Genre: Contemporary
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
Get It On Amazon
About The Book
Two snowed-in men. 300 cows. And a mangy dog. Tucked away down a rutted dirt track lives a grumpy dairy farmer. He’s firmly in the closet. And he’s desperately lonely.
That farmer is me—Rob Langford. I have more meaningful conversations with my prize bull than people. Except, one snowy night, I stumble across a fancy car wedged into a ditch.
The driver needs my help. He’s injured. Stranded. The snow lies two feet deep. And over the next few days, I discover this quiet, thoughtful man doesn’t mind my run-down cottage and my lumpy old sofa. He’s even quite tolerant of my smelly arthritic dog.
Strong. Handsome. Self-possessed. A man who knows what he wants. In bed and out of it. And bizarrely, that thing is me. But to be what he needs? I must step out of the shadows. And into his life.
The Review
Robert “Rob” Langford is a thirty-six year old closeted farmer. He runs the same farm that his parents did, who have retired and relocated to Spain. He has three hundred head of milking cows, one bull named Watermelons, and an old dog named Zeus. He lives on the four hundred acre farm in conjunction with DeChamps-Avery, who collect the rent. As long as a Langford resided in the small cottage and the farm remained profitable, everything was great.
Rob loves farming, even if he has to rise every day at 4 AM to get his cows milked. He’s an expert with all of his animals, and learned so much from his father. He doesn’t have special names for them, but knows each one by its identifying code. The only thing he doesn’t handle very well is humans. When a human (or himself) gets injured, he gets physically ill.
Rob doesn’t often spend the holidays with his sister Lucy and her family, but he enjoys being with them. Afterwards, the trip back to the farm becomes treacherous with snow falling. He comes upon car lights across the road, and finds someone has had an accident. There’s no way anyone would be able to make it back to town with the snow, so Rob takes the stranger – Evan – back to his home. The man has a dislocated shoulder. Rob thinks Evan needs to go the the hospital, but his visitor knows what to do. He walks Rob through it and it works perfectly, but Rob physically gets sick and Evan winds up taking care of him.
As a couple of days go by, trapped inside by the storm, Rob and Evan begin to share more about themselves. Although they are very different, there is a commonality between them. One morning, Rob has milking to do, and when he returns to the cottage he finds a note from Evan. His visitor has gotten a ride with the RAC into Allentown, and is very grateful for Rob’s help. A week later, a thank-you gift – a case of red wine – is delivered to Rob’s cottage.
Three months pass without another word from Evan. Rob wonders if Evan ever thinks of him. He starts to feel a sensation in his lower belly. When he picks up one of sisters children, Lucy notices he’s in pain, and suspects a hernia. Rob doesn’t even want to think about having surgery, but he knows something has to be done. Lucy’s finds a doctor for him to see. Rob worries about the cost, and just thinking about the operation makes him ill.
Rob is surprised to see Evan is the doctor. After some familiar chit-chat, an exam and consult, Rob asks Evan out. A spark has been ignited between them.
Rob knows he’s a grump, especially around people. He’s up before the crack of dawn taking care of his herd of cows. His best friends are animals. Evan is a doctor who does almost everything right, and is full of surprises.
Rob is still closeted. Only six people know, and he’s afraid of what others may think. Evan has just come out, and wants to be free and to let anyone know that he’s gay, especially when it comes to this new relationship. Will Rob make the right decision, or will he stay in the closet and lose Evan?
Hill had me at “snow, a farmer and a mangy dog.” The author creates a wonderful, special tale about two men who are total opposites. It was great to see Rob and Evan face up to their treatment of others, to make up for their past mistakes, and to try to find a way to be together.
I was thoroughly entertained by Second-Best Men, a heart warming, well-written story with filled with romance, love and true awakenings between two men – with both sad and feel-good moments and just the right banter and humor. Hill knows how to pull on the heart strings. Well done.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
