Review: Nowhere Ranch by Heidi Cullinan

The Blurb:

Love will grow through the cracks you leave open.

Ranch hand Roe Davis absolutely never mixes business with pleasure—until he runs into his boss, Travis Loving, at the only gay bar within two hundred miles.

Getting involved with the ranch owner is a bad idea, but Roe’s and Travis’s bedroom kinks line up against one another like a pair of custom-cut rails. As long as they’re both clear this is sex on the side, no relationship, no interfering with the job, they could make it work.

Shut out by his family years ago, Roe survived by steadfastly refusing to settle into so much as a post office box. As his affair with Travis grows into more than just sex, Roe’s past catches up with him, threatening the thin ray of happiness he’s found, reminding him it’s well past time he went on his way.

But even a loner gets lonely, and at this point, there’s nowhere left to run. The shame and sorrow of what he’s lost will stay with Roe wherever he goes—until he’s ready to let love lead him home.

The Stats:

The Review:

Rating: ????????

Well, well, well this was a quite a raunchy little tale. I didn’t know Heidi Cullinan had it in her.

Giddyup and hold on to your hat for a ride.

It’s raw, and smoking-hot-dirty in the sex scenes. Because COWBOYS! And KINK! Oh my! This is not for the faint of heart. Keep a cool drink nearby and watch that your e-reader doesn’t burst into flames.

This book was written in first-person from the viewpoint of a relatively uneducated hero who’s had life kick him in the ass one too many times. It’s more simplistic in its prose than what I’m accustomed to by this author, but definitely fitting for the character and overall tone of the book.

Too often in the more heavily sexed-up books plot is either nonexistent or seriously lacking. That was not the case here.

The story was engaging from page one, sweet at times and sad and heartbreaking at times. There were moments my heart was in my throat and I shed a few tears there toward the end. The hero, Roe, had a hard path into adulthood and finding his place in the world. He’s got a good grip on who he is, but not so much on where he belongs, and a family that’s utterly despicable. Until he finds Nowhere Ranch and Travis–and, holy moly, Travis is just what he needs.

There was character growth, redemption, and a hard earned happily ever after that I could believe in.

This review also posted on GoodReads and Amazon.