Tag Archive | No or Low Angst

Planting His Dream by Andrew Grey (4 Stars)

May29

They were each other’s first best friend and first love. Can they overcome life’s obstacles to find happiness together?

Foster has worked hard on the family farm his entire life, but he dreams of finding a different path. Those dreams come to an end after his father passes away suddenly. At first, he feels an obligation to take care of the farm for the benefit of his Mom and Grandmother. But as time goes by, he realizes how much he belongs there. Javi and his family travel from farm to farm working for barely enough to survive. His alcoholic father makes the entire situation worse, forcing Javi to stay with his family to protect his younger siblings. His only real joy comes from working with Foster on the farm, but that only lasts a few weeks before he has to move on to the next place.

Foster and Javi both felt locked into their situations due to family obligations. As time went by, they discovered that they actually enjoyed working on the farm, especially when they did it together. It was nice watching these two sweet people become friends, fall in love, and look for a way to find a future with each other.

The amount of time spent on the ins and outs of farming was a bit much for my tastes, but for the most part it was quite a learning experience. Although I really enjoyed the business side of the farm, it was hard to watch Javi struggle to make ends meet.

A sweet romance about first loves and finding joy in making a living on a farm.

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Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

Red River (Pack #2) by Cardeno C. (5 Stars)

Apr17

Wesley Stone is done waiting to become Alpha for the Purple Sky pack. Although a bit gruff, Wesley cares more about the pack than anything else in his life. If necessary, he’ll force his uncle to battle for the position. The strange scar on his abdomen shouldn’t be enough of a reason for the pack to dismiss him.  Once he finally confronts his uncle, he’s dealt the final blow. He’s being sent away to become the Alpha of the Red River pack. As if that’s not bad enough, he also has to mate with the Jobe Root, the wolf that’s next in line at Red River.

Fortunately, Jobe knows that Wesley is his mate. Jobe is one of the most easy-going people Wesley’s ever met. Jobe must patiently wait until Wesley realizes that they were truly meant for each other. Together, as they connect the pack back to nature, they will make the Red River pack as strong as it’s ever been. Watching these two beautiful characters fall in love and develop a happy, fulfilling life together was very touching.

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Originally reviewed for Swept Away By Romance. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
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Winter Ball by Amy Lane (4 Stars)

Mar17

A lovely winter treat with two friends realizing they were truly meant for each other.

Skip (Christopher) Keith is a nice but very lonely guy who didn’t have a great childhood and now doesn’t have any family. Fortunately, he coaches his recreational soccer league and has a small group of friends because of it. He’s known his best friend, Richie Scoggins, since they went to tech school together. Skip is great at calming Richie down, and Richie makes sure Skip enjoys life. Richie works for his dad’s junkyard, but he doesn’t really have a great life either. His dad’s new wife and step-brothers make life challenging for Richie, but misplaced loyalty to his dad keeps him working there.

One night, Skip and Richie get carried away while in a car and the results completely change their relationship. Now they have to figure out whether this can be permanent or not. Neither had been with another guy before, and coming out to their family and friends could definitely have negative consequences. The majority of the story was built around Skip and Richie getting to know each other better even though they were already really good friends. This included plenty of sex, but also plenty of conversations. There was plenty of drama with Richie’s family and some fun with Skip’s job providing tech support.

It was a sweet story with relatively low angst for this author. I shed a few happy tears when these two recognized their love for each other with some heartfelt comments.

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Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb

Dangerous Territory by Cari Z. (4 Stars)

Mar10

A futuristic western mixed in with shifters makes for an exciting story.

Carter Bly just buried his father, and now he’s on the verge of losing everything he owns due to his sister’s bad choice of a husband. He needs to get his cattle to town and get top dollar before his brother-in-law beats him to it. If he’s not successful, he won’t make enough money to keep his home. He’ll need help to do it, and he gets it from the shifter community. Rani is the son of the new chief of the local shifter tribe. He’s trying to prove that he can eventually lead his tribe by helping Carter in return for some cattle. The two form a tentative friendship until trouble strikes.

The story takes place in the future when the world is filled with shifter communities, and a very unstable relationship exists between most shifters and full humans. Although it wasn’t heavy in the romance department, it was an interesting and unique tale. I really enjoyed the well-written action scenes. At one point, I felt like I was in the canyon with Carter and Rani fighting off snakes and floods. I liked both of the characters, although I wish I would have gotten to know Rani better. Based on how well he took care of Carter when he needed help, we knew he was a caring person. Carter was strong and passionate, and I was rooting for him to be successful.

The conversations between Carter and Rani were pretty adorable. I liked Keena and Gertrude, who worked on the ranch before Carter was born and acted as a second set of parents to Carter. They added a nice element to the story and gave Carter a stronger reason to go through the danger of traveling with his cattle.

A fun adventure with cowboys, shifters, love, and friendship.

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Originally reviewed for The Romance Reviews. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
Book Blurb