*4.75 STARS* I was totally smitten with this book, the characters… and the author! What an excellent first Novel… Kate Pavelle you kept me up all night but it was totally worth it. Fabulous read! 
Fascinating reading, compelling and the characters just intrigued me, I found myself slowing down on my reading because I just wanted to soak it all up, absorb each and every page… at times it is beautiful, poignant, plus a lot contradictions and emotional turmoil, but it’s not just about the relationship between Kai and Attila, it was also Vermillion/Cayenne and Kai and to watch these two together it was magical, real warm the heart stuff, to be honest, I know nothing about horses, so I couldn't tell you if it was depicted accurately but I was enthralled by them and.. I – could – not – put – this – book – down! My household duties were neglected and I pulled an allnighter, it was one of those books where you are so engrossed you wonder where the last few hours disappeared. At 350 pages this is not a quick read and the author really does take you on a journey with Kai and Attila, nothing seems to come easy for these two and there are always nagging questions at the back of my mind from hints dropped and taken nowhere, but every thread left dangling is picked up and woven back into the story. Each man is a mystery and when you think you understand them… Mmmm, something else is thrown into the mix to dispel original thoughts… towards the end the pace of the book completely changed, with a real WTF! Oh. My. God… I never saw that coming! Moment… and I do love a book that turns my heart inside out!
Kai Alewright is homeless, the streets have been his home since his apartment and all possessions were destroyed in a fire. Hunger and desperation, turn him to pick pocketing, his first haul $60 and an Iphone… it was like winning the lottery! Only the man from whom he stole, wanted his phone back and reading his text messages, Kai is assaulted by an attack of conscience, he is already humiliated that he has had to sink so low to survive… so he sets off on his rusty bike to return the phone to it’s rightful owner.
“You are above such petty acts of thievery”
That text message changes Kai’s life!
It is not Attila that he first makes contact with at Blue Heron Acres but the beguiling fiery red stallion. With no fear and oblivious to the danger of the beast, he sets about playing and making friends. Vermillion a horse that had so far bitten, kicked and run away from every human that had tried to gain his trust. Yet this stranger had achieved far more in the matter of minutes, than Attila, a trained and expert horseman had in months. And he is curious to see where it might lead and maybe for these two wild animals this could be their chance at survival. The fact that he was powerfully sexually drawn to the man was irrelevant… that was something he could control?!
He saw something in Kai that he had yet to find in his years of teaching, raw natural talent, effortless, and Attila wanted to share his knowledge, impart his experience and Kai was like a sponge soaking it all up, desperate to learn how to not only care for Cayenne (he changed the horses name) but to ride him, to emulate what he had seen and for Kai this was also a new experience, something new… he was passionate about the horse and his owner.
These two men are attracted to each other, the sexual chemistry is sizzling, yet both are dismissing it, Kai because he see’s Attila as unobtainable, feels unworthy of the affections of a man such as Attila, humbled by the kindness shown to him… Attila had already given him so much and Kai was desperate to stay. Attila with his stolen studies of Kai, the man fascinates him, he enjoys the quiet harmony he feels with Kai, something he is not accustomed to with humans and yet despite their attraction, they know following up on their desires would surely push the other away!?!
Both these men are flawed and damaged by a past that haunts them. Kai was thrown out and abandoned for being gay, he has no feeling of belonging, initially I thought him innocent and childlike almost desperate, yet at times his personality showed strength and his wild nature came to the fore. He is open and pure of heart so willing to please yet he is not submissive. Circumstances and bad decisions had led Kai to being homeless, and finding someone who actually cared what happened to him, gave of their own time to help him was incomprehensible for Kai who had only known rejection since the death of his father… emotionally he found it overwhelming.
Attila is an extremely complex character, in the blurb it tells us that Attila has undiagnosed Asperger’s so when I had finished the book I looked it up… Lack social skills, dislike changes in routine, lack empathy and a formal style of speech. Spot on! Attila is an eccentric recluse, socially awkward, in fact he hates being in the company of humans and his emotionless manner does not endear him to humans! He is logical and analytical any deviation from the norm agitates him. Yet he checks himself and remains calm and in control, and despite all his aloofness he is kind and compassionate and fair, never taking advantage.
The more we get to know the characters the more I came to understand the contradictions in their personalities which I initially found confusing. Both men have a dark and secret past they want to leave behind, for fear the very nature of it would destroy the relationship they now found themselves immersed in. Kate Pavelle does an excellent job with the characterisation their voices so very distinct, and portrays them perfectly. Attila is almost British in his formal language, it made me laugh, especially next to the very casual Kai… they are total opposites yet so very perfect for eachother. There are also some great secondary characters, and a few I would like to do some serious bodily harm to! Attila’s family who were initially a little hostile to the street punk, warmed, and they too opened their hearts. The plot is a steady pace, then in the last third it ramps up a gear and the fallout was not at all what I was expecting. Together these two were hot, passionate, sexy as hell and definitely cold shower worthy!!! I do not know very much about Kate Pavelle but I do know she writes a great story, I can’t wait for her to bring us more in this series!
This book is highly recommended, I absolutely loved it!
A copy of this book was provided by Dreamspinner Press in exchange for a fair and honest review...
