Book 848: The Stolen Suitor (Clyde’s Corner #2) – Eli Easton

So, Easton can tell a story that’s NOT a MM Holiday Romance 😀 I mean, I knew this was true, she clearly has dozens of other works out there, but somehow the only two I’ve read from her were both Holiday Romances.

Going into this one my first instinct that Easton bit off more than she could chew with two parallel romances happening at the same time. I wasn’t 100% correct, but I do think there were some weaknesses in the book because she ultimately split the story line and there were so many subplots.

The Stolen Suitor is the story of Jeremy and Eric, brothers who have had a rough life because of where they grew up and their poverty who are put in a tough position by their mother forcing them to seduce/fall for the other protagonists, Chris and Trix. Chris is Trix’s recently deceased husband’s best friend and has come home to eventually marry Trix to help take care of the ranch and his best friend’s child and widow. Chris is bisexual and Jeremy is closeted so you can see the line ups there.

Now that he had, not a single thing was any clearer. The way he’d felt kissing Jeremy, holding him, even wearing waders and hanging on to a fishing pole—that feeling was crazy big. It was like grabbing a live wire, like the relief of rain on the hottest day of the year. He’d assumed Jeremy wasn’t very experienced, having lived in Clyde’s Corner his whole life, and being generally shy. The kiss seemed to prove that. But Jeremy was passionate. He’d trembled and moaned like he was dying, and pressed solid hardness against Chris seconds into the kiss. Strike match—whoosh! (Chapter 10)

I found the Jeremy and Chris story to be more relatable and not just because it was the MM romance in the novel, but because Jeremy was the quiet kid who wanted to be an author and tried to fade into the background, but his mom forced him out of his shell and out of the closet for her own purposes. Chris isn’t openly bisexual, but he dresses flashy and takes care of himself. Their relationship is a slow burn and I really liked how they slowly open up to each other and Chris’ eventually coming out to Trix and realizing that he can’t marry her because he’s in love with Jeremy was swoon worthy. PLUS, Chris and Jeremy end up taking riding lessons with Joshua and Ben from A Prairie Dog’s Love Song which was just so much fun!

Eric and Trix’s story was a bit more complicated. Eric gets a job at Trix’s ranch and realizes that he loves horses and the ranching lifestyle. They slowly grow closer, but Trix, rightfully so, keeps her distance, but her daughter falls madly in love with Eric and that makes it a lot more difficult. There’s a big reveal hinted at halfway through the novel and when it becomes public knowledge the crises that close out the novel hinge on that point.

I wasn’t a fan of the back-to-back crises, but that’s because I honestly felt that the book could’ve been written as two books: Chris and Jeremy’s story and Eric and Trix’s story. They were incredibly intertwined, but they could’ve been separated just a little more to turn them into two books, but then again, I might not have read Eric and Trix’s so I can’t really complain.

The epilogue was perfect and a needed addition to the book, which isn’t something I usually say! We got to check in with everyone and see how happy Chris and Jeremy were having moved to Denver, got to see Eric and Trix’s new little boy, and even got a little bit of a bow on Mabe’s (Eric and Jeremy’s mom) story. I can’t wait to read the final book in the series, One Trick Pony, that actually brought this series to my attention.

Recommendation: I’m glad this was full length novel, but honestly there was A LOT going on in this novel. I’m not sure if Easton let the characters get away from her or there was just so much to tell between Chris and Jeremy and Eric and Trixie, but in the end, it worked well even if it was a bit overwhelming keeping track of everything.

Opening Line: “Mabeline Crassen had tipped all the way to the right on the crazy scale.”

Closing Line: “‘Stealing you,’ Jeremy said. ‘Like this.’ And he leaned in for a kiss.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)

Additional Quotes from The Stolen Suitor
“Ma made an ‘oh pooh’ face. ‘Everyone knows gays can and do marry up. Remember how Gibbon Adams dressed like a cowboy Liberace? They say he even had sequins on his nightshirt. His missus still managed to have six young’uns. It’s like they say: It’s all the same in the dark.’
‘Oh my God,’ Jeremy moaned, rubbing the heels of his hands into his eyes. He couldn’t believe his mother actually had a philosophy about gay men. One that involved sex and . . . darkness . . . and sequins. He felt dirty.” (Chapter 1)

“Chris wasn’t self-delusional. When it came to his ‘bisexuality,’ he knew he was more like 80/20 by proclivity. He’d dated a few girls in high school, had sex with them. It was okay. It wasn’t like he was averse to it or found it disgusting. It just didn’t compare to the rush he got from men, a purely physical-hormonal-bestial urge that he’d been born with.” (Chapter 2)