Sparrow

Rebel Sky Ranch, Book 2

By: Kelly Fox

Narrated by: Declan Winters

Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

I like horses better than most people. After years of supporting our local equine rescue, it’s safe to say that I have a certified hate-on for the rodeo. So why is Luke McCall, injured rodeo diva, in my training paddock?

I feel bad that he was outed by the media, and I get the need to regroup out of the spotlight. I might even be willing to admit that he’s a little more vulnerable than his Rodeo King persona would suggest.

But seriously—why does he have to recover in my bunkhouse?

I thought volunteering at a queer-friendly horse ranch was a stroke of brilliance—I’d get to hang out with horses while rebuilding strength and mobility after my injury. Win-win, right? Wrong.

Rebel Sky’s gorgeous foreman hates my guts on sight, even if he is willing to protect me from the bigots who just want a shot at the fallen cowboy.

What would it take to get him to see that I’m a good man with a soft heart and a helpful little rope kink?

Enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract, hurt-comfort, rope play.

©2021 Kelly Fox (P)2022 Kelly Fox

Oᗰᘜ; ᖴᗩᑎTᗩՏTᎥᑕ

Declan Winters hit it out of the park!!

Now … tbf, I am little white human born and raised in NE Fla. I don’t know how authentic D. Winters’ accents are, but they certainly sounded beautiful.

I enjoyed this audiobook every bit as much as the print version.

Great story

I have fallen in love with these books. I started with wrecked guardians, the narrator in the first series just isn’t for me but I love Zane Blake and Declan. I like that they all link together and we get to see past characters again. Most of the stories are good as are the sexy scenes. Will continue listening to more of her books.

Sparrow

Book 2 of the Rebel Sky Ranch series and this one follows the foreman of the ranch Sparrow and a hurt rodeo cowboy Luke. One of my favorite tropes so of course I would love this one. Sparrow hates the rodeo and everything it stands for, and Luke, one of the biggest stars of the rodeo ends up getting injured and laid up for a while and while recuperating he ends up at Rebel Sky Ranch to help out and get better. From the jump Sparrow hates Luke and of course Luke can’t keep his eyes off the lovely looking man. There does happen to be Shibari involved with this one and omg Kelly does an amazing job. Zac (Declan) did a wonderful job with bringing these two to life.

Performance 4.8

I liked Declan’s voice on this, except for occasionally being confused if it was Luke or Sparrow he was narrating.

I love Rebel Sky Ranch!

Animal lover and ranch foreman Sparrow hates the rodeo, but when big time rodeo star Luke McCall comes to volunteer and stay at the ranch, Sparrow realizes his expectations of Luke are not even close to the reality. Who wouldn’t love Luke once they’d gotten to know him?

I loved Luke and Sparrow together! Their dynamic was so hot, loved the rope play, loved the humor too. I always love a found family story and who wouldn’t want to live at Rebel Sky Ranch? This book didn’t have the danger and action her books usually have and I was perfectly happy with that. Just humor, love, animals, pool parties, hot guys, and of course no book set at a ranch would be complete without sexy times in a barn!

I really loved Sparrow’s style and thought he was such a unique character. I know Kelly was inspired by the beautiful Willy Cartier (go look at his Instagram!), but I think Sparrow definitely had his own thing going on and the cover model she chose is gorgeous too! I pictured Sparrow as sort of a combination of the two. Pocket-hunk Luke sounded just adorable too! He’s the kind of character you just want to hug and tell him everything will be ok! I’m so glad he got some love and support finally.

Really loved this one and I’m so excited for Wyatt and Desi’s book!
(Original review September 2021)

EDIT Jan 2023: I just listened to the audiobook and loved this book all over again. Honestly, this is probably my least favorite of the series, but I still think it’s great. Declan Winters narrates and I thought he did a great job. He gave Sparrow a very subtle accent that I thought sounded really good. And of course Luke had a nice Texas twang. I’m not sure he did Desi’s voice the way I imagined, so it’ll be interesting to see if he narrates the next one. I really loved Blake Lockheart’s narration of Goodnight, so I’m interested to see who will narrate book 3. I think either one would be great.

