I loved this well written romance. Luke and Sam were so different that they fit together perfectly. It was uncanny that both men came from Boston albeit from very different sections and fell in love in the Dakota Territory. While the story revolved around Luke and Sam, it also showed the difficulties of life out on a government land grant. The ending was left me feeling good and smiling. I was happy that Mrs. Chandler had some good sense and that the school was all inclusive. The angst level was low to moderate which suited me to well. A highly recommended feel good romance. ( )

3.5 Stars ( )

3.75 HEARTS--
This author has built a house on my TBR mountain. The premises are SRAL appealing: large age gap, a young twink type and an older bear type, D/s and alludes to kinky sex. Why did I wait so long that her books can pay me mortgage for their residence in my TBR? I dunno. I get distracted.

I'm paying attention now.

I am not sure if I can call her writing formulaic (yet) but I am usually pretty good at sniffing those out. And this is a formula that works for me. Did the story read like a true historical romance? Eh, some parts did, some parts didn't. It kinda read like a contemporary to me, if you ignore the fact the character rode horses instead of driving cars. The tone and, sometimes, the dialogue read modern. I think readers who don't gravitate to the more traditional historical settings might like this book.

Sam Smith (which kinda weirded me out while reading the beginning because I kept thinking about the singer) is a gay Harvard law student who left his Boston Brahmin (wealthy) lifestyle to be independent and farm on his own claim of land in the Dakota Territory (De Smet, SD). He wants to ignore his lavish lifestyle and homosexual partying ways much to his family's anger. Sam lied about his age, nearly freezes to death in a snow storm and meets a fellow gay Bostonian (Luke Chandler) in the town on De Smet in 1881 (what are the chances?) Luke is surly, older larger than Sam's 5'11", hairy and closeted. Luke has been spurned in the past for being who he was so he denies any temptation and represses,represses, represses.

We have one surly, bear type and a carefree, twink-like dandy trapped in shanty for a very long winter is a recipe for hot man loving right? Well...sorta in this book. The two got together fairly quickly, Sam of course has hearts and butterflies in his eyes. He loves his "darling man" and loves to cook, clean and nurture his bear any way he can. However, the sex scenes while hot, were a little inconsistent in the hotness factor, especially in the beginning. It was almost fade to black and little disappointing but it got better once the story hit its stride in the middle.I would describe the sex as spicy vanilla. Maybe light D/s undertones? I wouldn't have minded a scene but that just because I'm greedy

Predictable? A little.

Was the story entertaining? Most definitely.

The story started a little rough to me, then we get this instant connection between the main characters. I could see what the main conflict would be from the first chapter and it played out exactly how I imagined at the crux of the story.

But I found myself being drawn to Luke and Sam. I stopped caring about why a 19 year old would be so determined to serve a grumpy, 30 year old who had such a tough time returning his affection. But Luke loved his Sam, in his own fucked up way. They grew to be a great little couple with their little issues: Luke and his closet, Sam and his lying. They made it work with a cast of characters: the villain Morley and slutty bottom twink/dandy Courtland were the most memorable. The drama wasn't too over the top but sometimes I rolled my eyes. I mean could a guy really be so blase with their homosexuality in 1881 without more drastic repercussions? Sam...he was so open with his sexuality in a time where you'd be killed or lynched for openly admitting you were in love with the same sex. I could griped more about it but damn it I really liked (not loved) this story. *ponders* I think I expected a little more girt and realism. The epilogue was gratuitous sugar. I could have done with out it or maybe made it shorter.

I want to read contemporary Fyn Alexander to compare.

Overall, a decent story, with good characters. I was satisfied. Can't go wrong with a bear and his twink, no matter how you dress them.



A copy provided for an honest review.
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