The Tin Star

The Tin Star by J. L. Langley.

James Killian learns the hard way that smaller towns are full of bigots. When he comes out to his father he is not only kicked out of his home but off the Quadruple J where he works as the ranch foreman. With nowhere to go and little money, his savior comes in the unlikely form of his older brother’s best friend, the man he’s been in love with for over half his life.

Ethan Whitehall is a successful rancher and a well respected man in his community. His ranch the Tin Star has been in Ethan’s family for generations and affords him a certain prestige and power in the small town he calls home. Ethan knows without a doubt that all of that could shatter if his sexual orientation were to ever become public. But when he learns his best friend’s younger brother’s banishment and the reasons behind it, Ethan can’t help but get involved. He’s always had a soft spot where Jamie Killian was concerned, and it may very well be his downfall.

Nath was supposed to review this book with Chantal and I - unfortunately, she "didn't have time." LOL We're letting her off the hook this time, but watch out Nath, we'll get ya one day!

But on with the review!

Chantal: What did you think of it? Were you surprised to find out that Ethan was gay? I had no idea! I knew it was a gay romance so I should have known, but when we found out I was kinda shocked. Weird, eh?

Ames: LOL Yeah that's weird. I wasn't taken by surprise about Ethan. But I thought it was interesting how no one else seemed to know he was gay.

Chantal: Maybe I'm thinking that way because he was still in the closet. However, it was an open closet. LOL.

Ames: So yeah, I enjoyed it. The beginning started off a bit slow, but I got into it and couldn't put it down towards the end.

I like how Ethan stands up for his relationship with Jamie at the end. I mentioned that no one knew Ethan was gay, so that was a big thing for him to come out of the closet in their small town, especially considering how people reacted to Jamie coming out.

Chantal: It was heartbreaking to see the way Jamie's father and so called friends treated him. It was nice that Ethan stood up for him so strongly, no matter what anyone thought. And when Jamie's brother found out about Ethan and Jamie I thought the reaction was a nice change from the way Jamie had been treated.

Ames: Oh yeah! I thought John would freak out something, but he was cool with it.

Ok, one thing that really really bothered me: Grown men calling their father "Daddy" - that got on my nerves after a while. I kept thinking, "Yeah right." Despite that, I still bought the next book. LOL

Chantal: Yeah, I know what you mean. I call my dad 'daddy', but I'm a girl-so it's okay. lol
When I think of a man saying daddy it's rather emasculating. Do they sit to pee too? It's weird.

I, too, am going to be reading more from this author for sure. She knows how to write hot man on man lovin'.

Ames: All right, I'm going to give the Tin Star a C+. It wasn't the best, but it was enjoyable and made me want to read more by the author. :P

Chantal: I agree 100%. C+. It was good, not great.