Lovely evocative writing. This is a leisurely read where the point is the journey, not the destination. This is just as well, because the ending was bizarrely out of place and read as if it had been lifted from another work entirely.The strength of this work entirely lies in the mood and setting that it captures. The story unfolds slowly with much of the book coming across as prologue. As I finished each chapter, I had no idea where the book was heading or what was left to tell but was content to go along for the ride. When the first big reveal hit, I thought the author had done a very brave thing and was curious as to how things would resolve. Unfortunately, Fox took the well traveled road and ended up in the land of cliches and cheesy action sequences.The book is oddly bereft of character background. We scarcely learn anything about Nichol, despite the fact that he is the first person narrator. We never even learn whether his mother and brother knew he was gay. Cam, his love interest remains a black box at the book's close. Nichol learns pretty much nothing about him, apparently happy to refrain from pressing him with questions lest he burst his fantasy of him. Too bad he lacked the self-awareness to realize that he is love with a virtual stranger. Well sandwiched between the two heavy and sad books of SALVAGE THE BONES and MEN WE REAPED I decided that I needed something nice and light and fluffy to act as a literary sorbet. Best not to overdo it on the sad, no matter how important the sad is. So I decided to pick up a romance novel I've had on my kindle for quite some time to provide ample and sexy distraction. I am pretty sure that my kindle is going to be filled to the brim with trashy romance novels by the time it has to be put out to pasture, and that's a-okay by me.Nichol used to be a university student for linguistic studies, but then his mother and brother were killed in a tragic car accident. They had helped Nichol's grandfather with his sheep farm, and given that Harry is getting up there in years, Nichol sacrificed his education to help his granda out, no matter how cantankerous and ungrateful the old man was. Nichol has resolved himself to barely keeping the farm afloat and a wife of quiet desperation, until one night he goes into the barn and finds Cameron, a young man from the city who seems to be on the run. Nichol, in a moment of panic later, convinces Harry that Cameron is the new intern who is to help out with the sheep, and Cameron is more than happy to stay. A connection starts to build between the two young men, and soon Nichol finds himself head over heels for Cameron. But Cameron is on the run from his past, and soon it is going to catch up to him. When it does, will Nichol and Cameron be able to work past it and live happily ever after?Pretty standard romance, really. I wasn't really blown away by it like I was with THE BACKUP BOYFRIEND, but I really did like Nichol as the main character. Cameron was okay, but I did take some issue with the fact that he was the 'I'm so tortured' trope. It got a little annoying when he would emotionally shut down, proclaim that he wasn't good enough for Nichol, etcetera, but overall that angst was bearable and not totally overdone. It got close, but wasn't totally there. The sex scenes were pretty hot (let's be honest, that's what I'm really looking for in this kind of thing), and the chemistry between Nichol and Cameron was believable. All in all, it provided ample distraction and fluff, and that was what I was looking for, no matter how predictable it was. I will have to look into Harper Fox's other stuff, as this did the trick.
What do You think about Scrap Metal (2012)?
The book that started my appreciation for Harper Fox.
—fearless1903
No fair to rate made it to 30% im just really bored
—londonilove
