le regard des autres, ne pas éprouver de culpabilité, ne pas tenir compte de l'intolérance (surtout venant de sa famille) et savoir reconnaître l'acceptation de ses vrais amis et enfin vivre sa vie, son amour sans honte... un long, très long chemin à parcourir pour Gilbert.

[Love Bytes Reviews]

This book was read and reviewed by Carissa for Love Bytes Reviews.

[Kayla Burgess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved It.

What cam I say.
It was a very nice read.
Matt was my favorite.
Though, Gil's mind was outta wack. I'm glad he came to his true blue senses.
YAY M+G!!