Two Mini-Reviews: Cowboy M/M Novellas

Title: Chasing Alex
Author: Riley Shane
Genre: Contemporary Romance, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: review copy from publisher
Published: June 2011 by Dreamspinner Press

Chase Larkspur is a rodeo cowboy who likes a good ride…as long as he’s the one calling the shots. Alex Dawson is a bull rider who tests every limit Chase has ever set. The passion between them burns bright and hot, until Alex grows tired of keeping their relationship a secret—and of being the one who’s always ridden. Alex lays down an ultimatum, and then the rest is up to Chase. Does Chase let the best thing in his life run away to the family ranch, or is he brave enough to chase Alex down?

Reviewed By: J9

Hot cowboys in a hot romance—what’s not to love!? This is a great MM romance of a two people becoming a couple.  Though a short read, I got the sense of who these two men are and more importantly, why they’re attracted to each other.  The sex means more than sex and I like that the author links the men’s sexual relationship to their emotional one.  The resolution was very satisfying and showcases the men’s commitment to each other and given that this is why I read romance, I liked this short novella a lot.

J9’s Rating:

    

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Title: Most Wanted
Author: Barbara Sheridan
Genre: Historical Romance, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Steamy
Source: review copy from publisher
Published: June 2010 by Dreamspinner Press

1894 Boston born and bred Tim Dwyer doesn't relish the thought of giving up Eastern comforts for life in the rough-and-tumble West. But when he finds himself with with no job, little money, and no place else to go, he accepts a position at his cousin's weekly newspaper in the Indian Territory. When his cousin and his new editor cook up a roving reporter assignment, Tim learns that spending a mere week in the life of U.S. Deputy Marshal Jon Sauvage won't ever be enough to satisfy his needs. Choctaw lawman "Savage Jon" Sauvage has spent his entire adult life content with chasing wanted men and taking his pleasures wherever and however he can. But once he's roped into letting a big city reporter tag along with him on a manhunt, Jon soon suspects that Tim Dwyer might just capture his heart.

Reviewed By: J9

I love historical MM romance so I was excited to read this short novella.  I liked both the citified newspaperman Tim and the tough Choctaw lawman Jon but I disliked their miserly romance greatly.  The emotional connection was non-existent between the two men and the sexual connection was minimal at best.  I got the sense they even considered each other as potential partners because they were attracted to men, not necessarily each other. And the ending—oh, vey! The short novella just up and ended with no resolution to speak of.  This failed at being either an “encounter” romance or a HEA one because it was too long and drawn out for the first option and too unresolved for the second.   

J9’s Rating: