The Terms of Release

Title:  The Terms of Release

Author:  BA Tortuga

Publisher:  Dreamspinner Press

Length:  240 pages

Rating:  B List

Quad Shot of Love

 

Blurb:  They say a man can always come home. So after doing hard time, Sage Redding heads to his family’s northeast Texas ranch to help his ailing daddy with the cutting horses.

Adam (Win) Winchester is a county deputy and the cousin of one of the men killed in the incident that sent Sage to prison for almost a decade. While Win’s uncles, Jim and Teddy, are determined to make Sage and the entire Redding family pay for their loss, Win just figures Sage has paid his dues and maybe needs a friend. Maybe he needs more than a friend. In fact, Win’s counting on it.

No one’s denying Sage is an ex-con who went to prison for manslaughter. Regardless of the love he has for his father, he’s returned knowing things will likely go badly for him. Maybe a man can always come home, but he may not be able to stay.

 

Review:  There are several things about this book that I made assumptions about when I read the blurb. 1. It’s a cowboy love story. 2. It’s a reformed convict story. 3. It will have gobs and gobs of crazy man smexy time.

What was it in truth? It was the story of one man finding his right to a home.

Sage is this amazing combination of strength and brokenness. He balances on the edge of sanity for the right to exist. The right to come home and help his father with his farm. The right to sit down and read a book, enjoy a piece of pie. The right to a man.

Win is beautifully optimistic. He doesn’t see a murderer when he sees Sage. I loved his honor and willingness to stand up against his family to defend one man. One family. He is passionate and kind and when everything is laid down and he has to make a decision. He sacrifices everything he has, for Sage.

This book is full of depth, the secondary characters create the many sides of the small town. I was lost in the emotions of this book. Just drawn in. I hated Win’s family, except his mom. But the way he dealt with them showed his true character, his integrity right from the start.

Sage’s family was amazing. They came together intensely and were both very tough but also on the hair edge of broken. He came home to help, but I think they all needed to heal together.

I have read a bit of everything from B.A. Tortuga and feel this is the finest thing she has written. Emotional, real, and tangible, this story will make you invest in these characters, and fall in love with these men.

Review by Beans