Reviewed by Elizabetta
TITLE: Red Dirt Heart, book 2
SERIES: Red Dirt
AUTHOR: NR Walker
PUBLISHER: self published
LENGTH: 203 pages
BLURB:
Up until Travis arrived on his doorstep, Charlie had lived a very solitary life. He had surrounded himself with isolation; a couple million acres of red dirt, scorching sun and loneliness.
Six months on, winter has settled over the desert, and Charlie has the life he never dreamed possible. But living and working together, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, for six months straight starts to take its toll.
Charlie is a stubborn, stubborn man, who tends to have more conversations in his head than what comes out his mouth, whereas Travis has no problem saying what’s on his mind. And even as they both struggle to communicate, struggle to make sense of need versus want, Charlie can see that he’s pushing Travis away – yet seems helpless to stop it.
When it all boils down to whether Travis should stay or go, maybe the decision won’t be theirs to make.
REVIEW:
Like the main character, Charlie Sutton, my feelings were all over the place in this next step in his and Travis’ romance.
I so enjoyed watching Charlie and Travis fall in love in Red Heart #1 (RDH1). They are great guys and their shared love for the land, Sutton Station, made their story special. Now, less than a year later, it’s all still fairly new, but we see what happens after the HEA.
Charlie and Travis are just as ga-ga for each other; we’re wrapped up in the brightness of it. It’s that consuming passion where being away from your lover even just a little makes you ache. Next to falling in love and lust, this is the next best thing… the overwhelming need to be together.
When we start, Travis has been gone four days, working out in the desert and we get Charlie back at the house waiting and pining. The guy is a goner, we can really feel his longing. And when Travis returns, the back-together sex is pretty sweet too. These guys are made for each other.
But, alas, the honeymoon period starts to show some wear and tear. Really, it’s about Charlie and his dealing with living in the closet and how this affects his relationship with Travis. Or, it affects how he views himself in the relationship. Charlie still struggles with feelings of inadequacy that his homophobic father left him with; he doesn’t feel good enough for Travis, worries that he can’t keep him. Poor Travis is confused about it all. We’ve been here before, this is a common source of the big misunderstanding in M/M rom and these guys are no exception.
While I loved the beginning, I found myself growing weary with Charlie as the story progressed. It’s his whole series of little misunderstandings, pouts, and silent treatments that grate; he spends a large part of the story middle acting like a jerk to Travis. And then apologizing… until the next time. You just want him to get over himself before he drives Travis away.
And Ma tells him so. She really takes Charlie to task. Once again, I love the family that surrounds Charlie– Ma and George and all the ranch hands– he’s got some special people at his back caring for him and supporting him and Travis, together. We get to see that they have their own issues, too. To his credit, Charlie does get his head out of his ass and gives back to them when it counts.
I think the author walks a fine line with showing us Charlie’s issues– up close from his first-person perspective– while working to keep our interest and sympathy. It’s tricky and doesn’t always work. Unfortunately, Charlie’s insecurities are related in a way that further detracts– there are weaknesses in the writing that don’t help at all. The author’s voice often mixes in with Charlie’s which makes him sound omniscient, and his own constant descriptions of his or Travis’s reactions, smiles, facial expressions, etc. come off as affected. For example:
“Travis’s shoulders slumped and he sighed, defeated. My admission just made him feel guilty.” (omniscient POV, is this the author’s voice or Charlie’s?)
“With a petulant sigh, I opened up the email…” (again, Charlie or the author? Would a character describe their own sighs, and what guy would use ‘petulant’?)
“I smiled at him… Maybe it was just as well he didn’t see the you’re-sofucking-adorable look on my face…” (really? The first time was kinda funny but this kind of odd self-description happens many times in the story.)
The language sometimes feels forced and like trying too hard, and Charlie’s narration is often out of character and almost… emasculating. All of this should have been caught in the editing.
Despite Charlie’s roller coaster ride of insecurity and the odd writing issues, I did enjoy RDH2. Luckily, Travis is a keeper. I’ve fallen hard for him and how he constantly tries to bring Charlie into the light. When Charlie finally has his big ‘ah-ha’ moment, I’m right there with him, too.
Charlie and Travis’s deep affection for each other, and their shared love for the uniquely beautiful Sutton Station and Outback lands, continue to endear and engage. While this book isn’t as strong as the first one, it’s still worth a read for these great guys. I’ll return for more as the series continues.
RATING: 
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