Review: 3 1/2 - 4 Hearts from MM Good Book Reviews
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 24, 2014
3 1/2 - 4 HeartsCharlie owns Sutton Station in the Australian Northern Territory, and runs it the way his father did. Charlie knows that he will probably never find love especially being isolated by the red dirt that surrounds him and the rarity of his visits anywhere off his land. When an American, Travis, arrives as part of a Diversification program Charlie finds his life turned upside down by his feelings. Travis is visiting Sutton Station to see how Australians farm one of the harshest environments on Earth, but he never expected to find the owner so appealing and with only four weeks to spend on the station will he be able to crack the shell that surrounds Charlie’s heart and will he be able to love the beautiful harsh land that has hold of Charlie.This is a wonderful story that speaks of the beauty and harshness of the Australian territories and two men who discover love. Charlie is a great character who buried a part of himself when he returned to the station after his father died; haunted by the words his father hurt him with. Travis likes what he sees when he meets the owner of Sutton Station and feels Charlie out to see if the attraction is mutual, but their brief affair looks to be doomed with Travis going home to Texas and Charlie fearful of being discovered as gay. There are many emotions that fly about this story with confusion, lust, want, fear, anger and love being just some of them.I was extremely impressed with the descriptions of the setting, the harsh beautiful and deadly territories, the reality of living so far from civilisation and the dangers of everyday life on a station in the Australian Territories were incredibly well written; I could picture it in my mind and it reminded me of a near forgotten TV drama The Flying Doctors so I could actually imagine the sheer size of the station with some confidence. Remembering that Australian drama also let me visualise the characters better and understand the circumstances that Charlie finds himself in. Being a station owner, working in harsh conditions and knowing that you have to trust the people you work with, well admitting you are gay has you fearing more than just having someone swear and spit at you.The relationship between Charlie and Travis is sweet but didn’t quite spark for me, Charlie is quickly talked into a short fling but Travis pushes all of Charlie’s hot spots and it isn’t long before Charlie is dreading the day that Travis will leave. You don’t really get a good feel for what Travis wants until near the end, but being honest by that time I’d found Travis just a bit off putting, he didn’t seem to be as invested in Charlie until it was time for him to leave, if we could have seen things from his perspective a couple of times I am sure I would have warmed up to him sooner rather than near the very end where Travis has to convince Charlie to put his fears aside and accept the love he offers. We also get a bit of excitement when Travis’ horse returns without him, bringing to the fore the dangers of where Charlie lives and bringing home to Charlie just how much he cares for Travis. The secondary characters, especially George and Ma, were great additions to the story supporting Charlie at all times but especially when he needed it most.I recommend this to those who loves Australian cowboys finding love, an American cowboy discovering home, beautiful backdrops, overcoming fear and taking a chance on love.ARC provided by Pride Promotions for honest review