BA Tortuga

3.5 Yee Haw Stars!

This story right here probably best represents what the Dreamspun Desires series is all about, with a surefire, enjoyable experience regarding all things cowboy!

As per the blurb, Bradley has been secretly in love with his best friend Hoss for forever, feeling a not so small shame for having reacted badly when Hoss first came out. At that time, he just couldn’t reconcile his own confusing feelings and pushed Hoss away. However, these two eventually made up and have been close ever since. Hoss in turn, secretly loves Bradley back but keeps their friendship on the level, believing Bradley’s straight and unobtainable.

So how do Bradley and Hoss get over themselves and confess their lurve?? Well, fortuitous happenstance drops a baby onto Hoss’s doorstep, which is the perfect, needed impetus to bring these two together. What starts out as ranch-hand-Bradley helping rodeo-lovin-Hoss keep his head above water (while they try to find the sweet girl’s mama) evolves into them meshing their lives more than ever. What a fantastic boon to realize how well they fit in all things work, play, and domesticity. Of course, it’s only a matter of time before the baby’s charm starts to work on both men, leading them to want things they never imagined and reveal desires believed to remain forever buried.

There’s just a teeny tiny wrench - actually a big misunderstanding - and their happily ever after is a bit delayed. Never fear though. Through it all, the OTT country twang to this was just so fun, silly, and heartwarming, making the aforementioned snafu easily forgivable.

Narrated by Dorian Bane, this was my second foray into him doing a Dreamspun Desires story. Though I’m still not completely sold on Bane specifically, the strong southern touch he brings to the various characters really added to the entertainment value of this little gem. Overall, quite low on the steam but high on the good feels, this was definitely a win for the series!

Thanks to the author/publisher for the audio in exchange for a honest review

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It's almost Thanksgiving and Christmas is just around the corner. We find Sky and Bret anxiously awaiting the birth of their baby with a surrogate in January. The nursery is almost done, or it will be as soon as they can come up with something better than the putrid mint green that the paint store assured them would be beautiful. Brent then receives a call that no one ever wants to receive at any time, no matter what season it may be. His best friend, Conner has been killed in an automobile accident, and because Bret agreed to be listed as the children's guardian in case of Conner's death, which he thought would just be "a good friend" jester, they are now the guardians of two children, a 3-year-old girl and an almost 2-year-old boy. In a heartbeat they've gone from 1 baby to 1 baby and 2 more children under 4 years of age. Sky is a Rodeo Cowboy and Bret is a Lawyer so it seems that chaos is what they eat for breakfast, so it was not a big surprise that they took this better than would have been expected and just set about remodeling their house and their lives to welcome and love all of their new little additions. This story will warm your soul and your heart as we watch our men talk, make decisions, and still have their sexy times. Thanksgiving and Christmas are going to be special...they're going to make sure of it. The remodeling is underway and almost done thanks to a bunch of friends...what more can they ask for. Sky and Beck have many things to adjust to and learn but they love one another and their little surprise family so together they manage to pull it off. Both men are fantastic as instant parents. Jodi And BA have done it again!… (más)

After serving in the Navy SEALs, Luke Blanchard has come home to Texas a wounded warrior, and is staying on the ranch with his twin brother, Matt. Matt’s worried about Luke. Luke was always the more happy, fun-loving brother, while Matt was the more serious one...but now, Luke struggles and depends on a wheelchair and sometimes crutches. He finds comfort and hope for recovery in working on the ranch with the horses. A neighbor, Rory McConnell, is a smart lawyer who is "out and proud". Rory has been buying up land and ranches all around his area. He has a purpose and a secret he would prefer never to come out, for doing this. He’s trying to keep the land out of the clutches of a shifty developer....one that knows his secret because he was the instigator. He of course, approaches Matt about selling, but Matt has already refused several times, and things are now getting heated. Luke learns that Matt is behind with their mortgage payments, so to help his twin he buys into the ranch hoping to keep Rory from coming around and asking again. Luke and Rory run into each other a few times afterwards, and he constantly flirts with Luke. Things quickly go downhill after this. Luke is getting stronger every day and has a dream to create a special place on the ranch land for wounded warriors to work with the horses, so Rory sells/almost gives him a piece of land for the venture as well as helping him with the paperwork. The attraction that they have felt for one another almost from the time that Luke returns home blooms and grows stronger and stronger with every day they spend together. The pesky developer won't give up, and his pursuit of Rory and the incidents become more and more dangerous...but the straw that almost broke the camel's back was when a video of the "secret" incident that happen when Rory was a 19-year-old kid suddenly appears on the cell phones of every friend and family member and all the papers and TV stations are notified. Rory is ashamed and goes on the run... and Luke goes after him letting him know that he has love and support from everyone. I have always liked this author. I've read several of her books that was written with Jodi Payne that always include rodeo cowboys, but this is the first that I have read that she wrote alone and entirely about cowboys. This series has started out great with this one and seems to have a great deal of potential. I'm looking forward to more Matt and Luke and their friends.… (más)

I’ll admit that anything that BA Tortuga & her writing partner, Jodi Payne put their names on are 100% Okay with me right from the start...no questions asked. BA sure does love her cowboys, and while I'll also admit I usually am not a fan of cowboy or western stories, BA has made me a fan of her sweet rodeo men. Curtis and Stetson are her two cowboys in this one and, Yep...I was in love after the first chapter. Stetson only knows how to love one way…hard and without end. He has never stopped loving Curtis, but he knew that the man’s heart and his need to be free and on the rodeo circuit, would never let them be together. But as soon as he heard Stetson’s voice on the phone, Curtis knew he’d do whatever it took, whatever he wanted in order to help him, even if it meant breaking his own heart again. Love was never the issue between them, but figuring out how to communicate sure was. That caused them more problems than they could count on both hands. My heart literally ached for Stetson. While Curtis was on the circuit, Stetson remained at home because he loved the land and knew that it was where he belonged. He worked hard to keep things going and gave up everything, including the only man he'd ever love...Curtis. Curtis used to feel like being tied to one place was like being trapped, but life without Stetson has him rethinking the way he has lived his life. Their love for each other almost bleeds out of them and I became beyond frustrated when the communications kept breaking down and they ended up at odds...again. I just wanted to shake them both. Fortunately for them and me and the book...I didn't have to. Ms. Tortuga got them sorted out just fine. The acceptance that both men found made me smile at last, and I was so glad that homophobia from the people was never one of the issues they ever had to deal with. You will cheer for these two men and be swept up in their story and occasionally even shed a few tears. Stetson had a unique kind of bravery he showed as he was taking care of his dying mother and of Curtis as well. Thank you, Ms. Tortuga, for another wonderful, warm story where the characters actually talked things out and didn’t rely solely on sex to fix everything. What sex there was, was beautiful by the way:) I love this author's work and I’ve never been let down by her or Jodi Payne.… (más)