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Dangling High
Haunted by a brutal childhood tragedy at the hands of Jesse “Snake Eye” Musslin, the infamous and outrageous outlaw, Ezra “Two Shots” Smith, has spent his life chasing one thing: revenge. Hardened, reckless, and determined that he doesn’t need anybody’s help, Ezra knows better than to let people get too close.
At least, until his fate accidentally lands him in the custody of Alexander “Good Times” Davis.
Stubbornly optimistic, irritatingly charming, and impossible to shake, Alex wiggles his way into joining Ezra on his bitter mission, as well as his life. What begins as a tenuous alliance in the scorching, unforgiving desert soon becomes something much more complicated. From the start, the two men clash at nearly every turn, but beneath the bickering and bravado grows a fierce, fragile bond that Ezra couldn’t anticipate, and isn’t so sure he deserves.
As danger closes in and old wounds start to bleed, Ezra and Alexa must decide whether they’re willing to fully trust and rely on each other, or risk losing their shot at vengeance, justice, and the future they never really believed that they could have.
Dangling High is a sharp, subversive Western adventure threaded with slow-burn romance, found family, and queer resilience. It flips classic frontier tropes on their head to reveal the power of reclaiming your story, and the hope that even those long marginalized can carve a little sun out of crushing darkness.
At least, until his fate accidentally lands him in the custody of Alexander “Good Times” Davis.
Stubbornly optimistic, irritatingly charming, and impossible to shake, Alex wiggles his way into joining Ezra on his bitter mission, as well as his life. What begins as a tenuous alliance in the scorching, unforgiving desert soon becomes something much more complicated. From the start, the two men clash at nearly every turn, but beneath the bickering and bravado grows a fierce, fragile bond that Ezra couldn’t anticipate, and isn’t so sure he deserves.
As danger closes in and old wounds start to bleed, Ezra and Alexa must decide whether they’re willing to fully trust and rely on each other, or risk losing their shot at vengeance, justice, and the future they never really believed that they could have.
Dangling High is a sharp, subversive Western adventure threaded with slow-burn romance, found family, and queer resilience. It flips classic frontier tropes on their head to reveal the power of reclaiming your story, and the hope that even those long marginalized can carve a little sun out of crushing darkness.
254 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2025
About the author
Kaycee King
8 books15 followersKaycee King is an LGBTQ+ author with a B.A. in English, emphasis on Professional Writing. Kaycee writes contemporary queer literary romance novels that center dark, realistic themes, intense challenges, and inner turmoil to showcase the resilience of complex characters. Their stories explore the messy, raw, and often brutal aspects of life, but do so with a steady undercurrent of hope.
Outside of writing, Kaycee loves photographing wildlife, drawing, spending time with family, or curling up with some coffee, a pile of cats, and a good book.
Outside of writing, Kaycee loves photographing wildlife, drawing, spending time with family, or curling up with some coffee, a pile of cats, and a good book.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 14, 2025
Kaycee King’s Dangling High is a raw, unflinching narrative that thrusts readers into a world of grief, moral ambiguity, and the harsh boundaries between outlaw and justice. The story follows Ezra “Two Shots” Smith, a queer legendary outlaw, whose life is irrevocably changed after a brutal loss at the hands of Jesse “Snake Eye” Musslin. What feels remarkable to me about King’s storytelling is the nuanced way she exposes the costs of violence and the complexity of healing; the trauma is neither glossed over nor melodramatic…instead the emotional fallout feels lived in – messy, painful, and punctuated by fleeting moments of beauty and tenderness.
I found King’s prose evocative and visceral. The Western setting – laws, deserts, moral codes – is brought alive not merely through vivid landscapes, but also through the characters who inhabit the margins: those punished by society, those who make desperate choices, and those that carry scars both seen and invisible.
King revitalizes the Western, offering a modern lens on a genre often locked in nostalgia. By centering a queer outlaw as the protagonist, King not only expands the cultural boundaries of the Western but also repositions its central conflicts – lawlessness, loyalty, survival – as metaphors for contemporary struggles with identity, marginalization, and justice.
Just as Ezra confronts betrayal, violence, and grief in his quest for revenge, we witness modern parallels in the fight for dignity, equality, and self-definition in hostile environments. King’s achievement lies in making the Western both timely and timeless, proving that the questions of who we are and how we endure remain universal, no matter the century or setting.
