Review: Australian cowboy meets Texas cowboy - Yummmm
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 24, 2014
I am unashamedly a huge NR Walker fan and have read nearly everything she’s written, so when I was given the opportunity to read her newest novel I was so excited and I jumped at the chance. I felt like I was given the last golden ticket to the Wonka factory!This story is told entirely from Charlie’s POV. I usually like to have both POV’s but it wasn’t needed here as I felt I understood Travis and his motivations throughout the whole story. Travis is a 23 year old Texan who has just finished his Agricultural Science degree and has come to one of Australia’s largest cattle stations for a 4 week study. Charlie Sutton runs Sutton Station with the help of a few hands and George and Ma. They’ve been on the station since Charlie can remember and he’s always been closer to George than his real father, who passed away a couple of years ago. His mother left when he was 4 as she couldn’t handle the isolation. George and Ma know Charlie is gay and when the cute Travis arrives Ma is always trying to throw them together. With the nearest town a 3 hr drive away Charlie hasn’t seen any action for awhile and is immediately drawn to Travis.They start a hot and heavy affair but only in the quiet hours of the darkness. During the day they stay professional and never look at each other unnecessarily in case the station hands discover them. As with Ms Walkers novels there is always humour, drama and a lovely selection of side characters. The sex is always blistering and the love between the two MC’s is always beautiful – even if they refuse to see it themselves. Red Dirt Heart is no exception. This is a beautiful read set in one of the most unique landscapes. I know the area this is set – somewhere near the Northern Territory and Queensland border as I used to live in the Territory and have driven across the border a couple of times and this was described well. It’s a brutal and deadly landscape yet exquisitely beautiful at the same time.The two MC’s are stubborn to a fault and while Charlie doesn’t say much, Travis says whats on his mind. What starts of as ‘a bit of fun’ for a few weeks soon turns into something deeper, and the emotions are tangible. Neither declare their love for each other until the end but you can certainly feel it between them. There’s drama, of course and the angst isn’t heavy yet there’s enough emotion to bring a tear to your eye. I read this in one sitting as I couldn’t put it down and hubby wasn’t terribly happy when his dinner was quite late. Ms Walker certainly knows how to keep her reader engaged. She has a real talent for the written word and it shines here. I could see the story unfolding before me like a movie and I could feel all the emotions the two MC’s felt.If you’ve liked Ms Walker’s other works then you’ll love this. If you haven’t had the pleasure of her work before then this would be a great start. I can’t recommend her work highly enough.