Latigo

Latigo #1

by B.A. Tortuga

Being a hard-core rodeo cowboy means getting by with little money and less of a future. But for two hardscrabble rodeo riders, that might change…. Dean’s been around the rodeo circuit long enough to know when a new kid is down on his luck. Giving young Will a ride to the next event is just the neighborly thing to do, passing on some of the kindness strangers have shown him over the years. Who’d expect Will to be such good company? So good in fact, that Dean figures he might just keep Will around—especially since Will feels the same. Traveling from rodeo to rodeo, enjoying all the fringe benefits they can, is a dream come true for Dean and Will. Troubles with Dean’s family and Will’s stubborn pride separate them for a while, but they always come back together when the chips are down. These two cowboys are a match made in heaven—now they just need to convince everyone else to let them live the life they love and find their future together. This is a previously published title. The publisher has changed.

Genres: M M Romance, Westerns, Contemporary, Erotica, Romance, Friends To Lovers

206 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 15, 2005

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

[llv · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 2 stars
Every so often BA Tortuga will write a book that has little substance and is just an excuse for one sex scene after another. This is one of those books. Everything and I mean everything was just another excuse to have a sex scene. Some good happen: Sex. Something tragic happens: Sex. You never really get vested in anything that happens because nothing is ever developed enough for you to care. There were a couple of really sad events that happen in this story and I really wanted to feel something but couldn’t because it was just another set up for the sex scene that occurred afterward.

Don’t even get me started on the bonus story. What a waste of time. We get a small snippet into Dean and Will’s life and yes you guessed it another sex scene. I really should have DNF’d this book but instead I skimmed most of it and hoped that the story would get better as it went along. Sadly, I was disappointed. My recommendation is don’t waste your time on this. It’s not worth the money.

[Jo * Smut-Dickted * · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much sex. Not enough rodeo. I don't want to be told - I want to be shown and, though I liked both characters and felt they were good together the relentless sex wore me down and plumb tuckered me out.

[Cathy Brockman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I jump every time BA Tortuga has a new release especially cowboys. I know this is one of her older books rereleased that had missed. I was both happy and disappointed in the book.
I loved both Dean and Will. enough to add them to a favorite character list for the year. I enjoyed their camping while on the road and how they were living. This sounds so very cowboy. I liked how it started out they formed a great friendship then became friends to lovers and I LOVE May/December. I do wish I knew the age difference but as long as it was May/December I was a happy camper. The characters were awesome, the settings awesome.
I guess my biggest issue was there were so much sex scenes once they started the book felt like erotica. I caught myself skimming through to the story. Another thing was there were no rodeo events. They were off page and flash to the aches and pains.
Now having said that There were scenes I loved like the one that ignited the fire between them and there was dancing.. sweet and in private not some club or bar. For some reason this just made me swoon!

We also got Bits of Leather as a bonus so we got more Will and Dean which I was glad to get.
If you like rough and tumble rodeo cowboys, May/December, friends to lovers, and very ot erotica you will love this book.

[Altivo Overo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cowboy stuff. Rodeo cowboys, hard to understand obsession stuff. Someone recommended this to me years ago, and it has been sitting unread until now. It's a good love story, if a bit hard to believe. And if you can dig through the incessant and sometimes superficial erotica to get to the core of the story. Cowboy meets cowboy. They hit it off, despite an unspecified age difference (maybe ten years? no more than fifteen I think...) and stay on the rodeo circuit together until Dean (the elder of the pair) is forced to stay home to take care of his aging father while Will continues riding broncs and roping or whatever he does (not well specified, just hinted at.) Separation, loneliness, loss, emptiness, broken up by occasional visits home by Will. Yes there is a resolution, and it's happy enough.

Warning to those who might expect details of exciting rodeo action: there aren't any. The scene always skips to afterward, when our boys nurse their sprains and bruises and lament what almost might have been. Sounds like real rodeo to me. ;p

Anyway, I'll admit I didn't mind the mushy stuff and the "man to man" talk, but I also admit I skipped a lot of pages of erotic scenery that felt incredibly redundant and unnecessary. I'd have preferred more about each man's thoughts and feelings when they were apart, and less who did what to whom. But that's probably just me.

If you're looking for a shoot-'em-up western, or a rodeo adventure, this one isn't it. If you want a real romance between two flashy rodeo stars, this one isn't that either. But if you fancy two ordinary men who happen to be from Texas and happen to fall in love at a rodeo, you might enjoy it. B.A. Tortuga knows her subject matter and her setting well. Her writing is polished, but her camera lens isn't always pointed where I'd like it to be.

[Elizabeth H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two of the most likable characters I've read in the past few years, but they are not served well by the story-line, which is almost entirely one sex scene after another. And I always prefer plot over sex.

Nevertheless, I got to thinking of Dean and Will the other day, and pulled this novel out to re-read it. I skimmed over the sex scenes after the first few, which means I skimmed 70% of the book until the plot progresses to the situation with Dean's father.

I'm going to try the tiny sequel to this novel, Bits of Leather, I think it's called, and see if it satisfies my craving for more of these two cowboys.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy to read and review for Wicked Reads

I can't believe I am going to say this but.....this book has too much sex. I hardly ever say that because I hate books withOUT sex but this one just has too much. I found myself skipping the sexy parts which very rarely happens with me. I wanted more Dean and Will. I didn't feel like I connected with them except when they were having sex. A little more story and less sex would have made this a 4 or 5 star for me.

[Laks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much sex!!!

2.5 stars

This story had a good premise, good Mcs and a good storyline. But it was all ruined for me by the nonstop sex. Every chapter began with continuing storyline, then a sex scene. Every single chapter and even the epilogue was not spared. I started skipping those by around 40 % and skimmed through the story. Wish Dean and Will had better exposure other than just sex.
Loved the beautiful cover !

[Juxian · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was beautifully written, and both MCs are extremely likeable and what happens between them is touching and heart warming. But... after a while I couldn't help but skip the sex scenes in the search of some plot. I do think I would love it a lot more if the book was more balanced - like, fewer sex scenes for the same amount of plot.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing but sex.

[Sarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* Review written for Love Bytes Reviews.

Review written for Love Bytes Reviews.

I love a good second chance book and having one crop up in a series I already enjoy was just a bonus. :D Robin and Stack were together for three years before building tension forced Robin to confront his Master on the state of their relationship. More than a little dismissive, Stack wasn’t really listening to the problems Robin was attempting to address so, feeling as though he had no other choice, Robin left. Eight months later, months where both men attempted to move on with little success, Robin and Stack run into each other (literally) and it quickly becomes apparent that the spark and attraction that existed between them was still as strong as ever. Deciding to give things between them another chance isn’t as easy as taking that first step together but after nearly a year of separation, both men are more than willing to try.

I liked this a lot; aside from the usual amounts of kinky sex that I’ve come to expect from this author, I enjoyed the rebuilding of the relationship between the two main characters. In the time they spent apart, there were both good and bad things taking place; Robin proved to himself that he can make it on his own if he has to while Stack came to realize just what he had in Robin but subsequently lost due to his inattention and extreme focus on his job. While there remain some communication issues and general insecurities to get over, over the course of the story you do get to see signs that both men are making an effort to fix what went wrong in the past so that they can have a nice solid future. Stack listens more and actually makes an effort to pay attention to Robin and his needs rather than just giving like 90% of himself to his job and the animals he cares for. Robin communicates more and has become a bit more understanding that some things with Stack’s job just can’t be avoided but that it doesn’t have to ruin the time they spend together.

Overall I enjoyed the story and I think a lot of good progress was made on this second chance between Robin and Stack; I do really wish there had been some kind of epilogue or something given after that last scene of the book but with the series far from over I’m sure I’ll see how these two are doing eventually. If you’ve enjoyed the previous books of the series I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one but, even if you haven’t read the previous novels, this could easily be read as a standalone. Just make sure you’re in the mood for a good dose of kink before you dive in!

[Lena Grey · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Well let me broaden your horizons, teach you 'bout the finer things in life, like some late night horseback ridin'Sippin' on some southern homemade wine. If a little two steppin', star gazin', breathtakin', lovemakin' is what your dreamin' of, then let me show you darlin', a little cowboy love...” ~ John Michael Montgomery (Cowboy Love)

When Dean, of 'Latigo' by B.A. Tortuga, gives another rodeo man, Will, a ride, he doesn't foresee having more than a few day's company. But along the way, the two men realize how lonely they are and how much they enjoy being together.

As they travel together, Dean and Will fight their sexual attraction, but neither assumes anything of the other. They are both considerate and respectful, taking it slow and easy. They genuinely like each other and don't want to do anything that will upset the other. The longer they are together, the more obvious it becomes that they think they are not going to be able to become physical, but when they do, it is spectacular. From then on, getting together is almost all they think of and they have sex as often as they can; soon they are declaring their love to each other.

When they go to visit Will's family, they like Dean, he's a great guy, but they also tell Will that Dean is too old for him, that he is at the end of his rodeo career where Will is just beginning. This makes Will furious. He tells them that they don't know Dean, that he'd never make Will quit the rodeo, something Dean knows Will loves so much. This is true enough, but when they visit Dean's father, they see how sick and neglected he is. Dean's brother wants to put him in a nursing home, but Dean will have no part of it. Dean is torn between wanting to be with Will and fulfilling his obligation to care for his father and keep the land that's been in his family for generations. Sadly, Dean decides to stay and Will continues the rodeo circuit. How long can their love last with them being separated is the question.

I love the way Dean and Will interact with kindness and respect. Nothing is ever forced between them. They are certainly horny rascals, going at it like bunnies at every opportunity, but even when things get physical, their love matches their desire. The “cowboy talk” added a lot to the story – and there was a lot of it. Since they were rodeo cowboys, I was hoping to see more rodeo excitement while they were performing, but they just talked about their “war injuries” instead. Their care of each other concerning those injuries is very endearing. Thanks, BA, for showing me how it's done “Rodeo Cowboy style”.

NOTE: The second edition of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

[Emilie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Friends may have noticed that this was on my currently reading list for a year or two and then I put it back to "want to read" for another year or two. I liked the way it started and the protagonists seemed like nice men. Then it was sex scene after sex scene. It's practically blasphemous for me to say so, but sometimes I want plot. I read the last couple of her Dreamspinner books, which had plot, and decided that I could read Latigo after all. Also I saw another review that said there was plot in the latter part of Latigo. So after several years of owning the book, I finished it. Recommended if you enjoy likable characters and are good with little plot.

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time)]

Price drop to $0.99 at Amazon US, 9/14/14
http://www.amazon.com/Latigo-BA-Tortu...

[Erotic Horizon]

Latigo by BA Tortuga (2008)