Rating: 5 stars out of 5
When Tanner Rowe purchases a home and barn in rural Michigan, he’s trying to fulfill a promise made to his recently deceased wife, Emma. She’d always been drawn to the place, often remarking that the partially burned and dilapidated barn called to her. Now, Tanner hardly knows where to begin to not only start to renovate the house but to enjoy life again.
Cole Lachlan is literally living off the land when Tanner runs into him. Homeless and broke, the former convict has been out of prison awhile but he can’t shake his past and is struggling to find work and a place to live. His past follows him wherever he goes, though, so he’s shocked when Tanner offers him work to fix up his barn in exchange for room and board.
Clay finds a journal buried in the floorboards of the barn—a journal that leads them to the story of Tom and Charlie, two young men who lived and loved there in 1948. Over time, as Tanner and Cole get to know one another better, they read the journal, and like Tom and Charlie, they ultimately fall in love.
A bizarre series of coincidences leads the men to find out more about Tom and Charlie and what really happened to the young men who had plans to leave the area and find a place where they could be free to love. Then, a new problem crops up. Local small-town gossips lead the sheriff to believe Cole is responsible for a theft, and the accusation nearly drives a wedge between the two lovers before the real culprit is found. Between their bizarre dreams of Tom and Charlie and reading the last pages of the journal, Tanner and Cole believe the men may have died in the barn in 1948 and then a shared dream and an out-of-town visitor unexpectedly lead Tanner and Cole to the truth of what happened seventy years before.
Not quite a reincarnation story, but mighty close to it, the underlying theme is love: Tanner’s love for his wife, the love he and Cole begin to feel, and the love for all time that’s carried through seventy years for Tom and Charlie, who are finally put to rest with love and care from those who came to know them.
A beautiful love story, sweet and poignant, emotionally heartwarming and heartbreaking, I very highly recommend this to lovers of MM romance.
The cover depicts two bare-chested men embracing, one with tattoos, one without. Very attractive and perfect for the MCs in this story.
Sales Links: Amazon
Book Details:
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 