Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Midnight Rodeo: Homecoming
SERIES: Midnight Rodeo#1
AUTHOR: B.A Tortuga, Julia Talbot and Kiernan Kelly
PUBLISHER: Turtlehat Creatives
LENGTH: 229 pages
RELEASE DATE: January 28, 2016
BLURB:
What happens when rodeos start to get too tough for humans to compete in? Midnight Rodeo, of course, where supernatural creatures like shifters and vampires work for the prize money, and for the awe of their audience.
In Welcome to the Pack by BA Tortuga, when head bullfighter Denton is killed by a demon bull, his twin, Denver, comes back to take his place. Denver was gone for years, working mundane rodeos and missing his twin. He’s not sure the pack can heal him since the other bullfighters challenge Denver at every turn. All except Blaine, who’s an outcast himself, and who knows Denver is like no one he’s ever met.
In Oklahoma Rain by Kiernan Kelly, psychic Blaze scouts locations for the rodeo company, Darque and Knight, where he finds another psychic talent, Zack, who’s hot as the Fourth of July. Zack is complicated, though, thanks to his sidekick, Mikey, a damaged kid. Blaze invites the pair back to the rodeo, but not everyone is as happy as Blaze to have them there.
In Big Bear, Little Bear, by Julia Talbot, bear shifter Ben is returning to the rodeo after a long injury recovery. Big bear shifter Ozzie is the barrel man and clown, and he’s been waiting for Ben to come back to the big show. But is Ben ready to ride again, let alone be the lover Ozzie is ready to take on?
ANTHOLOGY REVIEW:
I love Cowboys and pretty much anything Paranormal so this book was just totally made of win. Each story brought something different and enjoyable to the anthology and left me wanting to read so much more. If you’re looking for something a little different or like either Cowboys or various paranormal creatures, I’d give this one a try; I highly doubt you’ll be disappointed. 🙂
REVIEW:
Welcome to the Pack by B.A. Tortuga
I loved this story! It set the scene up for the rest of the book really well and was interesting enough to draw me in very quickly. Denver, aside from being a twin, is nothing like his brother Dent was regardless of looks. What I liked best about him was that he was willing to give everyone a chance and based his opinion of them on how they acted and what he thought instead of how things were under his brother’s leadership. Blaine was a nice counterbalance to Denver’s exuberance and easy going nature and I thought the two fit well. The story was interesting and the flow was great; not too slow and I still felt like I got a great story for the length. My only complaint is that you never find out why Denver had to leave in the first place but it was an otherwise great story. 4.5*
Oklahoma Rain by Kiernan Kelly
This was kind of a nice interlude between the two shifter stories in the book and I liked it. Like the first story, the pacing was good and I felt like I got a nice complete story by the end of it. Blaze and Zack are similar in that they both have abilities that aren’t readily apparent just by looking at them but they have much different personalities. I found Mikey cute and it was great to see so many people willing to welcome him in to the community, even though he was human. There was a bit more conflict in this one, which I really liked, and it still ended up with a nice happy ending. (more or less) 3.5*
Big Bear, Little Bear by Julia Talbot
This…was so cute! All Ben wanted was to catch the eye and attention of older Bear Ozzie but when he’s rebuffed, he decides not to try again. After this point the story fast forwards a bit as Ben is injured and his recovery, until he returns to the rodeo, is bypassed. Ben and Ozzie seemed more in touch with their inner animal than most other shifters I’ve read about and I enjoyed that aspect of their characters a great deal. There really isn’t any drama to speak of in this one; it pretty much just focuses on Ben and Ozzie getting together and Ben working through the rest of his recovery. This was a great end to the book, however, as it left of on a high note and I still found seeing more aspects of the rodeo intriguing, even without all the action. I liked it and look forward to maybe seeing more of these characters in the future. 4*
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