Dangling High isn’t just another Western – it’s a story that resonates with today’s struggles. The tension between freedom and survival, justice and prejudice, mirrors issues our society still grapples with. I was hooked by King’s vivid prose and fast-paced storytelling, but what lingers is the emotional truth at its core: that even in the harshest landscapes, people fight to be seen to be loved, and to find peace.
I found King’s prose evocative and visceral. The Western setting – laws, deserts, moral codes – is brought alive not merely through vivid landscapes, but also through the characters who inhabit the margins: those punished by society, those who make desperate choices, and those that carry scars both seen and invisible.
King revitalizes the Western, offering a modern lens on a genre often locked in nostalgia. By centering a queer outlaw as the protagonist, King not only expands the cultural boundaries of the Western but also repositions its central conflicts – lawlessness, loyalty, survival – as metaphors for contemporary struggles with identity, marginalization, and justice.
Just as Ezra confronts betrayal, violence, and grief in his quest for revenge, we witness modern parallels in the fight for dignity, equality, and self-definition in hostile environments. King’s achievement lies in making the Western both timely and timeless, proving that the questions of who we are and how we endure remain universal, no matter the century or setting.
Dangling High isn’t just another Western – it’s a story that resonates with today’s struggles. The tension between freedom and survival, justice and prejudice, mirrors issues our society still grapples with. I was hooked by King’s vivid prose and fast-paced storytelling, but what lingers is the emotional truth at its core: that even in the harshest landscapes, people fight to be seen to be loved, and to find peace.
October 4, 2025
- I GOT A FREE EARLY COPY OF THIS BOOK -
This was my first Western style narrative and I really enjoyed!
The names of the villains are witty and kind of funny, I think it was the first thing that brought me into the story. The romance is built so sweetly and tenderly, Alex and Ezra feel something for each other from the start and I think beyond attraction, it was also that they represented what each other needed, one a reason to live and build community and the other the will to fight for oneself and all.
I like that it is a VIOLENT story, but it doesn't normalize or take it lightly, it simply acknowledges that people subjected to constant violence, will not gain their rights by taking it silently and throwing flowers at Fascists, while simultaneously understanding the risk and the pain it represents to have to be violent to fight back.
The only downside to me was that on the second part with more secondary characters participation in the narrative, I wasn't AS invested in them, as Ezra and Alex are so distinct in both looks and personality, the others were kind of one person with different names. With their perspective added, they needed a bit of background and development of their own.
Something that's not a problem of the writing itself, but that I struggled with, was the English stylized for the accents, it's not gonna be a struggle for native English speakers, but since it's not my first language, at times it was a bit jarring, but it's just a matter of getting used to it and doesn't affect understanding the meaning of things, just affects the flow of reading.
This is the second story by Kaycee King I read and I'm eager to read more in the future, the way they built romantic relationships it's awesome. I love it!
This was my first Western style narrative and I really enjoyed!
The names of the villains are witty and kind of funny, I think it was the first thing that brought me into the story. The romance is built so sweetly and tenderly, Alex and Ezra feel something for each other from the start and I think beyond attraction, it was also that they represented what each other needed, one a reason to live and build community and the other the will to fight for oneself and all.
I like that it is a VIOLENT story, but it doesn't normalize or take it lightly, it simply acknowledges that people subjected to constant violence, will not gain their rights by taking it silently and throwing flowers at Fascists, while simultaneously understanding the risk and the pain it represents to have to be violent to fight back.
The only downside to me was that on the second part with more secondary characters participation in the narrative, I wasn't AS invested in them, as Ezra and Alex are so distinct in both looks and personality, the others were kind of one person with different names. With their perspective added, they needed a bit of background and development of their own.
Something that's not a problem of the writing itself, but that I struggled with, was the English stylized for the accents, it's not gonna be a struggle for native English speakers, but since it's not my first language, at times it was a bit jarring, but it's just a matter of getting used to it and doesn't affect understanding the meaning of things, just affects the flow of reading.
This is the second story by Kaycee King I read and I'm eager to read more in the future, the way they built romantic relationships it's awesome. I love it!
January 21, 2026
I got an ARC for this book ✨️
The world just sucks you in this old west ruled by a tyranical man who wants nothing more than to punish people who don't fit into their mold. Their world is oppressive, and dystopian but the author managed to still sprinkle some glimmer of hope in small corners of their world.
The characters pulls you right in with their dialogue, emotions, thoughts, and experiences. I really really love the chemistry between Ezra and Alex. Like how they found warmth in each other and helped each other open up again despite the dire circumstances and past trauma they've endured.
The pace and writing of the story, especially the dialogue is spectacular for me as if you can literally hear the characters with the way they talk. The author really gave effort into making different character voices like Jesse's arrogance to Ezra's awkward yet charming way of talking.
If you love old west vibes, queer love, sticking up against tyranical governments, dystopia, you should definitely give this a shot.
The world just sucks you in this old west ruled by a tyranical man who wants nothing more than to punish people who don't fit into their mold. Their world is oppressive, and dystopian but the author managed to still sprinkle some glimmer of hope in small corners of their world.
The characters pulls you right in with their dialogue, emotions, thoughts, and experiences. I really really love the chemistry between Ezra and Alex. Like how they found warmth in each other and helped each other open up again despite the dire circumstances and past trauma they've endured.
The pace and writing of the story, especially the dialogue is spectacular for me as if you can literally hear the characters with the way they talk. The author really gave effort into making different character voices like Jesse's arrogance to Ezra's awkward yet charming way of talking.
If you love old west vibes, queer love, sticking up against tyranical governments, dystopia, you should definitely give this a shot.
October 27, 2025
Dangling High - Kaycee King
Even though I don’t read them often, I love books in a western setting or setting in the old West. I just love the cowboy aesthetic with the setting and the atmosphere. I loved not only Alex and Ezra, but I also loved Rebecca and Adeline. I love this author’s writing and how they don’t shy away from darker topics, but they don’t romanticize them either. I definitely will be looking out for any more work done by this author.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Out of 5 Stars ⭐️
🫑 / Spice Rating ☀️
# of Pages 🌙 256 pages
Release Date 🌟 11/1/25
Format 💫 Gifted Digital Copy
Series 🌙 Unknown/Not Applicable
Genre/Tropes ✨ Western, dystopian, romance, MM, revenge and justice
Favorite Character ☀️ Alex
Favorite Line 🌟 “They call me Good Times on account of my sparkling personality,”
Even though I don’t read them often, I love books in a western setting or setting in the old West. I just love the cowboy aesthetic with the setting and the atmosphere. I loved not only Alex and Ezra, but I also loved Rebecca and Adeline. I love this author’s writing and how they don’t shy away from darker topics, but they don’t romanticize them either. I definitely will be looking out for any more work done by this author.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Out of 5 Stars ⭐️
🫑 / Spice Rating ☀️
# of Pages 🌙 256 pages
Release Date 🌟 11/1/25
Format 💫 Gifted Digital Copy
Series 🌙 Unknown/Not Applicable
Genre/Tropes ✨ Western, dystopian, romance, MM, revenge and justice
Favorite Character ☀️ Alex
Favorite Line 🌟 “They call me Good Times on account of my sparkling personality,”
October 27, 2025
Dangling High is definitely a first for me and not in the usual genre I reach for, being in a western setting, but when Kaycee King announced they were publishing this book, with these characters I've seen so often on their socials, I had to jump onto an ARC copy. Overall, my rating is a 4.5 star, rounded up. I enjoyed this story immensely. It was atmospheric, dramatic, and I absolutely adored Ezra and Alex (and it actually got me out of my year-long reading slump!)
September 8, 2025
A western dystopian that pulls you right in the middle of conflicts and vengeance, a good piece for those who enjoy a romantic adventure with dramatic events.
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July 31, 2025I am the author, so I'm pretty smitten with this book. :)
April 19, 2026
Dangling High
By Kaycee King
Published by the author, 2025
Four stars
I ended up loving this book because it surprised me. The writing is good—including the tricky part of writing dialect—and the story, while presented as a “western”, is also a dystopian cautionary tale that echoes our world right now a little too neatly. Finally, the main characters, Ezra Smith and Alex Davis, are complicated and, ultimately, profoundly good. It is a story that is often uncomfortable, because the themes of vengeance resonated a bit too much, and reminded me that none of us can be perfect in a world that is cruel and unjust.
