Sweet Topping (Cattle Valley) by Carol Lynne

Sometimes when Carol Lynne decides to talk about a delicate matter, she does it with so much details that, if not be for her ability to write romance, it could be almost like read a clinical papers. And instead reading this book, I was involved by the characters and not distracted by the details.

Kyle is the young baker of Cattle Valley. He is from a wealthy family but he has left his comfort life after a bad accident which has left him tetraplegic. Even if Gill has proved in every way his interest in Kyle, he is still reluctant to start a relationship with the man, cause he seems not to be able to have a normal sexual life and his day-to-day needs are so embarassing for him, he has no desire to share them with another man.

But Gill is very stubborn and he will not let go until he has not conviced Kyle to give him a chance.

Even if Kyle should be the protagonist of the story, and usually I have a soft spot for the bottom, I think that Gill steals a bit the scene this time. Gill is a big Afro American man, with a big heart, and he is very tender and caring. He is almost too good to be true.

Only one question remains in my mind... why the title, Sweet Topping? Maybe cause Gill is a sweet man?

Rough Ride (Cattle Valley 4) by Carol Lynne

Fourth episode in the Cattle Valley gay soap opera. Cattle Valley is the gay fantasyland for all the men searching a soul mate of the same sex (techinically also for women, but Carol voted herself to the manlove romance).

Since the first episode we meet Wyn, the high-maintenance store owner who is just out of an abusive relationship with the former minister of Cattle Valley. Wyn is a little skittish, being a small man; and he is not a young stud, he borders to forty or even a little more. And since the first episode we know that something is going on with Ezra, the big ranch owner. Ezra is almost a giant, 6 feet and 11 inches tall with a unkept bears that makes him the best next thing to a real bear. No one would think that Wyn and Ezra could be a couple, but the two of them seem unable to stay far from the other and when they are near to each other, they seem unable to not argue.

But when Wyn needs to go back home, in his omophobic home town, and the welcome home kid party is not a good one, Ezra like a knight in shining armour, comes to rescue. From this moment on, Wyn and Ezra are a steady couple, but back in Cattle Valley not all the townfolks are happy of this new development.

This episode is a nice one. Not too much drama, two nice characters and a little sexy story. You know from the start that Ezra and Wyn will be a couple, we were waiting three books for this to happen, and so we are ready to be plunged into the real story without much notice.

As always we have also the chance to know the future characters in the series: Matt and the doctors, Richard, also an Olynpic Gold Medal and probably Smokey and Neil. In the past we met also the chef of the only restaurant of Cattle Valley, but in this episode he doesn't make an appereance. So who will be the next? the soap opera continues...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1906590346/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

"Sweet Topping" was a lovely story with a relatively unique aspect in gay romance. Kyle became paraplegic after an accident years ago. Gill, a former pro-football player, wants a relationship with him. The best part of this story is that the author doesn't shy away from the reality of Kyle's life. His bakery kitchen is specially designed with equipment he can reach from his wheelchair; he has a horrible experience when his elevator gets trapped between floors and his physical limitations (both sexual and everyday) present challenges for Gill and Kyle to overcome. But, they do so together. Their courtship was sensitive, tender and very real. There was one thing that disappointed me though.

Warning, minor SPOILER: In the end, Kyle manages to walk with the aid of a walker after much intense therapy. I would have preferred if he hadn't. I do love a happily ever after, but this was unnecessary. Gill loved Kyle despite the paralysis and it was nice to read a romance with a physically disabled person who was loved just as he is. This message lost some of its impact when Kyle "got cured." Despite this, I thought the story was very well done and well worth reading.

"Rough Ride" was actually the first Cattle Valley story I read before I knew there was a series. And it was so good I went looking for more. Our hero is Palmer "Wyn" Wynfield. In the first novella of the series, we learn Wyn was the victim of partner abuse. He's always had a soft spot for Ezra James, though a misunderstanding the first time they met has kept them apart. Now Wyn is back in his old town after his father's death - and some people in town are giving him a hard time. He calls Ezra for help. What I liked about this story was that though Wyn needed help, he isn't helpless. He owns his own store and has friends he cares about. While working out what to do with his father's ranch, the two men work out what went wrong between them. When they return to Cattle Valley, Wyn has to confront the problems of Ezra's jealous friend. This story was more straightforward, but still a solid romance with some hot love.

I enjoyed these stories almost as much as Cattle Valley (Volume 1), and would have given them both five stars. However, the production quality for V2 is not as good and it lost a star because of that. In V1, the font size was reasonable (I'd guess about 12 or 13 point) with a quarter of an inch margin. I'm not sure if it was a production error, but in V2 the print is smaller (maybe 9 or 10 point) and the margins suddenly became one and a half inches wide! This made the book more cumbersome to read because I had to nearly crack the spine to read the words near the center. While this was a problem, I would still recommend the book, and I hope the publisher corrects this for the next volume. Highly recommended series!

Update: I learned from the author that the publisher has corrected the production problem on volume 2. New purchases of the book won't have the same issue. So, I've given back the extra star! ( )