From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

End of the Trail (End Of The Trail, #1)

Jane Elliot

Start date: November 1, 2011

Finish date: November 30, 2011

Discussion: Book of the Month Club

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What Members Thought

Jun 23, 2013 Mandapanda rated it really liked it

Shelves: various-romance

3.75 stars. Enjoyable Western m/m romance. I say 'Western' instead of 'Cowboy' deliberately. This book seems to be the same vintage as Little House On The Prairie and has a realistic feel in the way it describes the conditions and people of the time. It's still a nice light story though. Good romance, easy to read and reminds me a little of those dime-store western paperbacks you can still pick up from the newsagent even today. (view spoiler) ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Nov 07, 2011 Emanuela ~plastic duck~ rated it liked it

Shelves: rainbow-gay, romance, glbt, cowboys, historical

What's wrong with me? This is an enjoyable read, with charming protagonists, with a setting I love because of my dad-made-me-watch-cowboys-on-tv upbringing and I am glad I read it, but I feel there's something missing.

The beginning is great: John is an outlaw and he's rescued by Will and his family, who discover John is wanted after he leaves. Three years later, John returns to Will's farm: Will is a widower, his son is East with his wife's family and Will's leg is pretty bad because of an acci ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 19, 2011 Jordan Lombard rated it liked it

Shelves: a-own-ebook, g-historical, a-own, g-romance-m-m, g-western, bom-jl-group, y-2011read

This was a cute, relaxing, and sweet romance novel.

My only issue was the fact that the "gun" that gets mentioned in Act I of a play is supposed to be used by the end, wasn't in the case of this book. There were a few things they did to prepare for a bad ending, and a few bad guys who didn't actually show up to cause more harm.

Otherwise, it was a good read. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 12, 2010 Elisa Rolle added it

Months ago a friend of mine complained that he doesn’t find enough western gay romance to read, and I thought, my friend, your research is an hard one; of all the hundreds and hundreds books I read, very few are truly western romance, a gender that was popular in the ’80 and ’90, but not so much now, and if you add the gay themed research, it becomes even more difficult.

End of the Trail is a perfect example of western romance, even in the reason why Will and John embark in a same-sex relationsh Months ago a friend of mine complained that he doesn’t find enough western gay romance to read, and I thought, my friend, your research is an hard one; of all the hundreds and hundreds books I read, very few are truly western romance, a gender that was popular in the ’80 and ’90, but not so much now, and if you add the gay themed research, it becomes even more difficult.

End of the Trail is a perfect example of western romance, even in the reason why Will and John embark in a same-sex relationship, basically the lack of women around. When Will and John met the first time, Will is happily married with a good woman and they have a son; they both help John when he needs it, and John helps them back. There is no hint of sexual interest in Will for John, and maybe you can read some innuendos in John’s replies to Will, but nothing more. Three years later though the situation is changed, Will is a widower and John is back and this time there is no woman in the middle.

I like how the author dealt with Will and his mourning the dead wife: true, he is sad and he still loves his wife, but we also read that when Will went to town, he satisfied his urges in a bordello. So Will is able to distinct between love and sex, and he is no shamed by his body’s desires. In a way Will is neither ashamed by the body itself, even when he was not interested by John in a sexual way, he did look at the body and he did appreciate the beauty of it. I think that basically Will is a man that is true to himself and able to go beyond what society is asking or pretending. Another thing that is totally unrelated to Will’s attitude towards sex, but that for me it proves that he is a realistic man, is his attitude towards Tommy, his son: it’s clear that Will loves Tommy, and that he has never forgotten his son, but when his wife dies, Will is not able to take care of Tommy; his wife’s relatives come and they take Tommy away, and Will accepts that; even when he is planning to move back east, in a romance setting the first think in Will’s mind would have been to take back Tommy, and instead he decides to let him live with his aunt; someone can read it as selfishness, I read it as a realistic decision.

On the other hand John is a bit of a romance hero; he is an outlaw, he has killed plenty of men, and not always they were bad men; but John apparently has always an explanation, something that makes him the hero and not the villain; John is always the wronged one and as such, Will has to absolve him for all his sins. I think that, in the end, John is a wonderful scoundrel, and that is a typical romance hero indead. What makes him different from a romance stereotype is that John has really no shame, he is not repentant and basically he would do all again, after all he had what he wanted.

So even if End of the Trail is a classical western romance, it doesn’t play exactly according to the rules, and I think this is a good read for who wants an enough realistic historical fiction that has not lost the romance perspective (and of course the happily ever after).

http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/11... ...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Meggie rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction

This was well written old western story, more or less I would say it was romantic adventure about two exceptional well developed characters. Will and John path crosses accidentally one day, when John runs for his life, with a shot wound he gotten by a members of his old gang. Will, being a good man, helps John out. He doesn't know how intervened his life will become with Johns, after saving his life. And their adventure starts. The story was interestingly plotted and for my piece of mind realist ...more

1 like · Like · see review