BA TortugaCritiques

3.5 Yee Haw Stars!

This story right here probably best represents what the Dreamspun Desires series is all about, with a surefire, enjoyable experience regarding all things cowboy!

As per the blurb, Bradley has been secretly in love with his best friend Hoss for forever, feeling a not so small shame for having reacted badly when Hoss first came out. At that time, he just couldn’t reconcile his own confusing feelings and pushed Hoss away. However, these two eventually made up and have been close ever since. Hoss in turn, secretly loves Bradley back but keeps their friendship on the level, believing Bradley’s straight and unobtainable.

So how do Bradley and Hoss get over themselves and confess their lurve?? Well, fortuitous happenstance drops a baby onto Hoss’s doorstep, which is the perfect, needed impetus to bring these two together. What starts out as ranch-hand-Bradley helping rodeo-lovin-Hoss keep his head above water (while they try to find the sweet girl’s mama) evolves into them meshing their lives more than ever. What a fantastic boon to realize how well they fit in all things work, play, and domesticity. Of course, it’s only a matter of time before the baby’s charm starts to work on both men, leading them to want things they never imagined and reveal desires believed to remain forever buried.

There’s just a teeny tiny wrench - actually a big misunderstanding - and their happily ever after is a bit delayed. Never fear though. Through it all, the OTT country twang to this was just so fun, silly, and heartwarming, making the aforementioned snafu easily forgivable.

Narrated by Dorian Bane, this was my second foray into him doing a Dreamspun Desires story. Though I’m still not completely sold on Bane specifically, the strong southern touch he brings to the various characters really added to the entertainment value of this little gem. Overall, quite low on the steam but high on the good feels, this was definitely a win for the series!

Thanks to the author/publisher for the audio in exchange for a honest review

It's almost Thanksgiving and Christmas is just around the corner. We find Sky and Bret anxiously awaiting the birth of their baby with a surrogate in January. The nursery is almost done, or it will be as soon as they can come up with something better than the putrid mint green that the paint store assured them would be beautiful. Brent then receives a call that no one ever wants to receive at any time, no matter what season it may be. His best friend, Conner has been killed in an automobile accident, and because Bret agreed to be listed as the children's guardian in case of Conner's death, which he thought would just be "a good friend" jester, they are now the guardians of two children, a 3-year-old girl and an almost 2-year-old boy. In a heartbeat they've gone from 1 baby to 1 baby and 2 more children under 4 years of age. Sky is a Rodeo Cowboy and Bret is a Lawyer so it seems that chaos is what they eat for breakfast, so it was not a big surprise that they took this better than would have been expected and just set about remodeling their house and their lives to welcome and love all of their new little additions. This story will warm your soul and your heart as we watch our men talk, make decisions, and still have their sexy times. Thanksgiving and Christmas are going to be special...they're going to make sure of it. The remodeling is underway and almost done thanks to a bunch of friends...what more can they ask for. Sky and Beck have many things to adjust to and learn but they love one another and their little surprise family so together they manage to pull it off. Both men are fantastic as instant parents. Jodi And BA have done it again!

After serving in the Navy SEALs, Luke Blanchard has come home to Texas a wounded warrior, and is staying on the ranch with his twin brother, Matt. Matt’s worried about Luke. Luke was always the more happy, fun-loving brother, while Matt was the more serious one...but now, Luke struggles and depends on a wheelchair and sometimes crutches. He finds comfort and hope for recovery in working on the ranch with the horses. A neighbor, Rory McConnell, is a smart lawyer who is "out and proud". Rory has been buying up land and ranches all around his area. He has a purpose and a secret he would prefer never to come out, for doing this. He’s trying to keep the land out of the clutches of a shifty developer....one that knows his secret because he was the instigator. He of course, approaches Matt about selling, but Matt has already refused several times, and things are now getting heated. Luke learns that Matt is behind with their mortgage payments, so to help his twin he buys into the ranch hoping to keep Rory from coming around and asking again. Luke and Rory run into each other a few times afterwards, and he constantly flirts with Luke. Things quickly go downhill after this. Luke is getting stronger every day and has a dream to create a special place on the ranch land for wounded warriors to work with the horses, so Rory sells/almost gives him a piece of land for the venture as well as helping him with the paperwork. The attraction that they have felt for one another almost from the time that Luke returns home blooms and grows stronger and stronger with every day they spend together. The pesky developer won't give up, and his pursuit of Rory and the incidents become more and more dangerous...but the straw that almost broke the camel's back was when a video of the "secret" incident that happen when Rory was a 19-year-old kid suddenly appears on the cell phones of every friend and family member and all the papers and TV stations are notified. Rory is ashamed and goes on the run... and Luke goes after him letting him know that he has love and support from everyone. I have always liked this author. I've read several of her books that was written with Jodi Payne that always include rodeo cowboys, but this is the first that I have read that she wrote alone and entirely about cowboys. This series has started out great with this one and seems to have a great deal of potential. I'm looking forward to more Matt and Luke and their friends.

I’ll admit that anything that BA Tortuga & her writing partner, Jodi Payne put their names on are 100% Okay with me right from the start...no questions asked. BA sure does love her cowboys, and while I'll also admit I usually am not a fan of cowboy or western stories, BA has made me a fan of her sweet rodeo men. Curtis and Stetson are her two cowboys in this one and, Yep...I was in love after the first chapter. Stetson only knows how to love one way…hard and without end. He has never stopped loving Curtis, but he knew that the man’s heart and his need to be free and on the rodeo circuit, would never let them be together. But as soon as he heard Stetson’s voice on the phone, Curtis knew he’d do whatever it took, whatever he wanted in order to help him, even if it meant breaking his own heart again. Love was never the issue between them, but figuring out how to communicate sure was. That caused them more problems than they could count on both hands. My heart literally ached for Stetson. While Curtis was on the circuit, Stetson remained at home because he loved the land and knew that it was where he belonged. He worked hard to keep things going and gave up everything, including the only man he'd ever love...Curtis. Curtis used to feel like being tied to one place was like being trapped, but life without Stetson has him rethinking the way he has lived his life. Their love for each other almost bleeds out of them and I became beyond frustrated when the communications kept breaking down and they ended up at odds...again. I just wanted to shake them both. Fortunately for them and me and the book...I didn't have to. Ms. Tortuga got them sorted out just fine. The acceptance that both men found made me smile at last, and I was so glad that homophobia from the people was never one of the issues they ever had to deal with. You will cheer for these two men and be swept up in their story and occasionally even shed a few tears. Stetson had a unique kind of bravery he showed as he was taking care of his dying mother and of Curtis as well. Thank you, Ms. Tortuga, for another wonderful, warm story where the characters actually talked things out and didn’t rely solely on sex to fix everything. What sex there was, was beautiful by the way:) I love this author's work and I’ve never been let down by her or Jodi Payne.

I love these two authors and I believe I own almost everything they have written...but this one is NOT an easy read by any stretch of the imagination and there was a BIG part of the plotline that I just couldn't wrap my head around. When the story starts, we are actually dropped into the middle with very little back history and no clear road leading to the future. These two men, the bull riding rodeo cowboy, and the family lawyer, are a married couple. Our lawyer, Beckett Adler, and rodeo bull rider, Skyler Paulson reunite after Beck receives a phone call that no one ever wants to get...Sky was in the hospital in Maryland after being trampled by a bull and they didn't know if he was going to recover. Here's where I had BIG trouble with the plotline. It had been FOUR YEARS since they had seen or spoken to one another... Really??? FOUR YEARS??? We have no explanation or any back history of the WHY of this. They're still married... they still love one another...Beck never hesitated or thought twice about getting himself to Maryland to be with Sky but for there never to have been any communion at all...not one single solitary time...not even a phone call... for FOUR LONG years, just didn't hit any "right" or "possible" buttons for me. I needed an explanation. This is where the story actually picks up and begins when Beck re-enters his husband’s life after the phone call informing him that he needs to get to the hospital if he wants to see Sky before he DIES!! To say that Sky was a "broken" man would have been an understatement. These two guys now take up as if they had seen and spoke only yesterday, for which I was very happy to see...as Sky struggles to regain his physical health. There is all the passion that obviously brought these two men together to start with. Beyond the physical attraction, I still struggled to see the underlying connection between these two. How does a family lawyer and a bull rider even revolve in the same orbit? The singular purpose of the story appeared to be the reunion between Beck and Sky. In spite of still being a bit in the dark, I did really like these characters. The writing is as always exceptional... but the plot line just leaves me with a lot to be desired. Again, I ask...how can two people as deeply in love as these two were and still are, not speak to each other for four years? That is the main problem I find with this story. Granted there are suggestions of possible issues, such as the confusion over Parker, Sky’s traveling companion...but Parker didn't really come across to me to be very much of a real problem. Talk about poor communication...these two takes the blue ribbon...first place...and neither really sees clearly what the issue is with Parker...but the reader will see it right away. This is a truly a second chance-romance story, and I really appreciate that the authors didn't make us wait forever for all the good and right things to happen, but I was just left scratching my head about what happened those four-years ago. Again, the writing is, as always great...but it's just the plot line that was really off for me.½

