Jodi Payne

I think I own every book that Jodi Payne & B.A. Tortuga have written together and separately. Jodi knows romance and B.A. is a "cowboy expert"...always giving us an interesting, entertaining read. This one involves a new Dom/Sub dynamic which always makes it even more interesting. We've met Sam and his Dom in several of the other books in this series. Sam and Kacey are friends and both ex-rodeo cowboys as well as proud Texans. I felt sorry for Kacey even though early in the book we didn't know exactly what all he had been through, but as we slowly learned his story, we find that he's badly broken and had obviously been through the "school of hard knocks". Not only that, but he had also learned all the wrong lessons. After yet another betrayal and abandonment by someone he trusted and thought he loved, he’s literally at the end of his rope. He’s left the cowboy life behind when he shows up in New York City asking to spend a few nights with Sam, an ex-lover and friend that had already found his HEA in a D/s relationship. As expected, Kacey and Sam quickly mess up big time when they get into a fight with some bikers in a bar and Kacey’s hair trigger temper gets the two of them needing to be rescued by Sam’s Dom and his friend, another Dom, River. River has been a long-time casual Dom in the D/s scene, but he’s never taken on the responsibilities of having a full-time sub of his own. He's drawn to Kacey, and he wants to take care of him. So, to a large extent this is a tale of both Kacey and River’s journey. Overall, this is a fairly low-angst story, and it is certainly engaging. The prose is well constructed, giving the story an authentic feel.… (mais)

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!… (mais)

Jodi Payne and B.A. Tortuga has again done what they do best, written an incredibly sweet contemporary cozy romance filled with a huge supporting family and horses, and cute little goats on a Texas, ranches, and of course more cowboys than you can shake a stick at. You can’t go wrong with these things or with these two writers. Their love and knowledge of the people and this region adds a richness and truthfulness to each story. There are lots of good things filing these pages. The instant love between the two main characters and the relationship, all are written realistically. Tyler McKeehan starts the story as a New York City bartender who’s had a lifetime of grief and loss and had recently undergone yet another one...the death of his best friend, Will. I loved Tyler and how he just handled everything that life threw at him...then got up and went on...just one day at a time. The tragedy behind his friend, Will’s death was part of the storyline that I felt wasn't explained very well, but I'm not writing the book and there was more "good stuff" yet to come. Texas rancher, Matthew Whitehead, had come to NYC for the book fair and ends up with not only boxes of books, but found himself in Tyler's bar where he met Tyler with whom he shares an immediate bond and much more. An emergency drew Matt back to Texas before much other than attraction could take place...but that attraction made Tyler realize that he was tired off the loneliness, working his fingers to the bone and starting the whole thing over again, and again and again...and most of all he was tired of missing his cowboy and seeing where they could have gone with one another. So... the New York bartender gets on his first ever airplane and takes his first, but hopefully nor his last, taste of ranch life and Texas. He had walked into what his dreams were made of. Matt's entire family and the entire ranch overwhelmed him with their welcome...but he knows he's homeat last! Tyler and Matt just worked without too much effort. They worked as an adorable, sweet and delightful couple that readers of almost any genera of romance, and especially lovers of cowboy romances, will slide into and make themselves at home.… (mais)

Shiloh, (Shi), has had two hard, sad, long lonely years since the loss of his beloved husband Matty, in a horrible bull riding accident. His good friends Skyler and his husband Beckett have talked him into moving to Vermont to help out and get away from his daily pain and sorrow. He's now in Vermont but he spends his days watching cooking show reruns in his tiny apartment and his evenings sitting alone, nursing a single glass of whisky at the bar in town, while reliving memories of his husband. One night a friendly guy begins to pay attention to him by sitting and talking...then asking him to join the pool game. This sweet guy is Tate, a High School math teacher and to Shi's surprise, it seems that he actually seems to want to become his friend. Before long Shi is spending more time at Tate's farm than at his lonely apartment. Then Tate is seriously offering to put up a greenhouse on his farm so Shiloh can pursue his passion of growing plants and food. We knew that the broody cowboy that sits in the last booth by the restrooms at the bar every night and caught Tate's eye, and it won't be long before he captures…his heart. Both Tate and Shiloh were warm, wonderful characters. Tate was just the perfect amount of sunshine to make Shiloh finally come out of self-hibernation and start to bloom and grow again just like his plants. The two men just completely complimented each other. Shiloh could finally start to thaw out of his big self-induced freeze and start living his life, as his Matty would have wanted him to. I liked that this book also let us catch up with Skyler and Beckett and their three children again. Shi had so much support from these friends when his Matty was killed, and he became a big part of their family...now he also has Tate and people that he's met since coming to Vermont. I really like these two authors writing together. I've read and own almost everything that they have authored. It doesn't matter if it's blended families getting together, couples discovering love and forming a relationship, or rodeo cowboys...the stories are warm with a guaranteed happy ever after.… (mais)