REVIEW: TY HARD BY LAURA HARNER

 After six long months in rehab, Navy Veteran Tyler Hardin received his medical discharge and heads west to visit with his mentor and surrogate father, only to arrive minutes after his old friend passes. Ranch owner Cass Cartwright takes one look at the handsome stranger and knows he's in danger of doing the one thing he swore never to do: fall in love. Cass works to convince Tyler to overcome his past and give a relationship with another man a chance, even while someone is working to sabotage his ranch, and maybe their love.

 Rating:  5 Lulu's

Available now at All Romance Ebooks

This is Laura Harner's first forage into the M/M genre in the shape of a gorgeous cowboy and a broken man; a man who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders along with past grief, PSTD and the denial of who he really is. 

Okay, so I've read it before and anyone who sees the dedication page will know why I squeed when I opened it on my Kindle last night - my name is alongside two other lovely ladies as I am one of Laura's critique partners.  My first reading of the finalised version of Ty Hard was done on word so I didn't realise she'd done that and I actually filled up I was so touched.  Anyway, enough of that.

As I said, I've read it before as a CP but last night I opened it as a reader and was totally lost in the beauty of Laura's writing all over again as I was sucked into the world of the Willow Springs Ranch and Cass, and Tyler.

The two characters are written with such strength and conviction and their instant attraction is sizzling.  Underneath all that lust is Cass' realization that he doesn't just want this man's tight little ass, he wants the whole package.  He wants to protect this man from the world that has left him uncertain and in pain, both mentally and physically.  For the first time in his life, he wants more than phsyical release.  My heart ached for him as he not only has to come to terms with the fact that he's falling in love with his 'sailor' but also with the knowledge that Tyler may never be ready to take that final step.

Tyler is a broken man, looking for somewhere to call his own, and meeting Cass Cartwright was the last thing he expected.  The man stirs up feelings and wants in him that he is not ready to face, even though he knows he has been denying them all his life.  A tragedy in his past has left him hiding behind a wall that Cass has to break through to get to him, and even though he knows his feelings for Cass are true, he is uncertain whether he can truly allow himself to give over to them.  My heart ached for Cass, but it shattered into a million pieces for Ty as his story was revealed and his insecurity and fear of letting himself love Cass.

In short, I couldn't put it down and finished it in the early hours of this morning, hence my late wake up.  First of all, you'd never know that this was the first m/m Laura has ever written, the sex was hot without being overly graphic and the sensuality of it all will leave you needing to open a window and racing for the next page.  The story was seamless, not once were you left wondering if you'd missed part of the plot as you are in so many books of late.  Laura's descriptive writing style and emotional content reaches in and grabs the pit of your stomach one minute and your heart the next and then she has to go and throw in a little suspense and terror along the way, just to keep you on your toes.  It was a beautiful story of love, romance, and overcoming the odds to realise that the one might just have been standing in front of you all along.

I can put my hand on my heart and say that this is a must have addition to your Kindle, bookshop, bloody everywhere.  It's one of those stories that you can read over and over and still want to go back to it again.  Pure class.