Pickup Men (Pickup Men)

 

  

It takes a pissed-off Brahma bull named Shockwave to show rodeo pickup man Marty Fairgrave the cold hard truth about champion bull rider Tripp Colby: Tripp will never leave the safety of his closet or acknowledge Marty in public. Sometimes loving someone just isn’t enough, and after a year of hiding what they are, Marty finally sees the light—and it’s no longer shining on Tripp.
Tripp Colby would do anything for Marty. Well . . . almost. He’s never loved anyone before, and isn’t quite sure how to handle it now. But he knows Marty is his everything, and in order to win him back, Tripp will have to overcome his darkest fears and step into the light.
But no matter Tripp’s intentions, the cost might be too high and the effort too late for these two cowboys to ride off into the sunset.

Review

*****I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review****

Marty Fairgrave is considered one of the best pickup men on the circuit, and "one of the gayest". Being out of the closet since he was a juvenile, he is comfortable with who he is and who he loves. Along with his best friends Kent and Bridge, and a very supportive accepting family, Marty has been able to rise about the people who may cause problems for him and accept that not everyone is comfortable with his lifestyle and be ok with that. Tripp Colby unfortunately has not had the same support or upbringing. The son of a man who ran a controversial facility to "cure" gay people, he has learned to hide who he truly is so far in the closet that he's not sure it will ever see the light of day. Falling in love with Marty has just complicated that. Being a world champion bull rider on the same circuit as Marty, his daytime activities are vastly different from the nighttime ones with the man. Surrounded by a stereotypical "man's sport" and a few close minded good ole boys and Tripp can't bring himself to confess or show his feelings. A Brahma bull changes everything in a few minutes and Tripp and Marty are sent on a whirlwind of heartbreak and eventually healing.

There are sometimes those books where they feel like they're written for you. You can't put them down and you're almost depressed when they end. This was one of those books for me. While I won't say it was perfect, it was perfect for me. Being an avid rodeo fan, ex to a bull rider, and a previous competitor, I loved that one of our main character's was one of rodeo's unsung heroes, the pickup men. I'm a sucker for a sexy cowboy and love anything that focuses on the sport. The cowboys were strong, sexy, and amazing. Marty was such an easy to connect with character who automatically had you falling in love with him. Tripp was frustrating at times but broke your heart. The side characters were a blast. I felt like there could have been more about Eric coming into the bunch. Instead he was just accepted into the close group of friends overnight it seemed and after a failed seduction of Marty. I was extremely intrigued by what in the world was going on between seemingly straight Bridge and proud and out Eric. There were definitely hints of interested and more coming from Bridge's side and hopefully they'll get their own book. I understand where other reader's frustrations came from with this book but didn't experience any of them enough to halt my love for the story. It was a sweet romance that defied the odds and allowed our characters to grow as people. 

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