Review: A sweet and touching novella
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 2, 2012
"Love Means... Healing" is a short novel featuring characters introduced in Andrew Grey's "Love Means" series. It's light, but has heartfelt emotions and strong characterizations. It's shorter length leaves little room for traditional drama, but also brings into stronger focus the central point of the story... love heals.We first met Len in the very first "Love Means" book when Geoff's father (Cliff) passed away, and Len was introduced as his father's surviving partner... Geoff's other "dad". In later books, we saw that Len had eventually healed and moved on, developing a relationship with a man named Chris. This is the story of their romance. Len is hurting from his loss of Cliff six months prior, and is greatly disturbed by the feelings of attraction to a new ranch hand they hired, the ex-Marine Chris. Chris is going through his own loss and is recuperating from PTSD after leaving Iraq, taking a job at the farm because he feels the work helps him heal. He likes Len, but Len's standoffish manner makes him believe Len dislikes him in return. It takes time for him to realize that it's actually quite the opposite. Len does like Chris, and that brings him feelings of guilt for liking someone so soon after Cliff's death.The plot is simple, the drama light. The emotions, however, are strong and from the heart. A highlight of the story is perhaps one of the most romantic and beautiful courtships on the part of Chris that I have ever read. It's sweet and touching and leaves a lasting impression. While the story is short (I read it in an afternoon), it's delightful and warming. It doesn't meander, but flows at an appropriate pace. Andrew Grey wisely refrains from trying to fill it, and keeps it at the proper length for the simple subject matter that it holds. If you enjoyed the other "Love Means" stories, you should enjoy this one too, as long as you keep in mind that it's goal is a short sweet romance, filling in some details for a beloved character not fully covered in the other books.