According to Hoyle

By: Abigail Roux

Narrated by: Mason Lloyd

US Marshals Eli Flynn and William Henry Washington - longtime friends and colleagues - are escorting two prisoners to New Orleans for trial when they discover there's more than outlawry to the infamous shootist Dusty Rose and the enigmatic man known as Cage. As the two prisoners form an unlikely partnership, the marshals can't help but look closer at their own.

When forces beyond the marshals' control converge on the paddle wheeler they've hired to take them downriver, they must choose between two dangers: playing by the rules at any cost or trusting the very men they are meant to bring to justice.

Contains mature themes.

©2014 Abigail Roux (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Excellent MM western with not one but two great romances and a stellar action plot." ( The Book Vixen)

not my normal genre, really enjoyed

I enjoyed the story and the characters. the 2 Marshall's and the 2 prisoners were well written and all worked together to make an engaging story. I was enthralled by the story and it was over too soon.

Something different

I really enjoyed this one. Not my usual kind of story. Not a usual narrator for me. But I enjoyed everything about it from beginning to end.
The characters were so rich. Excellent writing. Scenes were so vivid. Felt like I was watching a movie.
I see myself listening to this one again. Really wishing for more from this world.
Will not be my last from this author.
*add to wish list*

A Fun Ride Through the Old West

According to Hoyle has been on my TBR list for some years, so I was glad to see it pop up on the Romance Readers list here at Audible. Abigail Roux writes a tight and twisting adventure plot with great characters that I can really feel. The ending here is a closure on the story with opening left for a sequel that, sadly, doesn't seem to be in the cards.

One great thing about this one is the well-researched historical aspects; I found very few historical niggles. She even managed to work in the New Madrid earthquakes, as frequent at the time as California quakes now, and common knowledge at the time that has since been forgotten. Sha also worked in the fact that both Marshalls had fought for the Union in the (US) Civil War and that they still hold strong feelings about the war and slavery.

The only two details that caught my ear wrong were first, a male character surnamed Rose was known as "the Desert Rose" which seemed very feminine to me, and second, the ease with which the four main male characters all accepted the possibility of a long term love match between men, recognized today but unusual in the late 1800's. A last detail I would have liked to have seen included is the meaning of the title - "Hoyle's Games" was the definitive book of the time for the rules on card and board games, so "according to Hoyle" was a popular term for playing exactly by the rules.

The narrator does an excellent job of voicing the characters separately and the author does a fine job of writing the one character who doesn't have a voice, although she does have two characters who seem to read his facial expressions and feeling a bit too easily - there is no point in the story where he has to struggle to be understood for more than a few minutes.

Altogether According to Hoyle is a fine listen that I would recommend to lovers of MM Historical Romance.

a definite reread, but maybe not a relisten

I was so taken by this that I stayed up much too late finishing the audiobook, and the next morning I couldn't resist buying the Kindle edition in anticipation of the inevitable reread. It honestly baffles me that a genre so ripe for m/m romance as the classic Western is so TRAGICALLY UNDERUTILIZED but thank goodness for gems like these that fill that void.

The highlight of this story for me is the relationship between the two prisoners, who meet when they're both being escorted to trial and form an immediate connection. I want to read like two more full novels about them, honestly, they were just.... very sweet and charming. The Marshals have a romance built on years of friendship, which I did enjoy as well, but I didn't find myself quite as invested. I think it would've helped to have Wash's perspective - the narration follows Flynn and Cage, with a handful of scenes from the villains' POV. Cage and Rose's affection for each other is obvious, and since we have Flynn's perspective we know he's pining away, but Wash is much less emotionally demonstrative than Rose. Seeing his thoughts on Flynn could've given their story more emotional weight.

Of course, that said, there's more to this story than just romance. In fact if you're searching for something steamy, this isn't it - there's no sex until the very end. The main story is more of a road trip/heist adventure, naturally with some shootouts along the way. The plot does get resolved, but without all of the answers really coming together. I would've thought this was a setup for a sequel, or even a series, but apparently this was published in 2014 and I don't see any recent discussion of it on the author's blog. It's not an unsatisfactory ending, but it's a shame to leave some of the questions dangling with no resolution.

The narration isn't exactly BAD. The narrator's voice is very rich and that's always nice to listen to. But there's little to differentiate the various voices, and the absolute most minimal effort at a British accent for Rose. It's disappointing. I know I'll want to revisit this story (and I do hope that someday Ms Roux will, too!) but next time, I'll just stick to reading it for myself.

Loved Rose

I would love to have Rose over for a dinner party. This made me laugh out loud.