5 stars

When I finished this book, I had that lovely mix of utter satisfaction and book hangover (from not being ready to leave the world the author has created). In the middle of reading this book, I sent a message to the author’s PA saying, “One of these days, I will read a Kelly Fox book without laughing so hard that I scare a cat. Sparrow is not that book.” At the beginning of this book, which I started as I was making coffee the morning I received it, I was already in tears from the emotion and poignancy of the prologue.

The amazing thing about Fox’s writing is that absolutely none of these emotional reactions are mutually exclusive within a single book. As always, she brings the humor, the emotion, the romance, and the sheer delight while reading the latest novel in her Rebel Sky Ranch series. Plenty of delightful cameos are on hand from previous books in her shared world, though this story/series continues to work well as a stand-alone installment. (Even Anders gets to go a little Anders in the background, relevant to the plot. As a treat.)

Enemies-to-lovers is one of my kryptonite tropes, and I was not disappointed by the trajectory of the unfolding romance between Sparrow and Luke. This may be a cowboy romance, but Sparrow is a very different type of cowboy. Fox emphasizes Sparrow’s non-U.S. roots as an immigrant gaucho while never using them to unnecessarily “exoticize” his character. In the same way, Luke embodies the typical elements of successful “Rodeo King” while also portraying his depths as a closeted queer man with a painful emotional history. As another lovely twist, the enemies facet of this story is relatively one-sided. Fox gives Sparrow and Luke ample reason to feel the way they do about each other without sacrificing solid characterization when those feelings start to adjust their dynamic. The book’s narrative conflict is far from over, both externally and internally, for both heroes once the romance portion of the story kicks in; however, Fox keeps the strong emotions ramped up as Luke and Sparrow recognize that certain kinks align.

Once again, “found family” is the amazing foundation upon which this book is built. Heroes should never exist in a vacuum, and Fox continues to expand upon her amazing world with characters I love to revisit and can’t wait to see more of. Not only am I already counting down until the next Rebel Sky Ranch book is released, but I already know that re-reads of both Sparrow and Goodnight are in my future.

My heart!

Declan Winters knocked it out of the park! I loved the ebook version of Sparrow, but his perfect accents for Texan and Latin American characters and his spot-on interpretation of them takes the story to another level.
I am impressed!

Perfect jigsaw pieces

The second entry into the Rebel Sky Ranch series, Sparrow is the story of Foreman Sebastián “Sparrow" Gorrión and Rodeo King Luke McCall.

This grumpy/sunshine isn't really an enemies to lovers, because only one MC has a beef with the other (but not vice versa). But the dynamic is similar and their eventual get-together is just as rewarding as if they had been enemies.

Luke is funny, witty, charming, and a people-pleaser. Sparrow is confident, diligent, commanding and steady. They fit like perfect jigsaw pieces.

Declan Winters' narration works well for these two characters, bringing to life two very different personalities.

Fan favorites from other Fox novels make an appearance and set the stage for future books.

A great addition to the Rebel Sky universe.

Hot, sweet and funny!

Narration: Declan does an absolutely fantastic job and I enjoyed listening to this one. It’s going right on my favorites list!

Story: I loved loved loved this book. I swear that Kelly’s writing gets better with each book (which is saying something, because she really hit her stride quite a few books ago!) Somehow she is able to write these engaging, funny, relatable, and vulnerable stories that are so easy to connect with and enjoy.

Sparrow and Luke are the best! Sparrow is feisty and stubborn, but dang did that translate well once things got spicy. And Luke? I just wanted to hug that sweet, vulnerable man. I thought this was a really lovely story of Sparrow dealing with a grief that has affected him in more ways than he realized, and Luke finally finding himself and a chosen family that loves him for who he is. And also … these two were fire together! Hot dang!

Shout out to the many hilarious scenes throughout this book. The side characters are a riot!

I absolutely cannot wait for the next book as we will finally get a story many of us have been patiently waiting for.