Refired

Recovery #1

by B.A. Tortuga

When Kris Cerny walks back into Two Spirits, the art gallery he owns with Josh McPhee, all he wants is a clean break. Austin's booming real estate market means the building he bought years ago is worth a fortune, and with the sale, he and Josh can finally go their separate ways. They won't be reconciling, right? Josh may be sober now, but an addict is always going to be an addict, and Kris can't take that chance again.

Josh isn't willing to sell. Not yet. He's discovered a new artist in Santa Fe he knows will put Two Spirits in the black, and if he can just make a success of the gallery, maybe he can earn Kris's respect, if not recapture his love. He need Kris to give him time for one more buying trip, one more gallery show. Josh wants nothing more than a final chance to make things right. Kris agrees to let Josh have this last ditch effort on one condition-- he wants to go along for the ride. On the way Josh hopes they'll find the next big thing in the art world as well as peace, forgiveness, and a love he thought was lost forever.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary, Second Chance, Friends To Lovers, Westerns, Gay

244 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 18, 2016

About the author

Texan to the bone and an unrepentant Daddy's Girl, BA Tortuga spends her days with her hounds and her beloved wife, texting her grandbabies, and eating Mexican food. When she's not doing that, she's writing. She spends her days off watching rodeo, knitting, and surfing Pinterest in the name of research. Following their own personal joys, BA and Julia heard the call of the high desert and they now live in the New Mexico mountains. BA's personal saviors include her wife, her best friends, and coffee. Lots of coffee. Really good coffee.

Having written everything from fist-fighting rednecks to cowboy daddies to werewolves, BA does her damnedest to tell the stories of her heart, which is committed to giving everyone their happily ever after. With books ranging from hard-hitting BDSM, to fiery passions, to the most traditional of love stories, BA refuses to be pigeon-holed by anyone but the voices in her head.

Reviews

[Serena Yates · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book with its theme of “refiring” something to make it better. The symbolism of the clay wedding vase that is set up in the prologue, then picked up later in the story, adds a nice touch to a beautiful, if difficult, love story. Like the clay, some relationships don’t make it on the first go, for whatever reasons. In this story, Kris and Josh have spectacularly failed to make theirs work, despite the fact that they love each other deeply. Kris is ready to break up, but there is the matter of the art gallery they own together, and Josh wants one last chance to make a profit. When Kris insists they do this together, it is the beginning of a journey the outcome of which neither of the men would have believed possible. Their progress may be slow, the obstacles seemingly impossible to overcome, but with feelings as deep as they are between Kris and Josh, it would be criminal not to make the attempt.


Please find my full review of the second edition on Rainbow Book Reviews.

[The Novel Approach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Josh McPhee is a recovering alcoholic, five years and counting, and still working hard to stay sober. He’s part owner of Two Spirits art gallery, with his ex Kris, and wants to prove to Kris he is a new man and can make the gallery work. But, Kris wants to sell the gallery. When Josh discovers some interesting work by an artist called Cypress, who lives in New Mexico, he decides to travel there to see the man personally. Kris tells Josh he wants to make the trip to New Mexico with him, but Josh thinks he’ll back out since art is not his interest. I just loved Josh. He works so hard to stay sober, and he’s doing it all for Kris. Josh also gave up his love of painting just to prove to Kris he could handle the gallery. He stays true to Kris, and really believes Kris and he can be together again.

Kris Cerny—cowboy, ranch owner, big businessman—has no faith in Josh whatsoever, but he restarts their relationship. Kris has issues of his own as well, and harbors dark secrets that his family has swept under the rug. He constantly compares Josh to his mother, who was also an alcoholic, and believes Josh will fall back into his addiction again. I wasn’t crazy about Kris. He’s judgmental and somewhat controlling and quick to accuse Josh of wrongdoing. He led Josh on and never really forgave him with all his heart. But many of Kris’s failings come from his own upbringing. When he actually starts to make friends, he starts to learn the true meaning of forgiveness and love.

Cypress is an artist extraordinaire and an amazing and fun character, and he gives Josh the support and encouragement to paint again. He also has an ex by the name of Lonan, and there’s still a spark there, so I would love a more detailed story about them.

I just love BA Tortuga’s stories, and Refired is up there with the best of them. Staying true to form, Ms. Tortuga delivers a story packed with great characters, love, heartache and humor. Refired is also a tale of learning how to let go and truly forgive.

Reviewed by Maryann for The Novel Approach
http://www.thenovelapproachreviews.co...

[Lila Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow at Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words. In the meantime, here's a little Josh.





ARC provided by Dreamspinner Press in exchange of an honest review.

[Denise H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The devoted artist and the deep seated cowboy! Topics: attempted suicide, alcoholic recovery.
Here we have a different type of cowboy story.
Our cowboy, Kris, comes from a family of cowboys,

so he has a ranch, in addition to his Dad’s, plus investments aplenty, including an Art Gallery in Austin.
He owns it with hipster artist, Josh,

a long haired ginger man, who is wrapped up in the artistic arena.

Together they have been sex partners in love, but haven’t spent time to even tell each other details of their pasts.
Josh is five years sober, but Kris has experience that makes him doubt that Josh can stay that way.
Our men take a trip to New Mexico in search of new artists for the gallery. It’s a fun trip, seeing beautiful areas, interesting people, and items to acquire.

Georgia O'Keeffe New Mexico painter...


Cowboy Kris gets a knee-jerk reaction and leaves. Both are devastated, but stubborn. I didn’t like Kris for awhile, but the men had to work things out.
Truths are told, deep thoughts seen, and realities admitted, and our guys were back to the hot sexiness they excel in.
How will they ever find compromise?
Enjoy !

======

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

With this book we get Josh who is a recovering addict who drank a lot which caused his relationship to Kris to end.

While I did like them together very much I have to say I was not a huge fan of how hard Kris was on Josh. I know he had bad things happen to him in the past but there were times I felt like he was way to hard on Josh, when Josh was trying so hard to recover and not drink anymore.

Other than that I really liked how this author wrote this story and these characters even though Kris did irritate me a little bit. You get two men trying to come back together after a addiction pushed their relationship to far and if they can overcome their fears to realize if the they can still be together or not.

I received this book free in exchange for an honest review from Inked Rainbow Reads.

[Sara]

How many times did you have a last time when you knew that’s what it was?

I am a sucker for second chance romance and this book simply worked for me.

Josh and Kris, they were lovers once and are business partners still, but are they friends? Can they be friends or even more once again?

That is just one question that comes up in the first few times of this book.

Told in the dual POV’s of Kris and Josh, we begin to see how this relationship worked and how it all fell apart. We know that Josh is an alcoholic now on his fifth year of sobriety but will that ever be enough for Kris? Will he ever be able to look at Josh in a new way and not wait for that moment when he falls off the wagon? Can Kris forget his past and move forward with a sober Josh?

He didn’t know what to say. I’m sorry? I suck? I love you? You suck?

Good lord. The quiet tension and UST in the first few chapters of this just burned me. I love a good slow burn romance and these two burn, then ignite and even though they have a history there is the newness and the yet contentment of knowing someone for so many years but the what if?

What. If.

It felt familiar and brand-new, all at once. As if he’d fallen back in time…

So, Kris and Josh are business partners who own an art gallery together but Kris wants to sell it and Josh can’t bear to have it sold. Josh is determined to make something of the gallery and find the next big artist and that artist is a road trip away… did someone say road trip? Ahh yeah. These two are taking a trip, together and the passion, the love and the emotions they try to hide bubble up to the surface when they are alone together. Le Sigh. Alone and just fooling themselves that they don’t care, that they don’t want or that they can’t have more… but once again, can they?

This trip was for him and Josh. The rest was just details.

Now you can say things move fast for Josh and Kris but you have to remember; they were once a couple and they are kinda on this journey together where they have no real responsibility and they can pretend. Pretend that the hurt never happened and everything is okay but to do that and move forward, they need to talk about the past.

Ugh. I felt for both men throughout this book. I hurt for Josh trying so hard to do what’s right to stay sober and trying to get back the love he lost with Kris and yet, I got Kris too. See, it’s really hard to trust someone after they have abused it. Either with addiction or what have you and when you love that person, are IN love with that person, it hurts to try. That trust, you want it to be there, you want to believe but OMFG what if they slip and become human and you are back where you started? Addiction is not black and white for either parties involved. There is this massive gray area where addicts can live where honestly taking it one day, one hour at a time to not give in to the demon that are running from and that person they love and love them, that person lives in the gray area of do I keep trying or do I give in and walk away. You can look at an addict and the person they are in a relationship and cast stones but until you have walked in their shoes, until you have been in that exact position, on either side, it’s not your place to judge. Period. End of.

