Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: The Shearing Gun
AUTHOR: Renae Kaye
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 214 Pages
BLURB:
At twenty-five, Hank owns a small parcel of land in Australia’s rural southwest where he supplements his income from the property with seasonal shearing. Hank is a “shearing gun”—an ace shearer able to shear large numbers of sheep in a single day. His own father kicked him out when his sexuality was revealed, and since no one would ever hire a gay shearer, Hank has remained firmly closeted ever since.
Elliot is the newbie doctor in town—city-born and somewhat shell-shocked from his transplant to the country. When a football injury brings Hank to Elliot’s attention, an inappropriate sexual glance and the stuttered apology afterward kickstarts their friendship. Romance and love soon blossom, but it’s hard for either of them to hope for anything permanent. As if the constant threat of being caught isn’t enough, Elliot’s contract runs out after only a year.
REVIEW:
Ok, hold on to your panties people because this book has gotten my review juices flowing (ewww). My fingers are twitching to start typing and I’ve advised my husband that he’s not to disturb me unless he comes baring energy drinks. This will likely be a long one.
Allow me to confess that I’m a mad Renae Kaye fan. Not stalker level quite yet, but I’m keeping that option open for future consideration. I haven’t requested an autographed photo, I don’t write her poetry and I haven’t changed my Facebook status to say we’re in a relationship. But I do snap up the opportunity to review her books whenever I hear about a new release because that means I get to read them before everybody else. And like I’ve admitted before, I can be viciously greedy when it comes to books. Now I know exactly what every one of you is thinking (or should be thinking). How can we trust an impartial review from a self-proclaimed mad fangirl? So in the interest of showing you all that I can do impartial, I’m going to ensure I include some harsh criticism in this review. Maybe even several harsh criticisms if I really get on a roll.
Criticism #1 – Renae made me love Hank even more than I love Jay (Loving Jay) and now I feel like a cheating ho!
The characters, not just the main characters, but ALL of the characters in this book are brilliant and I was interested in every one of them. From Hank, who tells this story from his perspective, to Jimmie, Hank’s wonderfully flamboyant uncle, to Middy, the stuttering shy best friend all the way down the line to Jackson Palmer who never actually saw any screen time but I really hope he recovers well in hospital. But Hank, well Hank is someone special.
Hank is such a perfect rendition of an Aussie country-boy farmer that I actually cringed the first time he speaks to Elliot because he sounds exactly like my ex-brother-in-law. Who is a country-boy farmer. I think I found Hank so interesting because he has a “say it how it is even if I offend you” attitude yet on the subject of being gay he is clammed up tighter than a…well, a virgin asshole. Despite his fear of being outted, he’s always honest with himself.
Like a freight train, the knowledge that I wanted to suck his dick – and virtually every other dick in my immediate vicinity – hit me. I wanted dick. I liked dick. I was gay.
Hank, in true country spirit pushes at Elliot, the new citified doctor in town by putting him to work out on his farm and expecting a load of whining in return. When Elliot surprises Hank by digging in and not complaining once, Hank is grudgingly impressed and the two men become friends.
“This is Doc Elliot. He’s a doctor in town with Doc Larsen. He has a real wanker of a surname that I haven’t been able to remember, so I just call him Doc.”
And that’s how this book begins, with friendship. No insta-love in sight folks. In fact, no instant attraction on Hank’s part either. As he says, he looked and he wasn’t impressed and although I felt compelled to be offended on behalf of Elliot, how refreshing that the attraction needs to gradually build rather than just handily appearing. And even from there it slowly moves from friends with benefits into something more substantial. But of course, when Hank does fall in love, he shows it the way a real bloke should.
“I gave you a lamb to name. I’m planning on buying you a couple of fuckin’ chooks so you’ll stay. What part of that doesn’t say I love you?”
Criticism #2 – This one time, they have sex, and Hank leaves his socks on!
The first time that the men have sex they’re so crazy with frantic, clawing lust that Hank does not take the time to remove his socks. I know right! I really should have knocked off at least one star for that infraction. I can tell you that when the men finally get around to it, the sex in this book is super hot and I guess all the more exciting because of its illicit nature. Neither man wants the locals to know that they’re gay, especially Hank and technically, Elliot is also Hank’s doctor. The rather naughty checkup at the clinic was just a bonus on top of all the other sexy fun times.
I grabbed the lube back and dumped it on the entire length of my dick. I was going in, and I was going in deep.
Oh, oh! And I can’t forget this one!
“Oh, thank you, Jesus.”
If Elliot thought that it was Jesus between his thighs, then he had a holy epiphany about to happen.
Onto the Australian aspect of this story and for all those non-Aussie speakers out there, never fear, there is a glossary in the front of the book that includes words and phrases that even I’ve never heard of. Apart from one particular bit of oration from Hank, that is obviously intended to send you screaming for the glossary, I don’t think the Aussie-isms are really all that hard to decipher. Sometimes the need for glossaries scare the heck out of me but this one is more for fun really.
Aside from the Aussie lingo there are also some very Aussie names – Rooster, Middy, Davo (we do just tend to stick an ‘o’ on the end of most things) and also some of my favourite country town names are poked fun at. While I’d never heard of Dumbleyung I was truly, and I’m not joking, excited that Renae mentioned Mukinbudin because we use to drive past a sign for that town on the way to visit my sister (the one who was married to the country-boy brother-in-law) and I could never ever resist saying Muckinbudin a few times out loud as we drove past. (When the highlight of you four hour drive is stopping for fried chicken in Goomalling, you entertain yourself however necessary.) Sorry. Somehow my reviews always end up with me chatting about me.
So anyhow, the shearing was actually a lot more interesting than I expected it to be. We’re pretty much walked through the whole process without it seeming like a whole heap of info is dumped on us at once. I really enjoyed being part of a day spent in the shearing shed. But I guess this is where I should say thank you to the author for teaching me about the need to shear a sheep’s bum and for describing what could happen if you don’t.
What stuck with me most, though, from this story, is the event that results in Hank and Elliot being outted. I don’t want to reveal what happens so this will probably all sound a bit vague but having spent some time out (way out) in the country I know that that scene was always one of my biggest fears because it does actually happen. People are actually that stupid. It was so well written I felt like it was something I was watching on the news instead of reading in a fiction novel. So a great big double thumbs up for that scene!
And lastly, I swear I’m almost done, whoever designed the cover did an amazing job. I Googled Dumbleyung because I wanted to know exactly where it is and discovered that the hotel on the cover of the book actually exists. The Dumbleyung Tavern is their “known for” landmark and now I really want to go there.
You know what, I got all the way to the end of this review and realized that I only included two criticisms. And I know they were totally harsh ones as promised but still, it’s my reputation on the line. So I figure, I’ll leave you now by saying, that this third book by Renae Kaye is her best work so far and goes to show that she isn’t limited to a “type” when it comes to characters or plot as all three books are very different from each other. I absolutely recommend you read this, I’ll yell it if necessary – READ THIS!!! And then I’ll finish up with another criticism…
Criticism #3 – Hank eats turnips. That’s not a manly vegetable!
And then I’ll just add one more quote, which proclaims clearly what’s important to Australians…
“It’s like saying you go for the Eagles but you’re really an Essendon fan and you never told anyone. It’s like saying you were born in Australia but you’re really from New Zealand. Shit! You’re not a Kiwi as well are you?”
I was bemused to see that XXXX was more horrified at finding out that I could possibly be a New Zealander, than the fact that I was obviously gay.
RATING: 
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