A visit to a bar after the event gets Martin closer to the action than he ever thought possible, and he meets Jesse Cumberland, the man who caught his eye in the ring and made his rhinestones sparkle. Instant attraction leads to a one-night stand that gets under Martin’s insouciant skin and causes him to rethink his determination not to get involved emotionally. When Jesse invites Martin to his ranch, the visit is almost derailed by Martin’s realization that they lead very different lives. As a flaming city queer, he sees no way to fit with the solid, athletic Jesse. It’s up to Jesse to see if he can change Martin’s mind.
Listening Length: 2 hrs 11 mins
Narrator: Cory Lord
I actually really enjoy this trope, the effeminate man matched with the typically masculine one. This was something that the novel did very well, however I just had too many issues with other aspects of it to be able to give this a better rating.
Marti is a bonafide city-slicker twink who enjoys his glamour and make-up. He and his friends attend a rodeo to check out all the cowboy ass, and this is where Marti meets Jesse. Jesse is a bull-rider who is gay and proud of it, but doesn’t advertise it amongst his work colleagues for fear of being judged unfairly when competing. Marti and Jesse hook-up a couple of times and develop some deeper feelings for each other.
Let’s start with the story. I really enjoyed the beginning, where Marti and Jesse meet, and their interactions. It was funny and light, and I enjoyed how they both felt an attraction and went with it, no fighting it or each other. Unfortunately that’s where the good points end. While there was a lot of sex, it was all fade to black, other than their first time together. There is nothing more annoying than that!
Then there was the ending, which really wasn’t an ending at all. Yes there were very tentative declarations of love, but I’m still not sure how these two would make it work, and I don’t think they knew either.
The narration wasn’t bad, but my goodness I could never keep track of who was who when Marti and his friends were talking. At times Jesse was even hard to distinguish from Marti. I enjoyed this story mostly because it was only two hours long, but I wouldn’t have been able listen to either Marti’s voice or this story if it was any longer.
The effeminate/masculine trope was done well and many people will enjoy this story, but I personally had too many annoying issues with it to be able to recommend it.
Dreamspinner Press
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