Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews: Gage by Tess Oliver

SYNOPSIS:

Gage is part of the Barringer Brothers series but can be read as a standalone.

After nearly losing his friend in a logging accident, Gage Barringer is convinced now more than ever that he needs to find a different job. But his side business of breaking colts at the small Montana ranch he inherited from his grandfather doesn't earn him enough money. He has his mind set on running The Raven's Nest, a popular bar and restaurant near his ranch. The original owner has died and Gage is waiting for it to be put up for sale. But there is a five-foot-four, brown eyed, obstacle in his way, an obstacle with lips made for sin and a voice made for breaking hearts. And Summer Donovan is one road block Gage Barringer won't be able to find a way around.

PURCHASE LINKS:

Amazon * Amazon UK * iBooks * Kobo

EXCERPT:

He looked at me a long moment. "I want you so fucking bad, Summer, it hurts." He combed his long hair back with his fingers and chuckled at some inside joke. "You have no idea how bad."

"Then what's holding you back? It seems to me--"

He shook his head. "Can't explain it to myself." His dark lashes dropped as he stared down at the floor, and when he lifted his face to me, I realized that I was falling hard for him.

"I guess I don't want to scare you off." He shook his head. "Not that I'm scary in bed," he quickly amended. "I don't want to come on too strong. Hell, I guess I'm just trying to make a good impression."

"Stop with the good impression shit. I want a lasting impression, Gage."

His pale blue eyes flickered in the light as he looked at me. "I can do lasting." He crossed the room in two steps. His arms curled around my back, and he pulled me against him. His mouth covered mine. The kiss was long and hard and driven by that intense longing that had been building up between us. He took hold of my good hand and walked me down the short hall to my bedroom. He pushed open the door with his boot and led me inside.

4 out of 5 stars

I do believe Gage is a mountain man to rival my favorite Viking, Clutch. Gage is not your typical hero. He's rough around the edges, lives in the back of beyond, works constantly to keep himself busy, and is a magnet for women. Gage also carries a lot of guilt about his mom being killed when he was 12. He thinks that if he hadn't gotten in trouble, hadn't been in the Principal's office, she never would have been in her car and killed. Between that and his dad sending him off when he was a teenager, he almost doesn't seem to believe in commitment. His brothers tease him, that it's because he's just not found the right person yet. Well that is until Summer comes along. Boy does she blow that no commitment thing out of the water. She gets under his skin to the point where he's not quite sure what he wants, other than her as close to him as possible.

Summer was an up and coming singer with a potential contract with her band. Until the slimy CEO of the record company decides that he wants her, and her only, and propositions her to 'further her career' with him. Summer does not take this lightly and tells him where to stick it and leaves. She has more bullshit waiting for her when she gets home. Her boyfriend, and band mate, of three years is screwing around with her best friend, in THEIR bed. Summer is officially done with all of them just because all they want is something from her, and not her just for herself. She packs up everything and heads to the house and restaurant that her grandfather left her in Montana. She's bound and determined to start a new life without all the crap she had before. She definitely didn't plan on meeting a sexy, brooding mountain man with beautiful eyes and determination.

I adored grumpy, mountain man Gage. I also liked strong willed Summer. I wasn't sure about the two of them together at first. However by the end of the book I really liked the two of them together. This is a typical Tess Oliver book for those of us that are fans of her books. Strong willed hero, with an equally strong willed heroine, a little bit of conflict, a touch of insta-lust all rolled into a solid story. Her solid storylines and character development are what brings me back to her books over and over.

Gage does not disappoint in anyway, other than I'd have liked for them to have more together time to discover each other. There's a lot of backstory for each character that takes up a significant amount of story time. That is necessary though to set up Gage and Summer as the people that they are, and the future character growth. I also would have liked a little bit of an epilogue just to tie things up a little more. Otherwise this was a good, solid story with good, solid characters.

I would, of course, recommend this for fans of Tess Oliver. I'd also definitely recommend this for anyone that loves their men a little grumpy, tall and solid as a tree, and a touch growly alpha. Also, if you like strong, do it on their own heroines that can hold their own with a growly alpha mountain man. Check out Gage and enjoy the ride!

AUTHOR BIO:

"I write romance for young adult, new adult and those of us past the ‘new’ stage. My stories take place anywhere from 19th century England to 21st century California. And you can count on a super alpha in each book."

Tess Oliver is the USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of the Custom Culture Series. She lives in sunny California with her husband, kids and a herd of spoiled pets.