Release Day Review: Wild as the West Texas Wind by Jackie North

Wild as the West Texas Wind

by Jackie North

Soulmates across time. Two hearts that were meant to be together.

In present day, Zach takes a road trip to Trinidad to find information on a missing friend.

In 1892, Layton Blue, outlaw, longs for hearth and home even as he treasures his life of freedom.

A freak rainstorm washes Zach’s car into a ditch, sending him back to the year 1892. Searching for help, alone and on foot in the middle of the nowhere, he crosses paths with the famous Ketchum Gang. Now the gang’s prisoner, Zach’s fate is to be sold at a seedy auction for whores.

Layton is put in charge of making sure Zach does not escape, but as the chemistry between them grows, Layton finds himself wanting to help Zach.

Can Layton overcome years of being on the run? Can Zach accept help from an outlaw?

A male/male time travel romance complete with fast rides across the desert, campfires beneath the stars, cool water in the desert, wild rescues, and true love across time.

Amazon    |    Goodreads

4 Stars!

So, generally, I’m not a fan of historical books and I pretty much avoid them, however, something about this particular story intrigued me and I decided to give it a try. In the end, I’m glad I did because I enjoyed it quite a bit. I liked the characters, the setting and overall, the story. The fact that it was a slow burn added to its authentic feel.

I do wish though that I had read the previous books or at least had been familiar with them because I felt it may have given me more as to the whole time travel aspect of the story. In this one, Zach has been searching for his friend Laurie who suddenly disappeared while on vacation at a dude ranch. Police and FBI have no clues as to what happened to him. After a mysterious letter addressed to Zach and dated May 6, 1891, arrives by Western Union, he becomes aware that something weird is going on but when he takes it to the Police he becomes a person of interest himself. Knowing he’s on his own, he sets off to find where the letter originated only to find himself smack dab in the middle of a card game in 1892. When he ends up in the hands of a gang of Outlaws, Zach’s life is turned upside down and he fears he’ll never see Laurie or his modern life again.

I am so glad we got to see both Zach and Layton’s POVs. Between experiencing how Zach was dealing with his new surroundings in a completely different time, his trying to navigate the precarious situation of being a prisoner of an Outlaw gang in a time when options were extremely limited, as well as Layton’s struggle to choose where his loyalties lay and what his heart wants over what he’s been molded to believe, we get a whole lot of emotion and angst. This is a very slow burn romance and rather than hot and crazy sex scenes, we get sweet and tender moments between both men. It seemed as if it took forever before we found out what would truly happen to Zach and whether these two men would get their happy ending and how and what it would be.

My only complaint, however, is that the ending wasn’t so much a HEA as a HFN. I’m not sure how things will work out in the long run which leaves me a bit sad but I assume this isn’t the end of Layton and Zach. We still have Laurie’s friend Maxton out there and Zach spoke about him enough that there will probably be a book about him as well. Hopefully, we will get to see Zach and Layton get the happiness they deserve.

*Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by the author/publisher for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*

Jackie North has been writing stories since grade school and spent years absorbing the mainstream romances that she found at her local grocery store. Her dream was to someday leave her corporate day job behind and travel the world. She also wanted to put her English degree to good use and write romance novels, because for years she’s had a never-ending movie of made-up love stories in her head that simply wouldn’t leave her alone.

As fate would have it, she discovered m/m romance and decided that men falling in love with other men was exactly what she wanted to write books about. In this dazzling new world, she turned her grocery-store romance ideas around and is now putting them to paper as fast as her fingers can type. She creates characters who are a bit flawed and broken, who find themselves on the edge of society, and maybe a few who are a little bit lost, but who all deserve a happily ever after. (And she makes sure they get it!)

She likes long walks on the beach, the smell of lavender and rainstorms, and enjoys sleeping in on snowy mornings. She is especially fond of pizza and beer and, when time allows, long road trips with soda fountain drinks and rock and roll music. In her heart, there is peace to be found everywhere, but since in the real world this isn’t always true, Jackie writes for love.

Email: jackie@jackienorth.com
Twitter: @JackieNorthMM
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jackienorthMM