Book Reviews

Book Blurb

It's Fearless Coke Pharris' job to save bull riders from two-thousand pound bulls, and he takes his work super seriously. Which is why he's devastated when one of his favorite riders gets hurt, and he's determined to help one of his favorite cowboys ride again.

Dillon Walsh is the arena entertainer for the bull riding tour, and he wants to help get his buddy Jason back on his feet. He also wants Coke, who he's admired from afar for a long time. He hasn't made a move on Coke for fear of messing up their friendship, but when he finds out Coke might feel the same way, Dillon has to try to win Coke over.

Coke thinks he's too old for Dillon, too beat up and scarred, but he can't resist when Dillon finally makes a play for him. Dillon is like a fever dream for Coke, and the two of them have a great time getting to know each other better, at least until the danger of their job threatens to come between them. Will Dillon and Coke be able to help their friend and deal with all the trouble that comes their way?

 

 

First edition published at Torquere Press, September 2008.

Second edition published at Pride Publishing, October 2015.

 

Book Review

Bull riders and anyone else competing in a rodeo have my respect for facing the unpredictable dangers involved when working with powerful animals. But bullfighters? The people putting themselves between an enraged bull and a rider to ensure the rider makes it to safety? I think they are amazing. And this story is about one such man, Coke, and the man he falls in love with, a rodeo clown (official designation: arena entertainer) named Dillon. They have been secretly longing for more than friendship for quite a few years, but opening up is not in these tough guys’ nature. And when they do, things aren’t always as easy as they seem either. This second book in the ‘Roughstock’ series is just as amazing as the first with its ability to magically transport me to Texas and its stubborn cowboys.

Coke Pharris is a bullfighter, and that means he is responsible for rodeo participants’ life in the arena. But he takes his job a lot more serious than most. He is the kind of man who will put himself in the path of an enraged bull to save someone else’s life, and he has the scars to prove it. He is older than most of the twenty-something cowboys who compete for the championship, and that makes him a bit of a father figure. He has some distinctly non-parental feelings for Dillon, but he has never approached him or given any sign of his interest. Coke’s newest project is to help Jason ride again – yes, the Jason who is blind after an accident in book one.

Dillon is a rodeo clown, in charge of entertaining the audience while waiting for the next event, or when the medics have to drag an injured man out of the arena. He has secretly had his eye on Coke for a while and hates that everyone thinks Coke is so old. Dillon has no such issues – first of all he is only a few years younger than Coke, and they are both under forty, so where is the problem? Finally Dillon decides to go for it and is stunned but ecstatic when he finds out the interest is mutual.

Even though both men are interested, theirs is not an easy relationship. Not just because they have to be careful in a mostly homophobic and very macho world of the rodeo. No, they have a lot to overcome. Misunderstandings, exes from the past interfering, an inability to believe their feelings are real - the list goes on. I rooted for them all the way but held my breath several times when things got tense. What an emotional ride!

If you like the world of tough bull riders and tougher bullfighters, if you want to find out more about two men who are hesitant about opening up but once they do, they set the sheets aflame, and if you’re looking for a read that is like an emotional roller coaster, intense, exciting, and hotter than a Texas summer, then you will probably like this novel as much as I did. I’ll have to wait until January for the next one to be published (‘File Gumbo’), but I’m ready for it now!

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. The second edition of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 222 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	30-December-2025
Price	$5.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Smile-Roughstock-Book-2-ebook/dp/B0G3BFDC4W