One thing that threw me off at first is that this dystopian vision is set a thousand years in the future. Honestly, it didn’t feel that far in the future to me; but I guess that’s a quibble. Let’s just say that the nation we know, after the Second Civil War of the 21st century, has become the world that exists for Ezra and Alex: a divided continent in which they inhabit the New Old West (N.O.W.), a separate country that seems to have devolved into some version of the Wild West as memorialized in movies and television, right down to the mistreatment and isolation of indigenous people. Its counterpoint is the Liberal Alliance of Democratic States (L.A.D.S.), which more or less means the two coasts and the much of the eastern Midwest.
In a horrific prologue, we meet Ezra Smith, the teenaged son of a couple who identify with the Resistance. What happens to Ezra at the hands of the N.O.W. president and his spiritual advisor is the trigger for the rest of the action in the book. L.A.D.S. barely figures into the narrative, except as a reminder that there is another country that has moved on over the course of the last millennium. (I’ll note that there is no mention of how Indigenous people are faring in L.A.D.S., and no mention of any other immigrants or people of color at all, which makes me presume that they all moved to L.A.D.S.)
The gist of the main plotline is Ezra Smith obsessing about his dream of vengeance against the rulers of N.O.W., and Alex Davis somehow falling in with his way of thinking once he learns his story. Somehow it all works, and I found it moving and emotionally involving. I certainly won’t forget Ezra and Alex any time soon.
By Kaycee King
Published by the author, 2025
Four stars
I ended up loving this book because it surprised me. The writing is good—including the tricky part of writing dialect—and the story, while presented as a “western”, is also a dystopian cautionary tale that echoes our world right now a little too neatly. Finally, the main characters, Ezra Smith and Alex Davis, are complicated and, ultimately, profoundly good. It is a story that is often uncomfortable, because the themes of vengeance resonated a bit too much, and reminded me that none of us can be perfect in a world that is cruel and unjust.
One thing that threw me off at first is that this dystopian vision is set a thousand years in the future. Honestly, it didn’t feel that far in the future to me; but I guess that’s a quibble. Let’s just say that the nation we know, after the Second Civil War of the 21st century, has become the world that exists for Ezra and Alex: a divided continent in which they inhabit the New Old West (N.O.W.), a separate country that seems to have devolved into some version of the Wild West as memorialized in movies and television, right down to the mistreatment and isolation of indigenous people. Its counterpoint is the Liberal Alliance of Democratic States (L.A.D.S.), which more or less means the two coasts and the much of the eastern Midwest.
In a horrific prologue, we meet Ezra Smith, the teenaged son of a couple who identify with the Resistance. What happens to Ezra at the hands of the N.O.W. president and his spiritual advisor is the trigger for the rest of the action in the book. L.A.D.S. barely figures into the narrative, except as a reminder that there is another country that has moved on over the course of the last millennium. (I’ll note that there is no mention of how Indigenous people are faring in L.A.D.S., and no mention of any other immigrants or people of color at all, which makes me presume that they all moved to L.A.D.S.)
The gist of the main plotline is Ezra Smith obsessing about his dream of vengeance against the rulers of N.O.W., and Alex Davis somehow falling in with his way of thinking once he learns his story. Somehow it all works, and I found it moving and emotionally involving. I certainly won’t forget Ezra and Alex any time soon.
October 21, 2025
Not even 20 pages in and I knew this story would rip out my heart. Starting off with a bang and leaving me shattered I needing to understand how the characters could come back from this. The story didn't disappoint and didn't feel rushed.
The main character Ezra is very relatable and I became attached quickly. The story did a great job at drawing me in and making me hope for some happiness for all the main characters.
A revenge story that everyone can get behind, with villains that are easy to hate and heroes who are easy to love; albeit with some questionable life choices.
Favorite line- "You know, you've really gotta stop trying to get away from me. It's doing you no good."
The main character Ezra is very relatable and I became attached quickly. The story did a great job at drawing me in and making me hope for some happiness for all the main characters.
A revenge story that everyone can get behind, with villains that are easy to hate and heroes who are easy to love; albeit with some questionable life choices.
Favorite line- "You know, you've really gotta stop trying to get away from me. It's doing you no good."
January 10, 2026
This is one of the 1st books I’ve read and felt it was mainly written by AI…. Wonder if anyone else felt that way.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews