Xondra Day

Reviewed on Hearts On Fire... http://heartsonfirereviews.com/

Set in 1933 when male/male relationships had to be kept secret, Calvin leaves his father's ranch and heads off to college. Calvin runs a foul a teacher and decides to go back home. He has had his eye on Josh, a farmhand, who's also had his eyes set on the boss's son. This short story lacked the usual depth of Ms Day's other books perhaps because it was a free read. There was no real character development and the HFN ending was just bland. The story read like a teaser for a longer book in my opinion.… (mehr)

Set in 1886, in a world that feels foreign to most of us today, the story of Jay and Will does a good job of capturing the setting of a small-town community and the people who make a living there. The ranch is probably the part that has changed the least (cattle still needs to be managed, fences repaired), but everything else was very different. I liked reading about the way it could have been, since a lot of what the two got up to and the way they thought about themselves and male/male relationships felt a lot more ‘modern’ than what I’d thought possible almost 150 years ago.

Jay has been kicked out off his father’s house when he got caught with his best friend. He is understandable hesitant about losing his current home at Buckshot ranch, and is very careful. The few encounters he has with Mark before he meets Will already seemed very risky to me. Jay wants companionship and love, but knows he cannot get it under the watchful eyes of the current ranch owner.

Will is fed up with living in the ‘big city’, and he has an ex-lover who betrayed him by getting married so he can be part of ‘polite society’. He feels betrayed and is happy to find the more straightforward Jay. He, too, is understandable hesitant and there is a bit of back and forth before they come to an agreement. Of course, that’s when the dreaded ex manages to make an appearance.

If you like historical settings, stories that are more about making a physical relationship work than any grand political schemes, this simple story, set in a much simpler time, may be for you.




NOTE: This book was provided by Total-E-Bound for the purpose of a review on QMO Books.… (mehr)