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On The Trail To Moonlight Gulch (2012)

by Shelter Somerset(Favorite Author)

3.93 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1613724462 (ISBN13: 9781613724460)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Dreamspinner Press

review 1: I struggled to rate this one initially.I have given it 3 stars because I finished it, and I don't finish books I don't like. So on that level I liked it.What I had trouble with was the fact it badly needed editing. As I read, I got the impression that Shelter Somerset might not have English as their first language. There were many, many clunky euphemisms and the use of some very odd words in descriptive passages. If I happened to be near my pc I did keep a record of some of these as I was reading, but deleted the file as I'd decided I wasn't going to leave a review. Now I don't feel like running around trying to find them in the book again, but I'm sure you'll recognize a few when you read the book.Perhaps because of this, I found the sex scenes rather unemotional. The act... mores described seemed brusque and somewhat cold. They were usually in Tory's POV, and especially at the start of the book I found his pursuit of sex something that made me a little uncomfortable because of this, and that too, is hugely rare for me.I enjoyed the book's premise though: mail order bride-to-be, the female correspondent with a man living in the wilderness during pioneer days, turns out to be a man - it's a good one. But I do agree with another reviewer who said that after the heroes have spent a good while living together, being in love and having all sorts of happy domesticity, Frank's reaction to finding out that Tory was the 'female' letter writer from Chicago who'd let him down, was really weird. I mean, come on, Frank: be a little pissed, have a few words, yes. But go crazy and throw Tory out? Drive him away and say you never want to lay eyes on him again? No, that's overkill, and especially from Frank, the older, settled, nature-loving partner.Overall I found the novel rather long, and for once I'm complaining a bit about that, because I'm sure some of the dragging scenes could have been edited out. As it was, it did drag a bit at times, but as I said at the beginning I definitely liked the characters and plot enough to want to see what happened to them, and to read to the end.This would have got 4 stars if the editing had been up to scratch. I'm sure the niggles I've mentioned would have been picked up by a good read-through by someone with a dedicated love of the English language. As it stands, it's as if 'it'll do' was the publisher's attitude about it, and that's a shame as I'm a real fan of Dreamspinner. To sum up, it could have been so much better, and for that, I don't really blame the author, because I've a feeling English is his/her 2nd language. With a little nip and tuck, and a good editor, I'd have loved it.I hope that whoever edits Shelter's future efforts will do them more justice.
review 2: On the Trail to Moonlight Gulch by Shelter Somerset is a rollercoaster ride from the very beginning! I have never read a book by this author, but I like M/M and historical romance, so this seems like a perfect match. This novel is set in 1886 and begins with Tory (Torsten Pilkvist) is Chicago. Tory still lives with his strict immigrant parents and helps them run a boarding house and bakery. Immediately Tory meets a man who he thinks is “the one,” and he couldn’t be happier. However, great tragedy strikes and Tory is left alone and adrift once more.During his grief, Tory picks up periodical for mail-order brides and feels compelled to start a correspondence with one of the gentlemen who advertise. Franklin Ausmus is a Civil War veteran who has isolated himself in the beautiful Black Hill of Dakota Territory. The closest town to Franklin’s oasis is Spiketrout and it was established as a boom town during the Gold Rush. However, the gold that used to be so abundant in streams has all but dried up, leaving the townsfolk and those with gold-fever desperate for more easy gold. Franklin has a stream and pool on his land that is filled with gold, but having seen what happens to those drunk on gold, Frank chooses to leave the stream undisturbed as it’s been for many years.Frank is a gentle many who longs for a woman to love and is drawn to Tory’s initial letter and quickly comes to rely on their correspondence. This story reminded me how much we in the modern world rely on instant communication. These two men wait at least 10 days between letters and yet the communication is vital for both men. When Tory’s parents put a stop the communication, Tory takes a big leap of faith and sets out on the thousand mile journey to find the one person with whom he feels a connection to in this world. (Remember the railroad was still not complete, so this journey was dangerous and included days of travel on a stagecoach.)When Tory arrives in Spiketrout without warning and with Frank still believing Tory is a female, Tory is at a loss. The book and developing relationship between Tory and Franklin is good and we get to meet Frank’s Indian friend Wicasha. I don’t want to give too much away, but the story is filled with drama, greed, love, friendship and the eventual triumph of good over evil. I really enjoyed this story and if you like historical romance of the sweet M/M kind, this is a book for you. less

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