by
- Butterfly Hunter
- Of Dreams and Ceremonies
- Like Leaves to a Tree
- The Thousand Smiles of Nicholas Goring
- The Butterfly Hunter Trilogy
Size: 6.00 x 9.00 in
Pages: 160
Dave and Nicholas, married for seven years now, are happily settled together – but as an Australian prime minister once observed, “Life wasn’t meant to be easy.” An unexpected threat to their beloved waterhole forces Dave to try asserting his unofficial custodianship of the Dreamtime site, and a visit from Nicholas’s nephew Robin doesn’t help as he brings his own surprises. And there’s always the question of Nicholas’s health hanging over their heads …
- 1 To Be Read list
Publisher: LIBRAtiger
Translators:
Genres:
Pairings: M-M
Heat Level: 4
Romantic Content: 4
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Bisexual, Gay
Protagonist 1 Age: 26-35
Protagonist 2 Age: 26-35
Word Count: 56000
Setting: Australia
Languages Available: English, French
Series Type: Continuous / Same Characters
The next morning saw Dave and Nicholas at the airport early to collect Robin. They joined the line-up leaning on the waist-high barriers, greeted with nods and friendly monosyllables from the drivers and tour operators and such, some of whom had known Dave since he was a kid. “Brought the missus with you, then?” one of them commented to Dave.
Nicholas snorted with quiet humour, but Dave answered seriously enough. “Yeah, his nephew’s coming to visit for his summer holidays. Well, you know … it’s winter here, summer up there.”
“Got everything arse-about, them Poms.”
“You just wait,” Nicholas muttered darkly. “The magnetic poles will reverse, and then where will you be?”
“Still in God’s own country, mate!”
“So you will,” Nicholas happily responded. “And so will I!”
READ MOREThere was a general round of laughter, and then everyone fell back to their earlier silence or desultory talk. Nicholas nudged Dave with an elbow, and indicated the cold hard floor on the other side of the barriers. “That’s where I was when I saw you for the very first time.”
The guy on the other side of Dave asked, “Love at first sight, was it?”
“I get a lot of that,” Dave remarked.
“What can you do?” was the sympathetic response.
“I fancied him so badly!” Nicholas declared. “It wasn’t love, I don’t suppose – not back then. But that’s where it began. That’s where our story began.”
A resounding silence greeted this. Far too much information to be sharing with Aussie blokes of either gender. Dave was blushing, a little, but he couldn’t deny that he was pleased. No doubt his own smile was as fond as one of Nicholas’s, despite him trying to repress it. He hardly knew where to look.
But finally someone snorted, and someone else spluttered into laughter, and the embarrassment was lost in the general hubbub, or maybe just transformed into something else, something better. “Someone’s overdone it with the coffee this morning,” was one comment. – “That’s why I never bring my missus along,” another observed. – “Jeez, there’s a decent hour and a private place for that kind of thing …”
Dave and Nicholas leant there on the barrier together, pressed shoulder to shoulder, letting the jibes wash over them. And eventually Dave dared to glance at his husband, and he saw Nicholas’s lips curling in infinite amusement … and Dave could hardly even begin to measure his own happiness. He hadn’t seen the edges of it for years.
COLLAPSEMark on Sinfully Gay Romance Book Reviews wrote:A really engaging story that was easy to follow despite being the 3rd book in a series I had not read.
Very heartfelt, with a poetic, enchanted feel to it. The slow pace works for this particular story. Having read the first two books in the series probably would have helped, but wasn’t necessary, which is always the sign of a great read.
Susan on Boys in Our Books wrote:OMG, beautiful, absolutely beautiful. It is of course no secret that I have just loved this series so far but the third and final book just brings everything to a close of what has been just one gorgeous and exquisite story from beginning to end.
I love the care with which Julie Bozza writes David and Nicholas. She’s very deliberate in the ways she progresses their story, their relationship, their interactions and as someone who’s taken this journey with them through the series, I appreciate it so much.
Honourable Mention in the Rainbow Awards 2015.