Cheyenne left Evie to return to the rodeo circuit. She comes back after being injured. Evie takes her in but only as a friend. Evie rehabs injured and abandoned horses on her ranch. She thinks she'll be able to help both Cheyenne and a rehomed horse, Gus. Cheyenne is starting to stand on her own two feet away from her mother. She also begins to make baked goods for local businesses as well as for Evie's glamping business. As Cheyenne begins to heal, she takes greater interest in Evie and Evie's business and decides to invest in it as well as other local businesses. Then her mother arrives. Will Cheyenne stay with Evie? Will she go back to Texas with her mother and back to the rodeo?

I enjoyed this book. I liked the ranch side and learning about changes ranches have to make to stay afloat. Evie is a go-getter and is always looking for ways to increase the ranch's profits. Cheyenne has made money as a barrel racer and wants to make life easier for Evie, so she invests her money in the ranch. I liked watching Cheyenne work with Gus and put both their fears to the side. I liked watching Cheyenne stand up for herself and make choices rather than have choices made for her.

I enjoy B. A. Tortuga's writing. This is her first wlw book that I have read. I will be reading more.

An interesting short about how some individuals deal with disabilities.

What we know of America and the world lay in ruins due to devastating earthquakes. Twin modern day cowboys, Emmett and Ezrah, are trying to get their cattle to market any way they can. Emmett is shot on the trail leaving Ezrah hopeless until a letter brings boyhood friend Jesse to give a hand. Jesse is what is called a Grounder which is essentially a person that can connect right into the internet. A good friend of the remaining Native Americans, Jesse scares the cowboys. When Jesse is badly injured in another earthquake, Ezrah takes him to a Native American healer. There were a few places where the timing on the story got a bit shaky. I enjoyed the mysticism and the way that Jesse was healed. The ending was a surprise but it fell right into place with the mysteries of the Pueblos. All said, this was a very enjoyable quick read.

Just not up to par.

Evan is one of the "nice guy" cops. He visits patients in the hospital often sitting with the family giving what comfort he can. This time he hits a home run with Russ Parker who has been sitting wit his comatose brother. A very short, sweet story.

Disappointing which is unlike B. A. Tortuga. Great sex scenes but shallow, undeveloped characters.

3,5 stars

Definitely it leaves you wanting more, an epilogue if not a sequel.

2.5 stars

Read as part of [b:A Bunch of Roughstock|21998370|A Bunch of Roughstock|B.A. Tortuga|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|41305093] Anthology.

Read as part of [b:A Bunch of Roughstock|21998370|A Bunch of Roughstock|B.A. Tortuga|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|41305093] Anthology.

Starting the Roux - 4 stars
Read as part of [b:Cherry|6615050|Cherry|M. Rode|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1247552524s/6615050.jpg|6809129] Anthology, originally titled as File Gumbo; later that title was applied to a novel and this story's title was changed to Starting the Roux.

Too Careful by Half - 2 stars

Cowboy Christmas - 3 stars

Just Another Day at the Office - 2,5 stars

The New Guy - 2 stars

The Retreat - 2,5 stars

2.5 stars.

Read as part of [b:A Bunch of Roughstock|21998370|A Bunch of Roughstock|B.A. Tortuga|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|41305093] Anthology.

Read as part of [b:A Bunch of Roughstock|21998370|A Bunch of Roughstock|B.A. Tortuga|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|41305093] Anthology.

2.5 stars

Read as part of [b:A Bunch of Roughstock|21998370|A Bunch of Roughstock|B.A. Tortuga|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|41305093] Anthology.

Read as part of [b:Cherry|6615050|Cherry|M. Rode|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1247552524s/6615050.jpg|6809129] Anthology.

Read as part of [b:Fever|18042891|Fever|M. Rode|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1370512868s/18042891.jpg|25319416] Anthology.

DNF at 18%

It bored me, I didn't see any spark.