Land of Enchantment

A young man fleeing his East Coast home glides to a blissful relationship with a New Mexican rodeo rider in this pleasant, if unexceptional, contemporary romance by Payne and Tortuga (Heart of a Redneck). Mason Wild, a 20-year-old dodging some unexplained, sudden problem, hitchhikes from New Jersey to Albuquerque. He finds work with 25-year-old Texan Levi Yost, a roofer and part-time bull rider recovering with a wired jaw after a bad ride. Levi agrees to let Mason live in a casita behind his house if Mason helps prepare the other cabins for future rental. The two very masculine men buzz with attraction, but both restrain themselves over concerns of misreading, until Mason makes a move during a visit to a hot spring. Once mutual interest is confirmed, they fall immediately into gratifying sex scenes, held together by their emotional connection and mutual concern about keeping their relationship semiprivate. Levi, still not fully healed, returns to bull riding, introducing an enthusiastic Mason to rodeo culture. Their happy ending does not even stumble over the revelation of Mason’s reasons for running, which arrives in scenes that are more silly than genuine. The landscape of New Mexico and Mason’s innocent excitement form a cozy blend of wonder in the midst of the pedestrian plot. This contemporary will appeal to fans of idealized cowboys and tension-free pleasures. (Sept.)