Sweet with goats in pyjamas

When you expect grumpy a**holes and find love in unexpected places.

Ripley and Reeds daddy boy story is sweet with cuddly animals and pink Jeeps!!

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Finding Ripley is the first book in the ‘Men of River Gorge’. It stars Ripley Ellis, and rancher Reed Warner. It’s told in first person from both Ripley and Reed’s povs.



The blurb does a good job of describing the plot so I’ll only repeat a little bit. Ripley was told to never come back to Bluebird Ranch once his father found out he was gay. Ripley fled to the city where he’s been living off the income of the ranch. He returns to Bluebird ranch after his father’s death as a stipulation in the will that he remain there for one year in order to claim the half of the ranch that belonged to his dad. There Ripley meets Reed, the ranch foreman. Ripley thinks Reed is a homophobic cowboy like Ripley’s dad and others in the town. Reed thinks Ripley is a spoiled brat. The plot is about how the two men learn about each other and about the Daddy/boy relationship they both want.

I liked the plot it was interesting. I also liked the main characters and the side characters. They were all interesting and I would read the next books for the characters. I did not like the Daddy/boy relationship. There really wasn’t any significant delving into that part of Ripley and Reed’s relationship. To be honest, it felt like the Daddy/boy kink was thrown in because it happens to be the marketable book topic of the moment. All Reed did was call Ripley, ‘boy’ a lot which for me, read as condescending and angry rather than affectionate. Also Reed liked to punish Ripley by spanking him. It didn’t appear that the couple used it for fun, just punishment. And Ripley would often slide into baby talk. I suppose that might be part of being a ‘boy’ but I disliked it. Hinting at a few instances of what could be considered a Daddy/boy relationship does not make it one. It just makes the book a token to the popular topic of what’s currently fashionable to sell. I think this book would have been much better without this lifestyle since there was so little of it. If a writer is going to venture into this kind of relationship, they should do it thoroughly and in more depth.

The author did a good job of changing the relationship between Ripley and Reed until they were together. Ripley was adrift with no purpose and once back on the ranch he started to form one with Reed’s help. I wasn’t convinced about Reed’s need to be a Daddy just because he liked to have control of what happened on the ranch and in life. Part of being a Daddy is caring for the boy/little and I didn’t get that from Reed. He was more about ordering, being obeyed and not enough caring and looking after. That’s why I feel I can’t believe in them as a Daddy/boy dynamic but I could if they were trying to make the ranch and their relationship work without it.

Grammar wise, there were a lot of missing words in the story, enough so that it stood out. I don’t know who the proofer was for this book, but they missed a lot of words. Not only that but there’s what appears to be an inconsistency that doesn’t make sense or needs clarification. I’ll put it behind a spoiler. Reed goes to the coffee shop looking for Ripley because Ripley hasn’t left a note about where he’s going and he’s forgotten his cellphone. One rule is that Reed must know where Ripley is at all times, which I think is rather creepy controlling. Anyway, it appears that Reed drives to the coffee shop. I’m guessing he parks out front or nearby. Next Ripley arrives at the coffee shop looking for his phone and for the scene to work as the author intended, Ripley is surprised to see Reed there. This is a small town, are you telling me that Ripley doesn’t notice Reed’s truck at the shop? I find that unbelievable. The only way would be if Reed walked into town or if he parked in the back of the shop where customers couldn’t see the truck or horse. Neither of this is mentioned in the story which is why this inconsistency popped out. The proofer and editor clearly missed this, because it yanked me out of the story immediately.

I liked the plot of Finding Ripley and its characters. I didn’t like the Daddy/boy dynamic because it seemed more like a marketing ploy. If it was really part of Ripley and Reed’s relationship it should’ve gone into more depth since it was so important to both of them. The missing words stood out and I hope they get fixed in a following edition. I give this book, 3 Stars.




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