REVIEW: Heartache & Hoofbeats, Maz Maddox

Title: Heartache & Hoofbeats

Series: Stallion Ridge Book One

Author: Maz Maddox

Genre: Western, Fantasy

LGBTQ+ Category: Gay

Publisher: NV Productions

Pages: 251

Reviewer: Melissa Brus, Paranormal Romance Guild

Get It On Amazon

About The Book

Like all centaur shifters, Sheriff Calhoun is the epitome of honor. He protects his small town of Stallion Ridge and its people from any threat large or small.

When word comes in that the notorious Iron Bandits are making a play for a train in his territory he’s both livid and invigorated. If anyone can bring these thieves to justice it’s him and his crew.

What he did not expect was having a charming, whiskey-eyed outlaw dumped in his lap that challenged everything he thought he knew.

The Review

This was a great take on not only a shifter romance but a western!

It is not everyday you see Centaurs, Lamia, and Minotaurs as shifters, but then Maddox places them in the middle of the Wild West.

Sheriff Calhoun falling under the spell of fast-talking bandit Jesse was as much of an adventure as the town facing off against the entire Iron Bandit gang.

Cal and Jesse have great on page chemistry. The pace of the story is really well done, keeping me interested and wanting to see how these guys figure out a way to have each other without Jesse ending up in a hangman’s noose.  This truly would have been a four star read from me except for some editing issues (road/rode, bear/bare).

It is saying a lot that the plot was intriguing enough for me to easily get back into the flow of the story though.  Overall, this is a great romance and I look forward to seeing the rest of the series.

The Reviewer

In writing this bio I am taking a rare break from reading! I always have a book on hand just in case there is time to sneak in a chapter or two. As a military spouse and a mom of two boys, it is amazing how often I am hurrying up to wait. Luckily for me I don’t have a favorite genre so I get lots of fun authors to choose from. My education was in sociology and mental health counseling, so stories with strong character development are my favorites. Happily Ever After is the best part of romance for me because real life is hard enough.

The Paranormal Romance Guild was established in 2009 by 8 Indie Authors and one Reviewer to be a constant help for authors. You can be a free author member, submitting your work for review OR become a Premium Author Member for a small yearly fee and enjoy many extra services including Free Beta Reads, Author Giveaways and many others. Your reviews are posted on our 3 FB Sites, Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter and Instagram. WE REVIEW ALL GENRES LGBTQ+ welcome.

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This article was originally posted on Queer SF

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