Review: Lone Star by Josh Lanyon

Title: Lone Star

Author: Josh Lanyon

Publisher: Carina Press

Length: 84 Pages

Category: Contemporary, Holiday Romance

At a Glance: I truly did love this story. It was wonderfully romantic and had an awesome small-town vibe and nice holiday feel.

Reviewed By: Jules

Blurb: Growing up in rural Texas, Mitchell Evans’s ambition to be a dancer made him a target. Though he found success in New York City, Mitch is at a crossroads, and heads home for the first time in twelve years to figure things out. When what appears to be a reindeer jumps out in front of his car, he drives off the road and into the path of the one man he hoped to avoid.

The last person Texas Ranger Web Eisley expects to see four days before Christmas is his first love. He hasn’t seen Mitch since they quarreled over coming out to their friends and family years ago. Though he’s not in the closet now, Web has worked hard for the respect of his fellow officers, but he still regrets the loss of Mitch in his life. And his bed.

The attraction between them is as strong as ever, and it doesn’t take long for the men to pick up where they left off. But is love enough to keep Mitch in town in the New Year?

Review: What a lovely little story to pop my Josh Lanyon cherry with. 😊 Heh. Yep, that’s right, this was my first, but it will certainly not be my last. Lone Star is a wonderful story about recapturing lost love. I completely adored both Mitch and Web. And, aside from the ending, which was a bit too abrupt in my opinion, Lanyon delivered an incredibly satisfying, heart-warming Christmas novella that I recommend whole-heartedly and will absolutely be rereading myself.

Mitch Evans grew up in Llano, Texas, a small town not too far from Austin. It was in Llano that he found his two biggest loves: ballet, and Web Eisley. But, twelve years ago, Mitch sacrificed one love for the other when he left Texas and headed to New York to pursue his dancing. The day Mitch left, he and Web had fought bitterly about coming out and being together openly, but what Web didn’t know was that the same night, Mitch had come out to his father, causing another nasty fight and resulting in him getting thrown out of the house. Now Mitch is back in Llano, and it doesn’t take long before he and Web realized that things between them are far from finished.

Web and Mitch were both total sweethearts. I loved the seeming mismatch between a ballet dancer and a Texas Ranger. It would be easy to worry that they couldn’t possibly have anything in common after a twelve-year separation, and Mitch’s life being so completely different now. At his core, though, Mitch is a Texas boy, and it’s easy to picture him fitting back into Web’s life. Over the holiday, as he and Web reconnect, Mitch learns some very surprising things about his father, and must make some tough decisions about his career.

I truly did love this story. It was wonderfully romantic and had an awesome small-town vibe and nice holiday feel. And if you were left feeling like you needed more of these guys in your life like I was, I also want to mention that the author has a collection of holiday codas titled Merry Christmas, Darling, in which Mitch and Web have a vignette. It was so nice to get another little glimpse of them, so be sure to check that out also!

You can buy Lone Star here:
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