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Thunder
Grant Peters is sixteen and wants nothing more than to just compete in calf roping at rodeos and keep winning gold. But there are two obstacles in his path.
The first is Logan Summers, also sixteen, and also into calf roping. Logan is Grant's only real competition and every time Logan wins, he gives Grant a smug little smirk that sets Grant's blood boiling. Deep inside, though, Grant knows that his hostility toward Logan is about more than that smirk; it's about feelings he's not ready to acknowledge.
The second is Grant's parents being close to selling the family ranch and moving to the city, away from rodeo, and away from his horse, Thunder.
So when Grant discovers evidence of a deadly cougar stalking the ranch, he decides to take it upon himself to hunt down what would undoubtedly kill the little business his family has left if word got out. Of course, as soon as he sets off into the woods, he runs into Logan, who is undertaking the same hunt to save his own family's ranch.
Now, these two teenage rodeo nemeses have to overcome their hatred for each other and their uncertainty about themselves if they have any hope of coming together to save their families' businesses.
The first is Logan Summers, also sixteen, and also into calf roping. Logan is Grant's only real competition and every time Logan wins, he gives Grant a smug little smirk that sets Grant's blood boiling. Deep inside, though, Grant knows that his hostility toward Logan is about more than that smirk; it's about feelings he's not ready to acknowledge.
The second is Grant's parents being close to selling the family ranch and moving to the city, away from rodeo, and away from his horse, Thunder.
So when Grant discovers evidence of a deadly cougar stalking the ranch, he decides to take it upon himself to hunt down what would undoubtedly kill the little business his family has left if word got out. Of course, as soon as he sets off into the woods, he runs into Logan, who is undertaking the same hunt to save his own family's ranch.
Now, these two teenage rodeo nemeses have to overcome their hatred for each other and their uncertainty about themselves if they have any hope of coming together to save their families' businesses.
- GenresYoung Adult
140 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 8, 2019
11 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Dylan James
7 books30 followersDylan James believes love is for everyone, and through writing gay young adult romances, he hopes to get that point across to younger readers. Dylan is a lover of books, Star Trek, and animals. He lives in Canada with his husband and two cats.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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October 18, 2019While technically I can't really say that I did DNF this story, since the writing wasn't the type of YA that I enjoy, I "read" around half of the book, then finished it off by skimming and reading ONLY the actual dialogue between the characters.
So yeah, I "kinda" DNF'd this one.
I found that the feels were pretty low, and there was too much semi-repetitive internal monologuing for me to really get into the book, with the budding relationship not as fully-explored as I prefer.
So with all that said, I'm not going to provide an actually star rating for this one, sorry. : (
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November 13, 2019
A Joyfully Jay review.
3.5 stars
This isn’t a coming of age story; both young men are already who they are. This isn’t even a coming out story, though there is that, because both boys are not certain if they’ll be alive the next morning. It’s an adventure book more in line with the horse and boy stories of the ‘40s and ‘50s where young men and loyal horses had to face down and outwit dastardly villains. It’s a pleasant romp, but it keeps the tone and the story light and fun, rather than delving into any of the issues it brings up.
There are some inconsistencies in the story, some glossing-over and hand waving to wrap up the plot that feels overly dismissive of the realities of the world, and everything is resolved with a happily ever after. It’s an okay story, but I feel like it could have been more, which speaks well of the author and their ability to craft interesting characters. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for the author’s next work.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
3.5 stars
This isn’t a coming of age story; both young men are already who they are. This isn’t even a coming out story, though there is that, because both boys are not certain if they’ll be alive the next morning. It’s an adventure book more in line with the horse and boy stories of the ‘40s and ‘50s where young men and loyal horses had to face down and outwit dastardly villains. It’s a pleasant romp, but it keeps the tone and the story light and fun, rather than delving into any of the issues it brings up.
There are some inconsistencies in the story, some glossing-over and hand waving to wrap up the plot that feels overly dismissive of the realities of the world, and everything is resolved with a happily ever after. It’s an okay story, but I feel like it could have been more, which speaks well of the author and their ability to craft interesting characters. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for the author’s next work.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
July 3, 2021
I don't read much YA, but I really enjoyed this novella about two young men who work together to solve the mystery of cougar attacks on their neighboring ranches, and discover they share something more than a love of rodeo.
Logan and Grant live on neighboring ranches and compete in calf roping, with Grant disliking Logan for his skill, while Logan really likes Grant and wants to become his friend. The author does a good job of putting us in that mindset of teenagers who cannot find the words to get past their fear, and in this case, it is coupled with Grant's growing realization that he is not straight. His beloved horse Thunder is the only one who knows of Grant's feelings:
The plot draws us into a crazy tale of corporate misdeeds and near death situations, but at the core is a story of two boys who quickly grow to trust one another, draw strength in their darkest hours and earn the chance for their fledging young love to grow and strengthen. 4 stars for "Thunder."
