Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Audie Barrack is in it up to his elbows with a sick calf when his son’s school calls. Seems Grainger has gotten into yet another fight. When he walks into the principal’s office, he’s shocked to find his son has been fighting with a little girl named Randi.

A little girl with one blind dad and one dad who recently passed away.

Goddammit.

Dixon has lost his sight, his career, and his husband. Thank God for his brothers, Momma and Daddy, and his little girl, or he would simply give up. The last thing he needs is for Randi to start trouble at school, especially trouble that puts him in contact with another dad who might expect him to be a functional human being.

Dixon is struggling to live as a blind man, Audie is terrified someone might see he has a closet to come out of, and everyone from the school to both men’s families is worried for the men and their children. Unless they get themselves together and commit to change, neither of them stands a chance.

 

 

First edition published by Dreamspinner Press, February 2015.

 

Book Review

This is an amazing story and I loved it from beginning to end. Told with a great deal of humor, it is a very touching story about two men who need to find their place in life while dealing with situations that would have most well-adjusted people struggle. Both men don’t just have their own past and present situations to deal with, but they also have young children with issues and needs, and families who like to meddle and think they know what’s best for them. I was involved from the first page to the last, and loved how BA Tortuga handled the problems of parenthood, learning to deal with being blind, and fighting for what is right for your children in the face of well-meant but utterly wrong advice from so-called experts.

Audie is a cowboy, and while he makes money by breeding cows, he loves working with horses. He has a son from a woman who didn’t want children and left Grainger with him before leaving, and he isn’t out. Meeting Dixon challenges him on several fronts, and as their relationship develops, Audie begins to think about the impact it has on Grainger, his family, and what he himself wants out of life.

Dixon lost his sight in an accident that killed his husband, and he is now trying to adjust to a life where he is Randi’s father, and wants to raise her, but is insecure because he cannot even see—how is he going to protect her? He struggles with his blindness, but his way of “coping” is trying to ignore it and struggle through. Not helpful! He needs Audie to help him understand that adapting in certain ways isn’t “weak” and that learning “how to be blind” is a serious challenge, not something you can do on your own. But the key driving force is his need to take care of Randi, and all the well-meaning advice from strangers cannot replace  father’s love and determination to be the one who is there for her.

If you like stories where both main characters have a steep learning curve and lots of learning and changing to go through, if you want to know what it might be like to be blind and a father, and if you’re looking for a read that is emotional, touching, and very funny in places, then you will probably like this novel as much as I did. It has wonderful characters, some adorable children, and some great emotional moments I won’t quickly forget.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the publisher for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 287 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	04-October-2019
Price	$4.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YR25T9F