Reviewed by Nikyta
Title: The Eagle and the Fox
Author: Nya Rawlyns
Narrator: Nick J. Russo
Series: A Snowy Range Mystery #1
Heroes: Josiah & Marcus
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
Publisher: Jade Horse Publishing
Release Date: December 29, 2016
Available at: Amazon & Audible
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: Josiah Foxglove is given a second chance when he takes over his family’s spread in the shadow of the Snowy Range. A veteran of the Gulf War, he came back broken in body and spirit.
Marcus Colton buried his long-time lover and best friend three years ago. Lonely and still grieving, Marcus finds solace in protecting Petilune, a pretty girl with learning difficulties, who will surely become a victim of abuse and neglect without his help. But that doesn’t help him get through the long, dark nights.
When violence wracks the small community of Centurion, WY, it’s easy to place blame on Petilune’s mysterious new boyfriend, Ojibwe teen Kit Golden Eagle. It looks open and shut, but for Josiah and Marcus the facts simply don’t add up.
Something’s rotten in Centurion, something that smacks of a hate crime….
Review:
When I read the blurb for this book, I was instantly intrigued and couldn’t wait to start listening to the audio but also a little apprehensive because this is a new-to-me author. But, man, am I so glad I picked this one up because I was NOT disappointed. I was drawn in right from the start with Nick Russo’s voice but also the pacing of the story itself. I liked that this was a slow read, a slow burn, and we got to actually get to know the characters before they jumped into bed. Most of all, I loved that this was more a mystery with a subtle romance thrown in.
I won’t go into much detail about the mystery… only that things start happening in Centurion and they’re centered around Petilune, who works for Marcus and when things start happening, Marcus gets worried. This pretty much leads Marcus and Josiah into trying to undercover what’s happening in their backyard. That is what I loved about Marcus, though. Petilune was just an employee but he couldn’t help but want to help her and, really, he felt almost like a father to her. I loved that Marcus was so compassionate but also could be pretty fierce when he wanted to be. As for Josiah, I adored that he was such a cowboy but also was willing to jump right into a bad situation to make things better. I loved that Marcus and Josiah didn’t jump right into a sexual relationship. Instead, they started out as friends before they took that step and I enjoyed that the most because we got to see them heal – Marcus with his grieving and Josiah with feeling like he was just a damaged soldier with scars inside and out. I simply cannot express how much I loved seeing them show the other that just because they’ve gone through a lot, it doesn’t mean they still couldn’t love and be loved.
This was a super intriguing mystery but I felt like the ending was too open-ended for my tastes. We literally spend the whole book wrapped up in crime that’s hit Centurion but, in the end, it’s not really resolved. I was a little annoyed because I expected to get a little more resolution than what we were offered considering how much of the story was focused on this violence.. Add to that, I kept getting confused on why Josiah was getting involved in the mystery when he was just a rancher… a few times people would mention that the closest thing Centurion had to law enforcement was Josiah… and I didn’t really understand why that was.
Also, I found this book had way too many characters that weren’t really necessary and soon, I stopped trying to remember if we’d met so-and-so previously because it was happening so often and made me want to rewind to see if we had. And, one more thing, I wished we had gotten more of who Kit was as a character. He plays such a huge role with Petilune but, at the end of the day, we still don’t know who he is and why he’s in Centurion to begin with.
As for the narrator, I really enjoyed Nick’s voice for this one. He does an amazing job of making each character sound unique so it wasn’t hard to follow along on who was saying what. There were a few times when a character would have an accent at first but then the accent would disappear but it wasn’t so bad that it got me frustrated. I’m really glad to see that he also narrated the other Snowy Range books so I’m looking forward to those.
All in all, I really enjoyed this one. It has an intriguing mystery and very solid characters. I loved Marcus and Josiah together and rather enjoyed them dancing around their feelings and how being together really healed the wounds they had. I wished it didn’t end with so many questions left wide open but I enjoyed the journey for this one and really look forward to getting to the others in this series. Definitely give this a go if you’re looking for a great mystery with more of a subtle romance to it.
Overall Impression: I really liked it!
*I received a copy of this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review.*
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