Reviewed by Jenna

TITLE:  Pickup Men

SERIES:    Pickup Men #1

AUTHOR:     L.C. Chase

PUBLISHER:  Riptide Publishing

LENGTH:   4 hours 54 minutes

NARRATOR:    Dorian Bane

BLURB:

It takes a pissed-off Brahma bull named Shockwave to show rodeo pickup man Marty Fairgrave the cold hard truth about champion bull rider Tripp Colby: Tripp will never leave the safety of his closet or acknowledge Marty in public. Sometimes loving someone just isn’t enough, and after a year of hiding what they are, Marty finally sees the light — and it’s no longer shining on Tripp.

Tripp Colby would do anything for Marty. Well . . . almost. He’s never loved anyone before, and isn’t quite sure how to handle it now. But he knows Marty is his everything, and in order to win him back, Tripp will have to overcome his darkest fears and step into the light.

But no matter Tripp’s intentions, the cost might be too high and the effort too late for these two cowboys to ride off into the sunset.

REVIEW:

Reading this book was a great experience for me. I had already read the second book in the series, so I was familiar with the setting and some of the characters. The book begins when Marty is injured in a rodeo while attempting to save his boyfriend, Tripp. However, since Tripp isn’t out of the closet, he doesn’t go to Marty even though Marty could have been dying. Marty is openly gay, and he’s so sick of Tripp hiding their love that this is the last straw for him. Marty vows to himself, his friends and his family that he will have more self-respect and only be with Tripp if Tripp comes out. However, Tripp comes from an extremely homophobic family and coming out is one of the hardest things Marty could ask of him. Though it’s difficult, Tripp makes every effort to make amends for wrongs in his past and live up to Marty’s expectations.

I have to start off by saying that I don’t usually read cowboy anything, but this series is addictive. I really loved the beginning of this book. Even though the story starts at a breaking point between an established couple, Marty and Tripp were extremely hot together. I really wanted Tripp to come out, but I also could sympathize with his fear. He was a famous bull rider and coming out wasn’t just something between his family and friends. Being a celebrity meant that this was something the world would want to know about. Even though the plot was intriguing and the characters extremely likable and hot, I really hated what happens in the end. The book ends in a sweet HEA, but I still was upset about what the author does to Tripp. I kept wanting the author to undo what happened, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. If it wasn’t for this one thing, I would have been stamping hearts all over this review. Despite my displeasure with the conclusion, I can’t wait to read book three. I recommend Pickup Men, as well as the series, to anyone who loves m/m erotic romance with cowboy themes.

The audio on this book was absolutely fantastic! Dorian Bane reads the book in a country accent and assigns the perfect voices to each of the characters. I’m so glad I listened to the audio book rather than the ebook because hearing his voice was really an amazing experience. After this, I might just have to hunt down audio books narrated by Dorian Bane.

RATING:

AUDIO RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Riptide Publishing

Amazon

Audible

ARe