Title: Drawing the Devil
Author: Jon Keys
Genre: Contemporary Romance, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: review copy provided via NetGalley
Published: February 3, 2015 by Samhain Publishing
A heart can live a lifetime in eight seconds.
Ever since his father caught him with another boy and threw him out at the tender age of sixteen, Dustin Lewis has been fighting his way up the national bull-riding rankings. He’s on the brink of qualifying for the National Finals when he draws Diablo, a notoriously rank bull—and the ride goes bad.
When bullfighter Shane Rees frees Dustin from the rigging of the same bull that nearly destroyed his face, he comes dangerously close to dropping his guard. Shane knows the potential consequences of being gay in a sport loaded with testosterone-overdosed cowboys, and the resulting scars of mind and body have left him with little self-worth.
Their near-death-by-bull first meeting sparks an attraction that awakens every last one of their personal demons. Yet as the National Finals draws closer, so do they. But they’ll have to overcome emotional highs, near-tragic lows, and bone-crushing danger before love can bust out of the chute.
Warning: Contains man-on-man boot knocking, rawhide and raw emotions, badass cowboys and even badder-ass bulls. This ain’t your old man’s rodeo.
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Reviewed by: Crissy
Why I Read This Book: Cowboys. I love them in all shapes and occupations. But there is something about a bull rider that is just it. So of course, I had to pick this book up.
In A Nutshell: This story was nothing exciting or attention grabbing.
What I Liked: There are some cute moments between Shane and Dustin, mostly in the bedroom. They could be funny, if a bit repetitive. But hopes for their relationship that grew from this friendship is what kept me reading along. The guys take a while to warm up to, but about halfway through the story, I found that they weren’t too bad.
What I Didn’t Like: This book felt a little too contrived for my tastes. In the beginning and through half of the book, both Shane and Dustin come off as very shallow, although, as I mentioned, they eventually come away from that and grow into their roles. But by that time, I wasn’t sure if I even believed it. The way they talk about their relationship, or the feelings between them, left me irritated more than anything else. Not to mention the fact that they are both part of the rodeo circuit, yet the story shows very little in the way of the angst or conflict I expected there.
The author is either quite knowledgeable regarding the subject of rodeo life or did exuberant amounts of research. It shows in the yawning description of detail while on the circuit. I mention that to say it was too much. I won’t lie to you and tell you that I didn’t skim those sections. They seemed to stretch on for a while and my attention span was waning.
Speaking of attention spans, this story requires a ton of it. It’s all over the place. The ending was maybe the best part of the book, but by the time I got there, I was unimpressed.
In My Opinion: I’m not a huge fan. With the lax character building and scattered story, this book was okay but definitely not something I’d read again.
Crissy’s Rating:
Sorry to hear that this one didn't work out for you. I'm not a huge rodeo fan to begin with, so between that and your review, don't think this is the book for me. Thanks for sharing your honest opinion!
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