Book Reviews

Book Blurb

When they spend time alone on a Montana mountainside will Tyler ever convince Martin that like sapphires, love is worth searching for?

Martin’s name was the very last on a kill list. The son of a murderer, he’s had no childhood; lost in a horrific holding pattern of death that turned his heart to stone. Thanks to the man who called him brave and spared his life, he no longer has to look over his shoulder, but he does have one question. Why did Justin let him live?

Tyler Colby has identified a major flaw in the seismic mapping system used to monitor earthquake activity. Sent to Crooked Tree by his employer, the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, he is tasked with adding a new remote station to the network. The installation should be his entire focus, but the lure of sapphires and his attraction to a heartbroken young man called Martin is enough to make him want more.

Book Review

As remarkable as the previous book, this volume deals with some of the dark past that Justin and Adam came from. Its focus is on the mental and emotional damage of one of the “bad guys”, a man called Martin who is really as much a victim as any of the others. His arrival is greeted with very mixed feelings, but Crooked Tree Ranch is a place of healing, and all the men there are willing to help – no matter how gruff they may seem and how much of their own fear they have to deal with. Different from some of the previous installments, this story focuses on the psychological drama and fallout from the characters’ history, but that makes it no less suspenseful and engaging!

Martin is in a very bad place for so many reasons, he made my heart hurt. His father called himself a “survivalist” but was really a domestic terrorist behind much of the violence that has haunted some of the other characters in this series. Martin was physically and emotionally abused since he was a kid. He grew up with a very skewed worldview, but he never truly believed the things his father told him were the truth. Except for the fact that he might turn into his father and become just as violent one day. Martin managed to get away physically, but the nightmares and need to run remain despite years of therapy. He makes it to Crooked Tree Ranch because he needs answers from Justin, and, as has happened before, the land and the people begin to help him heal.

Tyler is a geologist, sent to Crooked Tree to install seismic monitoring equipment. He is a nerd of the first degree who likes reading and spending time “hunting rocks” and his ability to deal with emotions is very limited. Tyler is a great guy though: willing to help, trying to make human connections even if he has no real confidence, and he is very interested in Martin from the moment they first meet. As it turns out, he also has a huge heart and an ability to deal with Martin’s past that surprises everyone, including him.

Both men are loners, but they express their need to be away from “normal” people in very different ways. Martin has a deep-set belief that he is unworthy, an ingrained attitude that he can’t do anything right, thanks to his a**hole terrorist father; his go-to defense is silence. Tyler doesn’t see himself as normal either, he is “too intelligent” and socially awkward to the extreme; his go-to defense is talking incessantly. Becoming friends as they share the solitude of their one-week expedition seems like a good solution to Tyler, even if he has no idea how to be a friend. As they bond over the installation of the instruments and interpreting the data they record, they slowly open up to each other. They are doing extremely well physically – when there is no talking at all – but the emotional part of their journey is a very bumpy road for them, but so worth it in the end!

If you like lonely men who learnt that trusting someone can be a lifesaver, if you want to know more about the man who survived Justin’s wrath, and if you’re looking for an intense read that is as spellbinding as any action/adventure, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. It’s another brilliant example of what makes the Crooked Tree Ranch and the people who live there so special!

 

 

 

 

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

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novella, 169 pages/44000 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	24-April-2019
Price	$2.99 ebook
Buy Link	http://rjscott.co.uk/sky