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Buckle Up!
Kelvin doesn't mind running an old fashioned pawn shop in Santa Fe. He meets a lot of folks, hears a lot of life stories. Like the story cowboy Cody Mack brings in, along with an antique belt buckle. Cody's grandfather loved the Navajo who made that buckle, and the cowboy is trying to find the man and give it back. More than willing to help, Kelvin sets out to find Cody's jewelry maker, and finds more than he bargained for. He gets a great story out of the bargain, and a great friend in Cody, but Kelvin wants even more. Can he find a way to let Cody know how he feels?
29 pages, Nook
First published January 1, 2008
About the author
Julia Talbot
308 books273 followersJulia Talbot lives in the great Southwest, where there is hot and cold running rodeo, cowboys, and everything from meat and potatoes to the best Tex-Mex. A full time author, Julia is a hybrid author, and has been published by many presses as well as self publishing. She believes that everyone deserves a happy ending, so she writes about love without limits, where boys love boys, girls love girls, and boys and girls get together to get wild, especially when her crazy paranormal characters are involved. Julia also writes as Minerva Howe. Find Julia at @juliatalbot on Twitter, or at www.juliatalbot.com
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 9, 2010
Two generations of Texans find love in the dry heat of New Mexico in this charming, engaging story of Cody’s quest to find his grandfather’s hidden lover. Talbot delivers a beautifully drawn tale as Cody and Kelvin meet over an antique belt buckle, then join forces to find it’s original owner; offering hints of a parallel to Cody’s grandfather’s story.
After his grandfather had died, Cody came across a box with love letters, carefully maintained and obviously well read. When the letters reveal the belt buckle’s maker was also his grandfather’s past lover, Cody decides to return both the letters and the buckle to the rightful owner. However, the whim is not as easy as it first appears and Cody ends up down on his luck, far from home in Santa Fe.
Hoping to pawn the buckle, with the goal of eventually getting it back, Cody gets his first stroke of luck in meeting Kelvin. Kelvin runs his family’s pawnshop, passed through the generations and more caring for the items and the people who owned them, then the dollar amount attached to them. Kelvin is instantly attracted to the lean, sexy cowboy and offers to help, thinking he could see more of Cody and when is that a bad thing?
Cody is a classic cowboy with the whip-lean strength, rugged handsome looks and sex appeal that sparks without even trying. He is timeless and has the aura of never being hurried, regardless of the situation. Kelvin fits in with the cowboy with his work rough hands and easy, sexy demeanor. Both are attracted to the other, but slow to test those desires.
The story moves along easily, the relationship a slow shimmer rather than a wild fire. It has a classic Talbot feel, allowing the characters to know each other and let their passion build instead of instantly giving into their desires. The character of Elias Yazzie, the buckle maker, was unexpectedly charming. His ageless and timeless appeal was just enough to spark curiosity about his relationship to Cody’s grandfather.
This was a lovely story with sexy men and an interesting quest. It was an easy read, being a short, satisfying glimpse at the beginning of the love story of Cody and Kelvin. I found myself really curious about Elias and Randall and their forbidden but clearly lasting love. I can only hope Talbot will revisit all of these men in the future.
After his grandfather had died, Cody came across a box with love letters, carefully maintained and obviously well read. When the letters reveal the belt buckle’s maker was also his grandfather’s past lover, Cody decides to return both the letters and the buckle to the rightful owner. However, the whim is not as easy as it first appears and Cody ends up down on his luck, far from home in Santa Fe.
Hoping to pawn the buckle, with the goal of eventually getting it back, Cody gets his first stroke of luck in meeting Kelvin. Kelvin runs his family’s pawnshop, passed through the generations and more caring for the items and the people who owned them, then the dollar amount attached to them. Kelvin is instantly attracted to the lean, sexy cowboy and offers to help, thinking he could see more of Cody and when is that a bad thing?
Cody is a classic cowboy with the whip-lean strength, rugged handsome looks and sex appeal that sparks without even trying. He is timeless and has the aura of never being hurried, regardless of the situation. Kelvin fits in with the cowboy with his work rough hands and easy, sexy demeanor. Both are attracted to the other, but slow to test those desires.
The story moves along easily, the relationship a slow shimmer rather than a wild fire. It has a classic Talbot feel, allowing the characters to know each other and let their passion build instead of instantly giving into their desires. The character of Elias Yazzie, the buckle maker, was unexpectedly charming. His ageless and timeless appeal was just enough to spark curiosity about his relationship to Cody’s grandfather.
This was a lovely story with sexy men and an interesting quest. It was an easy read, being a short, satisfying glimpse at the beginning of the love story of Cody and Kelvin. I found myself really curious about Elias and Randall and their forbidden but clearly lasting love. I can only hope Talbot will revisit all of these men in the future.
June 1, 2016
4.5* Review written for Love Bytes Reviews.
This was a really great collection of stories; they all brought something different to the collection and I enjoyed reading every single one of them. What I really liked, however, was that even when there were some similarities between a couple of stories, such as gaming, the stories themselves were so unique that I was never bored and just wanted to keep on reading. This book has a little something for just about everyone and I highly recommend it; I loved it from start to finish and at the end of every story I just couldn’t wait to read the next one.
Buckle Up
This was by far the sweetest story of the whole book. There’s something just really appealing about a man who went so far and through so much just to return a bunch of love letters to a man he’d never even heard of. The romance between the two main characters was sweet with a bit of spice and it made for a nice accompaniment to the overall story. And it has a cowboy, who doesn’t love a cowboy? 4.5*
Crazy in Love
This was probably one of the more unique shifter stories I’ve read in quite a while. You didn’t get to see a whole lot of the asylum but the author managed to convey the atmosphere nicely in spite of that. What stood out in this story, for me, was the utter devotion Dakota had for his mate and how determined he was to set him free. It was nice seeing the main characters reconnecting but it was even better to see the bad guy get what he deserved. 4*
Changes in Attitude
I honestly expected more drama from this story than was actually there and that was a little disappointing, though the story itself was still good. It was nice to see that the dreaded and feared Necromancer was actually just a guy trying to do the right thing and protect his lover. I’m still not sure what I think about Wiley; I liked his character overall but I never really felt the connection between him and the other two men. I think if I’d been able to see them together more, maybe I would’ve believed it more readily but the story did give them a good start to build on. I’d love to see more with these men in the future! 4*
Under the Moon
This was one of the hotter stories in the book and I enjoyed every minute of it.
This was a really great collection of stories; they all brought something different to the collection and I enjoyed reading every single one of them. What I really liked, however, was that even when there were some similarities between a couple of stories, such as gaming, the stories themselves were so unique that I was never bored and just wanted to keep on reading. This book has a little something for just about everyone and I highly recommend it; I loved it from start to finish and at the end of every story I just couldn’t wait to read the next one.
Buckle Up
This was by far the sweetest story of the whole book. There’s something just really appealing about a man who went so far and through so much just to return a bunch of love letters to a man he’d never even heard of. The romance between the two main characters was sweet with a bit of spice and it made for a nice accompaniment to the overall story. And it has a cowboy, who doesn’t love a cowboy? 4.5*
Crazy in Love
This was probably one of the more unique shifter stories I’ve read in quite a while. You didn’t get to see a whole lot of the asylum but the author managed to convey the atmosphere nicely in spite of that. What stood out in this story, for me, was the utter devotion Dakota had for his mate and how determined he was to set him free. It was nice seeing the main characters reconnecting but it was even better to see the bad guy get what he deserved. 4*
Changes in Attitude
I honestly expected more drama from this story than was actually there and that was a little disappointing, though the story itself was still good. It was nice to see that the dreaded and feared Necromancer was actually just a guy trying to do the right thing and protect his lover. I’m still not sure what I think about Wiley; I liked his character overall but I never really felt the connection between him and the other two men. I think if I’d been able to see them together more, maybe I would’ve believed it more readily but the story did give them a good start to build on. I’d love to see more with these men in the future! 4*
Under the Moon
This was one of the hotter stories in the book and I enjoyed every minute of it.
July 12, 2016
Rating: 4.5
Buckle Up – 4.5 Nymphs
Cody is on a mission to find the original designer of an antique belt buckle. The buckle was a gift to Cody’s grandfather. Pawn shop owner Kelvin is immediately attracted to Cody and was eager to help Cody complete his good deed undertaking.
Crazy in Love – 4.5 Nymphs
Werewolf Keaton has been captured by a psycho doctor and it is up to Keaton’s werewolf mate Dakota to save him from becoming a lab experiment.
Changes in Attitude – 4.5 Nymphs {M/M/M}
Werewolf Cyrus is running from his warlock lover, Marcus. Before Cyrus can reach safety, he is attacked by a mythical creature, thank the Gods for fire mage Wiley who rescued Cyrus just in time.
Under the Moon – 4.5 Nymphs
Jamie is in hiding. He detests pack rules so he refuses to date other werewolves. However, Jamie discovers that there is something about alpha werewolf Ty too alluring to resist.
Dream Dice – 4.5 Nymphs
Thayer buys new dice at a convention, not realizing they were magic until he’s transported into another place and time. Thayer’s dream world was filled with never seen before wonders, especially Erlich, a warrior from the wolf clan and Thayer’s savior.
Julia Talbot has created a superb collection of paranormal romances that I enjoyed immensely. In all of the stories the main characters are engaging, amusing and compassionate.
Buckle Up – 4.5 Nymphs
Cody is on a mission to find the original designer of an antique belt buckle. The buckle was a gift to Cody’s grandfather. Pawn shop owner Kelvin is immediately attracted to Cody and was eager to help Cody complete his good deed undertaking.
Crazy in Love – 4.5 Nymphs
Werewolf Keaton has been captured by a psycho doctor and it is up to Keaton’s werewolf mate Dakota to save him from becoming a lab experiment.
Changes in Attitude – 4.5 Nymphs {M/M/M}
Werewolf Cyrus is running from his warlock lover, Marcus. Before Cyrus can reach safety, he is attacked by a mythical creature, thank the Gods for fire mage Wiley who rescued Cyrus just in time.
Under the Moon – 4.5 Nymphs
Jamie is in hiding. He detests pack rules so he refuses to date other werewolves. However, Jamie discovers that there is something about alpha werewolf Ty too alluring to resist.
Dream Dice – 4.5 Nymphs
Thayer buys new dice at a convention, not realizing they were magic until he’s transported into another place and time. Thayer’s dream world was filled with never seen before wonders, especially Erlich, a warrior from the wolf clan and Thayer’s savior.
Julia Talbot has created a superb collection of paranormal romances that I enjoyed immensely. In all of the stories the main characters are engaging, amusing and compassionate.
January 4, 2017
While there was a nice variety of themes and situations in the stories, I felt that they were all just okay-good, nothing like the reactions of other reviewers. One thing I kept thinking was that, in most cases, the stories seemed like a sketch for a longer work. Really good short stories have a tightness and completeness to them that I thought these lacked. Don't get me wrong, none of them were bad, and I found the writing very easy to read and digest. I guess that I have just been reading some other really well crafted stuff lately and this seems a little bland by comparision. It was a pleasant way to spend a little while and a nice, angst-free way to get bite-sized romance.
May 28, 2016
Wonderfully vivid setting. Delightful hints of paranormal. And a career that I enjoyed getting to see a unique side of.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews