Rattlesnake by Kim Fielding.
This is one of those books I’ve been meaning to read for a long time but never really got around to. Well, I have now.
I haven’t read all of Kim Fielding’s books, but I’ve read quite a few, and I’ve liked them all, but I’ve given them four stars on GR (expect Motel. Pool. I loved that one!). It’s like I miss that final little push that makes it an awesome unforgettable read, and I’m pretty sure this is a case of ‘it’s me, not you’. Actually, I’m convinced of it.
I appreciated Rattlesnake a lot, I didn’t want to put it down once I started reading, and both Jimmy and Shane’s struggles grabbed me, but there aren’t any surprises. And perhaps there doesn’t have to be – in some books there definitely doesn’t have to be. I enjoyed the story despite knowing what would happen, and that’s fine, but I also think that’s the reason I didn’t cry in the end.
The reviews I’ve read have stated the readers have sobbed their way through the story, so I really do think it’s me, not the book.
I do love that both Jimmy and Shean are grown men. I told my husband while we sat next t each other having coffee, him scrolling on his phone, me reading on mine, that I love a character over forty. I must be getting old, but damn I like adult characters.
I feel like I’m bitching and it wasn’t my intention at all. I liked this book a lot, I recommend it to everyone who likes a good hurt-comfort read, everyone looking for a scarred hero, a blue-collar guy, a road trip kind of story, a story about the MCs finding their place in the world.
It’s beautiful.
A drifter since his teens, Jimmy Dorsett has no home and no hope. What he does have is a duffel bag, a lot of stories, and a junker car. Then one cold desert night he picks up a hitchhiker and ends up with something more: a letter from a dying man to the son he hasn’t seen in years.
On a quest to deliver the letter, Jimmy travels to Rattlesnake, a small town nestled in the foothills of the California Sierras. The centerpiece of the town is the Rattlesnake Inn, where the bartender is handsome former cowboy Shane Little. Sparks fly, and when Jimmy’s car gives up the ghost, Shane gets him a job as handyman at the inn.
Both within the community of Rattlesnake and in Shane’s arms, Jimmy finds an unaccustomed peace. But it can’t be a lasting thing. The open road continues to call, and surely Shane—a strong, proud man with a painful past and a difficult present—deserves better than a lying vagabond who can’t stay put for long.
Ofelia Grand 