Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Can a lonely, aging farmer and a loveless artist whose creativity has gone missing find happiness on the prairies?

Life would be perfect for fifty-two-year-old farmer Finn Garrity if he just had someone to snuggle with by the fireplace. But single gay men aren’t exactly thick on the ground in Eagle Tree, Alberta.

Successful artist Philip Connaway wonders if his creative dry spell has anything to do with his dried-up love life. When Philip takes his nephew into farm country in search of a snowy owl to photograph, he meets Finn, who offers assistance. Together, they find the elusive bird—and much more.

Despite the attraction between them, differences, misunderstandings, and self-doubt threaten to end Finn and Philip’s romance. For a future together, Finn must take a risk, and Philip must find a way to bring love to Finn’s fallow heart.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2015 Daily Dose package "Never Too Late."

 

Book Review

Set in Canada, this story begins with a quest for snowy owls to be photographed for a school project. It leads to two wonderful men meeting and discovering a mutual interest neither dared hope for at their “advanced” age. Finn is a farmer who enjoys his life, but suffers from loneliness living near a small town that doesn’t exactly boast a huge number of gay men, single or otherwise. Philip may be a successful artist, but he’s been facing a dry spell and hasn’t been lucky in matters of the heart recently. With both men being older, there are a few obstacles in their way. But the attraction is strong enough for Finn and Philip to reconsider some of their preconceived ideas. The result is a wonderful romance—slightly awkward getting-to-know-you meetings, misunderstandings, and fears included—that proves it is never too late for love if you only give it a chance.

Finn likes being a farmer. He didn’t expect to end up with the family farm, but he is happy there. He used to live in a big city, so he knows what it’s like, it just isn’t for him. His ex couldn’t deal with the farm life, so he left and Finn has been lonely ever since. He doesn’t want to grow old alone, but he has no idea where to find a partner, and he believes fifty-two is pretty much ancient. Prevalent gay culture does nothing to increase his self-confidence – but meeting Philip changes all that. Finn is still hesitant, scared even, yet Philip seems to be able to bring out the best in him.

Philip lives in a big city to be with his widowed sister and her son, Philip’s nephew and the one whose school project causes the quest for snowy owls. But Philip isn’t happy there. What is worse, his creativity has been suffering, and he knows he needs a change of pace. The men he has been with are not the ones he thinks are right for him, but at forty-seven, he is no spring chicken and is beginning to lose hope. Meeting Finn gives him hope, and even though he is hesitant to put himself out there again, and despite several misunderstandings, Philip is determined to see where the unlikely match might lead.

If you like sweet stories starring mature men who don’t expect much from life any longer, if reading about a quiet farmer and a quirky artist figuring out how to relate to each other sounds interesting, and if you’re looking for a love story that is as gentle as it turns passionate, then you will probably like this short story. It packs a lot of emotion for its length and had me smiling more than once.

 

 

 

 

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

 

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Short Story, 42 pages/13551 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	01-June-2015
Price	$1.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/his-fallow-heart-by-ava-hayden-5979-b