A Courageous Ride By Andrew Grey

            

 

It is said that music inspires feelings. I think in this case Marshall’s feelings for the ranch and Indigo inspires the music.  Trying to find his own way in the world without his family’s money and their ideas for his career, Marshall runs himself exhausted going from interview to interview to find a place to call home being an orchestra conductor. He conducts other’s works not really hearing the music that is within him. That is until he gets the peace and quiet of the dude ranch he has taken is vacation on. With the exhaustion gone and the quiet of the outdoors in the country, with the added bonus of one hot cowboy, Marshall starts to hear his own music  that needs to be performed.

Indigo has troubles of his own. He feels like a broken, washed up ex bullrider. Like the books says though, “Once a Marine, always a Marine. Once a bullrider, always a bullrider. It’s what is in the heart. To make sure  he gets to keep his ranch for himself and others that depend on it as being home, he turns it into a Dude Ranch after his parents pass away and he can no longer compete in the Rodeo. Keeping to himself and doing what has to be done day to day is what he does. Until Marshall comes to the ranch for a vacation and turns the bullrider’s world upside down.

I absolutely loved these characters, not just the main characters but the supporting ones as well. As with most of Andrew Grey’s books, it’s always wonderful to see past characters littering the background. The secondary characters in this story do not really feel secondary. Everyone has time in the forefront. The only thing I would have liked to have seen that wasn’t there is more interaction between Indigo and his brother. Overall this is a fantastic book, a great read.

I give this 4.5 Blue Roses

Love Comes Home by Andrew Grey

I have enjoyed the Senses series as I do with all of Andrew Grey’s books. I have to say , this one is my favorite. That’s saying a lot because I really love Patrick.

It takes a special person to want to be with another even though they already have a child and not just any child. Tom knows that Greg and his son are a packaged deal and he still wants in the game.

Greg’s life in centered around his Davey.  He wants his son to be happy and healthy and he spends most of his free time that he isn’t working, making that happen.

Tom and Greg meet at a party thrown by mutual friends that the reader met in the past Senses books. They start talking about Greg’s son and his eyesight and how much he liked to play baseball. Tom is determined to be a part of Greg’s life and he wants to help his son. So he does research on how to bring the gift of playing ball back to Greg’s son, enter Beep Ball. That’s not an accurate way the story goes chronologically but it happens.

There may be two men being brought together in this book,  but the true love story in this book is the one  about the love a father has for his son and the love a man has for another man’s child as he brings back the joy of baseball to a child who has lost is vision.

I really loved these characters, they are believable. Even Greg’s ex-wife is well written. She has to be, because I wanted to kill her. J

I give this story 5 blue roses

ScrewUps by Jamie Fessenden

Title: Screwups

Author: Jamie Fessenden

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press LLC

Release Date: March 7, 2014

 

Blurb:

1996, Jake Stewart is starting his third year at the University of New Hampshire. Even as a successful business major, he is absolutely miserable. Not only is Jake pursuing a field he hates when he’d rather study art, he is utterly terrified of what will happen if his father finds out he’s gay. When he finally gets up the courage to move into the creative arts dorm on campus, his new roommate, Danny, is openly gay—and there’s no denying the attraction between them.

Danny Sullivan has been out since high school, and he appears comfortable with his sexuality. But something happened in Danny’s past—something that gives him nightmares he refuses to talk about. Unknown to Jake, the way he mistreated his friend, Tom Langois, when Tom came out to him in high school, is mild compared to the way someone very much like Jake treated Danny.

It may be too late to fix the mess Jake made with Tom, but if Jake wants to be with Danny, he’s going to have to fix the mess made by another closeted jock he’s never even met.

Review:

This story is not the light-hearted story that the cover and title make it out to be. Don’t get me wrong, there are hilarious parts that will have you laughing. As with any great story, this made me laugh, cry and get very angry.

Jake may be studying business but that is not where his heart lies. He suffers under the pressure of having to do what his father expects of him. Growing up with a father who thinks art is a waste of time and two older twin brothers who would rather pin him to the ground with a wrestling move than hug him, Jake is stuck. Until he decides to take an art class and takes measures to move into the artist dorm. This is not easy for the jock looking student. It’s a case of judging a book by its cover, but things are not always what they seem. With the exception of how he treated his old friend Tom, Jake’s not a bad guy. Right?  When he moves in, his life is never the same. Not after he meets Danny, that is.

Danny is scarred from his past, bullied by jocks and everyone else in high school after he comes out. A painful event happened to him that gives him nightmares to this day that he will not talk about. Danny has an inner strength in him considering his past or it may be because of it. Danny is out and proud and on the outside he looks like he could handle anything. On the inside he’s always waiting for something sinister to happen.  He likes Jake from the start even getting past his outward appearance of being just like the others in his past. There is just something different about him.

This book is well written and pings the geek spectrum. Well, there is Dungeons & Dragons with costumes. What more could you want? Round that out with a terrific group of friends who have your back and you have a well rounded book.

Trust me, you’ll want to read this.

I give this book 5 Blue Roses.