Wright's Path

Found Family Ranch

by M.J. Booth

"Darlin', I need you to look at me. I promise, no one is going to hurt you again. I'll make sure of it." Wright Taylor thought he was going to die. His body hurt, he could barely see. He'd never wished for death, until his dad pushes him out of the car and leaves him in the hands of complete strangers. Alexander "Xander" Lawson moved back to Family ranch six months ago after a breakup. He missed his family, but at thirty-five-years-old, he didn't like not having a plan further than living in the guest house on the ranch his older brother inherited. When a wedding is interrupted in the most heartbreaking of ways, Xander jumps into action to care for the young man that is left lying in the gravel. Xander feels an immediate connection to him, but it doesn't make sense. Wright is the complete opposite of Xander's type. It's a long road to recover- both physically and mentally, for Wright, but he's grateful that the Lawson family is standing beside him every step of the way, especially Xander. He's everything that Wright wouldn't let himself dream of. Can he heal from what happened enough to really build a life with this man and the family that found and rescued him?

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Romance, Found Family, Abuse

326 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 4, 2024

About the author

I write a variety of stories, from fun and easy to hurt/ comfort. I love reading all genres and found that my writing style is the same. A scene or a plot bunny will pop into my head and I'll go from there. I'm incredibly grateful for everyone that reads my books. As an indie author, it means a lot to me for each review and page read.

While my main genre is MM romance, I am also branching out into other LGBTQ+ genres soon, so stick around to see more!

Reviews

[❀ Jess ( Semi hiatus ) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

♥︎ Low angst / Feel good
♥︎ Steamy
♥︎ Found family
♥︎ Therapy rep
♥︎ Hurt/Comfort
♥︎ Epilogue two years out.
Age gap (19,35)
Bit of size difference.

TW:On-page violence, father physically assaulting son. Retelling of past physical abuse. Anxiety/panic attacks & exposure therapy.

I love low angst stories that just have two people falling in love without the unnecessary pushing away or having others involved so if the author chooses to continue this series with more of this than I’m here for it!


My niggles:
Xander initially thinks of Wright as a kid when he first meets him crumpled up on the ground. He calls him sweetheart while trying to reassure him he’s safe but then calls him gorgeous. Using ‘gorgeous ‘ as a term of endearment during that scene felt really off, he’s literally just met him and thinks of him as a kid … so? I’m all for insta-love when it’s done right so I actually love when there’s an instant connection and they’re immediately smitten with each other but the gorgeous thing while still thinking he’s a kid, before knowing his age was a huge turn off for me.

The first time they become physically intimate is when they go into the shower together so that Xander can help wash Wright’s hair. At this point they had already developed some warm feelings towards each other and were attracted to one another, it lead to a hand job in the shower. Which to me, just didn’t really fit in with the overall tone of the story ? It was feeling like it was going to be heart-warming and tender more than just sexual and the shower scene could’ve been a cute care-taking scene instead of a sexual one. A handjob before a first kiss, when they later go on to have a date where they actually kiss and then more dates afterwards, I loved all the steamy bits I just wish they happened in a different order 🙈

[Megan McGrath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wright's Path by MJ Booth is a challenging story of recovery from the physical and mental abuse at the hands of a family member. It shines an unfortunate light on the environment that too many LGBTQ+ individuals grow up with. Wright's story is a positive one, but for many, reality is much harsher.
The beginning of Wright's story in Wright's Path is painfully heartbreaking and horrifying. After a brutal beating from his father, Wright is dumped at a farm where his father assumes is a conversion camp. Luckily, it's practically the opposite, and Wright begins to get the care and healing touch he needs.
Despite their age gap, Xander begins to see Wright as someone very special, and even though Wright still has a way to go with his recovery, the two men start to act on their mutual attraction.
Beautiful found family with Xander's family wholeheartedly accepting Wright into the fold, an experience he never had growing up. The continued support of Xander's family and giving Wright the chance to heal and grow is wonderful, and keeps the story upbeat and fun. The supporting characters each add another opportunity for Wright to make a new friend; something he never knew could be so amazing.
Wright's past with his father comes to its rightful conclusion at the end of the book, with some positives to come out of it as well.
The story was very well written and kept me engaged throughout. Admittedly, I did struggle at the beginning with the active abuse, but it was a necessary component of this story, to show Wright's incredible personal strength and resolve.
Age gap, size difference, steamy scenes, found family, hurt/comfort. Moments of tension and angst, but it's not a constant theme in the book.

