First of all the setting is a nice western romance, the old fashioned type with handsome and tall cowboys falling in love for the naïve innocent. The naïve innocent is Lorcan, 21 years old and virgin, too pretty for his own good. Lorcan left his house not since he was kicked out for being gay, but since he was in a rebellion mood; that is one of the main fault of Lorcan, he is impulsive and prone to carelessly take decisions that will change his life forever.
At the beginning of the story, Lorcan suspects he is gay, but since everyone is already convinced of that, Lorcan decides he doesn’t want to give to all of them the satisfaction of being right and he leaves home; sure, stumbling upon a ranch managed by a three gay cowboys, two of them over-sixty and together, and the third one 31 years old, very handsome and in the closet, is not exactly the right move to deny being gay. Temptation is there and Lorcan is more than ready to be tempted; I saw in him the typical sex-driven mentality of someone who has for too long deny his own instincts.
Quinn on the other hand is well aware of who is the object of his desires, but he cannot allow himself to be gay; his own neighbours will never accept a gay ranch owner. Falling in love for a 21 years old guy who has just discovered his own sexuality is not exactly playing it down and when another man starts to poach in his own territory, Quinn is not enough ready to stop him.
Jess is sexy, open and friendly and he adores Lorcan; there is no doubt in his mind that he loves Lorcan even if that means letting him go back to Quinn. That is probably his winning chance, being so unselfish and always open with his feelings. Lorcan in the end is the young boy he is, and he needs as much comfort as passion. To be honest with him, he is not playing with Jess’s feelings, and he indeed left both of them, Jess and Lorcan, but the one who is more ready to go and ask him back is the one that will own his heart… at least in this first novel.
I probably liked this novel, and its unexpected ending, since I feel it’s not yet all written for these three men; I cannot imagine how the author will manage those three in the next novel, but I think she will move her characters again, like pawns on the chessboard. If I have to be true, I didn’t like so much Lorcan at the beginning, I found his being virgin role a little too much, and when he first made love, I felt a little unnecessary he had to admit he was a virgin, I’m not sure a man would use that line, or at least not at 21 years old. But again, that was really a minor point, and the major big points of this novel is that it doesn’t play according to the rules, and that is definitively a strength.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2365
Amazon: Lorcan's Desire (Whispering Pines Ranch)
Amazon Kindle: Lorcan's Desire (Whispering Pines Ranch)
Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (May 30, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 161581888X
ISBN-13: 978-1615818884
Reading List: http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bott
Cover Art by Anne Cain