Reviewed by Tori (Vicki)
TITLE: Daniel 
SERIES: Legacy Ranch #3
AUTHOR: RJ Scott
PUBLISHER: Love Lane Books
LENGTH:
RELEASE DATE: June 20th, 2018
BLURB:
Daniel worked hard at college, using coping strategies to shut himself off from any situation that might hurt. But, persistent nightmares and fears for his future drive him to revisit the past. Now Legacy might be the only place to give him a chance at peace.
After the tragic loss of his parents, Corey is head of the family now, and the welfare of his three younger sisters are what matters the most. Corey is desperate to find Daniel, tell him the truth and somehow convince him to keep secrets. Even if this leads to heartbreak.
When the world crumbles around Corey, and Daniel is running scared, Legacy ranch is their only hope.
A new story set in the world of Jack and Riley Campbell-Hayes and the Double D Ranch, Texas.
REVIEW:
Ok…. let me go over a tiny bit of history, partly to get my thoughts in order.
RJ Scott wrote a series of books following the trials and tribulations of two men, Jack and Riley, and their various families. At some point in the series, they were drawn in to some drama involving four young men who were being abused on another ranch. I hate to say it but I can’t remember how Jack and Riley got involved, but they did, and they helped get these fucked up young guys out, and the bastards that abused them convicted. This lead to the establishment of Legacy Ranch, where LGBTQ young people could get some help, a safe place to live, and learn some skills. Book one was Kyle’s story, as he helped set up the ranch, and found the healing he needed with his partner Jason. I read it, and although I liked it, I didn’t read the second book in the series. I found I had a hard time with the angst of Kyle’s past abuse, even though it’s not on page, there were memories, and he’s obviously left with some issues. When I read the blurb for Gabriel’s book, and read a few of the reviews, it sounded like it had on page abuse and I just can’t do it. So I skipped book two. This one came to us to review, and I agreed to do it, but I went into this one with a bit of concern. There wasn’t a warning, so in I went… I can say it is true that there is no on page abuse, but like in the first book, you know damn well what happened to Daniel.
Daniel has been attending college in Denver, just trying to get by. He’s got issues, and he’s pretty lonely since he’s so fucked up, but is hanging in there, about to finish up and graduate, then hopefully find a job. He’s horrified when a strange man shows up, knowing his real name, and implying he knows what happened to Daniel. The presence of Jack Campbell-Hayes doesn’t actually help at all, but eventually Daniel meets with the men to hear what they have to say. What he learns is that Corey, the strange man, is the nephew of one of the men who abused him, and Corey wants to help him, or buy him off, or something, after his parents and uncle have died in a plane crash. Corey handles this conversation badly, freaks Daniel out, and that’s the end of it. Corey goes home to his three younger sisters and tries to sort out what to do with his own issues. Dead parents, a company he doesn’t want, the three sisters to care for, the knowledge that his uncle was a fucking psycho, and the questions surrounding the plane crash. Add in some guilt over how he messed up the conversation with Daniel, and he’s a hot mess.
The two are eventually reunited at Legacy Ranch, and have some drama to work through. And possibly a relationship to build.
This story is less about the romance, and more about the healing. Both of these young men have some shit to deal with, and more time is spent with them individually dealing with it than together. They just aren’t in the right mental space to have a romantic relationship for most of the book. I remember that being the case with Kyle’s book too. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it you are looking for romance, you won’t find it in this series, at least the two I have read. Not to say there isn’t an emotional connection between Daniel and Corey, but it comes late to the story. They don’t spend a ton of time together, and there isn’t much sex, again until very late in the book. Not a complaint, just making sure anyone interested in reading this knows what they are getting. Mostly we see them working through their issues individually until they find themselves together at the ranch. Even then, it’s more friendship for a while. But eventually it turns in to more.
I am having a hard time finding the words, normally I’d say I enjoyed this book, but it’s hard to enjoy a book with this many messed up characters. Not just Corey and Daniel, but Corey’s younger sisters have issues, and we see the other three victims, and they obviously have issues too! The only ones not messed up in this one are Jack and Riley, and they aren’t around much. But lots of healing takes place, as some stuff from the past comes back up. Enough said!
So I have had issues with RJ’s books before being written by a British author but set in the US, and her use of British words or phrases. Unfortunately that has not changed with this book. Not that I am an expert in American English, or what is said in Texas, but I’ve not heard the phrase “treacle-slow” used, although I’ve seen “treacle” in a book and thought I knew what it meant. There were a couple of incidences like that, treacle being the most obvious. I wish that didn’t bother me, but it really does. It pulls me right out of the story every time. There were also some editing issues, missing words and the like, I’m hoping it’s just because I was reading an ARC and it hasn’t gone through a final edit.
Overall I found this to be a good book, but not perfect. I think I needed to see Corey and Daniel working on their relationship together, not just their individual issues, if that makes sense. I also notices that Daniel seemed to have an easy time with sex, which did surprise me, that could have been addressed a bit. I’m glad I read it, but I’m also glad I skipped Gabriel’s book. And I do think I need to go read some fluff!
RATING: 
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