Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  The Cowboy and the Outcast

SERIES:  Farthingdale Valley, Book 3

AUTHOR:  Jackie North

PUBLISHER:  Blue Rain Press

LENGTH:  324 pages

RELEASE DATE:  September 29, 2023

BLURB:

Everywhere I go, I look for home. You are my home.

On the run for two years from an abusive family situation, Kell searches for a safe harbor. Instead of that happening, Kell gets arrested, but, unbelievably, amidst the horrors of prison, there shines a glimmer of hope.

Marston’s life is a mess. Everything he touches crumbles to dust. A second chance comes in the form of a job with the Farthingdale Valley New Start Program, except the two parolees assigned to him don’t even show up, so the job is a disaster from the get-go.

Temptation appears to Marston in the form of a particular ex-con: skinny, foul-mouthed, unable to keep up with the other prison-hardened parolees. Now he’s Marston’s responsibility.

Marston has failed at everything else – he knows he’ll fail at resisting temptation.

Can’t sleep. Can’t touch. Can’t have. Kell and Marston are lonely, until they find each other.

Can they make love last?

A gay m/m cowboy romance with hurt/comfort, opposites attract, emotional scars, fish out of water, and s’mores. A little sweet, a little steamy, with a guaranteed HEA.

REVIEW:

Jackie North’s sweeping Farthingdale Ranch series continues with The Cowboy and the Outcast.  While not strictly necessary, I recommend you read the previous books in this series for context on the Ranch and the Farthingdale Valley New Start parolee program.  In this series installment, we get the age gap, hurt/comfort story of Marston, a team lead with the program, and Kell, a young man trying to escape a horrible past, one filled with abuse, abandonment, and survival.  What Kell has gone through in his short 19 years of life is tragic;  he deserves the reset on life that Farthingdale Valley offers.  Similarly, Marston, who is 32, harbors scars from his time as a foster child and the lonely, challenging life he’s led since aging out of foster care.  He also gets a well-deserved second chance through the program, as an employee rather than parolee.  It seems destined that these two lonely souls would find each other.

Although Marston is almost twice Kell’s age, they have a lot in common, including a shared history of pain and exclusion, albeit through different circumstances.  But Farthingdale Valley, and the connected Farthingdale Ranch, are special –  they work magic on even the most broken spirits and bereft hearts.  It’s a place of peace and healing, and hearts once mended are then open to finding love.

What I enjoy most about the Farthingdale Valley series, and the Farthingdale Ranch series before it, is the slow pacing, detailed storytelling, and holistic experience of peace and tranquility that naturally arises from North’s stories. Her breathtaking imagery is unparalleled.  Pictures bloom before your eyes as you read her descriptions of the people and places, sights and sounds, and the texture and feel of the surroundings. It’s so impressive, North has actually made the setting of the story – Farthingdale Ranch and Valley – the most crucial character in all of the books across the two related series.  

North knows how to tell a story and she gives us a sweet, slow burn romance here.  I’m not typically a fan of the significant age gap romance, but North blends that detail into the greater tapestry of Marston and Kell’s relationship.  We forget about the differences and focus on how undeniable it is that these two men belong together. 

The Cowboy and the Outcast is like a cup of hot cocoa and a roaring fire on a cold snowy day. It entices you to come in and stay awhile.  Indeed, it’s so easy to fall into this fictional world with its myriad characters and extended found family that The Cowboy and the Outcast is irresistible.  Recommended.

🤠🐴🌳🌞💓🍳

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon