Review – Cowboy Needed

19 Friday Dec 2025

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Book Review

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BA Tortuga, Book Review, Cowboy Needed, Cowboy Wanted series

Cowboy Needed

Cowboy Wanted series

by BA Tortuga

Blurb:

Ichabod Miller Johns needs a cowboy.

When his kids inherit their grandfather’s ranch, Ichabod moves them lock, stock, barrel to Western Colorado, leaving the cityscape of Denver behind. Despite this being his deceased husband’s family ranch, he knows he has to take this chance to get his teenager away from the bad stuff he’s involved in and give himself some breathing space to work at his hardcore pottery business. It can’t hurt the other two kids either. Except that he’s now living on a run-down ranch that no cowboy in the area will touch with a ten-foot pole.

When he calls Cowboy Wanted, he ends up with Ellis McIntyre. Ellis has worked some major ranches and has ridden the rodeo, but he has an ulterior motive when he comes to Ichabod’s place. Aside from needing the job, his half-brother Rick has asked him to look into whether or not Ichabod would be willing to sell the ranch, since Rick feels like he should have inherited it from his step-father.

As Ellis gets to know Ichabod and his kids, though, one thing becomes clear to him. This family needs this ranch, and he intends to help them keep it. Can he convince Ichabod he means no harm, and that he has no designs on the ranch for his half-brother? And can Ichabod open up and trust someone else in his life after so much loss?

*****

Review:

I’ve only read a few of Tortuga’s books but I’ve really enjoyed what I have read so far and I think Cowboy Wanted reminds me a bit of The Cowboy’s Bullfighter. Like with that story, there wasn’t a ton of angst or drama (although I would have expected more with the whole issue over the farm, although I’m kinda happy we didn’t go there) just characters that feel real with real issues, real connection. The romance is a little more at the forefront here but there’s still a good dose of the family feel. And I loved the little family they create when they bring Ellis into their group. It’s such a lovely thing that I would have loved even more of them together with the kids but I did appreciate the simplicity of it – two people who meet, spend time together, fall in love, and work towards a future together. With slow burn, feel good stories like this, I’ll definitely keep putting Tortuga on my TBR list.

Review – The Cowboy’s Bullfighter

20 Saturday Sep 2025

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BA Tortuga, Book Review, Foster Ranch series, The Cowboy's Bullfighter

The Cowboy’s Bullfighter

Foster Ranch series #4

by BA Tortuga

Blurb:

When Cooper Adams gets a call for help from a young rodeo kid he knows like family, he has no choice but to help. He’s a bullfighter, after all, and Benji might be of age, but he has a bunch of siblings who are not, So when the kid is injured, he just takes all of them back to his place in Northern New Mexico, lock stock and barrel. It’s not like they have any other family in the country now that their folks have passed away.

Brooks Whitehead has been working as a horse trainer on a station in Australia, toiling away for a millionaire with tons of money to burn. But when he finally gets the news that his brother and sister-in-law are gone, he heads back to the States to find and help their kids. What he discovers is that Benji doesn’t want his help, and he has to ask Coop if the man is willing to let him stay on and get to know his family again.

The two men work to help heal the kids from their loss, and Benji from his broken pelvis, but they also find they had a lot in common. They’re both cowboys. They both want to do right by those kids, And they have a chemistry that’s undeniable. But when they get separated by work and circumstance, can they come back together while they still have time to do it?

*****

Review:

I enjoy the heck out of Tortuga’s stories. Granted I’ve only read two 🙂 but they have been a pleasant slow burn ride with interesting characters and realistic plots. Unlike Hats to Boots, my only other read, there is minimal angst or drama with this one. Mostly just what you would expect raising a houseful of kids. And while the romance isn’t really the focus of the story, instead it’s about them figuring out how they all fit together, I still enjoyed seeing these two fall in love and make a life together so, so much. It’s all sorts of sweet and uplifting and gooey goodness. And those kids are just all sorts of adorable, as are their uncles.

*Part of a series, but can be read as a stand alone.*

Spotlight – Club Raven

18 Wednesday Jan 2017

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Blog Tour

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BA Tortuga, Calling His Bluff, Club Raven series, Happy Medium, Julia Talbot, Kiernan Kelly, Wishful Thinking

Oh, do I have a treat for you today 🙂 The awesome BA Tortuga is here to share how (in the awesomest way possible) the Club Raven series came to be … after reading this I’m thinking I want to be BFFs!!

*****

Hey y’all! I’m BA Tortuga, resident redneck and post-Civil War historian (I shit you not).

When I was in college, I was a triple major. You see I had a history scholarship, I worked as an illustrator/graphic artist, and I love to read.

In other words, I have the attention span of a gnat on crack. Go team me!

I took my English history, I took my medieval history, I took a class on Egyptian history, then I discovered my weird passion – post-Civil War Industrial America. I love it. Don’t ask why, perhaps too many times reading Little Women, maybe.

At any rate, that was a very, very long time ago and it’s not often I get to pay a gentle homage to historicals.

I came up with the idea of writing a totally alternate universe set in the 1870s a few years ago. I pitched the basic idea to my wife, Julia Talbot, because she’s usually the one that writes historicals. I like to play fast and loose with the details to suit the story, you see. She loved the idea of a place where kink and paranormal activity met with day suits and spiffy top hats and white gloves.

The idea came up, every now and again, then at a con (possibly the DSP meet-up, maybe at RT, the details, they are fuzzy), we hooked Kiernan. Okay, it wasn’t hard to do, but still… 😉

I said I want this in the US, not in England. Julia suggested Baltimore instead of New York City, then Kiernan said, “What about a crazy, built over ley-lines gentlemen’s club?”

Boom.

Club Raven.

Now there are three novels. Demons, psychics, a weird little librarian, orgies, spankings, moving walls, a billiards room.

A whole universe.

Pure insanity.

And, I admit, we love it.

I hope all y’all do too.

Much love, y’all,

*****

Calling His Bluff

Club Raven Book 1

by BA Tortuga

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: January 17, 2016

Pairing: M/M

Genre/Tags: Romance, Paranormal, Historical, Alternate Universe, Spanking, Mediums, Mind Readers

Blurb:

After his twin dies in battle, it’s Patrick Daniels’ duty to marry his brother’s fiancée. Too bad he can’t make himself do it, and in his distress, he manifests a psychic talent that’s stronger than the tornadoes in his native East Texas. Then a mysterious man from a place called Club Raven steps in and sweeps Patrick off to the booming East Coast city of Baltimore.

Club Raven veteran Remy Blanchard sees Patrick and knows, even though Patrick is very ill, that this is the challenge he’s been waiting for. He nurses Patrick back to health, and begins to teach Patrick to control his talent. His methods might be unconventional, and Patrick might be new to the kinds of sexual games Remy knows best, but the two of them find something in each other that might be just as magical as the gentleman’s club where they meet.

Add Calling His Bluff to Goodreads

Happy Medium

Club Raven Book 2

by Julia Talbot

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: January 17, 2016

Pairing: M/M

Genre/Tags: Romance, Paranormal, Historical, Alternate Universe, Spanking, Mediums, Mind Readers

Blurb:

Andrew is out to debunk Max as a medium, not make love to him…

Max Bellame is working his way through 1870s Baltimore as a medium, even if he knows nothing about spirits. He uses the power of his mind to move objects, convincing his clients he’s the real thing.

Andrew Meechum works for Club Raven, a gentleman’s club that doubles as a paranormal research facility. He sets out to debunk Max, only to be fascinated by the man. Can Andrew convince Max to take a chance on love, and to find his true calling as a medium, or will their personal demons force them apart?

Add Happy Medium to Goodreads

Wishful Thinking

Club Raven Book 3

by Kiernan Kelly

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: January 17, 2016

Pairing: M/M

Genre/Tags: Romance, Paranormal, Historical, Alternate Universe, Spanking, Mediums, Mind Readers

Blurb:

Tony Brazzio, co-owner of Club Raven, Baltimore’s premiere men’s club in 1875, has a pocketful of cash and a chip on his shoulder. He’s out to prove to his co-owners — and himself — that he’s not a fluke, that anyone can be successful give the opportunity, no matter how poor his beginnings.

Bull O’Brian and Dandy Gilroy are two hoodlums from the rough streets of New York’s Five Points. They’re pickpockets by trade, and both possess psychic talents that make them two of the best. When Tony offers to bring them to Baltimore and give them the chance at a life of riches in polite society, they jump at the chance, if only to steal the members of Club Raven blind.

The best of plans rarely work the way they’re intended, and things swiftly go from bad to worse for Dandy and Bull. There’s murder afoot and a detective on their trail, and not even copious amounts of hot, sweaty sex can ease their fear or guilt.

As for Tony, he’s faced with admitting his experiment is a failure, something he’s loathe to do. It’ll take a great deal of persuasion, a little luck, and a lot of lube to make sure his plans for Dandy and Bull become more than just wishful thinking.

Add Wishful Thinking to Goodreads

Purchase all three Club Raven novels below!

Calling His Bluff: Evil Plot Bunny

Happy Medium: Evil Plot Bunny

Wishful Thinking: Evil Plot Bunny

*****

Author Info:

BA Tortuga

Texan to the bone and an unrepentant Daddy’s Girl, BA Tortuga spends her days with her basset hounds, getting tattooed, texting her sisters, and eating Mexican food. When she’s not doing that, she’s writing. She spends her days off watching rodeo, knitting, and surfing Pinterest in the name of research. BA’s personal saviors include her wife, Julia Talbot, her best friend, Sean Michael, and coffee. Lots of coffee. Really good coffee.

Having written everything from fist-fighting rednecks to hard-core cowboys to werewolves, BA does her damnedest to tell the stories of her heart, which was raised in Northeast Texas, but has heard the call of the high desert and lives in the Sandias. With books ranging from hard-hitting GLBT romance, to fiery menages, to the most traditional of love stories, BA refuses to be pigeon-holed by anyone but the voices in her head.

You can find out more about her by following her online.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Julia Talbot

Julia 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 has been published by Samhain Publishing, Dreamspinner Press and Changeling Press. She believes in stories that leave a mark, and 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.

You can find out more about her by following her online.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram

Kiernan Kelly

Kiernan’s award-winning stories of gay romance envelop diverse themes, varying from paranormal, to fantasy, and science fiction to contemporary romance. She has over eighty titles in ebook and print, published through a variety of houses. Her horror short story release, “Cletus,” appears in the Coscom Publishing’s book “Bits of the Dead.”

Kiernan also writes young adult GLBT fiction under her Dakota Chase pen name. As Dakota, she currently has three novels and several shorter works available in print and ebook. Mad About the Hatter, her YA gay romance, is a finalist for the American Library Association book list for 2017.

You can find out more about her by following her online.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

*****

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