There aren’t many books about more niche kinks like pony play which is why I initially requested a copy from Netgalley. The initial set-up was a bit of a stretch for me. The main character Jensen accepts a job as a stable hand for real horses but he ends up taking care of human horses and decides to stay since he’s gay and slightly kinky. I guess this is erotica though so the set-up isn’t important just as long as the pony play is established somehow. Aside from the sex, there really isn’t much going on here which is fine if that’s what you’re looking for. I’m finding I need a bit more of an emotional connection otherwise even pony play gets a bit boring. This is some good pony play, but that’s all it is.

Look at me stumbling into another MMM book. This was very interesting and very sexy. Definitely a little out of my comfort zone in terms of kinks and tropes, but the writing, the characters and the chemistry between them were definitely enough to keep me invested.
As Jensen is a newbie, we get a nice introduction and a crash course into the lifestyle, which I found fascinating.

I ended up really enjoying the triad aspect, as well as their individual dynamics. Jensen, Luke and Noah were great characters, and they complemented each other very well. The relationship development was engaging and I liked the way the three of them interacted. The sex is extremely hot, and the emotions are just as intense.

While this isn't my usual reading, I will probably check out more in this series because this was a a very nice surprise.

I have received an ARC from Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving an honest and unbiased review.

I was surprised by how many reasons I had for appreciating this book. I thought the exploration of what was, for the main character, a whole new world was really relatable. Characterizations of the main characters were solid, though secondary characters were only lightly developed. I found the book difficult to put down, and while not every reader will be comfortable with the content, I'm sure I will recommend it to more adventurous readers.

When Jensen Moriarty arrives at the Braided Crop Ranch for his interview for the stable hand position, he thinks he’s well prepared: he has extensive experience with horses and is prepared to ‘muck in’ wherever required. Little did he know that the Braided Crop Ranch doesn’t trade in horses – rather they cater for several ponyboys.

After the initial shock wears off, Jensen agrees to work with the ‘ponies’, which involves a lot of rather intimate tasks. Soon enough, Jensen finds himself particularly attracted to the resident wild horse, Luke…this is quite the wild ride.

This book has some really great characters – Luke is…complex, but it’s great to see him grow and start to move through some of his anxieties. Jensen is kind and caring but has his limits and isn’t afraid to enforce them. Noah is so sweet and brings out the protective streak in everyone. We do get spend time with some of the other characters but I would have loved to get to know them more.

It has some hot and intense BDSM scenes, I didn’t know anything about pony play before and I actually found it quite informative. The author delves a little into the psychology of sub space and how to handle sub drop – when a submissive’s energy and endorphins become depleted after a particularly intense scene. Also, the fact that they had an on-site psychologist was really interesting – it can be important for players to explore why they are attracted to kink. I also like how it normalised not liking anal penetration – it’s assumed that all gay men enjoy anal penetration but some don’t so it was great to see that represented here.

In all, quite enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it to other readers of BDSM erotica.

Thank you so much to the team at NineStar Press for making the digital ARC available on NetGalley!

A fun kinky romp with pony and puppy play. Lister built a ranch of interesting characters and lots of kinky sexiness. Characters are intriguing enough I look forward to other stories. Noah is adorably sweet, Luke is a brat with a heart and Jensen is confused why there aren't real horses (that joke did get repetitive). It is definitely hot, hot, hot but there is not a lot of character or relational development. low angst and lots of fun.

4.5 Stars

Jensen Moriatry is a 25 year old college graduate in business, but that wasn’t his choice of study or career. He’s gay and out, but not too experienced in the world. Despite living in Ottawa, Jensen craves the small town life like he grew up in, and caring for horses like on his family ranch. Since his folks want him to make something of himself, he doesn’t feel cool about heading back home. That’s why he takes a friend’s advice and applies for a summer position as a stable hand at the Braided Crop Ranch. Unfortunately, his friend has deliberately neglected to tell Jensen that the “ponies” at BCR are human.

BCR is a kink retreat where members can block 6 weeks of pony play with BDSM-trained handlers and voyeuristic guests stay in luxury accommodations with the opportunity to watch some training and performances at pony shows. Jensen is floored. All his plans to calm his worries by grooming horses and mucking stalls are blown. But, the BCR still needs a steady hand, and Jensen isn’t creeped out by the kink. He agrees to stay as a trial…and he’s a bit captivated by the situation. Meanwhile all the “ponies” are more than a little interested in Jensen, as hes a bona fide cowboy, and they want him to massage and ride them all into the sunset. 😉 Stable hands are common sexual outlets for the ponyboys–as with each other–because they can’t have any sexual relations with their trainers, or guests at the ranch.

This is a fun and engaging triad romance for Jensen who is quickly cornered by the most unruly and beautiful of all the ponyboys, Luke. Luke’s always acting out, and his trainers have a hard time corralling him, but Luke and Jensen mesh immediately, and Luke admits he has another liaison with a ponyboy named Noah–whom Luke would be willing to share if Jensen is nice enough. It’s another mindblow for poor Jensen, but he’s doing alright using his horse taming techniques on these sexy sexy men.

I was hooked from the start and I loved the whole thing. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out with the Luke and Noah and Jensen, but they are really sweet and sassy together. Noah is smaller and more femme, but thrills in the ponyplay. He absolutely loves to preform and earn rewards from his service. Jensen’s “stable” hand gets a whole lot of work as he tends to the needs of the ponyboys in his care. We get a look into the psyche of Luke and Noah, and why they relish ponyplay to manage their anxieties and everyday struggles. The inside look at a fetish camp is interesting and engaging without being prurient. The six weeks of their residence flies past and Jensen is sad thinking Luke and Noah be gone from his life forever, but an arrangement is made and it leaves everyone in what seems to be a Happy For Now arrangement. I’m interested to see what a sequel brings!

Deliciously kinky, AE Lister’s Stable Hand is an erotic romance with a damn fine story to boot. A journey of awakenings, the ponies and their trainers explore their sexual desires in this first episode of Lister’s The Braided Crop Ranch series.

The Braided Crop Ranch, known by its patrons as the BCR, is located in a secluded area of Ontario, Canada. Surrounded by miles of lakes and farmland, the picturesque ranch is a popular tourist destination for lovers of kink. The resort is truly a feast for all the senses, as the property includes a stable where men train to perform in the monthly pony shows.

A new hire stable hand for the BCR, Jensen arrives expecting real horses, and is thrown into a world of kink he never knew existed. Luke and Noah, however, are ponies who’ve paid to receive the training. What starts as a purely physical attraction builds into more as Luke and Noah guide Jensen in exploring his newfound desires.

Each of these characters are looking for something very different, and the way they respond to each other, asking for and taking what they need, is wonderful. The relationships between the ponies, the stable hands and the trainers are fascinating, and AE Lister goes to great depth in exploring their connections. For me, this is what AE Lister does best. Yes, it’s smoking hot erotica, but it’s their ability to truly know their characters, the deeply personal emotions, that makes Lister’s novels unique.

At the end of the book we’re treated to an excerpt from Ponyboy, the next episode in The Braided Crop Ranch series. With all the possibilities at the BCR I’m not surprised to see this one centered around completely different characters, but I hope we’ll be able to keep up with the romance of Jensen, Luke, and Noah. I’m also fascinated by the idea of the sister ranch across the lake which caters to ponygirls. Here’s sending up a prayer that AE Lister might grace us with a sapphic romance one day soon!

Stable Hand, The Braided Crop Ranch Book One, AE Lister

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: LGBTQIA, Romance

Well, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but TBH whats in the description is pretty much the whole plot. Its fun kink erotica, not deep, sensual romance.
Jensen, that interview. That made the whole book worth it, somehow I could just see this slightly naive cowboy expecting some fancy horses, “ Arabians? No? Maybe you have Lusitanos?”...or something like that while poor Adam and Connor are barely able to hold back sniggers.....

The rest is really Jensen's journey into kink, and real “hands on” education. I'm not sure six weeks holiday is as realistic as the author makes it sound but hey, its fiction. Consent was the order of the day, all the time, not just in training, and that's very important IMO. If both parties consent and its harming no one then that's fine, if there's no fully informed consent at all times then its a No Go for me. I was bothered that it was gloves and lube all the while, but a real lack of condoms for oral work, especially as Jensen can't have been tested yet? A big hole there I think. Hopefully to be filled in later books. ( and her I am sniggering about holes and fillings. One day I'll grow up!)

What I did like, though at times it was repeated a little too much, was the psychology of kink, that Adam was actually a qualified therapist, and oversaw all training plans. Playing, even just through kinky sex, with peoples different issues and backgrounds, can cause real harm, and needs careful thought.
I like that there wasn't the typical stereotyping that often happens in erotic fiction, where the dominant folk always are obvious, always dominant, never have their own issues, and always have the answers. Luke was a complex personality, in that he was naturally dominant, yet also had the submissive need but that he seemed to fight. Noah was one of these folk who are happiest when able to let go and someone else make all the decisions. The others were somewhere in between these two. We're all complex people, some like Noah, have more simple needs, while others take more work to see what they really want, what issues they have that may be causing problems.
I really like human and animal psychology, and that part of this book resonated with me, the explanations how animals are just into “now” unlike us who mull over the past constantly, and worry about tomorrow. If you don't know animals well, and how they work you may not understand why some things are so freeing to people.
It covers a short space of time and the romance, such as it was, was more HFN rather than HEA and I felt that's more realistic. It wasn't heavy on romantic emotion and connection, more the physical side, where I'd like more emotion and romance. But I hate when there's insta-love and all is well, even though they've only known each other a few days or weeks so given the time constraints this works better for me. Ideally I'd like more romance but for everything to cover a longer time-span, which simply isn't possible given the immersion therapy type of set up here.

Stars: Three, it made me laugh so much at Jensen's interview, but as I said its kind of light on the romance side even though I understand why. I thought there would be more romance though. Its a good book, hot smut and fun, some real issues but not wholly what I was expecting, that's why its three.

ARC supplied by Netgalley and publishers

This was one hot, steamy read.
Though the plot was solid and the characters were well fleshed out, I would say this is more of a hot cowboy BDSM erotica.
I wasn't expecting it to be so intense, and I absolutely loved it.
This book was so well written.
A definite recommend!

Whilst there was a little romance in this story, it definitely should have been categorised as erotica as kink and BDSM were the mainstay of the book.
That said, the lead characters were nicely written and the book would be an ok read for anyone who enjoys reading erotic novels.
My thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.

I got an ARC of this book.

I might just be a sucker for anything that can even slightly be labeled as a gay cowboy romance. This was close enough, it was more a gay cowboy erotica than a romance. The romance was so, so minimal that it made the ending just unbelievable for me. There was mild character development, but it was mostly sex and kink based not emotional growth. So if you are looking for a solid romance, this is not it. If you are looking for hot smut, this is a big yes.

The sex and kink was varied. There was talk of safe words and so many mentions of consent that I was pleased. There was an element of kink in every sex scene, even the more traditional oral and penetration scenes. This layer of kink really made the scenes stand out for me and made the book fun to read. I often find smut boring, since it gets repetitive very easily. This was far from repetitive.

The sex scenes and kink scenes were not perfect. There were no condoms for oral sex, despite just meeting each other. The author has lube described repeatedly and does an amazing job with that and even has rubber gloves used. So I was expecting condoms to be consistently and accurately. There is also the issue of how long the ponies wore their tails. That is a long time. I have no doubts it is possible, but it seems excessive for six weeks. The idea of six weeks being the magical number to get off of work is also odd. I do not get that much time off and there is no way I would be allowed to use that much time off in a row without a medical reason. So that element felt a bit fantastical, but not so much to bring me out of the story since it was revealed early enough in the book. All of this is personal problems as a sex educator, I often am alone in my complaints about condom use in media.