**Primary Trigger for this story includes physical and mental abuse of one of the MCs (not from other MC).


I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[els✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

- a small town, MM romance! age gap romance, hurt/comfort, ranch setting, found family, forced proximity!
- holy moly was i stressed for Wright in that first chapter, was holding my breath
- i’ve never read any of these authors books so assume all the established couples have their own books but i love how they all came together to help Wright 🥹
- okay sexual tension I SEE YOUUUU
- randomly making Wright cum in the shower was not where i saw that going but i am not mad!
- they’re just very domestic and it’s cute af
- and their first date!! amazing, i loved it so much
- honestly not a lot happens throughout the book other than Wright’s recovery both physically and mentally
- it was really lovely to read his progress
- very sweet love confessions!!
- we got way more sex scenes than i thought we would
- honestly thought something a lot worse was going to happen at the nightclub, was kinda nice that they just got to have fun
- honestly i think we just needed a bigger build up for the big scene at the end? came out of nowhere and then we got ZERO follow up on it? like why was he trying to get to Wright etc
- and then deffo feel like we should of gotten a couple of chapters between the big scene and the epilogue?? for whiplash
- very good epilogue tho!! and very spicy
- this was a super sweet read! and was really proud of Wright’s development

[Haven Lockeby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a sweet read! Despite his horrific childhood, Wright is sweet and kindhearted. He’s the kind of person that you want to just squeeze (cue cute aggression). Then we have Xander, who is so gentle and patient. Watching Wright heal, come out of his shell, and grow into the person he was meant to be was absolutely beautiful.

While this book covers some very heavy subject matter, it is 100% a feel good read. Not only did I fall in love with the MCs and them as a couple, I also fell head over heels for the entire Found Family crew. I’m so looking forward to read more of their stories. I also love that while the relationship between Wright and Xander was pretty instant, it was handled appropriately. Their physical relationship was taken slowly. Wright put in the work with his therapy sessions. Xander not only learned Wright’s triggers, but he also made it a point to limit Wright’s exposure to them until he was able to work through them. And that EPILOGUE 🥵+🥺=❤️ That’s all I’m gonna say on that because you need to find out for yourself.

If you love sweet men, found family, attention grabbing side characters, and one heck of a love story then do yourself a favor and read this book!

[Kelsey’s Kindle · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the beginning I just wanted to march right into that house and take Wright home and protect him from the world. This poor innocent sweet boy has known nothing but hate yet he’s so filled with love and when that love is reciprocated, oh boy does he flourish. Xander is the perfect man to pick up the pieces and help Wright put them back together. There are some triggering points to the story but I really loved the show of acceptance, support and importance placed on mental health. It shows a positive representation of the benefits of therapy and having good support people surrounding you. I loved seeing the boys from Room Mates, I really enjoy when authors interconnect their series and pull in the characters you already know and love. You get a good dose of some spicy scenes, a kink I had yet to read in a story but very very much enjoyed. This one has found family,age gap, one bed, size difference, hurt/comfort. I’m excited to see where MJ takes this series!
*I want to thank MJ Booth for the opportunity to read and review this book, this is my honest opinion.

[Laurie Kleveland · Rating 4 out of 5]

~4.5~ I loved this! This was a new author for me and wasn’t sure what to expect but as a hurt/comfort stan I thought it was fantastic! The event in the beginning was written well with true emotional depth. The recovery and comfort part of the story wasn’t quick or glossed over it was done extremely well and realistic enough for me that I wasn’t rolling my eyes. Wright’s journey felt so organic and the conversations about his limits and feelings with Xander were *chef’s Kiss*.
I love my hurt/comfort books to have the hurt and/or comfort last longer than a chapter or two and this book was exactly what I crave! A major hurt at the start and a lasting and evolving comfort.
My only reason for not giving 5 stars was while I can appreciate a low/no angst book, the ending felt really rushed to me. I would have liked a little more. It just felt like a quick wrap up for something so pivotal to the story.
Overall, fantastic read!

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wright had been abused by his father and Xander cares for him as they both fall for each other. Though there is an age gap and a size difference, the two can't stop their feelings and everyone else approves. It's life on the ranch as with the help of a therapist and Xander, Wright works on his issues. This is a steamy book with lots of lovemaking, some rope play and romance, Xander is all tenderness and caring and Wright is all innocence and bravery. I have not read MJ before and enjoyed this. I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary opinion.

