Rating: 4 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel

 

Dale is busy. He’s so busy that traveling to France from England to handle the farmhouse he inherited after his father’s death is seen as a personal affront to his boss, who relies on him for everything. Dale and his father had been estranged for years and somewhere in the back of Dale’s mind he thought they could reconcile, but with both of them waiting for the other to reach out, they ran out of time.

Arriving in the middle of the night to the rustic house, Dale is shocked to find a stranger living there. Rugged Valentin had been helping Dale’s father with household chores in trade for room and board and Valentin has nowhere else to go. Valentin loves the farmhouse and the land and he likes what he sees when he looks at Dale. But Dale is a city guy and he likes his money and his modern conveniences and Valentin has no idea how to compete with all of that. But Dale may have just walked into everything he never knew he could have and a life in the wilderness may not be that much of a sacrifice if Valentin is there with him.

This age gap, hurt/comfort story starts the new Flying into Love series from author C.F. White. I liked the style of the story from the start and you can see the differences in Dale and Valentin’s lives immediately. Dale is successful in business and he doesn’t have much time for a personal life. He had a bad experience years ago and he closed himself off to the thought of a long-term relationship. He doesn’t divulge to most people that he is gay and his coworkers have finally stopped asking him why he never brings a date. He’s fairly self-focused as he goes to France without any thought of how he will communicate as he doesn’t speak French, and he expects everything will just naturally fall into place for him and he will be able to wrap up his father’s estate quickly.

Valentin is over a decade younger than Dale and the farmhouse and living with Dale’s father is the closest thing he has had to a family in a long time. He thrives in the rural location and loves working the land and is devastated that Dale wants to sell the place. When Dale decides to keep Valentin on to help him get the place ready to sell, the forced proximity part of the story then emerges.

The chemistry between the men is clear from the start and I liked how the men saw each other, as well as the isolated vibe of the setting. The men are opposites, but they both have difficult backstories that start to close that gap. The book moves quickly and the backstories are not explained too much, and that was one area where I would have liked a little more. The men fall for each other and make big changes to their lives in only a few days, but I was able to go with it here as the men get their happy ever after together.

The next book in the series is a different couple in a different location and I’ll be looking forward to continuing with the series.