Dakota Skies

Taylin Clavelli

Born in the wrong time…

In 1875 Dakota, Sheriff Jamie Carter has to hide his interest in men, even from his gutsy twin sister, Anna. On a good day, the truth can mean a bullet between the eyes, and on a bad, one in the back.

A man on a mission…

Jamie leaves Anna in charge of Blackrock and he hits the bounty-hunting trail, along with his faithful equine companion, Houston. Five territories, scores of ‘Wanted’ posters, and many bullets later, his path unexpectedly converges with that of enigmatic loner, Kit Brooks.

Two men with one soul…

Will the smoldering fire between them rage into an inferno and break down protective barriers, allowing them to find love? Or will it separate and kill them?

Beneath Dakota skies…

Jamie and Kit’s story is a sweeping saga of cowboys, Indians, persistent broads, and vengeful villains, where the cowboys aren’t always the good guys, and love can’t be taken for granted.

Excerpt

Finally, Hayley’s big day arrived. Jay was banned from the upper floor of the house. Even so, it didn’t stop him from hearing the curses. The nature of the swearing meant one thing—corset. The girls were helping each other dress in the basics, before going to Hayley’s to add the final touches.

“How the hellfire is anyone supposed to breathe in this?” was the politest of the expletives.

There was only one course of action to be taken. Jay disappeared to the jailhouse. He changed and waited there until the allotted nuptials time arrived.

Blackrock didn’t have a place of worship as such. What substituted for a church was a large hut where people could listen to the Sunday service delivered by the preacher. Wearing his Sunday best, Jay took a seat in the back row, claiming the role of protector. Farther up, he saw Morgan. He looked handsome in a black suit, white shirt, and thin bow tie. The two nodded a greeting.

It wasn’t long before the church was full, and the people of the hour arrived. Hayley looked beautiful in a white, fitted, long-sleeved dress. It had a lace high-necked top and full-length skirts, with bows down the back. Strips of lace fell from the bun in her hair.

Anna’s dress was a much simpler version of the bride’s. It was one thing to get Anna into a corset—another to get her wearing bows. It was light blue and blue lace covered the top. She looked stunning. The huge smile on Morgan’s face suggested he thought so too. The corsets they wore pulled in their waists so much Jay understood why Anna was complaining.

The service didn’t take long. Soon everyone was back at the saloon, which had been transformed into something befitting a wedding, with linen on the tables, cake, and a bunch of extras. Mrs. Cook supplied the food, and the whores were restricted to their rooms, forbidden to show their faces until celebrations were over.

Once the festivities were in full swing, Morgan asked Jay to accompany him to his office—well out of the way of eager ears.

About Taylin 

Taylin Clavelli lives in the United Kingdom, about 15 miles south of Birmingham, and a short journey from the world famous Cadbury’s Chocolate factory. She’s married with children and loves her family with all her heart.

Her love of books has been a long standing affair, with Taylin liking nothing better than to lose herself in an imaginary world.

Until she met Lily Velden, she never considered trying her hand at writing. However, after talking ideas, Lily encouraged her to put pen to paper—or rather, fingers to keyboard. Since, with a few virtual kicks in the right place, she hasn’t stopped. Her confidence eventually led to her writing an original work for submission.

Her first published work was Boys, Toys, and Carpet Fitters, developed for the Dreamspinner Press Anthology – Don’t Try This At Home.

Now she absolutely adores immersing herself into the characters she creates, and transferring the pictures in her brain to paper, finding it liberating, therapeutic, and wonderful.

Outside of writing, her interests include; martial arts (she’s a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Taekwon-do), horse-riding, all of which facilitates her love of a wide variety of movies. Her action heroes include Jet Li and Tony Jaa—finding the dedication these men have for their art combined with their skill both amazing and a privilege to watch. If pressed, she’ll admit to thinking that the screen entrance of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean – Curse of the Black Pearl, and Shadowfax in LOTR, to be the greatest screen entrances ever. Her all-time favorite movies are Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.

The simple things in life that make her day, putting a smile on her face are:

Laughter – especially that of her children.

The smell of lasagna cooking – it makes her mouth salivate.

The dawn chorus – no symphony ever written can beat the waking greetings of the birds.

Social links:

Giveaway!

Taylin Clavelli Rafflecopter giveaway!

Review

Title: Dakota Skies

Author: Taylin Clavelli

Genre: Western/Historical

Length: Novel (359 pages)

Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing (September 12, 2014)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts

Reviewer: Cat

Blurb: Born in the wrong time…

In 1875 Dakota, Sheriff Jamie Carter has to hide his interest in men, even from his gutsy twin sister, Anna. On a good day, the truth can mean a bullet between the eyes, and on a bad, one in the back.

A man on a mission…

Jamie leaves Anna in charge of Blackrock and he hits the bounty-hunting trail, along with his faithful equine companion, Houston. Five territories, scores of ‘Wanted’ posters, and many bullets later, his path unexpectedly converges with that of enigmatic loner, Kit Brooks.

Two men with one soul…

Will the smoldering fire between them rage into an inferno and break down protective barriers, allowing them to find love? Or will it separate and kill them?

Beneath Dakota skies…

Jamie and Kit’s story is a sweeping saga of cowboys, Indians, persistent broads, and vengeful villains, where the cowboys aren’t always the good guys, and love can’t be taken for granted.

Purchase Link: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/dakota-skies/

Review: Since I don’t like giving a half heart, there was a lot of twists and a very surprising ending that made me decide to go with the 4 instead of 3.

Jay is the co-sheriff of Black Rock, with his sister. They both inherited the job at an early age after a terrible gang had killed their father. They learned the love and respect of the town from the school of hard knocks. Jay also had another secret, but didn’t want to tell his sister until he was sure. He becomes a bounty hunter to go search for information to find out who killed their father and to see if he really favoured men over women.

Kit lives in the woods alone. The land provides and protects him. He also has many secrets of his own. One day he hears singing that draws him to the handsome cowboy. Without a though he saves him from the Indians. Will their secrets be a burden or are the gifts from the spirit world?

Sound a bit ominous? I hope so. As you see, the book is full of secrets and I didn’t touch on half of them. There are many other characters, both good and bad with secrets too. Some lead to happiness, some to deceit and death. I loved all the twists and turns, there is a touch of humor especially with the horses. There is a lot of drama, some bar brawls that left me chuckling and some shootouts that left me nervous.

The one thing that I didn’t like was though the book is set in the old west, the way it was told didn’t come off as historical. There was some clichés, and words and actions like an imagined fist pump to the air, which left me with a more modern feel. Having said that, it didn’t ruin the story for me, it just felt as if someone from our time was telling an old west story and I found that a bit refreshing.

There’s lots of backstory about, not just Jay or Kit, but also Mason and the Indians that sort of made the story long. Another but here, the last few chapters were worth the entire story. The beauty and love of the Jay and Kit was worth it all.

So if you like old west stories with a modern flare, historical romance, cowboys, Indians, gunfights, brawls, spunky female sheriffs, nosey, spiteful saloon girls, fun crazy horses, sensual loving mansex and a very beautiful love story between two men this is definitely for you.