MORNING REPORT by Sue Brown

MORNING REPORT by Sue Brown

 

Pages:          220

Date:           June 17, 2015

Details:        No. 1 Morning Report

Copy received from Author

E-book

The blurb:

“A decade on from their first kiss, Luke Murray is more in love with Simon every day. Running the Lost Cow ranch for Luke's parents, they keep their heads down and get along with the locals, even if Luke is known for being a hothead. Then one day they discover the local store owners refuse to serve them. They're bewildered until Luke's mom tells them the new pastor has targeted the couple in his sermons. Suddenly Luke and Simon find themselves alienated from people they called friends, and their ranch comes under a series of attacks. As the town's hatred and homophobia turns on them, Luke and Simon will face a critical choice: give in to the town's demands and disappear, or stand and fight for themselves and their love.”

My thoughts:

Yes, I know, I’m reading this series the wrong way around. I started with the fourth Morning Report title, Letters from a Cowboy, and loved it so much I had no hesitation saying yes when Sue Brown offered me the opportunity to read the book that started it all: Morning Report. I was not disappointed.

Morning Report is slightly different from most romances we read. This is not a story about two men coming together but rather a look at what happens to Luke and Simon when their decade long relationship suddenly comes up against adversity in the form of homophobia from the people who have known Luke all his life and had been accepting of the couple for years.

Luke and Simon are one of the cutest couples ever. Despite their years together they’re as in love as ever, can’t keep their hands (and other body parts) off each other and basically behave like love-struck teenagers. If I ever met them face to face I might well join forces with Luke’s sister and make fun of their need for each other.

All joking aside, this book touched my heart for quite a few reasons and on numerous occasions. It also deals with something we rarely acknowledge; relationships tend to be easy as long as life just moves along at a steady pace without any big surprises. We don’t find out what our relationship (or our partner) is made off until we are forced to face a big and possibly traumatic situation together. Some relationships crumble; others, like Luke and Simon’s, have to be reassessed but thrive in the long run.

I loved the setting and all the secondary characters in this book. In fact, the situation that touched my heart most and had me on the edge of my seat as I read on with fear in my heart, dealt with somebody close to our heroes. I kept on whispering please don’t, please don’t under my breath. Whether or not I got my wish and what exactly the situation was I won’t diverge here though. Read the book. It’s good.

As always Sue Brown makes us think about issues while treating us to an entertaining, sexy and next to impossible to put down story. Homophobia is never easy to read about and religious intolerance makes me see red. The fact that more or less a whole town, en masse, turned against Luke and Simon just because a new pastor told them too, infuriated me. Because it is all too easy to believe this happens in everyday life to real-life people who may or may not have the support system the characters in this book had.

Before anybody thinks this book was ‘just’ a heavy read let me reassure you. I laughed as much as I frowned while reading Morning Report, tears of joy replaced sad tears once or twice and the antics between Simon and Luke had me laughing out loud more than once. And to say these two men, who can’t keep their hands off each other, were hot would be an understatement. I love me a toppy bottom as much as a top happy to indulge him. And I can’t help feeling most of us might be a lot happier if we too introduced ‘morning reports’ into our lives.

LETTERS FROM A COWBOY by Sue Brown

LETTERS FROM A COWBOY by Sue Brown

 

Pages:          159

Date:           June 14, 2015

Details:        No. 4 Morning Report

                   Copy received from author

E-book

The blurb:

“Simon Wood arrives at Tamar Ranch looking for a job after being fired from his last position for seducing the boss's son. It doesn’t take much for him to prove his skills with horses, so he’s taken on, but soon he clashes hard with Chip Henson. 

The animosity between them hides something very different, but not for long. No matter how hard they try to resist their attraction, eventually they give in to their need. They start leaving notes for each other, and others notice and warn them to be more careful. 

Fearful of discovery, Simon leaves Tamar Ranch to save Chip’s job. When he learns that his departure sent Chip off the rails, he knows he needs to risk everything and go back for him.”

My thoughts: 

I’ll start this review with the confession that I haven’t read the three previous Morning Report book. Since the story in this book takes place in the 1950’s rather than the present day, that turned out to be no problem what so ever, and I feel confident when I say Letters From a Cowboy can be read as a stand-alone.

I was very impressed with this book. This story touched my heart and took me through a host of feelings. I loved seeing Chip and Simon together which made it all the more difficult to have to watch them in a time and place where their love for each other could not only get them in trouble but also cost them their freedom or even their lives. When Chip falls apart after Simon leaves it broke my heart and yet, I couldn’t fault Simon for what he’d done. Under those circumstances he did the only thing he could think of to keep them both safe, and yet it nearly broke both of them.

Part of me read this book hoping for a miracle, a sudden change in attitude from the people around our heroes. A far bigger part of me is glad that Sue Brown stayed true to her historical setting and yet still managed to give Simon and Chip the happy ever after they so richly deserved.

This book made me think. Initially I just found myself angry that things had been so bad for gay people in the past and then I nearly slapped myself upside the head. This story may be set in 1950’s; the situation as described in it is a reality for way too many people in the world right now. Changes may be taking place but universal acceptance is still a thing we can only dream about and campaign towards. And while there is no harm in celebrating how far we’ve come, it is good to remember we still have a long way to go.

As I’ve come to expect from this author, the book is very well written, the storyline gripping right from the start and the development clever and realistic. The only downside to having read this book is that I now feel the need to read the earlier Morning Report titles as well, which is not a downside at all of course except...so many books and so little time.