Dear Author,
My name is yours to give, I’m a new father, whose best friend in the world just died and took with her all the magic of being an uncle, leaving only the harsh reality of being a father with no idea how to do that, AT ALL. Thing is, I’m looking for a nanny, my child is a colicky baby trying to wake the dead screaming, I haven’t slept in a while, and this handsome stranger who’s knocking on my door seems to be the answer to my desperate pleas… Only, he seems to know an awful lot of things about me and my baby that even I don’t know, can I trust him? Should I let him near my child?
Photo Description:
A man holds his sleeping newborn. The baby clutches a set of dog tags while resting his chin on the man’s shoulder. The word “family” is tattooed across the father’s back.
This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group’s “Love is an Open Road” event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.
Review
This is a sweet short but full story about Mark, an ex-military man who helped his friend with her pregnancy when she found herself unexpectedly pregnant. There is no “father” in the picture and when she dies in childbirth, he finds himself as the best suited candidate for the job.
Though he loved his friend and knows he wants to be the best dad he can, he’s overwhelmed and not at all prepared to be a father.
Luckily, he finds Ian, a nanny with loads of experience and hires him to help him with the newborn, Leo.
Ian has the patience of a saint and never takes anything personally, though Mark is more often than not, kind of a jerk.
Over time, the two develop deep feelings for one another and we get our HEA.
**
JH Knight is one of my favorite authors out there. She is amazingly talented and has a way of tugging at your heartstrings like no other.
This short story is a great example of her talent.
Though, there is only a small amount of sex in this book, there are lots of wonderful feels. Ian’s family is amazing, and has a vaguely sixth-sense which helps them to know when to do the right thing… just a feeling they call it.
I loved the growth Mark experienced it and my only wish was that we could have seen the couple in action for more than a little bit at the end.
Preston Fawkes is ten the first time he meets fifteen-year-old Konrad Schnell at the San Antonio Polo Club. Captivated by the mystique surrounding the sport of kings, Pres vows to learn the game at the hands of his newly acquired friend and mentor. The hero worship soon grows into something deeper, but the friends are separated when Preston goes off to boarding school in England.
The relationship that follows is riddled with challenges―their age gap, physical distance, and parental pressure taking precedence over feelings yet to be explored. Although their bond goes deep, they deal with the reality of their situation differently: Preston is open and fearless while Konrad is reticent and all too aware of the social implications of making a public stand.
Their paths intersect and twine, binding them as tightly as a cowboy’s lasso, but fate may alter their plans. How will love overcome the divots in the turf as they gallop toward the future—one where obstacles no longer stand in their way?
Review
This book starts with Preston as an injured Polo player being told he should never play again and he’s lucky to be alive. We know he has 2 ex-wives and 2 children, and that Kon is NOT in his life, currently. (This should give you an idea of where things are headed…) Then we get to the flashbacks which take up the bulk of the book.
As a boy of ten Preston meets Konrad, a boy of 15, for the first time and learns from him what it means to be a Polo player. He acts as his groom and Kon mentors him in the sport.
Preston’s hero worship of Kon changes on the night he realizes that Kon is gay and that the feelings in his gut may be more than just friendship. Kon, as he should, rebuffs the now 13 year old’s advances. He puts him off because a) he’s too young and b) the two are about to be separated by Kon’s joining the American Polo team and Preston’s going overseas to study. But first the two share a passionate kiss.
Preston meets Ned at Eaton, a boarding school in England. Ned shows Preston how to be properly English and Preston gives Ned Polo lessons. After a while, Ned becomes Preston’s tutor in gay sex as well as his close friend.
Preston and Ned don’t become boyfriends though, because Preston is saving that for Kon, whom he stays in touch with and occasionally meets.
Finally, when Preston is 17 he and Kon spend a chunk of time together and move their relationship forward, becoming lovers and long-distance boyfriends.
Here is where things go horribly wrong. Their relationship is discovered and Kon is forced to join the military and …. Well if I tell you it’s a big spoiler. Needless to say what happens next keeps Kon and Pres apart until the end of the story and for YEARS.
**
I really, really wanted to like this. I loved the idea. Polo, young love, age gap, geographical gap… It had a ton of potential.
The pre-eighteen year old sex did not bother me – that’s reality for a lot of people and I thought it was mostly handled well.
What did bother me: Kon never really seemed to love Pres as much as Pres loved him. Kon seemed to lust for Preston, but not love him. Preston was a jerk, and hard to like, so I don’t blame Kon. As an adult, Pres only gets worse.
The plot twists were far too many and too hard to believe. At times it was like a soap opera in the way that the lovers were kept from one another – for YEARS. If we have that much angst I need a huge batch of happy to make up for it and the reunion at the end did NOT make up for all the unhappiness. After all the torment we see our MCs through, they get about one paragraph of happy ending and the “celibacy issue”… I just didn’t buy it at all.
I did not like the on-page sex with people not the MC. That, more than the age thing, did really bother me.
I thought the writing was ok, but I didn’t feel a lot of authenticity from the characters. Preston’s dad was practically bi-polar (smacking Preston around then giving him a new pony.) Preston’s step-dad just going out and renting his 16 year old son porn seemed nuts. Preston’s mom even marrying Preston’s dad didn’t make much sense. Ned – putting up with Preston’s crap for so long. And there are other areas where it didn’t feel real.
I just couldn’t connect well to either MC very well, thought the plot holes were too big to ignore and found the romance lacking. If you are a fan of drama, you might like this. There is a LOT of it. If you want a tender and satisfying, relationship story, this is not for you.
Audiobook
Max Lehnen is hit or miss for me. I have heard him do some nice narrations, and I have heard him butcher some. In this case he had some tall orders. He had to do a wide range of ages, including aging the MCs from 10 to adult. He had several accents to do, Texan, British, and Preston’s odd British/Texas blend, women, kids, etc. I thought for the most part he did a great job handling such a demanding narration, though some of his accents were definitely better than others.
I give Max Lehnen 4 of hearts and the story 1 of 5 hearts which gives this an average of 2.5 hearts
Blurb
