Joining them at the gay rodeo are their friends Dolly and Alex. Wanting the same happiness for their friends, the two women try to convince Trey that Smoke is just as interested in him. While Trey works to help Dolly succeed in covering her first bull, another man tries to come between him and Smoke. When Smoke challenges Trey to cowboy up, he has to decide if the ride is worth the risk.
Guest Reviewer: Fantasy Living
Smoking hot bull riders at the Gay Rodeo Association championships show us how they ride each other *waggles eyebrows*.
Trey is a seasoned bull rider and ‘old’ by bull riding standards. He is still at it so he can save money to finally buy his own ranch and live his life without family judgement of his choice in bedmates. Not really out of the closet, he looks forward to his trysts with Smoke Carter, an enigmatic, show stealing bull rider who has no problems being out.
I’m being generous with my rating this time for the simple fact that this story was pure entertainment. The bull riding was pretty detailed, and I was transported to this fictional LGBTQ Rodeo competition with all the sights and sounds and happiness. I felt like I was on the bull with Trey, and Catt Ford managed to show me, in great detail, how to ride. Since I’ve only ever seen a bull in the Showgrounds of what we call the Ekka (search engine that baby and see what I’m talking about), and it was just standing there staring at me like a docile puppy, this really revved me up. I’ve seen “8 Seconds”, I’m not totally oblivious to what men can do on a bull, but it was great to have this intimate reading experience.
Coupled with the chemistry between Trey and Smoke, and it was combustible. I’m pretty sure I was in a state of flaming panties the entire time, from the excitement of the bull riding, and the excitement in the bedroom between these two Top’s trying to battle it out to tame each other.
Where the story didn’t gel for me, was Trey. I didn’t get him. I didn’t understand his fear. He’s in his thirties and had one kinda-boyfriend of a few months in high school who took off after a busted BJ, never to return, and now he’s traumatised for life? No, that doesn’t work for me. By 30, unless you’re still with your high school sweetheart (kudo’s to those couples) you chalk up a failed high school relationship to being young, stupid, and hormonal. If that is his reason, it’s stupid, and I would consider him still in high school, or maybe first year of college. I don’t know anyone who carries that kind of scar past 25, if past graduation. Weak plot point.. shouldn’t have even been mentioned.
There were some other (weak) reasons mentioned, but they were equally stupid. So yeah, Trey failed to deliver a complexity and wisdom I would expect for someone my age. Very disappointing when he was a pretty decent bloke once he loosened up. The overall character development missed the mark because we spent so much time inside Trey’s fearful, brooding, mind.
His love interest, Smoke…. well I think he was aptly named. Fuckhawt, with a personality that outshines everyone, except Dolly. She’s all kinds of awesome. I could see the appeal, and why Trey looked forward to spending time with Smoke. Although we didn’t really get to know Smoke, there was enough of his personality through actions for him to be likable.
There was an attempt to include some understated bigotry that black bull riders may encounter in a sport that is mostly for white men (this is my assumption because I really know fuck all about this sport) but it fell a little flat, and I wasn’t sure what the point was. If it was to highlight that Trey and Smoke would deal with this all the time, then it was weak, and didn’t show the actual reality of racism in an area where it would be more polarized. More time spent on researching that particular angle would have given the story a little more depth, if it was an absolute must to bring it up (and I believe it probably was, given the racial climate in western society in general).
The ending was pretty abrupt, sort of mashed together, and not really something I would expect from cautious Trey but we can’t have it all…. or even most of it.
Other than those blunders, this really was an entertaining read. Lots of fun reading about something that looks and sounds exciting, but will more than likely not be something I go and see in real life. The descriptions made it easy to see myself sitting among the other spectators, enjoying an exhilarating show of powerful men and women doing whatever it is they do at a Rodeo. I especially enjoyed the little glossary at the end of the book, even though it was explained well enough in the story for my city-living ignorance to follow.
Dreamspinner Press
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