Reviewed by Elizabetta

TITLE: The Fall

AUTHOR: Kate Sherwood

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 214 pages

BLURB: Every relationship leaves something behind. Dumped by his sugar daddy, part-time model Scott Mackenzie somehow ends up owning an abandoned church in rural Ontario. He dreams of using it for gay weddings, even if he’ll never have one of his own.

Joe Sutton is trying to keep his family together after his parents’ deaths. Between the family ranch, his brother’s construction company, and commitments around town, he doesn’t have time for a relationship. But Mackenzie is hard to ignore.

As both men fight their growing attraction, challenges to Mackenzie’s business threaten their relationship. If he can’t make it work, he’ll have to crawl back to the city in defeat. But the only solution involves risking the ranch Joe loves, and each man has to decide how much he’ll sacrifice for the other.

REVIEW:

Kate Sherwood already won my heart with Dan, Evan and Jeff and all their shenanigans in the Dark Horse series. Dan Wheeler is one of my all-time favorite characters too. He’s an enigma — a loner, quiet, skittish, a drama queen, a hot sexual dynamo… if you rub him, boy, the sparks can fly. He is imperfect and frustrating, but you just want to love him. And you’ll never forget him. He tore my heart up.

In The Fall, Joe Sutton has some things in common with Dan. He’s every bit as complex and intriguing, can be just as frustrating. They both love horses, depend on them for their work. Joe just might earn a place on that favorite character shelf, too. How could he not? He’s a cowboy/firefighter and guardian to his four-year-old nephew, Austin. Joe is stalwart, responsible, and trustworthy. He can have a sweet or cutting sense of humor and he’s a kind, considerate lover. He’s always there for everyone else, especially his three siblings and twin brother.

But Joe has so much more than Dan did — his own ranch to manage and a loving family that likes to interfere in his love life. Unlike Dan, he doesn’t run away from his troubles. Well, he wants to, sometimes, but he always goes home to his family. The author digs into the messiness of family drama, people with their own issues, who love you and have to fuss in your business. Joe is different from Dan here, too. He is anchored from the get-go and knows how to deal with the interference with wit and patience. Usually.

Scott Mackenzie (Mackenzie) is just what Joe needs, really. Like a tumbleweed, he blows into town… a pretty-boy ex-model, with dreams of setting up a gay wedding chapel in the ‘colorful’ countryside. But Mackenzie needs anchoring in a bad way, and a chance to be, and find, himself. He’s running away from a controlling rich-bitch of a boyfriend who micromanaged his life in and out of bed.

But Joe will take Mack as he is, no muss no fuss. And Mack recognizes a good thing in Joe. “… you’re combining two sexy stereotype jobs into one? You’re a cowboy fireman. Seriously?”

Mackenzie has lots to offer too…  insight and compassion… ‘…there was something really, really sexy about the way Joe treated [Austin]: gentle and respectful while still firm and in charge… the qualities Mackenzie had liked about Joe in the bedroom were the same ones that made him a good parent.” 

What I really like about this story (and there were some parts that frustrated) was how Mack and Joe came together, a gradual build up, not fraught or pushed. There’s a spark there but no insta-love, a mutual attraction and a convenience, obligation kept dampened. Their dialogue exchanges are funny, sweet, and snarky, two guys testing, getting to know one another. They hump, they bang, they ricochet off each other. The road may be bumpy and messy but it could lead to the promise of something special.

While we get to know Joe pretty well — some of his loneliness in being gay in a small, insular community and his freak-out over commitment — Mackenzie still remains a bit of a mess throughout. He’s figuring things out but it very much feels like he’s a work in progress.

Thankfully, there is more to come for Mackenzie and Joe after The Fall (what does that title mean?). Not that their story doesn’t end satisfactorily here, it does. But there’s more room for it to grow. And I really want to re-visit them and the Sutton clan. It’s hard to let go. Looking forward to the second book, Riding Tall, out early next year.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: Dreamspinner Press