As someone in Utah, I'm a sucker for queer western romances. And they can be so hard to find! This one was absolutely beautiful, with such a satisfying and sweet romance.

Genre: Contemporary Fiction and M/M Romance
Steamy?: Yes
Cliffhanger?: No
Can be read as Standalone?: Yes
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

***THANK YOU TO NetGalley FOR MY ADVANCED REVIEW COPY. ALL OPINIONS AND THOUGHTS ARE MY OWN***

This was a beautiful bittersweet story. Admittedly, it took a while for me to get into it due to there being more main characters than I was expecting (this book primarily follows the lives of three cousins/siblings in small-town Wyoming). After I was able to adjust to following the multiple storylines, I found a well-written story that had depth, heart and an unexpected ending that left you with a surprising sense of satisfaction. It does not have the traditional HEA but it’s an appropriate ending that’s fitting and left me wanting to read more from this author.

Smith Rose retired from the professional rodeo circuit a three-time world champion rider, and settled in Cody, WY where his younger cousins, Copper and Christa Boone, have also decided to live. It’s a small town, and Smith has a honky-tonk style bar and he lives on a spread of acreage in a trailer.

Cooper has long followed Smith through the years, his biggest fan and even now she watches over him, fearing that he’s fallen into a depression. Cooper and Christa are two of the few people in the world that know Smith is bisexual. He’s always kept his activity with men on the down-low and retired in part due to fears over being outed. Smith had one long-ish term relationship with a fellow cowboy on the circuit, a bisexual black man called John Henry Walker. And when John Henry called it quits, it broke a little something inside Smith.

Cooper is an asexual butch mechanic, and her love for Smith and Christa is great. She’s afraid that they will each find a partner and move on leaving her alone. So, she’s poised to observe the change in Smith’s demeanor after John Henry shows up in Smith’s saloon. And, she’s further troubled by an aggressively charming Nite Rodeo rider who seems to be stalking Christa.

John Henry has made it clear he’s riding in the Wyoming-area rodeo circuit this summer, and Smith doesn’t waste time tracking him down. Their sex is still mind-blowing and both men are more touched by the moment than they can let on. John Henry reveals he has a long-time girlfriend whom he plans to marry, but while he’s our on the rodeo he’s not planning to be monogamous. He’s not actually a player, John Henry has long had a love for Smith Rose, and this summer was his attempt to makes sense of his feelings and conflict, before he takes the plunge to either come out and make a life with Smith or marry his girlfriend.

There are many points of view that converge in this story, and there’s a lot of heavy lifting put into the the thoughts and reflections of each character. Cody is small, and people who fall into the quilt bag of the LGBTQIA rainbow are struggling to find family. To feel if they can be safe and out at the same time. John Henry has a double worry, of being out and black, in an area and profession that is undoubtedly white supremicist. The contrasting viewpoints allows readers to really feel the turmoil of these people as they connect and struggle to decide how to live their lives with love and joy. It’s a quiet story, and not exactly a romance. There is happiness, love and peace within, but there isn’t a real romance-y ending. I liked the story a lot, and I loved the characters. For people who love westerns, scenic reads, and deep, emotional introspection, I would recommend this one.

This was quit a unique read.
The author has handled this story and the representation very well.
The characters are real, relatable and well fleshed out. The author's writing style worked for me and I loved that it wasn't written in single Pov.
This book has some good representation as well.
I absolutely recommend this one if you like a realistic love story with real characters.

This book was everything I expected and much more! Bisexual representation, POC, lesbian side characters, a character who might be aro, modern Wild West Setting, Native American rep - I can't even say how much loved this book.
I adored the fact that all of the main characters had a distinct and unique POV. I was rooting for all of these characters and I was surprised to see that even Buck got a POV. That was rather unusual and I am not sure what to think of it. It was really weird to read but it definitely did its part for the plot. This book is absolutely marvelous and I can't think of anything bad about this book's content. The only issue I had was that there was no proper distinction between chapters. That made it a bit difficult to find places for proper breaks.
I especially loved the playlist at the end of the book and I am definitely going to check these songs out. I only know the last song and it's absolutely fitting in my opinion.
The ending was incredibly sweet and perfect for this book. Smith has figured out what to do with his life and he's including his cousins. Cooper and Christie were the most sweetest people I've ever met, especially Cooper has left an impact on me. I don't know if she actually is aromantic, but I will always picture her as such.
I am definitely going to read this book again, I absolutely adored it.
Thanks a lot for the ARC to the author and Netgalley!

4/5

*Special thanks to NetGalley and NineStar Press for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review*

This was a really good book. Although the ending was not satisfying to me, I felt that it was pretty realistic.

I have never been the type of person to read romance novels before (I usually prefer it on the side), but I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was an engaging, quick read and it did not have many boring parts.

I really appreciated the different characters in this novel. We have a bisexual MC, along with an asexual, romantic MC. In addition, there is a bisexual, Black character, an indigenous woman, and much more. I was really pleased to see this diversity in a book based in a small town out west. Oftentimes in LGBT+ books, the characters want to leave their small towns and go to a big city, so this change was very refreshing.

The ending and *desition* (if you read it you would understand) really hit me hard, but I felt that it was done in a realistic, yet heartbreaking way. Although this book had cheating in it, it was handled pretty well (although I was disappointed).

I would recommend this book.

A story of Rodeos, cowboys, love, family, small towns and belonging. Smith Rose has changed since he quit the pro rodeo circuit 5 years ago. He isn’t really living his life but merely exists within it, hiding so much of himself from the world around him, except those closest to him, his cousins, Christa and Cooper.
But when someone from his past walks into his bar, Smith is more thrown than he ever was while riding at the rodeo, and his quiet, uncomplicated existence begins to change.
I enjoyed this book overall, particularly Smith’s character, who I found really believable. I liked that it was a love story that looked at all kinds of love and relationships, from loving yourself, your friends, family and romance, and how these affect each type of love in your life.
The book includes some steamy scenes which were both explicit, yet at times quite beautiful.
I personally wasn’t sure about the sub story within the book and felt the ending wasn’t as well written as other parts of the story. That said, I would still say that this book is definitely worth a read.
My thanks to NetGalley, NineStar Press and Marie S. Crosswell for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.