Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Pushing Riley to the Max

SERIES:  Isaiah Ranch

AUTHOR:  Romeo Alexander

PUBLISHER:  Books Unite People, LLC

LENGTH:  366 pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 27, 2024

BLURB:  

Getting my Ph.D. is a bit of a challenge. Not falling for my hot, straight, grumpy mentor is next to impossible.

Six months undercover on a ranch known for rehabilitation is my ticket to finishing my degree. Me? I’m just a guy who’s gay, terrified of horses, and somehow convinced this is a good idea. The owners are in on my secret, but Max, my rugged, horse-whispering mentor, isn’t. Did I mention he’s infuriatingly attractive?

Thrown together, it’s not just the horses we’re taming. As Max and I dance around each other, an unexpected moment of closeness threatens to unravel everything. Apparently, we’re both hiding secrets. Falling for him isn’t part of my research, yet here I am, questioning everything for a man who might just be worth the risk.

I’m learning that the biggest discoveries often come from the heart, but will it be Max or the horses that push me to my limits?

Turns out it’s both…and a donkey named Milo.

REVIEW:

Riley is a Ph.D. student who is going undercover to work at a ranch that has a program to rehabilitate non-violent offenders.  Despite the misgivings of his faculty advisor, he believes that actually being a part of the program is the best way to do his research.  When he gets picked up to go to the ranch, he meets Max, a man who has gone through the program and now works at the ranch despite having fulfilled his contract.  He is a real grumpy Gus – preferring animals to people and just generally being antisocial.  He is thrown by Riley’s happy/positive personality and doesn’t particularly like it.  However, the ranch owner and manager (who are in on Riley’s secret) decide he should be Riley’s mentor.  Riley does his best to do the work and fit in.  He is taking his notes and making his observations.  He also isn’t a fan of animals 🙂

Max is the horse-whisperer and prefers to be with the animals who need more attention or have issues.  Max also has his own secrets – like  who exactly his family is and why he has chosen the path that the has.  He can’t figure Riley out.  And he’s not at all thrilled to have to be the one to mentor Riley.  But the more time they spend together, the more intrigued he is.  Their banter is fun 😉

Riley can’t tell anyone who he really is and why he is there.  But the longer he is there and the closer he gets to Max – who has many layers and walls to break through – the harder that secret is to keep.  As Max has his own secrets and he’s discovering things about himself too, things get pretty intense.  There are quite a few surprises and turns to this story before out two unlikely men find their happy.

This is the first book I’ve ready from Romeo Alexander in a while.  It’s the start to a new series about a rehabilitation ranch in Texas and the men who come their for a second chance.  This story is told from dual first person POV so the reader gets to really know Riley and Max – their secrets, their motivations, their insecurities, their pasts.  While not always 100% successful in romances, I think it really added to my understanding and enjoyment in this story.  These characters are complex and have competing pressures/priorities/idiosyncrasies that are revealed in the dual POVs.  There are a couple places that drag a bit in the middle and it is a slow burn – like there isn’t any real romance until about 40% in – but it’s well worth it in the end.  I came to care about these guys and wanted to see them get their happy ending.  The ranch itself is almost a character here.  I loved the descriptions of the land, the people and the animals.  The animals were definitely supporting characters 😉  Despite some pretty heavy topics that are addressed in this story, there are also light-hearted and funny moments.  This is definitely a character driven story where both men grown in understanding not only of each other but of themselves.  It takes a lot for them to get to that place, but the journey is worth it.  Recommended and I am on to the next book 🙂

RATING: 

BUY LINK:

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