Jack Harmon Jr. has had a rough life. Raised in the Dakota Territory by his outlaw father, he's suddenly been deserted by his father's gang after his father killed a man in cold blood and is expected to either make his own way or die trying. Hungry and alone, Jack cases out the cabin of a half-breed Lakota named Morgan Hill, intending to steal only food. But on the third day, Jack is caught in the act by Morgan. Expecting to be turned over to the sheriff or hung for stealing, Jack is surprised when Morgan only wants him to pay off his debt by doing chores. But there's a lot more to Morgan than what first meets the eye.

This was a quick read - I'm not sure how many pages it has (I read the ebook), but I was done in about half an hour. It's told as a series of confessions from Jack, the narrator in the story, and the multitude of sins that he has committed in his short life (eighteen years). It is missing confession #8, but since the book doesn't feel like it's missing any material in particular, I think that's probably just an oversight of the author (confessions #7 and #9 blend seamlessly together).

The whole story moves very quickly; Jack and Morgan are "in love" within a couple of days. And Jack is remarkably accepting of Morgan, without much of a struggle at all. All within the span of a day or two, Jack accepts homosexuality (this is the 1800s, and even though Jack is gay, he's been conditioned to think of it as unnatural, an abomination, and an incredible sin), Morgan being a full-blooded Lakota (who would be arrested and taken to the reservation if it ever came out), Morgan being a shapeshifter (he does give this a little hesitation, but not much), and being knotted (well that was kind of unexpected LOL). Also, anal sex sounds like all kinds of "no thanks"
in this book - I mean, I know it's the 1800s, and Morgan does use some type of lube (ointment)
but Jack is definitely not feeling good there for a while and has to rely on Morgan's magically healing tongue (no really) to make things better.

But I kind of got sucked into the story anyway, you know? So that's why I gave the novella three stars. ( )