Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  The Foreman and the Drifter

SERIES:  Farthingdale Ranch Book 1

AUTHOR:  Jackie North

PUBLISHER:  Self

RELEASE DATE:  March 15, 2021

BLURB:

“If only Leland would forget that Jamie was a drifter. If only he’d give their hearts a chance.”

With Farthingdale Ranch at risk, Leland Tate, ranch manager, has to get tough and make sure everyone on the ranch follows the rules he’s laid out. That means no handouts, no fraternizing, and no drifters.

But what happens when a young drifter comes looking for a job? What happens when that drifter makes Leland want to break all the rules?

A gay, m/m cowboy romance with age gap, hurt/comfort, first time, rescue, sunshine/grumpy, boss/employee, emotional scars, and opposites attract. A little sweet, a little steamy, with a guaranteed HEA.

REVIEW:

If the name of this series, Farthingdale Ranch, sounds familiar, you’ve probably read Honey From the Lion, Book #2 in Jackie’s North’s Love Across Time MM time travel romance series.  In that book, the main character, Laurie Quinn, time travels back to 1891, disappearing from a guest ranch he was visiting – the Farthingdale Ranch.  

This book, The Foreman and the Drifter, picks up about a year after Laurie’s “disappearance” and we see the repercussions of that event on the ranch.  The beginning of the book lays out how Laurie’s strange and unexpected disappearance detrimentally impacted the Farthingdale Dude Ranch.  People got scared off due to the unexplained circumstances.  The ranch’s occupancy dropped precipitously as people began canceling reservations and new bookings slowed.  

Leland Tate, the ranch manager, has reduced everything down to the bare minimum and has been overextending himself and imposing strict rules in order to keep the ranch from bankruptcy.  He’s been working round the clock to turn things around. Leland’s dream, which he worked long and hard for, was to run the Farthingdale Ranch.  He turned 30, got his dream job, and immediately thereafter, at the end of his first season at the ranch, the Laurie “tragedy” occurred.  Now he is fighting to keep his dream from dying.

That whole set-up just captivated me … and I’m not ashamed to admit, it also choked me up.  It’s a creative and clever premise.  It’s also fascinating to think about what happened to the people at the Farthingdale Ranch that Laurie Quinn left behind when he followed time’s whims to his HEA. I had my tissues out within the first few pages.  

That being said, on the whole, I wouldn’t characterize the book as heavy on the angst.  It does contain definite hurt/comfort throughout, but it’s balanced.  But the emotional poignancy of Leland’s description of his plight, his love for the Farthingdale Ranch, and his personal sacrifice comes through in an impactful way.  Then add in the introduction of Jamie the drifter. 

Jamie’s at the end of his rope, with nowhere to go, no friends, no family, no help.  He’s down to his last dollar, but like Leland, he has a dream and it’s focused on Farthingdale Ranch.  So he takes a long bus ride as far away as he can get and then sets off on foot to the ranch, in the blazing heat, with shoes that are falling apart and hope in his heart … to ask for a job.  Jamie pushes on and follows his dream despite everything that has beaten him down and tried to take that hope away.  

Leland initially compounds Jamie’s plight and that exchange will make your heart hurt.  I was invested in both Leland and Jamie from the moment I met them.  The initial friction between them lays the foundation for a multi-dimensional, complex relationship.  Jamie struggles to understand that people want to care for him.  He can’t believe that he won’t be unceremoniously dumped like yesterday’s trash for making a mistake.  He thinks he has to work himself to the bone in order to keep his job.  Jamie arrives at Farthingdale Ranch the day before his 21st birthday.  Ms. North deftly spins out a beautiful tale of Jamie’s entrance to adulthood and how from that day forward, his life opens up before him to good things he never fathomed were in his future – including love.

Ms. North’s writing has a distinctive, enviable style.  It’s methodical, detailed, evenly paced and patient.  It’s not melodramatic, instead subtly delivering emotional connection with and between her characters through exceptionally detailed, vibrant writing.  Her world building is par none.  She takes the time to create the world around you down to the very blades of grass and the bowl of blue sky above.  You experience her stories with all of your senses.  I felt like I was there at Farthingdale Ranch, seeing the open prairie, smelling the buffet dinners, feeling the heat of the sun, touching the manes of the horses, tasting the root beer Leland adores.  Ms. North achieves a level of immersiveness that I have not experienced often.  It’s one of the reasons why I pick up her books time and time again.

The Foreman and the Drifter showcases Leland and Jamie’s improbable, age-gap, grumpy/sunshine, boss/employee, opposites attract romance through lovely, lyrical, impactful prose.  This is not a story that revolves around action or events.  Rather, it follows Leland’s struggle to let go and allow himself to be happy, to trust that his hard work will pay off.  He is less concerned about the age gap and more about his status as Jamie’s boss.  But he’s starting to turn the ranch around, he’s respected and well-liked, his staff are loyal, and he deserves to experience love, not loneliness.  

The dynamic between Leland and Jamie is engrossing. They have obvious chemistry, and plenty of sexy looks and innuendo, although the steamy scenes are minimal.  But Ms. North makes up for it through Leland and Jamie’s deep, abiding connection, which she shows through a thousand small acts throughout the story. 

One observation:  More communication between Leland and Jamie happens off-page than on.  Broad swaths of the book occur through observation, introspection and monologue.  Dialogue, especially between Leland and Jamie, happens less frequently, especially about the stuff that matters – like how they’re feeling, their emotions, their relationship, … even learning about each other.  For example, I don’t think Leland ever got Jamie’s backstory (at least not on page) except through one brief paragraph towards the beginning of the book.  The rest, Leland seemed to surmise.  While he was spot-on in his assessment of Jamie’s history, I would have liked to see more of that parsed in dialogue.

All that being said, in The Foreman and the Drifter, Jackie North delivers a beautiful, emotional story that will stay with you long after it’s done.  I highly recommend you give it a read.  You do not have to read the Love Across Time series first.  The book contains everything you need to know to enjoy this story within its pages.  (Nevertheless, I recommend that series as well.  Here’s my review of the first book in audio.) Make sure you get the bonus story;  it’s a wonderful extra to what is already a swoony, sexy, sweet tale.

RATING: 

BUY LINK: 

Amazon