[Leelah🍁♋️ Orion · Rating 4 out of 5]

sweet

This was so nice watching these two fall for each other. This is a hurt comfort story so mind your triggers. I loved watching the journey of healing and with that came love. Love for one’s self, love of a partner, and love of a family. This was an easy read, so if you are looking for drama this isn’t that. This is what healthy healing looks like. This couple was sweet with each other, the smexy was yummy, and they had a beautiful family.

[Kobie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing in this is very clunky. An editor would be nice to clean up things. For example, "it" is used to describe a porch, but the most recent noun is not the porch, so the writing makes it unclear. Another example of the need for an editor: "Him and Clark had stopped..." Ugh! And the use of the pronoun "he" is often confusing.

And that's a DNF. Time of death: 48%. Just where is this going and why should I care? Oh, right, I don't know and I don't care.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are looking for a good hurt/comfort book then I would recommend this book to you. Wright was abandoned by his is only family is the one place you wouldn’t think. This book has it all hurt comfort found family healing, and a happy ever after.

[Sarah☀️ Somerville · Rating 2 out of 5]

The relationship in this book started and developed way too quickly and felt extremely inappropriate given the circumstances.

The way Wright talked about his experiences and trauma was not believable.

The idea behind the book was worth exploring but the execution was not great.

[Jeanine Beaulieu St Pierre · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow

Great book ,,,,to go from a life always watching everything and being scared and abuse ,,to finding a people that will understand and take care of you like a real family because really you get to choose who will be your family,,,

[Raven · Rating 2 out of 5]

not a fan

I like the beginning but I quickly lost interest. While the relationship is a fast burn the book itself felt slow to me. I ended up skimming a lot of it just to finish. It has a lot of good reviews but I guess this book just wasn’t for me.

[Pia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 ⭐️
It started out pretty good, but when all the kinky stuff came in (did not see that coming) I feel like the most important aspect of the story was lost. It turned from 'healing from abuse' to 'oh look, rope'.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always said that a "found" family wins handdown every time... I stand by my statement!

[JD Waggy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am absolutely a fan of hurt/comfort, so when I saw that this was about a romance developing from a guy who survived a nasty homophobic dad I was all in. Unfortunately, this was shallow enough that there wasn't much "in" to be.

We meet Wright (which is a terrible name, but that's wildly subjective and ridiculous) who is in the breaking-into-adulthood stage of life and is trapped with his abusive dad by economics/direction/conditioning. We get some scenes of abusiveness to make sure we understand the stakes, and Booth actually does do a good job of showing how hard it is to fight when you're used to the net being so tight around you.

We are introduced to the Found Family Ranch via Abusive Dad dropping (literally) Wright off to be fixed, and this is my first squabble. I never bought the plot device that Abusive Dad thought the farm was a conversion camp, largely because "we don't specifically say we're not that" is a lousy sidestep. Abusive Dad's Googling skills had to be subterranean in quality, but we know they're not that bad because he monitors Wright's phone well enough. With the meeting seeming contrived, I couldn't help but see his whole connection to Xander as such as well; oh no, what a surprise, he has to live in Xander's space, whoever saw that coming. Oh wow, Xander loves having what is tantamount to a housewife around, shocking, this is my surprised face.

It's not that I don't know that romance stories have tropes. It's that the tropes are supposed to come with some kind of suspension of disbelief door so that I can look at the wooden duck and believe that it's a duck. If you hand me a wooden duck and haven't even painted it, it's a whole lot harder for me to believe the duck-ness.

So we go through Wright's healing and there are some interesting developments in terms of his own inner voice and self-view, but this feels like a novella stretched into a novel; I have a note on p. 150 that I was kinda over it, which is rough in a 280-ish page book. The romance is a bit Florence Nightengale-y, although props to Booth that Xander identifies that could be an issue before deciding it won't be one. It all just felt very superficial, which is wild considering the intense beginning.

Booth also has an unfortunate habit of not clarifying pronoun antecedents, which is rough in a book where most of the characters are he/him. I had to re-read a couple of times to know who was doing what in a scene, which is frustrating. Clarity! It helps. Not as much as Xander's healing sex gifts, it appears, but it does help.

[Raeann Pitman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wriight's Path is an interesting story about how love helps heal an abused person. Wright is a young man who has been abused by his father. Xander is a fomer EMT who is working at the Found Family Ranch, a safe place for people who have experienced abuse. Wright is dumped at the ranch because his father thinks it's a "conversion camp". Wright's injuries are severe and Xander steps in to take care of Wright. Their relationship grows. The author sensitively shares the difficult recovery of an abused person. The main topic of parental abuse is mildly tempered with humor. I hope you'll read this book. Also read the trigger warnings. Thank you M J Booth for the gift,