ARC Review: Tusks & Saddles

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to the authors for allowing me to read an ARC of Tusks & Saddles. 

Tusks & Saddles is made up of two novellas - Cattle Spurs and Bad Company. The two novellas follow two orc brothers in the wild west. Cattle Spurs is a best friends sister, grumpy x grumpy, there is only one bed(roll), herding cattle across the desert. Bad Company is age gap (he's younger), grumpy x sunshine, he's inexperienced, there is only one horse, looking for a missing person.

I did like Cattle Spurs more than Bad Company but that is because I liked the tension between Willamina and Boone. They both wanted each other but she was extra grumpy and extra stubborn so neither of them were making a move. This book is also one of the better Best Friend's Sibling / Brother's Best Friend romances I have read because Boone made it clear that he could be with Willamina and still maintain his friendship with her brother. I feel like in most romances of this nature, it's just accepted that the best friend is now the person of the sibling instead of maintaining his friendship - that could just be the ones that I have been reading though. I also really love books where a woman is used to handling everything and a man starts taking care of her- not because she can't take care of herself but because she takes care of so much and he wants to take some of the weight off of her shoulders. Boone made it so clear that he knew she was capable but he wanted to be there for her and he wanted to support her. 

Bad Company - I didn't really like Beatrix. She's very grumpy and spent a good amount of time thinking very negatively about Boone just because he didn't have the same life experience as her. They are also looking for a missing person throughout but the path they went on made little sense, they just set out for the middle of nowhere knowing nothing about where the guy went and they got their asses kicked by multiple creatures. My favorite part of this book was the smut scene. I love when a more experienced character guides an inexperienced character through their first time and this book delivered it super well.

As far as these being connected, it barley felt like they were. In the first novella, Boone gets sight of Welborn for the first time in ages but just lets him wander off without saying hello. Boone later gets a mind message from Welborn and then sends him a letter but they never speak in person. and we don't actually get Welborn's reaction to this note. In the second, Welborn thinks of Boone way more than Boone thought of him and we get the mind message from his POV. The two don't actually interact in person until an epilogue. Overall, these two books could have not had them be related and it would have been the same exact story.

Synopsis:

Welcome to Irongarde, a dusty city in the middle of nothing, where the tumbleweeds are lively and monsters lurk just beyond the train station. Through a heavy crowd, smoke, and kicked up sand, two brother's spot each other from across the platform. Boone and Welborn Larokson have not seen each other in a couple of years and well, they lead very different lives. Between the Cattle Spurs and Bad Company, who has time to catch up?

Cattle Spurs: Boone Larokson is one of the only Paladin's in town. A good man, hard working, pays his fair share, and does what he can for this two horse town where he met his best friend. Jacobus is a clumsy fool, but he's Boone's clumsy fool who has just broken his leg ten ways to Sunday. Problem is Jacobus is supposed to help his older sister, Willamina Jones, push the last part of their cattle to the stronghold. It's imperative for this town and their families ranch that this push goes off without a hitch. And Willamina is rightfully pissed when she finds Jacobus limping home with his tail between his legs. Boone offers to take his place. What's the harm? It's not like he's been secretly in love with the hot-headed, stubborn enriyes of a woman since the day he met her. But after one unfortunate event happens after another, it's come to their attention someone is trying to sabotage them. They'll have to work together, and not kill each other long enough, to get 300 angry moos to the stronghold.

Bad Company: Welborn is a cleric to the All Seer, the deity of curiosity and knowledge. His devotion is so great that when the opportunity to help open a temple in the city of Irongarde arrives, he can't say no. Reuniting with his brother Boone seems promising, but Welborn's plans quickly go wrong. Train heists, bandits, and a mysterious veiled woman pique Welborn's interest. With Bad Company at her side, Miss Eaves is a woman who is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She doesn't need him to help search for the missing High Cleric—Welborn's superior. Yet, Welborn can't help but chase his curiosity—and Miss Eaves—into the wild. The Searing Wastelands, a scorching desert with long days, short nights, and dangerous creatures roaming… this is fine.

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