giddybubble's review against another edition
3.0
This could have been a four-star read for me if the mystery plot had been less crappy and the romance had been more slow-paced.
crtsjffrsn's review against another edition
3.0
Joe Peterson is a dedicated and respected sheriff's deputy. He's active in the Mormon church. He's also gay and in the closet. But he figures it's a secret he can keep. It's never gotten in the way of his work or his life. But when Kabe Varghese shows up in the area, Joe's not quite sure what to do. Kabe pushes every one of Joe's buttons. And Kabe is also an ex-con, recently released on parole. When a mysterious death occurs on the ranch where Kabe is staying, Joe asks him to help investigate. He needs someone who can climb with him without risking a fall. But it may just be the one at risk of falling is Joe. And if he falls for Kabe, can he live with the consequences?
I've heard people say that coming out stories have lost their relevance. They reason that society is accepting now. They argue that people need not fear being out. And I can agree with wanting the world of "the closet" to be in the past. But the truth is that it's not. For many people, and for many reasons, it's still not safe to live out loud. Some communities just aren't there yet. And many professions remain conservative. For Joe, as a Mormon and law enforcement officer, his sexuality isn't going to go over with everyone. And even when one wants to live openly, you have to consider those outside influences.
Of course, there are characters in this book that I dislike. But I understand why they're there. And even though this book is from a few years ago, I think the story's still rather relevant. I plan to pick up the next book in the series when I get a chance.
I've heard people say that coming out stories have lost their relevance. They reason that society is accepting now. They argue that people need not fear being out. And I can agree with wanting the world of "the closet" to be in the past. But the truth is that it's not. For many people, and for many reasons, it's still not safe to live out loud. Some communities just aren't there yet. And many professions remain conservative. For Joe, as a Mormon and law enforcement officer, his sexuality isn't going to go over with everyone. And even when one wants to live openly, you have to consider those outside influences.
Of course, there are characters in this book that I dislike. But I understand why they're there. And even though this book is from a few years ago, I think the story's still rather relevant. I plan to pick up the next book in the series when I get a chance.
jerseygirl2912's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed reading it. I don't know much about mormon faith so it was not only a entertaining read but interesting as well.
Great characters, good story.
Great characters, good story.
shazov's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
I'm actually finding it quite hard to write a review on this one. Yes, I did enjoy the book. Would I ever reread it? Probably not. Am I chomping at the bit to read the next one.. no not really, I'm happy to wait.
I'm asking myself though why I'm not connecting with the MC's as well. I'll admit, I really disliked Kabe for the first few interactions, but started to love him from thereon. Joe.... I'm really not connecting with him at all. Maybe that's the problem. The religious overtones also don't help, although up to now that has never been an issue for me and all the technical climbing terms began to weigh the story down as well.
So all in all, I'll admit that I was disappointed in the book.
I'm actually finding it quite hard to write a review on this one. Yes, I did enjoy the book. Would I ever reread it? Probably not. Am I chomping at the bit to read the next one.. no not really, I'm happy to wait.
I'm asking myself though why I'm not connecting with the MC's as well. I'll admit, I really disliked Kabe for the first few interactions, but started to love him from thereon. Joe.... I'm really not connecting with him at all. Maybe that's the problem. The religious overtones also don't help, although up to now that has never been an issue for me and all the technical climbing terms began to weigh the story down as well.
So all in all, I'll admit that I was disappointed in the book.
maya56's review against another edition
4.0
What a great read! The characters, particularly Joe, were nuanced and well-rounded. Joe's conflict between his religion and his being gay seemed real although my personal beliefs fall more in line with Kabe's. The church bishop's response to Joe and Kabe's relationship had my stomach twisted in sick and sour knots. And honestly, the thought of family having to choose between a loved one or the church just seems the antithesis of Christian fundamentals, IMHO. *grrrr*
There were two things I did have a bit of an issue with in the book. First, not being familiar with climbing terms and equipment, I found myself torn out of the story to search info on line so I knew what the heck was going on. But hey, I learned something new and that's never a bad thing! The second issue was Joe's dialect. I had a difficult time understanding the phrasing (since I live in an area where we don't have an accent or dialect!) ;) There were times I had to re-read a sentence or two and twist the words into different configurations until it became clear. *shrugs* Probably it's just me. :/ That being said, I still loved the book and am looking forward to reading the sequel!
ETA: ...and this evening I ran across This Picture-NSFW that just screamed KABE when I saw it! :D
There were two things I did have a bit of an issue with in the book. First, not being familiar with climbing terms and equipment, I found myself torn out of the story to search info on line so I knew what the heck was going on. But hey, I learned something new and that's never a bad thing! The second issue was Joe's dialect. I had a difficult time understanding the phrasing (since I live in an area where we don't have an accent or dialect!) ;) There were times I had to re-read a sentence or two and twist the words into different configurations until it became clear. *shrugs* Probably it's just me. :/ That being said, I still loved the book and am looking forward to reading the sequel!
