Release Day Review: Edge of Forever by Barbara Elsborg (Guest Post+Giveaway)

Book: Edge of Forever
Author: Barbara Elsborg
Length: 103,000 words
Genre: M/M


Blurb:

Teaching Russians how to be cowboys? Levi thinks his father is joking when he tells him that’s what he wants him to do for the next six months. Working in the frozen desolation of southwest Russia he’ll earn enough to buy a new barn for their Montana ranch. But there’s a deeper agenda for sending him to the edge of nowhere. It will stop him sloping off on Saturday nights to gay bars and clubs for threesomes with strangers.

Pasha finally pushes his father too far and is banished to a remote ranch in the middle of a snowy Russian winter. Stripped of all the trappings of his privileged Moscow lifestyle, he has nothing at his disposal but a suitcase of designer clothes and a whole lot of sass. Pasha hates the countryside, hates physical work, hates the cold and hates cows. But deprived of money, phone, and access to anyone who might help him, he’s screwed and not in a good way.

Levi’s counting down the days till he can return to the States and his Saturday night hook-ups. When Pasha arrives at the ranch wearing eyeliner, retching every time he walks into a barn, Levi is amused, irritated—and attracted. When a vicious attack on Pasha throws them into close quarters, both men are forced to re-evaluate not just who the other is, but whether they truly want to return to the lives they left behind.

When you stand on the edge, you just might find yourself falling in love.

GoodReads | Amazon

Available For Free on KU 

TO RUSSIA WITH LOVE

I was reading the Sunday Times newspaper in March 2016 when I came across the headline – US Cowboys Round ‘Em Up In Russia. The article started off about a cowboy scratching a living in Nebraska whose wife suggested he apply for a job in Russia teaching guys how to be cowboys. I wondered if she wanted to get rid of him! But my interest was piqued, and I filed the article.

I have a lot of snippets of ideas and cuttings in a file in my desk. I’m usually already thinking of the next book before I’ve finished writing the one I’m on. I was supposed to be producing a short story for Valentine’s Day, and I thought an American cowboy in Russia would be the perfect topic. But once I started to research at the end of last year, the story grew well beyond a short tale.

After the Kremlin seized Crimea and became militarily involved in eastern Ukraine, the West imposed economic sanctions on exporting to Russia, which led to a drive by Vladimir Putin to boost domestic production of many products, including beef. Massive beef farms were set up, mostly in SE Russia, with state of the art equipment and top quality breeding stock. The Russians bought what they needed to make their cattle farming compete with the world’s best, including expertise in the form of American cowboys.

The more I researched, the more fascinated I became. I read everything I could find online. By the time I’d given Levi – my American – a back story and done the same with Pasha – my Russian, I knew these guys and the ranch they worked on would fill a novel.

What I didn’t have until I’d done was a title. That was true of the other cowboy book I’ve written – my first ever MM – Cowboys Down. Once I’d decided what to call it, I went back into the book to make the title work. With Cowboys Down it was the name of a sculpture and with Edge of Nowhere – well, you’ll have to read it and see.

5+++ Stars!!!

Levi gets sent by his father from Montana to Russia to teach them how to be cowboys, presumably so he can earn enough so they can buy a new barn, although he thinks it's more to keep him away from the bars and to stop him from engaging in meaningless threesomes than anything else.

Pasha's father sends him to the same ranch Levi is on to punish him for his latest indiscretion much to Pasha's chagrin. He hates the ranch and all it represents, however, while eyeliner-wearing, designer-clad Pasha is the person you'll least expect to manage in those conditions, he somehow makes do, standing up against a bully who tries to make his life a bigger hell than it already is.

Levi is drawn to Pasha—who makes it clear he'd welcome his advances—but he doesn't want a relationship. Can Pasha change Levi's mind before Pasha's past catches up to him?

I should've known better than to start this book at 8pm on a Sunday because I didn't sleep at all until I finished it. I was completely enraptured in Pasha and Levi's story and couldn't put it down until I was done with it. Not like I have been able to stop thinking about them since then anyway.

I absolutely adored Pasha. He had a fantastic sense of humor, he was self-deprecating, resourceful and had an inner strength that I couldn't help but admire. The way he braved every part of his job, despite all the retching (I really don't blame him, LOL!) was awe-inspiring, as was the fact that he wouldn't cower from Grigory, even when he was scared of the horrible man, or how he dealt with Maksim, after everything the man had done to him. Pasha's past history was heartbreaking and it made me just want to hug him and make it better.

It took me longer to warm up to Levi. Mostly, because he was so difficult and intent on keeping things with Pasha casual, when Pasha just wanted to be loved. *cuddles Pasha* He made up for it, though, and I ended up loving him. Plus, learning of his past, which while maybe not as bad as Pasha's, it was still bad, made me connect better with him.

The chemistry between Levi and Pasha was out of this world and the sex was hot and passionate. I just adored seeing them work together, they were perfect for each other, even if it took Levi a while to get his act together.

The whole Maksim angle was at equal parts horrifying and intriguing. The man was pure evil and I was happy he got his comeuppance. I wasn't too sure about how Pasha's father dealt with things, but I guess all's well that ends well.

All in all, I know I can hardly do justice with my words as to how much I loved this book, but truly, Barbara Elsborg is one of my favorite authors not only because she is a masterful writer, but because she knows how to create these characters and stories and make me fall in love with them and Edge of Forever is just another example of it. I laughed at Pasha's antics, I cried with and for him and I was absolutely enthralled with this fascinating love story. This is definitely a must-read!

Highly recommendable!

*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

About The Author:

Barbara Elsborg lives in Kent in the South of England. She always wanted to be a spy, but having confessed to everyone without them even resorting to torture, she decided it was not for her. Vulcanology scorched her feet. A morbid fear of sharks put paid to marine biology. So instead, she spent several years successfully selling cyanide.
After dragging up two rotten, ungrateful children and frustrating her sexy, devoted, wonderful husband (who can now stop twisting her arm) she finally has time to conduct an affair with an electrifying plugged-in male, her laptop.

Her books feature quirky heroines and bad boys, and she hopes they are as much fun to read as they were to write. 

Amazon Author Page


Giveaway

Barbara is offering a copy of her first MM cowboy book, Cowboys Down, to one lucky commenter! You have until Monday, June 4th at 8pm CST to enter. Don't forget to leave your e-mail address so we can contact you!