There were some writing issues for me. The book is not high literature writing for sure. The dialogue is stilted and awkward. There are info dumps like wild in the first couple of chapters. There is instalove with no emotional backing. There is really intense feelings talked about, but not really shown. The strength of this book is not the plot. The strength is very much the kink. So if you are just looking for kink, this really is an enjoyable read. If you skipped the plot and just went sex scene to sex scene, then the book wouldn’t be all that much different. The idea of the plot is wonderful, but if you read the book description then you have all of the plot, there really isn’t anything more that isn’t kink based. As someone in the kink world, I have never heard pet play people mention over and over again that pet play is not being into animals, it felt like the author was preaching to make sure no one missed the fact that these were people. It read as hollow and forced every time a character mentioned it. The point is correct, but how it was thrown in repeatedly just didn’t work well. This happened in the info dumps. Once in the opening when the MC was being introduced to the idea would have worked or as an explanation of why pony hoods weren’t used would have been good. Having it multiple times is the biggest issue on this point for me.

Overall, I enjoyed reading it. I will not claim it is the best book I have ever read, but it was the best book about ponies that I have ever read. It read like a better written version of my NanoWriMo from last year (though I did puppies. not ponies). I will be checking out the second book, because kinky cowboys are apparently my thing and Lister delivers on kink in a wonderful way.

Enjoyable read for those who like an interesting take on M4M romance and erotica. Pleasant read with a good mix of plot and erotic scenes. Characters have some depth unlike much of M4M romance and erotica. I will look forward to reading the next book in the series when it is available for preview. A plus for this book, above many others I have read it that most of the dialog in the sex / BDSM scenes d0es not sound like bad porno dialog. I prefer to read dialog that is more realistic. That is more enticing than what is so often found when writers do not take the time to properly craft their work. One weakness of the book, that broke the spell, was Jensen's submission to Luke. I certainly understand someone choosing to switch Dom for sub with different people. In the scenario that the book is based on, it does not ring true to me. I would expect the Trainers and Stable Hands to maintain an "upper hand" role at all times, especially with a brat. Someone coming to a place like this would likely expect that. See how Luke is a brat, but still has an underlying respect for Kamal and his dominance.

Lister presents a complex story of the D/s sub-culture. The novel is primarily told in a limited third-person, following cowboy/rancher Jensen as he accepts a job at a ranch unlike one he's ever been. He's working at a ranch that caters to some very specific kinks. While he shows some initial dismay, he quickly immerses himself within the space and develops an array of relationships. Lister provides a deft hand at presenting scenes and capturing the experience for those uninitiated. There was very little plot developed; it was more a series of sketches. There were a few attempts at character development beyond the roles the characters play within the world in the ranch. This may disappoint some who are looking for more three-dimensional characters, yet it's a workable meditation on the power and control within the kink.

I absolutely loved this one. Like Jensen, I wasn't exactly aware of what I ended up with, but just like him I got used to it. I have been reading multiple BDSM books over time, but Ponyplay was a first for me. But it was amazingly done. You know that the person who's writing this series knows exactly what she is doing. This isn't just some wannabe BDSM, this is good and real stuff.
I noticed a couple of minor errors, though - Jensen was written twice where it should have been I since it's a first person narrative.
The ending was a bit too abrupt, in my opinion, though, but I am excited for the second book of the series.
I loved all of this book. The characters were interesting and I have to admit, Luke's trauma was not what I expected. I am not sure though if kink is actually considered a treatment, though. But it was a really nice and well written book and like Jensen, I grew to love this Ranch and the people on it.
I wouldn't recommend it to my friend's, though, not because of the book, but because I know my friends aren't comfortable with this kind of kink.
I am really grateful for being able to read this book and I want to thank both the author and Netgalley for providing me with this copy!

I read this almost in one sitting, it wasn't my kink, I'm not in all the pony play scene, but that part wasn't the most important, the submission and dominance were, and the chemistry between Jensen, Noah and Luke was amazing. Their scenes were really hot. I would love to read more of them outside the ranch.

What to do when a job interview isn't what you expected? You won't know unless you give it a try. That's what Jensen encounters when a friend recommends he apply for a position at BCR. He ends up on a journey of self discovery and the chance at a beginning of something good.

AE Lister writes an erotic story of a man exploring kinks he didn't know he had. While I found it enjoyable and was rooting for the characters, I was left wanting just a little more character and relationship development outside of the kink especially given the wrap up at the end.

Stars: 3.5 out of 5
It was enjoyable but I'm not sure it'll be added to my re-read list.