Ride the Whirlwind: Love Across Time Book 4, Jackie North

Soft and sweet, this had so much healing, love, exploration, and tenderness that I think it's my favorite of the series.  We got a chance to check in with John and Laurie, Layton and Zach, and to watch Trent realize the balance he can find between love and duty.  And watching Maxton deal with his less-than-awesome upbringing and embrace the soft, loving version of himself he previously only felt free to be with Laurie was fantastic.  There's not much more beyond this that I could hope for these men.

Maxton's story was a long time coming.  We knew him to be the surly, sarcastic, prickly roommate to Laurie except there were so many other parts of him we hadn't known about until now.  The reasons for his attitude are heartbreaking and while I kind of feel like I wanted more explanation and detail, what we were given was enough to grasp the depth of his hurt and damage.  And in his softer moments I fell in love with him.  I don't know that I'd call him fully healed from his past trauma and reformed of his salty behavior, but he promised it best when he promised Laurie he'd try.  He made so many strides to showing his best self and believing that he would no longer be punished for it that I couldn't help but feel for him and see that he'd be just fine in the end.

For Maxton's partner we could have had someone "alpha" who could be the strong hand Maxton needed to call him out on his behavior, we could have had someone just as abused and hurt as he was so they could find comfort in and empathy for one another, or we could have had Trent.  Trent was the  strong, silent, infinitely kind man who needed the brightness Max buried deep and could give Max the patience he needed to figure himself out.  It was the perfect pairing and while both men really did need one another, they served more as a catalyst for their individual self-reflection and turnaround that was essential to them finding their future happiness.

If we had gotten a little bit of an epilogue or some closure to Trent's family situation I would have really liked that, but since this story was more focused on the relationship between Trent and Maxton, I didn't think it diminished the overall story by being omitted.  What stuck for me was all the small things that made my heart tighten and swell: the rocking chair, the little yellow house, the tender touches, the sweet confessions, the softness, the love...and really, it's always all about the love.

*$2.99 on Amazon

Soulmates across time. Two hearts, stronger together.

In present day, Maxton is good at finding trouble and bad at everything else.

In 1892, Trent Harrington, sheriff of Trinidad, Colorado, lives a respectable but lonely life, devoid of any closeness.

Trying to escape a past that keeps chasing him, Maxton drives south to avoid getting arrested. When his car spins off the road, he is swept up in a desert whirlwind and finds himself in the year 1892. Lost and alone, unused to the laws of the wild west, Maxton gets arrested anyway.

Trent is tasked with escorting Maxton to Trinidad. The request isn’t unusual, but the miscreant is. Maxton draws Trent’s heart out of its shell with his flashing green eyes and lush head of hair. It isn’t right. It isn’t natural. It’s illegal. Yet Trent cannot resist the impetuous young man.

As the two men travel through the vast, empty desert to their destination, will they find in each other the love and companionship they never thought they’d have?

A male/male time travel romance, complete with the scent of desert roses, brilliantly colored sunsets, starlit nights, bitter campfire coffee, growing honesty and trust, and true love across time.