REVIEWED BY DONNA
TITLE: The Growing Season
SERIES: Secrets of Neverwood #2
AUTHOR: Diana Copland
PUBLISHER: Carina Press
LENGTH: 53,000 Words
BLURB:
The four years since Danny Redmond left Neverwood have been heartbreaking, and past mistakes continue to haunt him, even after he returns home. Together with two foster brothers he barely knows, they plan to turn the house into a welcoming place for runaways once again—the dying wish of their foster mother, Audrey.
Danny has nothing to contribute to the restoration of the decrepit mansion, save for a gift for growing things. His efforts to bring Audrey’s beloved gardens back to their former glory are complicated by handsome landscaper Sam Ignatius…and the feelings developing between them, despite their fiery differences of opinion. But one voice gives him hope, the only one he’s always trusted—Audrey’s.
Danny comes to care deeply for Sam, but things look bleak when Sam’s city councilman father threatens to have Neverwood torn down. Danny isn’t surprised. Why would he expect the future to be different from his past? All his relationships end in disaster.
REVIEW:
Neverwood is a rambling, much loved old house that was once home to gay teens who had nowhere else to go. It was ruled over by the firm but loving figure of Audrey, who, upon her death, deeded the property to three of her former children. These three are the men Audrey trusts to return Neverwood to what it once was and to continue her work helping teenagers in trouble.
Danny is the youngest of the three brothers. He suffers from an absolute lack of self-confidence, which he covers by letting his abrasive attitude frequently slip its leash. And he often ends up looking like an ass. The poor choices he made earlier in life ended with him in juvenile detention where he was assaulted by one of the guards. Danny feels he has nothing to offer Neverwood, unlike his brothers he’s not brave or brilliant, but vows that he will at least pour his heart into getting the neglected gardens back to their former glory.
Sam Ignatius has returned to the town of Elk Ridge to be near his dying mother. He has a love/hate relationship with his father and to avoid spending too much time around his family he volunteers his expert services to help with the gardens at Neverwood. Two problems. Firstly, Sam’s father is one of the bigoted councilors trying to shut Neverwood down and second, the gardens are the one thing Danny felt he could contribute and he is not at all impressed with the new guy trying to help.
The Growing Season is the second book in the Secrets of Neverwood series and can be read as a standalone if you don’t like the sound of the other books. The stories are being sold as an anthology or separately so the decision is completely up to you. When I requested a review copy of this book I actually received the whole anthology but I still started with this story first. I followed with the third story because I really wanted to find out how it all ended and then because I decided I needed the complete picture, I went back and read the first story. What I’m getting at is, yes, standalone works but I have no doubt you to will want to find out how the three books finally end, so I recommend purchasing the anthology and reading from the beginning. Each separate book has its own drama to deal with as the men face obstacle after obstacle in their fight to reopen the house. In this second story it is the threat of the council, of which Sam’s father is a member, changing the zoning laws that allow Neverwood to function as a foster home. Each problem is solved in in the separate books as they arise but mention of their problems is carried over.
As far as characters go, I loved all six of the men in these books but Danny is by far my favourite. He’s a perfect example of the saying – he was chewed up and spat out by the world. He’s use to fighting for every little thing and he has no trust for anyone. Not even his brothers. But at the same time he seems strangely innocent. Not in an annoying TSTL way or a badly developed he-was-meant-to-be-a-badass-but-acts-like-a-child way. I think it’s because he lacks the confidence and self esteem that someone his age has usually developed. His insecurities make him seem younger and made me desperately want to give him a hug. He believes that all the bad stuff that happened to him was his fault and as because of this sees himself as undeserving. The attack he endured has scared him from having sex, which in his eyes means he’s no good for a relationship but having lost Audrey, he can’t turn away from Sam as he deals with the impending death of his mother. The scene in the church, and if you read this book I’m sure you’ll agree, was so damn wonderful and sad at the same time and shows perfectly that even if he never got over his aversion to sex, Danny is definitely the sort of man anyone would be lucky to have.
There’s a slight paranormal twist to the stories in the form of Audrey’s ghost who still attempts to guide her boys in the right direction. Danny is the only one who can hear her speak but all three men sense her in some way. For those of you who avoid paranormal, I get that, so do I, but don’t pass on this book if that is your only hesitation. I wouldn’t classify this as a paranormal book, it’s a romance that just happens to have a ghost pop in every now and again.
If you like your hurt-comfort books to be coupled with sweet rather than angst then this is the perfect book for you.
RATING: 
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