ETA: ...and this evening I ran across This Picture-NSFW that just screamed KABE when I saw it! :D
pam_h's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
This series is 50% off at Smashwords through Friday (7/31/2020), and I am really enjoying it so far. (Just started Book 3)
For one, it does not have that paint-by-numbers mm romance formula feel to it, which is always appreciated, but especially with LEO characters for me. This is the sub-genre I am least willing to suspend my disbelief for, and for some reason the formula writers have latched on to the handful of tropes I find most annoying with cop/federal agent characters and will not let them go.
But it's the setting that really has me infatuated. We took a hiking trip through southern Utah for my 30th birthday, and I probably spent about six months afterwards trying to convince my husband to move to the exact part these guys live in. We are not climbers -- and never will be; this Utah trip was when we both (rather inconveniently) discovered we have a teeny tiny fear of extreme heights...oops! -- but we are very much outdoors people, so I am absolutely in love with that aspect of these guys' connection to each other.
The sense of place is seriously impressive, and I also love the sense of community among the trained official-types in the greater area. The local cops, state troopers, park rangers, EMTs, volunteer fire responders, etc. all tend to come together to pool their skills and resources however they can since there's so few of them, and I love how naturally Kabe's interests/skills fall into that part of Joe's life.
The religion stuff isn't easy to read, but it stayed just on the right side of overwhelming for me. The level of realism actually helped since I also found the insights into the LDS church interesting, and at this point in the series, most of the people Joe has a personal connection to are pretty supportive. (His parents have just returned from a two-year trip out of the country in Book 3, so we'll see how I feel after that one!)
But Joe gets hit with some pretty serious disgust, even if it's coming from people he doesn't actually care about, and losing the formal connection to his church and that aspect of his community/larger family is heart-breaking for him, even if he's able to focus, for the most part, on the fact that it doesn't change his personal connection to God.
It's only pretty recently that I've gotten to a zen enough place myself to be able to read something like this. It is not the main plot of the book, but it is a big subplot, and it's definitely a big part of Joe's personality/character. There's a religious undercurrent that runs through a lot of the non-religious scenes, partly because of what's going on with Joe and partly because of the community he lives and works in. But there's something different enough about the LDS church -- to, say, your Southern Baptists -- that it doesn't have that automatic triggering effect for me. It's just far enough removed from my reality that I never lost that sense of objectivity. (Which I guess is really just to say that despite my new-ish zen attitude toward religion, Southern Baptists can still trigger the fuck outta me!! For whatever that's worth :)
Also, strange segue, but if you have a hard-line zero tolerance policy against BDSM, this one's not for you. It is a *very* small part of the book, and completely informal (which may be a problem for those on the other end of the BDSM spectrum?), but Joe pretty much completely accidentally stumbles upon the fact that Kabe is a sexy little masochist and Joe is THERE for it. It's the type of thing that didn't bother me at all back when I didn't read BDSM, so I wouldn't let it stop you unless you know for sure it'll ruin the book for you.
This series is 50% off at Smashwords through Friday (7/31/2020), and I am really enjoying it so far. (Just started Book 3)
For one, it does not have that paint-by-numbers mm romance formula feel to it, which is always appreciated, but especially with LEO characters for me. This is the sub-genre I am least willing to suspend my disbelief for, and for some reason the formula writers have latched on to the handful of tropes I find most annoying with cop/federal agent characters and will not let them go.
But it's the setting that really has me infatuated. We took a hiking trip through southern Utah for my 30th birthday, and I probably spent about six months afterwards trying to convince my husband to move to the exact part these guys live in. We are not climbers -- and never will be; this Utah trip was when we both (rather inconveniently) discovered we have a teeny tiny fear of extreme heights...oops! -- but we are very much outdoors people, so I am absolutely in love with that aspect of these guys' connection to each other.
The sense of place is seriously impressive, and I also love the sense of community among the trained official-types in the greater area. The local cops, state troopers, park rangers, EMTs, volunteer fire responders, etc. all tend to come together to pool their skills and resources however they can since there's so few of them, and I love how naturally Kabe's interests/skills fall into that part of Joe's life.
The religion stuff isn't easy to read, but it stayed just on the right side of overwhelming for me. The level of realism actually helped since I also found the insights into the LDS church interesting, and at this point in the series, most of the people Joe has a personal connection to are pretty supportive. (His parents have just returned from a two-year trip out of the country in Book 3, so we'll see how I feel after that one!)
But Joe gets hit with some pretty serious disgust, even if it's coming from people he doesn't actually care about, and losing the formal connection to his church and that aspect of his community/larger family is heart-breaking for him, even if he's able to focus, for the most part, on the fact that it doesn't change his personal connection to God.
It's only pretty recently that I've gotten to a zen enough place myself to be able to read something like this. It is not the main plot of the book, but it is a big subplot, and it's definitely a big part of Joe's personality/character. There's a religious undercurrent that runs through a lot of the non-religious scenes, partly because of what's going on with Joe and partly because of the community he lives and works in. But there's something different enough about the LDS church -- to, say, your Southern Baptists -- that it doesn't have that automatic triggering effect for me. It's just far enough removed from my reality that I never lost that sense of objectivity. (Which I guess is really just to say that despite my new-ish zen attitude toward religion, Southern Baptists can still trigger the fuck outta me!! For whatever that's worth :)
Also, strange segue, but if you have a hard-line zero tolerance policy against BDSM, this one's not for you. It is a *very* small part of the book, and completely informal (which may be a problem for those on the other end of the BDSM spectrum?), but Joe pretty much completely accidentally stumbles upon the fact that Kabe is a sexy little masochist and Joe is THERE for it. It's the type of thing that didn't bother me at all back when I didn't read BDSM, so I wouldn't let it stop you unless you know for sure it'll ruin the book for you.
quinnclancy's review against another edition
3.0
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book has some great characters and a decent story, however the voice throughout is very authentic to Utah and while it is a great talent to get the narrator's voice to match the protagonist, esp when in first person, this was a sticking point for me as I found myself confused and having to re-read a lot of sentences. Perhaps it's because I'm Irish not American but I just couldn't wrap my head around the speak too much. I acclimated towards the end of the novel, but I still have no idea what the first chapter was saying. To me the book started in chapter 2. There was also a lot of technical climbing talk that half were explained and half just flew over my head.
I enjoyed getting to know the characters of Joe and Kabe and see their relationship develop. Joe is quite somber except when he climbs and slowly throughout the book when he's with Kabe. Kabe is closed off and hard to read until he's out on a cliff face. The story centers around their relationship and Joe being forced out of the closet. Each of the characters felt different and mostly fully fleshed out, though some were just names we heard which made the town seem bigger. The sub-plot of the murder seemed to be dealt with too quickly and not really featured too much. It would have been nice to see a bit more.
This book has some great characters and a decent story, however the voice throughout is very authentic to Utah and while it is a great talent to get the narrator's voice to match the protagonist, esp when in first person, this was a sticking point for me as I found myself confused and having to re-read a lot of sentences. Perhaps it's because I'm Irish not American but I just couldn't wrap my head around the speak too much. I acclimated towards the end of the novel, but I still have no idea what the first chapter was saying. To me the book started in chapter 2. There was also a lot of technical climbing talk that half were explained and half just flew over my head.
I enjoyed getting to know the characters of Joe and Kabe and see their relationship develop. Joe is quite somber except when he climbs and slowly throughout the book when he's with Kabe. Kabe is closed off and hard to read until he's out on a cliff face. The story centers around their relationship and Joe being forced out of the closet. Each of the characters felt different and mostly fully fleshed out, though some were just names we heard which made the town seem bigger. The sub-plot of the murder seemed to be dealt with too quickly and not really featured too much. It would have been nice to see a bit more.
kaje_harper's review against another edition
5.0
Hard Fall begins the Deputy Joe series. Deputy Joe Peterson has to be one of my favorite characters in M/M romance. He's a cop and a believing Mormon but also a closeted gay Dom. He walks a difficult line, trying to reconcile his personal faith with who he is. His integrity does not let him pretend to himself about the hard questions.
Joe meets young free-climber Kabe, as a murder mystery opens. Kabe is his balance - a sub, but also a free spirit, a man who can encompass all the parts of Joe that have so far found no real outlet. Joe has always just kept his sexuality and desires under wraps and gone with the flow, but with Kabe in his life, hiding is not going to continue to be an option.
I love Joe's narrative voice. Some people have found his colloquial country-boy tone annoying (one reader on Amazon complained about all the 'typos') but I like it; it sounds right in my head. About his relationship with Kabe, Joe says, "My heart decided to go and I didn't have much choice but to follow." It's that simple, but not that easy.
Each book in this series has a mystery and a solid ending, as the relationship develops, and as Joe finds his way, both in his profession and with his Mormon family. The BDSM element is present, but not the main feature of the stories. I enjoyed all of them, and would read more of Joe any time.
Joe meets young free-climber Kabe, as a murder mystery opens. Kabe is his balance - a sub, but also a free spirit, a man who can encompass all the parts of Joe that have so far found no real outlet. Joe has always just kept his sexuality and desires under wraps and gone with the flow, but with Kabe in his life, hiding is not going to continue to be an option.
I love Joe's narrative voice. Some people have found his colloquial country-boy tone annoying (one reader on Amazon complained about all the 'typos') but I like it; it sounds right in my head. About his relationship with Kabe, Joe says, "My heart decided to go and I didn't have much choice but to follow." It's that simple, but not that easy.
Each book in this series has a mystery and a solid ending, as the relationship develops, and as Joe finds his way, both in his profession and with his Mormon family. The BDSM element is present, but not the main feature of the stories. I enjoyed all of them, and would read more of Joe any time.