Reviewed by Taylin
This is a Series Review of Rocky Mountain Boys Series (Books 1-2 )
AUTHOR: Brandon Witt
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
SERIES REVIEW:
The Rocky Mountain Boys Series contains two novels – Mapping The Forest and Braving The Rapids, and all the main characters are middle-aged.
Mapping The Forest is set in the National Park and follows the journey’s of Ranger Gabe, and hotel owner Luis. Luis needs an understanding man like Gabe to help him move from existing to living. Gabe has someone to move on from, too. The story is well-paced and contains homophobic assholes, hairy men, drama, good friends and times that made me cry.
Braving The Rapids has the backdrop of the National Park, and setting of the local businesses. Matt is a man who prefers to live on the wild side. But with his life a mess, he realizes that happiness means change. Todd is a good guy with a different set of problems. Their mutual baggage helps one understand the other. The story is an emotional rollercoaster of mixed feelings, jumping to conclusions and a raft of reasons why they shouldn’t, but can’t help themselves.
In both stories, one character is written in the first person; the other is in the third. I’ve not read a story that switches between first and third-person before. It made differentiating between who was talking easier, albeit strange. The style also made introducing the extended cast an act of conversation which left me needing to see them a few times before I grasped the full extent of who was who and their backgrounds.
Scene setting in both novels is superb. I truly got the sense of the outdoors, and there were dramatic moments of sublime beauty.
There are lots of similarities between the novels too—internal ramblings of why one shouldn’t go on a date, favored phrases occasionally gave me a sense of Déjà vu and the author has a definite preference for the word flinched. These are books five and six where flinched, is the reaction of choice, and I dare say, I’ll see it in the next.
Had I not just read Mapping The Forest I may not have seen the similarities, therefore it may be an idea to read the novels a few weeks apart.
Together, the novels contain a range of personalities and a drama’s. For me, Mapping The Forest flowed better and was more my pace, whereas Braving The Rapids shows that life can be messy and still have its good times. I experienced a range of emotions which is always a good thing, and while I had my favorite characters, they all gelled into good stories.
SERIES RATING: 
TITLE: Mapping The Forest
LENGTH: 242 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 14, 2020
BLURB:
Happily ever after has no map, but sometimes fate sends a guiding light.
Gabe Rice loves the rugged beauty of the land and the mountain community of Estes Park. But after six years as a seasonal ranger at Rocky Mountain National Park, he wonders if he’ll ever get a full-time position, and finding love seems a long-lost trail. When Gabe sees Luis—and hears his gorgeous singing—he’s compelled to meet him.
Luis Martinez, the new owner of a hotel and steak ride business in Estes, left California for a fresh start in Colorado. But even amid the splendor of the mountains, he struggles to move forward from a crushing loss. Unprepared for his attraction to Gabe, Luis is ready to run and hide from emotions he never hoped to experience again.
When the path ahead opens to a brighter future, Luis and Gabe must both find the courage to walk forward—together.
REVIEW:
Gabe, a thirty-two-year-old park ranger, has a life in Estes that includes a group of friends he considers family. For one of them, he bears an unrequited love. When Gabe goes on a rugged jeep ride, his attention is distracted by the beautiful Luis. For the first time in years, his friend is not at the forefront of Gabe’s thoughts.
Tragedy left Latino Luis needing a new start. So, he bought the hotel business in Estes, unseen. Since then, he works to get from one day to the next. His encounter with Gabe stirs feelings that he never believed he’d have again – emotions that he wants to hide from.
For me, three aspects of the story stood out – The scenery, Luis, and Rosalind Abel. The imagery of the area is superb. I could picture standing on rocks, looking out over the vista, so much so, that I’d love to visit someday. Rosalind is a sassy old lady and is Gabe’s best friends’ grandmother. She’s at that age where she says what she means and stuff the consequences – Loved her. As for Luis, he is a star. My heart went out to him, and several of his scenes made me shed tears. Luis knows what he’s going through and does a lot of self-analyzing. He is also doing his best, and I rooted for every step he took on his journey to happiness.
Onto Gabe. The opening scenes establish the love Gabe has for the outdoors, and he is a good guy. He is a caring, understanding, forgiving mountain of a man. He’s also aware of his, looks and abilities which occasionally makes him come across as a touch arrogant instead of capable. This aspect tainted my view of him, albeit, I championed many of his actions and felt for him. Gabe is the kind of man that Luis needs.
Some of the sense of arrogance may have come from the style of writing. Gabe is written in the first-person. Therefore, he gets to promote himself via ‘I can do this’ or ‘I’m good at that’ scenario. Whereas, Luis is written in the third-person, allowing self-appraisal to be softer.
The story is a slow burn even though technically the progress between Gabe and Luis is not. There were a couple of arcs that I wished had played a little differently and where I felt the author could have been a bit more daring. But that’s my preference. After all, what tale ticks every box for every reader. There are unresolved side drama, too, which carry over to the next book.
Overall, the story was a good one, where the protagonists must overcome homophobic assholes, personal demons, and unrequited love – all in a national park location. The humor is splendid, with a sarcastic edge, and the scene-setting is as delightful as some of the extended cast. Gabe is the good-egg of the mountain trail, and I am sure there are a ton of readers who will adore the gentle giant. As for Luis – I want to wrap him up and hug him.
There are features within this story that make me want to give it 4.5 hearts – one being the way Luis is written – it is gorgeous. Others, namely not going the extra mile in a couple of places, make me want to give it the regular to good story mark of 3.5 hearts, so I’ve plumped for down the middle.
RATING: 
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TITLE: Braving The Rapids
LENGTH: 316 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 28, 2020
BLURB:
Estes Park native Todd Fleece works hard to honor his obligations to family and the businesses he inherited, but only his friends and the horses at his ranch brighten Todd’s life. In fighting his attraction to his best friend’s ex-boyfriend, Todd has focused solely on his work, leaving little room in his life for finding love.
Matt Abel’s reckless youth put him on a path to a self-destructive life—his most painful failure was being a horrible father. He excels at extreme sports and living on the edge. Now back in Estes Park and teaching white-water rafting, Matt tries to reconnect with his mother and his grown daughter. When he runs into his ex’s friend Todd, Matt longs for more than a fling.
But achieving happiness isn’t simple, not with Todd’s family conflicts and Matt struggling not to slide back into alcoholism. With hurdles threatening to drive them apart, Todd and Matt try to find the courage to brave the rapids and face a future together….
REVIEW:
Todd has two businesses, is run off his feet and has mooned over his BFF’s ex, Matt, since they met. There’s also a lot about Matt that is a red flag.
Matt’s life is a mess. Living on the wild side, and having a daughter when he was a teenager, left him with much to atone for and he is trying to make amends. Adding a relationship to the mix could be too much to juggle.
Braving The Rapids is the second and final book in the series. Todd and Matt appear in Mapping The Forest in minor roles. Nevertheless, given the story arcs in book one, they were not my favs. The side with a devil on my shoulder suggested karma was a bitch, while the angel side pointed out – everyone needs another chance and that there’s someone for everyone. Plus, there are horses in this tale, and I lurrrvvv horses. Thus, I entered this story with apprehension.
Todd and Matt come with a ton of baggage, yet that luggage is what helps one understand the other. Both have family issues of a different nature, and it was interesting to read how they coped. Todd’s half-sister, Misty, made me so dizzy with her mood swings and changing views that I could have sworn I was on fairground waltzer’s. In contrast, Jordan came into her own with a speech to her father that was heartfelt and a gamechanger –awesome.
A couple of storylines continue from book one, so if you want resolution, Braving The Rapids needs a reading, though one arc went unsolved to my satisfaction. I soooo want to see Steve in a spin-off, flexing his business muscles over another character.
In many ways, the basic makeup of Todd and Matt’s characters isn’t dissimilar to Gabe and Luis, but with different backgrounds. Todd is understanding and an all-round good egg. Matt is like the skittish colt about to bolt out of the room at the mention of relationship. Of the two, Matt was my fav. He gave me mixed feelings, but I rooted for him to come good.
During the couple’s journey’s, there’s a lot of reasoning as to why they shouldn’t be, what they’re not good at, seeing hurt in eyes, being sure they’d seen XYZ in an expression, not waiting for answers and coming to quick wrong conclusions. There’s a mass of ‘should I – shouldn’t I’, ‘I will – I won’t’, ‘I’m going to anyway and regret it later’ and thinking the worst unless confirmed otherwise. I get that it happens, especially with their histories, but some of the internal ramblings went on for too long interrupting the story flow. I’ve no doubt that some readers will lap it up, but there was a bit too much of it for my taste, and I began to lose sympathy.
Kudos to the author for putting two such flawed characters together. But (without counting) they seemed to have an equal number of issues which I feel was overkill for one story. That aside, while wading through the melee, there are beautiful moments. Steve steps up to the BFF plate. Rosalind’s sass is on point. Matt has several poignant times with Jordan. Todd with a gun was brilliant. And seeing Todd take the time to discover the allure of Matt’s activities – priceless.
RATING: 
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