After a year in medical school, Dakota Holden returned home to take care of the family business full time and help his father cope with multiple sclerosis. Devoted to his family, Dakota allows himself just one week of vacation a year, which he spends in some exotic location having all the fun he can stand. On his last vacation, a cruise, Dakota struck up a friendship with Phillip Reardon, and it fills an important role in Dakota's life. So when Phillip decides to take Dakota up on his invitation to visit the ranch, Dakota is happy to see him and meet his veterinarian friend, Wally Schumacher. Despite Wally's inclination to help the wolves Dakota's men shoot to protect the cattle, he and Dakota find they have a lot in common, including a fierce attraction. But they'll have to decide if the Wyoming range is big enough for Dakota's cattle, Wally's wolves, and their love.
Review
Sweetly romantic, A Shared Range by Andrew Grey tells the story of Dakota, promising medical student from a Wyoming cattle ranch who has to pull out of his training to come home to look after the ranch when the father develops Multiple Sclerosis.
Dakota has not come out to his father, or the people at home, but just before the story starts he's been on a gay cruise ship, and has met Phillip. Although they spent the week onboard fucking like bunnies they don't feel that their relationship is more than that, so nothing more happens with them other than they stay in touch by phone. After about a year, Dakota invites Phillip to visit, and Phillip brings a friend, Wally, with him. Wally is a newly qualified veterinarian, and as soon as they meet, Dakota finds himself developing feelings that he'd been trying to suppress for many years.
While many people will enjoy this book for its rather saccharine romanticism, that same quality didn't impress me. I'm not a fan of the instant love trope, and Dakota fell in love far too quickly--a week--for one thing, and the absolute niceness of the entire cast was just too much. When Dakota does come out (even though it's mentioned twice that Wyoming is a pretty homophobic state) everyone accepts it almost unconditionally--even the one “red neck” homophobe; Wally beats him up and suddenly he's a fan.
The major problem with the book, though, is the lack of conflict. Several times there are plot twists which give the opportunity for major conflict, but they are quickly resolved, or just not mentioned again, which gives the protagonists more opportunity to be sweetly lovey-dovey and everyone to be nice to them. I was expecting the ending to be full of the missing conflict, but sadly it never happened.
If you are a fan of sweetness and light and characters who hardly have a day's worry, despite them seemingly having every opportunity to do so, then you'll like this very romantic book, but if you feel that characters should have some conflict, it's probably not for you.
