Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: For the Love of the Broken Man
SERIES: Love & Cowboys #3
AUTHOR: Sam E. Kraemer
PUBLISHER: Kaye Klub Publishing
LENGTH: 279 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 29, 2024
BLURB:
A young gay man escaping a dismal future as stipulated by his father. A cow hand forced into parenthood through a series of losses. What does the universe have against them?
Jason Langston has lived the life of an Army brat from the day he drew his first breath in a military hospital. After years of anxiety over his sexual orientation, Jase finally accepts he’s gay, though he knows his family will never support him. As graduation from high school draws near, Jase is given an order: enlist in the Army to follow in his father’s footsteps. Jase knows he’s not cut out for Army life, so he decides it’s time to spread his wings and fly before his fate is sealed—forcibly.
Daniel Johnson strives to live a simple life, but it seems fate is conspiring against him at every turn. After an unsuccessful attempt at a career in the military, he returns to Holloway, Virginia, and takes a job running a cattle operation for an old friend… something familiar and comforting in a world of pain and disappointment.
One day, a green kid arrives in Holloway, Virginia, and life is flipped on its ear for both men. Jase is unfamiliar with life on the farm, and Danny is fighting the draw of the younger man at every turn. Why would destiny put these two men in the same place at the same time? Is Jase the final straw to break Danny for good, or is Jase the answer to the prayers of… The Broken Man?
REVIEW:
I will admit that I’m a bit sad to see this wonderful series come to a close. Author Sam E. Kraemer brought forth a series of life on the farms. Of cowboys that loved the men they found and how they overcame the difficulties they faced.
One of the wonderful things I loved about this series was the inclusion of the children that came into each of their lives and the open-hearted love that they gave to their new family members. It showed what wonderful and quality men they were.
Jason “Jase” Langston graduated High School that very day and he knew deep in his heart he only had one option…sneak away that night and head to Virginia to the ranch his best friend Savannah and her girlfriend Andy had help set up a place for him to work and stay safely hidden from his homophobic and abusive Army father. He hated to leave his Mom and dear friends but it was the only thing he could do. Because if his father found out his son was gay he knew he would wind up dead! Daniel “ Danny” Johnson has not had an easy life. He did the only thing he could think of when he barely finished high school and that was to enlist in the Army. But being gay isn’t easy around a bunch of homophobic macho men. One night, while having a bit of “fun and stress release” changed his life forever. With a metal rod in his leg and no where to go he limped himself back to the only place he knew, Holloway, Virginia and his friend Matthew “Matt” Collins, the former Bull Rude, gave him a job as foreman of the Katydid Farm helping raise cattle and world class bulls. But when the tall young man comes to work for him he knows he’s too old and broken to be with that young man no matter how much he desires him. He has a farm to run and an eight year old niece he’s raising after his sister passed away. But Jase is temptation like Danny has never felt before!
I was frustrated with Danny for most of the book. I know the nine-year age gap was challenging but not as much as the fact that Jase is barely legal and fresh out of high school. Add in that he was gorgeous and smart and Danny felt like he had nothing to give of worth. But that was where he was wrong because Jase wasn’t looking for riches. He just want some one to want him and love him and that man was Danny! And the other thing that rubbed me wrong was Matt! Tim had every right to slap some sense in that stupid bull rider. Obviously he was insecure about turning 40 but everyone, and I mean EVERYONE knew that Tim was so madly in love with Matt that it was crazy to even comprehend that Matt would think Tim would leave him for the boy! And then the icing on the cake was them all allowing Danny to turn Jase away so he could pursue college and have a better life. But all Jace ever wanted was Danny and Kayley and a life with them. But Kase was the shining spot in this book. He was so beyond his years in maturity and knew better then all those stupid men he called family.
I particularly loved how Sam finished this series in the Epilogue. It gave us insight on how all the men and their children and their extended families were getting on in their lives. This book embraced all the good that was found on each of the three farms/ranches. We got to meet up with all three cowboys we grew attached to and the men that they found love with for the rest of their lives. There was a particularly wonderful stanza that spoke volumes about the life and love found there “there was something about the little farm that was almost like magic. Love seemed to grow there, and it… brought Love and Cowboys together.” That about perfectly sums up what I felt about this wonderful series.
RATING: 
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