*hops off soapbox*

Now while this was an interesting story that I did like, there were a few things that bugged me and it was just me. We know they met in college and that Josh has been sober for five years but how long were they together? It never really said though in the last 20% we get a few details of their age etc. when a secret is revealed. Um… these men almost creamed they pants numerous times and used words like yummy in reference to food and everyone said “Rock on” and such. It just stuck out as odd while reading it but I pushed passed and kept going because I could murder for their HEA. Um, was that the right words? They said that a lot too, “I could murder for a xyz…” Hmm.

Love complicated things way too much.

Refired was a enjoyable second chance romance between two men who really needed to talk before they got it on but emotions aren’t rational and neither is love. Josh and Kris were super sexy with the want of one another and you could feel the emotional pull the men fought but so desperately wanted to give into. I loved the inclusion of art in the book and the artists involved were a nice touch, especially with the prologue and epilogue. I would love Cy and Lonan’s story! Just saying.

At the end of it all, this was a nice read from a new to me authors whose books I will definitely check out again.

[Don Bradshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes you just need to walk through hell twice before you get it right. Kris and Shane thought they were in love and had it all together until selling their art gallery seemed to rip them apart. The truth of it was that Shane was meant to be an artist not a dealer. Kris needed to learn some basic like skills and most of all he needed Shane.

[Serena Yates · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book with its theme of “refiring” something to make it better. The symbolism of the clay wedding vase that is set up in the prologue, then picked up later in the story, adds a nice touch to a beautiful, if difficult, love story. Like the clay, some relationships don’t make it on the first go, for whatever reasons. In this story, Kris and Josh have spectacularly failed to make theirs work, despite the fact that they love each other deeply. Kris is ready to break up, but there is the matter of the art gallery they own together, and Josh wants one last chance to make a profit. When Kris insists they do this together, it is the beginning of a journey the outcome of which neither of the men would have believed possible. Their progress may be slow, the obstacles seemingly impossible to overcome, but with feelings as deep as they are between Kris and Josh, it would be criminal not to make the attempt.


Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

[QUEERcentric Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Caer Jones for QUEERcentric Books
4.5 stars

Austin and Santa Fe come alive in BA Tortuga’s Refired, providing a sweeping landscape for two guys to learn that maybe forgiveness is better than saying goodbye.

TWO GUYS LEARN THAT MAYBE FORGIVENESS IS BETTER THAN SAYING GOODBYE

Josh and Kris met in college and fell passionately in love, planning their lives together. Everything was rosy until Josh’s drinking got out of control.

Kris tried to save him, tried to get him to stop drinking, but eventually had to break up with Josh to save himself. It took Josh another year before he finally crawled out of the bottle and started trying to rebuild his life.

Refired begins five years later. Josh has maintained his sobriety, but that’s not enough for Kris. Once a drunk always a drunk, right? They see each other occasionally, still co-owning an art gallery, and while they love each other, love isn’t enough.

When neither of them can move on, Kris decides to force a clean break by selling the gallery. Josh refuses the deal. Each eager to get their way, they agree to take one final art buying trip together.

Will time in each other’s company on a mini-vacation bring them back together or push them forever apart?

THIS BOOK WAS FANTASTIC

This book was fantastic. Seriously, let me count the ways.

1. The plot was engrossing. Josh and Kris’s relationship took center stage, of course, but there was a lot of other stuff going on too. The gallery’s new show. An artist and his life. Kris’s family drama and the drama Josh’s AA sponsor gets pulled into.The world doesn’t stop just because we’re going through a relationship crisis, and this book gets that. Even with all of these other elements, however, the story line never plodded or scattered; everything was beautifully woven together.

2. Josh and Kris wander down memory lane quite a bit, reminiscing about the many good times they had together. This allows the reader to feel both the intensity of their previous connection and how much it hurts them both when that connection is severed.The back-and-forth banter tells us what was, while letting us see what is, without resorting to flashbacks, and it was very well done.

3. One of my favorite aspects of this particular story is that Josh and Kris can’t have a relationship together without growing individually first. It’s so easy to skip that part, but we get to see it here and it’s beautiful.

4. Josh and Kris were fleshed out on their own, but the supporting cast was fun too. We get quirky artists, Zen-like AA sponsors, huggable B&B owners, stern Texas patriarchs, and PUPPIES! What more could we want?

5. The locations hold a lot of the magic in this story, from bustling Austin to the high deserts of Santa Fe, and in a way, the settings shaped the action. As a wanderer myself I’ve felt that and it’s rare to see it in print.The weather, the food, and the cultures were all touchable. One case in point was the totally natural way Kris calls his father “Daddy”. That’s a very Texan thing, and it’s nice to see that Texan quirk show up conversationally. It added realism to a setting already bursting with it.

6. There’s a human element to recovery that is often glossed over in romance, but Tortuga dragged it into clear view. Instead of dwelling on Josh hitting rock bottom, we instead get to see the aftermath, when the recovering addict has to face what they’ve done, and make peace with it.We also get to see how the recovery phase affects other people. We feel for Josh, who lost everything he valued through his own actions and is trying to earn some kind of redemption. We feel for Kris too, though, as he wonders whether he can trust Josh again with his already-damaged heart. There’s a poignancy to this story that’s touching.

7. Maybe because of that back history, and maybe despite it, we can see exactly what drew these very different men together, and why they can’t get over each other. They complement each other wonderfully, in ways both large and small, and it shines through their every interaction.
As wonderful as Refired was, I did have a few quibbles with it. Nothing major, but worth a mention.

FORGIVENESS WAS THE MAJOR THEME

Forgiveness was the major theme of this book. That’s great, except it all seemed to flow one way. Josh hurt Kris, no question, and Kris had to dig deep to forgive Josh for it. Kris was no angel, however, and Josh let him off the hook entirely too easily.

I also thought that the revelation about Kris’s emotional baggage was not explored in enough depth. When something affects you for your entire life, one “a-ha!” moment isn’t going to make it magically all better; yet it seemed to here. That didn’t feel authentic to me.

Like I said, though, these quibbles are minor critiques of an otherwise outstanding book.

ONE OF THE BEST SECOND CHANCE ROMANCES OUT THERE

Refired has everything I look for: a character-driven plot with excellent pacing, a life-like setting, and emotional realism. It’s probably one of the best second chance romances out there and I highly recommend it.

[Ulysses Dietz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Refired
By BA Tortuga
Four stars

Josh McPhee and Kris Cerny broke up years ago over Josh’s drinking. In the face of Josh’s five-year sobriety, made clear at the start of the novel, the reader is surely a little puzzled at Kris’s resistance to what is clearly a deep mutual bond between them. The chief charm of Tortuga’s novel about love and art in the Southwest is the gradual revelation of what’s behind Kris’s inability to let go of his nearly irrational fears.

This story had two things that I love a lot: a redhead, and pottery. I’ve never actually gotten my hands on a redhead, but I handle ceramics professionally all the time, including lots of Pueblo pottery. The metaphoric use of a traditional Pueblo vessel as part of the story really appealed to me as a curator.

The back-and forth structure of this book might be confusing for some folks, but I liked the incremental understanding of these two young men’s stories, their backgrounds, and the history of their relationship. Youthful drinking these days always bothers me, because it’s a widespread behavior that seems very proto-alcoholic to me, and indeed is the crux of the problem between Josh and Kris.

The true issue at the heart of the story is masked by the superficial one: Kris’s wish to sell the gallery that Josh still runs, and Josh’s refusal to accept even a hugely lucrative offer. Both men are hiding behind this distraction rather than trying to figure out where their happiness lies. A road trip to Santa Fe to find a new artist to dazzle the Austin art scene is the catalyst, and Tortuga liberally spices the narrative with appealing, quirky characters, particularly the sprite-like Native artist Cypress, and Kris’s mysteriously unhappy twin sister Kristyna.

There are moments of great emotional punch in “Refired” and while it follows the norms of its genre fairly strictly, it also offers us new ground to explore and new ways to understand the wounded human heart.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this somewhat unusual romance. It is the story of two long term partners whose relationship has broken down. College lovers who have grown apart, Josh and Kris can’t seem to do anything but hurt each other as the adults they have become.

At times sweet and exuberant, this is also an emotionally raw read. Josh is a recovering alcoholic and Kris has become an arrogant stuffed suit. The past they don’t talk about won’t leave them alone. I found the complexity of the men’s relationship uncomfortable but also very truthful.

Josh and Kris spend very little time together as the story progresses. This is a book about personal growth. I loved Josh’s relationship with Cypress, his budding confidence and his development as an artist. It took me longer to love Kris, a more guarded and more secretive character.

The settings are gorgeous. As always, Tortuga celebrates Texas. This time it is the food and culture of hipster Austin that she spills out for readers, but urban Texas might just lose out to Josh and Cypress’ beautiful rural New Mexico landscapes. I love the food and scenery in any Tortuga book and this is no exception.

I really enjoyed the element of surprise in this book. While I was thoroughly engrossed by the story, it wasn’t until midway through the book that I was sure this was a romance and I was sure which characters the romance would build between.

This very honest story of two special men rebuilding themselves after a relationship breakdown makes for a beautifully poignant read.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review for Inked Rainbow Reads.

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

In lieu of writing reviews – I’m taking an extended break – I decided to leave this list showing some of the reasons for the stars I’ve given to the stories I’ve read.

5 Stars – Given to stories that had me falling in love with the characters or stories where I hated the characters but the author had me hooked. For stories that had me so engaged in the plot I couldn’t put the book down and stories that either made me cry buckets and/or laugh until I cried. In short…. these ones rocked my world!!!
4 Stars– Given to stories that I REALLY, REALLY enjoyed reading but had me wishing for just a bit more.
3 Stars – Given to stories that I thought were worth the read but they didn’t knock my socks off.
2 Stars – Given to stories that didn’t work for me. I couldn’t connect to the MCs or feel any sort of connection between them. I couldn’t follow the plot or there wasn’t a plot. Every so often one of these stories just needs work to fix what went wrong but mostly 2 star reads are stories that leave me wondering why I kept reading until the end.
1 Star - I RARELY give out 1 Star so when I do it means the story was a complete train wreck.

I know what I may love another reader may wonder what the hell I was thinking and vise versa but I’m okay with that!

[Sherry Bohrmueller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refried
M/M
5 stars

I received this book from Inked Rainbow Reads in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book, I always enjoy books by B.A. Tortuga. This was a story about Kris and Josh, Josh was an alcoholic and Kris lost family members from alcoholism. So Kris was very hard on Josh, they both loved each other but struggled with trusting. Their journey was the story and it's was very heartbreaking at times.

Kris was a cowboy with a lot of money, but I felt he took out his own issues on Josh. I felt horrible for Josh when Kris sold the art gallery. They were very different but seemed to work well together. If wasn't instant love they worked hard at their relationship.

This was a very good read for me I would definitely recommend this book.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 Stars!

[Amneris Cesare · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the beginning I was like... yawning all the time. A long-term couple love story that was at the end and a bad broke up with mutual recriminations apparently to be told. A journey in which all the goods and bads had to be discovered. I really was not into it. So I kept in reading it just because I had purchased it and did not want to waste the money spent. But then they arrive in Santa Fe. And everything change. The story twists into an incredible up and down of angst and sorrow and hope and tears to be shed. I devoured it up to the end. I obviously am fan of Josh, who's the strongest and the kindest of the two, and I wish I could spank a little that spoiled brat who is Kris, because he's most of the time annoying, but Josh is so in love with him that who am I to judge? If he's the love of his life, well, it's up to him. Nice reading, good psychological analysis, now I want to read the sequel.

[Lois - Who Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little torn while reading this book as I understood that Kris had been hurt by Josh's drinking, but his steadfast refusal to see that Josh was sober and had been for five years was hard to understand. I felt so sorry for Josh because he was trying so hard to show Kris that he had turned his life around and Kris would just not listen.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a story about struggle and about growth, for both of the MCs. For Kris to let go of the past and so to be himself in the present and for Josh to learn to be who/what he wants to be and not what he thinks others want him to be. And I liked that this growth happened outside of their relationship. They each grew as individuals so that they could come back together and build their relationship on more than just their feelings of love. I loved the depth to this story.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me want to visit Santa Fe and learn how to paint! It showed so much love for everything artistic and the southwest and I enjoyed every minute of it. I'm now off to see if Cy or Zack got their own book because I'd love to see how their story turns out as well.

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Josh's drinking destroyed his life with Kris. When Kris wants to sell the gallery, Josh feels it would severe the last link between them. A buying trip to New Mexico has new and old friends creating surprising results.

[MommyCelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read!

I really enjoyed the story and the characters. Tortuga has become one of my favorite authors of mm romance. Enough sexy times for me to feel the couple’s love and connection but not exceedingly so that the storyline is halted. Can’t wait to read Zack’s book next.

[llv · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4 stars

Love this story. I really felt bad for Josh throughout but understood why Kris had such a hard time living with the fact that Josh was a recovering alcoholic. I thought the two of them complemented each other and loved that they got their HEA in the end.

[Guy Klenke · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing read

I have read most of the authors books and this was the best for me. I could feel the tension and love between Josh and Kris, yet was not sure how they would end up. The descriptions of Santa Fe made me feel as if I could see it.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I like this author very much but this book was not a favorite of mine. I just couldn't like the mc Kris and he just kinda put a damper on the book.

[Arzu · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 stars

[Kobie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not like the usual romance, but lovely all the same. 4.5 for me.

I want to read Cy and Lonan`s story, but will settle for Zach's.

[Fedora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four and a half stars

Josh and Kris co-own a gallery. Josh is a recovering alcoholic. Kris’s background doesn’t let him trust in that recovery. They love each other but that isn’t enough.

[Molly Lolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original review on Molly Lolly
Four stars!
This book was so good. I loved Kris and Josh. They were both broken but definitely still in love. Seeing them start to get together again but having it all blow up in their face proving they’re not quite ready for happily ever after. The storytelling is fabulous. I loved getting lost in their journey. It was wonderful getting to see their ups and downs as Josh tried to prove himself and Kris tried to justify himself.
This was one story though that the sex took away a little bit from the story. It wasn’t poorly written or anything like that. In fact, most readers would probably enjoy it. There was just too much of it for my personal taste. I found myself skimming most of the sex scenes because of how many there were in relation to my desire to read them. The sex is definitely done well and some of my favorite ones are in the beginning before the blow up. But if a few scenes were omitted, it would not majorly detract from the story as a whole.
I loved how Ms. Tortuga’s style lends itself to some seriously humorous lines and scenes. Pretty much every chapter had at least one that made me crack up hysterically. I think the funniest for me was the exchange between Kris and Brian. “You gonna die of embarrassment if I say that was pretty profound for the Whataburger?” “The smell of french fries is fucking inspirational.” I was laughing so hard here.
This is the first book in a new series and I cannot wait to read more. Many of the side characters really resonated with me and I hope they get their happily ever afters too. So a story for Cyprus, and a story for Zack and a story for Hal. Please

[CB · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was not exactly what I was expecting - I thought it would be more of a betrayal to overcome than it was. This was much better - still angsty and full of feeling and emotion but neither MC was a "bad" guy. Loved it! On my to-be-read-again list!

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3 stars

The premise of Refired is a tried and true, quasi enemies to lovers trope. It’s got the added twist that these enemies were lovers before they were enemies and the question is: will they make it back to being friends, let alone lovers? The angst is set to 11 and just about every single character brings a load of it to the table at one point or another–the saving grace being that the supporting characters don’t exist solely for the purpose of purveying more angst.

Despite the delectable setup and a setting the author is clearly both enamored and well aware of, the writing is a huge detractor in the book for me. One of the biggest criticisms I have for the book is the lack of distinct voice for even the main characters. It’s one thing for former lovers to adopt similar phrases, it’s quite another for the reader to have to reread passages just to figure out who is speaking on several occasions. When the 80-odd-year-old waitress at a diner sounds indistinguishable from one of your male leads, that’s a flaw in my book. The writing also lacks style. It comes off sounding more like someone giving a verbal from-the-hip retelling of something rather than well thought-out prose. Unless it’s a physical intimacy, in which case things are likely to turn violently purple.

Read Camille’s review in its entirety here.

[Cathy Brockman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Josh admits he is an alcoholic. He has been clean and sober for five years. The gallery is just beginning to come around when Kris walks in telling Josh he is going to sell the building. When Josh asks for a chance to bring in a newly discovered artist and prove he can make the gallery work, Kris agrees. Kris also goes along; The trip brings them closer together, but Josh just when Josh thinks things are looking up for both the gallery and his love life it all comes crashing down around him.
A hot cowboy, a sexy artist, an angsty romance written in BATortuga’s unique style? Win! Win! Win! As usual, BA has outdone herself in unique characters. I loved every single one of them right down to the dogs! The storyline had some angst, a great plot, dealt with a significant social issue and still was quite a humorous as well. I nearly forgot to mention the beautiful settings in New Mexico, the fabulous food, the gallery, the B& B they stay at. Yes, so many cool settings!
I sat on the edge of my seat nibbling my nails to see how this was going to come out. There were quite a few surprises. I can’t wait to see which man or men the next book will be about.

* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *