Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: The Barn: Frost & Q
SERIES: The Barn (book 2)
AUTHOR: Julia Talbot & BA Tortuga
PUBLISHER: Turtlehat Creatives
LENGTH: 203 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 19, 2025
BLURB:
After Quentin is horribly injured in a kidnapping, he heads for the Barn, an exclusive club in the Alaskan wilderness that he and his husband co-own with some good friends, to recover. And to hide from the world.
Also to ask for a divorce. He can’t cope with the way his husband, and the only man who makes him want to be vulnerable, looks at him these days. He can’t bear to see pity in Frost’s eyes.
Smokejumper Frost Kelly wants his husband back. He knows he’ll take Q any way he can get him. He doesn’t care if Q is in a wheelchair, or if he always has to use arm crutches to walk. He just wants them to be okay again. So he take time off work, even though it’s fire season, and goes to the Barn to coax Q into living his life.
The two of them have never lost their fire for each other, but they have to work through a lot of guilt and fear, and then deal with Frost going back to a dangerous job, before they might even see if they can make it work. Will they be able to find a new way forward or will they be stuck in the past?
REVIEW:
There was a different vibe from the first book in the series. The Barn changed its appearance in my mind. It might be because the co-authors changed but the rustic Alaskan Lodge from the first book and the 4-story glitzy resort in this second book did not have the same rustic woodsy feel. I know that Frost and Q’s influx of money might have had something to do with it. But it changed for me.
That being said, I love both these authors and their books. And I enjoyed this second book more than the first because of the much lighter BDSM theme. Yes, part of that was a result of learning to adapt after Q’s kidnapping and being shot in his head. His body may look the same but that bullet messed with his brain in a way brain’s aren’t meant to be messed with. Q became special to me. I have physical mobility issues that have settled in my lack of balance issues. People have even asked my friends if I’m drunk because of it. So I completely understood Q’s issues and frustrations. When you are sitting in a chair everything feels perfectly fine. Then you stand and it all changes in a flash. I appreciated that the authors didn’t skate around his issues but hit them head on. And Frost’s adapting took time. Yes, he was dealing with major guilt. And he just wanted his baby boy back. But his seeking advise and moving forward with adjustments really thrilled me. Frost and his Baby Boy Q were never going to be the same dynamic they were before. But with knowledge and patience they were going to be so much more!!!
The storyline changed focus also. In the first book it was about guests. You had interaction with staff but it was the Doms and Subs that were visiting that were the main characters. Except Zeke being a permanent guest but still he was a guest not a member of the workforce. This book was like it was introducing us to the rest of the owners and I am assuming that we are going to get each of their stories. We had already met Carson Gonzales in Zeke and Wesley’s book. He was running The Barn in that story. We now have Boone and Tug (along with Frost and Q). And I really hope their story is next. That will prove to be very interesting scenario. Two Doms that appear to also be two tops??? That’s a very interesting dynamic for sure and will have the pages flying.
Speaking of Carson…I know that Q never was, nor will ever be, a traditional sub. It’s just not him. But it works for him and Frost. Plus, he’s a 1/5 owner of The Barn and, between him and Frost, they own 40% of The Barn. So he doesn’t follow the D/s lines that most of the owners do. He is an intricate part of their organization and follows being an owner not BDSM lines of rules. But I kinda loved that Carson put him in his place when he when he needed to and they finally got working together to get answers on Frost and his team.
My only disappointment was that, like the first book, I kinda felt like I was left hanging in the end. I’m pretty sure we will hear more about Frost’s recovery and how Q’s adapting to the changes coming forward. But I really kinda wish we had a bit more closure. I though we would for hear more about Zeke and Wesley but I was reassured that Zeke still had his cabin for him permanently when they returned from Wesley’s jobs. But I like a bit more of not being left hanging. Both times I was shocked when I turned the page and realized the book was done.
RATING: 
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