You Can Leave Your Boots On by Irene Preston

You Can Leave Your Boots On by Irene Preston

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I always enjoy it when a book has far more substance to it than the blurb and/or title would suggest. In the case of You Can Leave Your Boots On I’m pretty sure my low expectations for storyline and high expectations for sex had a lot to do with the fact that the title makes me think of the song You Can Leave Your Hat On, my preferred version being the one recorded by Tom Jones as heard in the movie The Full Monty. And while there was a rather steamy scene between Travis and Bo – and yes, the boots were left on – there’s far more story packed into this novella than I expected and I enjoyed it immensely.

After being steamrolled by a new friend into a blind date arranged via a locally-based dating app, Travis comes face-to-face with the man he’s been lusting over for the past few months. The man he thought was straight. The man who also happens to be the son of his potential business partner. While Bo is by no means a child at almost thirty, Travis is stunned by the fact that Bo is his date because he had gotten no hint that the man was gay. None. Gaydar malfunction. While Bo is equally stunned, it’s not because he didn’t know that Travis was gay, but rather that Travis is the man he’s set his sights on and he can’t believe that Travis is actually there…to go on a date…with him. Once they get over their initial surprise, the early parts of the conversation are a little amusing for an outsider to watch because the men are tap dancing around one another so much it’s nearly painful to watch. But as they relax into the date, the story unfolds and we learn far more about the characters than I expected to and I loved it.

Preston doesn't tell you everything that transpires between the characters. There is a good amount of off-the-page life and conversation that occurs, but rather than telling us word for word what happened, the reader is given brief summaries via memories and thoughts. I actually liked this because it allowed me to imagine how a scene may have played out based on my life experiences and this brought me into the story a bit more. This technique doesn’t always work, but in the case of You Can Leave Your Boots On I thought it was a good way for the author to pack more story inside the novella without drowning the reader in the details. Because I don’t want to reveal how Bo and Travis’s story plays out and ruin the read for anyone, I will say that I really liked the book and I felt that the characters’ thoughts, actions, and reactions were realistic in regards to what was going on. You Can Leave Your Boots On has been added it to my reread shelf and I hope to check out more of Preston’s work in the future.

I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers!

Check out the You Can Leave Your Boots On by Irene Preston blog post on Crystal's Many Reviewers.


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