Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  To Catch a Fallen Leaf

SERIES:  Rossingley

AUTHOR:  Fearne Hill

PUBLISHER:  NineStar Press

LENGTH:  78,100 words

RELEASE DATE:  September 13, 2021

BLURB:  

Take one shy French gardener, mix in a naughty aristocrat, add a splash of water, a dash of sunshine, and wait for love to grow.

If only it were that easy.

Reuben Costaud counts his blessings daily. His run-in with crime is firmly behind him. He has a wonderful job gardening on the Rossingley estate, a tiny cottage all to himself, an orphaned cat named Obélix, and a friendly bunch of workmates. The last thing he needs is a tall, blond aristocrat strolling across the manicured lawns towards him.

Falling in love is not part of his plan.

Viscount Aloysius Frederick Lloyd Duchamps-Avery, Freddie to his friends, is in big trouble with everyone, from his father and his modelling agency, to his controlling older boyfriend. Seeking solace and refuge, he escapes to Rossingley and his adored cousin Lucien, the sixteenth earl. To take his mind off his woes, Lucien finds him a job with the estate gardening team.

Mutual attraction blossoms amongst the gardening tools, and Freddie charms his way through Reuben’s defences. But as spring turns to summer and Freddie’s London life collides with their Rossingley idyll, Reuben’s trust in him is ruptured. Will their love flourish or is it destined for the compost bin?

To Catch a Fallen Leaf is a full-length MM contemporary romance, the second in the Rossingley trilogy.

REVIEW:

Note:  This is the second in a series, and can be read as a stand alone I suppose, but it contains major spoilers for the first book and my personal recommendation would be read them in order 🙂

Freddie Duchamps-Avery has made a bit of a mess of things.  He’s been arrested in NYC and has high-tailed it back to the UK and ends up laying low at his cousin Lucien’s estate.  Freddie and Lucien, the local earl, are besties and are always there for each other.  They’ve each suffered loss and have always supported one another through their dark times.  Freddie goes to work with the gardeners – an attempt to clear his head and have something to do so that he doesn’t dwell or give into the temptation to self- medicate.  He knows he’s not an addict, but boy does he make a lot of BAD decisions.  His father, his agent and his domineering boyfriend are all on his case, but this little respite will hopefully give him some perspective and some ideas about what to do with his live.

Reuben Costaud has not had one break in his entire life.  He went from a rather desperate childhood, to care, to prison.  In between, he’s been abused and taken advantage of in order to just survive.  But the gardening job at Rossingley estate has literally saved both his life and his soul.  He has found his true calling working on the estate and learning about the flora of Rossingley.  He adores it so much, that he is determined to get a formal education.  Doing that in English however, since his initial education has been so spotty is not easy.  But he’s got help.  When Freddie joins the gardening crew, it turns out that he may not be an expert gardener, but he does work hard and he happens to have a degree in one of the areas that Reuben is studying for his GCSEs.  So they begin spending time together studying.

Reuben has never told anyone about his sexuality, but he knows that Freddie is gay.  He is very attracted to the gorgeous model, but perceives himself as not being even close to Freddie’s league.  So they study and banter and become friends before anything else happens.  And there is the little issue of Reuben’s past.  He’s not really ready to share everything with Freddie – or anyone at this point, but maybe someday he will.

Things are going along pretty smoothly until Freddie’s father demands he return to London for a pow-wow on how Freddie will clean up his image and also earn some political points for his father – who has never really given him the time of day except to criticize.   To say they aren’t close is an understatement.  But Freddie has only one parent, and he’d prefer if they could get along.  Of course this leads to Freddie acquiescing to a charity event and putting up with Vincent, the domineering ex.  Woooooboy – Vincent is a piece of work.  And then things go a bit sideways when assumptions are made 🙂  Thankfully there are friends and family to help put things back on track 😀

Well I absolutely loved this story!  We met Reuben briefly in the first book, but we get to know him in this one.  Same with Freddie.   Both characters have been through A LOT!  From the outside they appear to be so different it’s amazing they would find anything to talk about.  I absolutely loved the way Freddie realized how impressive Reuben is – overcoming all that he has with literally not ONE advantage in the world.  I was having a conversation about these types of situations – where people have been through absolute horrors and nobody knows or suspects.  But they have managed to persevere and overcome so much – but force of will, determination and maybe someone finally giving them a break.  That’s what has happened with Reuben and he finds his passion in gardening.   Freddie has had all the advantages that money can buy – but the only real support he’s ever had since he lost his mother is his beloved cousin Lucien – who has had his own horrible loss.  I absolutely adored Lucien and Freddie’s relationship.  Lucien and Jay are a big part of Freddie’s life and thus they become quite attached to Reuben as well.  I just loved the relationships that develop between these four.   Freddie’s ability to adapt and see what Reuben really needed was so heartwarming.  I just wanted to hug them both!  To see them both finally find love was just so beautiful.  The ending is just “chef’s kiss” perfection!  Highly recommend this whole series and I cannot wait for book 3!

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

Ninestar Press