Mirrigold: Mutterings & Musings

Twilight’s Touch by V.L. Locey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I hadn’t realised when I set out to review this one that it was going to be an NA romance – the characters are 20 and 22 – but I have to say it was a pleasant surprise.

I usually avoid YA/NA unless they fall towards the top end (ie college/post collage around 24/25) because often I find I lack patience for the typical lack of maturity that comes from simply not having lived a lot of your life yet.

However, with Twilight’s Touch, Vicki gives the reader two young men who’ve both been through a fair amount and, while Will might act like an idiot at times, a lot of that is to do with his insecurities rather than his immaturity.

Perry, as a Native American Shoshone, has also had to deal with a lot growing up. His dad was killed, and his mum paralysed, in a car accident when he was just a baby, he’s faced discrimination from living on a Reserve and because he’s not a full blood.

He’s also bookish, quite shy and a virgin, who’s hiding the fact he’s gay from all those close to him. So what we get with this narrative is two young men, just trying to find their feet, and dealing with an overwhelming attraction to each other that neither is quite sure how to cope with.

There’s also the ongoing mystery of who stole some of the dinosaur fossils found in book one, as well as the repeated thefts of equipment and other valuable items from both the Blue Ice Ranch and the neighbouring McCrary property.

Together the two men stumble into discovering a possible clue to the thefts while also falling into bed – and love – in a way which is beautifully sweet and completely endearing. Will might be a bit of a bad boy, but he’s been stiffed at life with a mother who marries, and discards, men like they’re going out of fashion.

As Perry works with a spooked horse, his gentle ways also have a positive effect on Will and the two of them let each other learn their deepest secrets and desires.

I really appreciated the focus on Perry’s traditions and history, the tribal ways were, to my uneducated eye at least, authentic and felt like an integral and unbreakable part of his character. It was fascinating getting a look at his life with his family at the powwow and through the dances which formed a major role in his upbringing.

All in all, this was another great entry for the series and I am seriously stoked for book three, which gives us Will’s half-brother Kyle and the youngest son of the hated McCrary clan Shep.

#ARC kindly received from the author in return for an honest and unbiased review

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