Conner’s Courage

Title: Conner’s Courage

Author: SJD Peterson

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Publisher’s URL: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

ISBN/BIN:  978-1-61372-668-6

Genre: {M/M}, Western, Series

Rating: 4.5 Nymphs

Literary Nymph Reviewer: Critter Nymph

For thirty-seven years, John and Conner has been a fixture of the Whispering Pines Ranch.  During that time, the two men had many obstacles to overcome, but none as life-threatening as what they face now. 

Those who have been reading SJD Peterson’s Whispering Pines Ranch series know that Conner and John play an important role in the stories.  Conner’s Courage takes the readers on a journey back in time as Conner recalls the start of his relationship with John.  In 1974 the world was a different place with homophobia and gay bashing more predominate than they are now.  The characters and the storyline reflect that.  While Conner is comfortable in his own skin, John is not.  John fears what those around him would do should he come out, which causes more than a few problems in the beginning of the men’s relationship.

Even though he started out as a secondary character in Lorcan’s Desire, Conner was one of those guys that really grabbed your attention.  From the beginning, I liked his interaction with Lorcan and Quinn and wanted to see how his story came about.  The author did a wonderful job pulling me in from the first page of Conner’s Courage and had me close to tears more than once.  John is definitely one tough cookie.  His strength, which Conner craves, comes across perfectly.   While the men have many struggles to overcome, their attraction to each other is easy to see and once the author brings them together, they really heat up the pages.    This story also gives the readers a glimpse of what Quinn’s parents were like and why Conner, John and Quinn will eventually have such a close relationship.

The author does not spend a lot of time in the present but what time we do spend there is gripping.  I have to say that I was hoping for a miracle.  While slightly different from the other books in this series, Conner’s Courage is a great read and a perfect addition to the Whispering Pines Ranch series.