Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Galaxies and Oceans

AUTHOR: N.R. Walker

PUBLISHER: Self Published

RELEASE DATE: June 25, 2018

LENGTH: 313 Pages

BLURB:

Seizing his one chance to escape, Ethan Hosking leaves his violent ex-boyfriend, leaves his entire life, and walks into the path of a raging bushfire. Desperate to start over, a new man named Aubrey Hobbs walks out of the fire-ravaged forest, alive and alone. With no ID and no money, nothing but his grandfather’s telescope, he goes where the Southern Cross leads him.

Patrick Carney is the resident lighthouse keeper in Hadley Cove, a small town on the remote Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia. After the tragic death of his lover four years ago, he lives a solitary life; just him, a tabby cat, the Indian and Southern Oceans, and a whole lot of loneliness. He’s content with his life until a stranger shows up in town and turns Patrick’s head.

Patrick never expected to be interested in anyone else.

Aubrey never expected to be happy.

Between Aubrey’s love of the stars and Patrick’s love of the ocean, these two fragile hearts must navigate new waters. If they can weather the storm of their pasts, they could very well have a love that eclipses everything.

REVIEW:

What is that saying? What’s rises from the ashes is stronger than what was before? That is, if it is a saying, it might be from a Disney movie now that I think about it… Anyway, it still holds true for Ethan/Aubrey and the fiery beginning of this book.

If there ever was a way to capture a reader, that first chapter was the way to do it. I went through so many emotions during those first few pages; sadness, heartbreak, outrage and hurt for what Ethan Hosking was enduring at the hands of his lover. Don’t fear though, we are never there for the actual violence but come into the picture in the aftermath, for the healing. Only that healing is interrupted by an out of control forest fire heading straight for the cabin where Ethan is recuperating. Then I was scared for him, I was left in suspense. My heart was banging all the while wondering how and if Ethan would make it out of that fire alive. Only he didn’t – Aubrey Hobbs did. And with him walked a sense of freedom and hope.

He follows the stars south and ends up on Kangaroo Island and Hadley Cove; population: 63. It’s a quiet and unassuming town where one day is the same as the last and you can set the clock after the routines of the people. They all know everything about everyone, and no secrets are secrets for long. Bartering with goods and favours instead of money is the way of the island, so when a stranger shows up the whole town sits up and take notice, and none more than Patrick.

Patrick has a love-hate relationship with the oceans he’s surrounded by. On the one hand they give him peace and meaning to his everyday life working as a lighthouse keeper, on the other hand they are also his biggest nightmare; having taken his lover and the man he loved from him four years earlier, leaving nothing but some debris mocking them for their loss. Since that day Patrick has lead a quiet and solitary life, wanting nothing but peace.

From the first time Patrick laid eyes on Aubrey there was this instant recognition flaring. He recognized that haunted look, the standoffish and unwillingness to open up and share with another human being. But most of all he recognized the pain and loneliness in the other man. It was the same look he saw every day in the mirror. Deciding to offer Aubrey his friendship, Patrick hopes he might be able to chase some of the haunted looks away.

The friendship they form is a slow one. Neither man is quick to form attachments and both wary in their own way. It fits with the quiet life they all live on the island where each step is allowed it’s time. It’s never rushed, not is it standing still, so while their friendship and subsequent romance is a slow-burn one, progress is made each and every day. Each man opens up just a little bit more. Starts to trust a little bit more. Falls in love just a little bit deeper. So while we wait a long time for them to finally get together, it never felt like a long or boring wait. It felt right; they felt solid, well as solid as one might expect them to be, both being scared and hesitant in their own way, for their own reasons.

I loved them together. I loved reading how they were with each other. They inherently understood what the other needed. Time for Aubrey, from his past abusive relationship and understanding that Patrick was still allowed to loved Scott, his deceased lover. And speaking of Scott, that’s another factor I really enjoyed with this book. Scott is present, we get to know him through Patrick’s love and loss for him, but it’s never in any oppressing or overwhelming way, he never overshadows the present. He’s there in the way that all lost loves are, constant, sometimes aching, sometimes happy, but most of all encouraging Patrick to live again.

Trust the waters, Patrick. The ocean was mapped put from the stars.

My only niggle was that Aubrey’s past as Ethan was dealt with a bit too quickly and cleanly. I never wanted to have it drawn out or have it as a major plot point, but I still would’ve liked a little bit more than what was present here. It was handled a bit too quickly and neatly for my tastes. Or maybe that’s just me being a bit on the blood thirsty side when it comes for Aubrey’s ex to pay his dues.

I loved this book so much and had a hard time putting it down. I wanted to spend every waking moment in Hadley with Aubrey and Patrick, watching the penguin and the southern lights. It was everything I’ve come to love from a N.R. Walker story; slow-burn, great characters and a quiet but beautiful romance that touches every part of your heart.

The Southern Cross is what brought me here. The constellation. I followed it, here, to this island. To you.

Highly recommended!

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

Amazon