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Visit my blog, Sinfully Good Gay Book Reviews
Logan and Grant live on neighboring ranches and compete in calf roping, with Grant disliking Logan for his skill, while Logan really likes Grant and wants to become his friend. The author does a good job of putting us in that mindset of teenagers who cannot find the words to get past their fear, and in this case, it is coupled with Grant's growing realization that he is not straight. His beloved horse Thunder is the only one who knows of Grant's feelings:
Those stirrings I'd wanted so desparately to ignore just seemed to intensify. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to will it all away. It was bad enough that I had those kind of feelings, but to have them for Logan? I just wanted it to all go away so I could just be normal. I wanted to go back to simply just hating Logan.The author also really tunes into how denying true feelings creates so much self-hate and hatred for others: "I despised Logan and wanted to push him away and tell him to eff off ... but part of me wanted to close the last of that gap between us. And that made me hate Logan even more, for triggering this .... this thing inside me that reacts to guys like him. This thing that wants to get closer to guys like him."
The plot draws us into a crazy tale of corporate misdeeds and near death situations, but at the core is a story of two boys who quickly grow to trust one another, draw strength in their darkest hours and earn the chance for their fledging young love to grow and strengthen. 4 stars for "Thunder."
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Visit my blog, Sinfully Good Gay Book Reviews
September 10, 2019
A rollicking good read in this genre. Adventure, villainous capitalists, teen rivals, young love, a faithful horse and a heroic sharp shooting younger sister. What’s not to like? I’d recommend for ages11 and up.
September 10, 2019
Great read for teens/ tweens
A rollicking good read in this genre. Adventure, villainous capitalists, teen rivals, young love, a faithful horse and a heroic sharp shooting younger sister. What’s not to like? I’d recommend for ages11 and up.
A rollicking good read in this genre. Adventure, villainous capitalists, teen rivals, young love, a faithful horse and a heroic sharp shooting younger sister. What’s not to like? I’d recommend for ages11 and up.
September 7, 2019
Awesome
Take your time to read this story, you will absolutely love the characters and storyline. The writer provoked many emotions throughout this story.
Take your time to read this story, you will absolutely love the characters and storyline. The writer provoked many emotions throughout this story.
December 20, 2019
Not every adventure announces itself ahead of time.
Grant was a well developed main character. He was kind and intelligent. Even better than that, one of his biggest flaws had to do with how he handled emergencies. He preferred to fix things himself instead of asking for help even in situations that really could have used extra people working on them. Seeing how this flaw impacted the course of his story only made me like him more. There was something very relatable about someone who struggled with something that was hard to overcome and that had a serious impact on his life. Grant felt real to me, and I always get excited when I meet characters who fit that criteria.
As much as I liked Logan, I found it confusing to have two narrators. His persona was so similar to Grant’s that I had trouble telling them apart. The fact that some scenes switched between them without clearly letting the audience know that was happening only added to my confusion. He would have made an equally good sole protagonist, but I think this story would have worked better if only one of them had explained what was happening in it.
The romance unfolded nice and slowly in this tale. I always appreciate slow-burning relationships, especially for characters like these that had a lot of other stuff on their plates when the audience first met them. It made perfect sense for them to focus on more pressing matters before spending much time thinking about their love lives.
I’d recommend Thunder to anyone who loves horses or nature.
Grant was a well developed main character. He was kind and intelligent. Even better than that, one of his biggest flaws had to do with how he handled emergencies. He preferred to fix things himself instead of asking for help even in situations that really could have used extra people working on them. Seeing how this flaw impacted the course of his story only made me like him more. There was something very relatable about someone who struggled with something that was hard to overcome and that had a serious impact on his life. Grant felt real to me, and I always get excited when I meet characters who fit that criteria.
As much as I liked Logan, I found it confusing to have two narrators. His persona was so similar to Grant’s that I had trouble telling them apart. The fact that some scenes switched between them without clearly letting the audience know that was happening only added to my confusion. He would have made an equally good sole protagonist, but I think this story would have worked better if only one of them had explained what was happening in it.
The romance unfolded nice and slowly in this tale. I always appreciate slow-burning relationships, especially for characters like these that had a lot of other stuff on their plates when the audience first met them. It made perfect sense for them to focus on more pressing matters before spending much time thinking about their love lives.
I’d recommend Thunder to anyone who loves horses or nature.
October 21, 2019
I found this enemies-to-friends initiation story of not one but two rodeo rivals hard to put down.
Dylan James spins a good yarn.
But the yarn is tangled by a shifting from first-person to third-person perspective, unannounced changes of character perspectives, needless repetition, and basic grammar errors [lay/laid]. The boy needs a copy-editor!
That said, this rivals-to-boyfriends novella paints a compelling, primal story about two 16-year-olds whose ranches border each other. Grant and Logan seem repelled by their mutual stirrings until they decide to join forces in the forest against a cougar. Amazing things happen in the woods, especially when hogtied together and facing an immanent death.
Bring on the next chapter but not before you hire a copy-editor, Dylan!
Dylan James spins a good yarn.
But the yarn is tangled by a shifting from first-person to third-person perspective, unannounced changes of character perspectives, needless repetition, and basic grammar errors [lay/laid]. The boy needs a copy-editor!
That said, this rivals-to-boyfriends novella paints a compelling, primal story about two 16-year-olds whose ranches border each other. Grant and Logan seem repelled by their mutual stirrings until they decide to join forces in the forest against a cougar. Amazing things happen in the woods, especially when hogtied together and facing an immanent death.
Bring on the next chapter but not before you hire a copy-editor, Dylan!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews