Rating: 4.5 🌈
Second Chance at First Love is N. R. Walker’s prequel to her upcoming series, The Storm Boys. This is a romantic lover’s reunited, second chance at love novella that gives us an enthralling natural experience through the eyes of the characters on their camping/hiking tour across sections of Kakadu National Park. Their guide and tour owner is Paul Morgan, who for the past five years has run a luxury glamping tour business in this park he now calls home.
But it came at a price. The loss of a man he left behind and never stopped loving.
That tormented man, Derek Grimes, appears suddenly , with telescope in hand, as part of his latest small group of campers heading into the bush for the next five days.
Walker’s men are always so real, so quiet, and vulnerable. None as much as Derek Grimes, a man so quiet as to be incommunicative. All his fears, his hopes, Derek keeps buried inside of himself, something that contributed to their failure 5 years ago. His struggles are both valiant and painful to watch.
Around the men are three women we only know just enough about to enjoy their experiences along the trail. But not much else. They are minor supporting roles. Sweet but not very layered.
The major players here are Paul, Derek, and the indescribable beauty of the Park around them. The richness of the landscape and Walker’s ability to make us feel what her characters are feeling is key here.
Absolute wonder.
Towards the end, the epilogue, two more characters are introduced. They are the men of the next series, The Storm Boys. They make quite the entrance!
I can’t wait for that story to be released.
For now, enjoy the remarkable journey home for Paul and Derek, and the beauty that is their section of Kakadu National Park. Tell me if doesn’t make you want to do a little traveling on your own.
I’m highly recommending this book!
Second Chance at First Love: Prequel to The Storm Boys
The Storm Boys:
â—¦ Outrun The Rain – June 6, 2023
â—¦ Into The Tempest – June 27, 2023
â—¦ Touch The Lightning-July 18, 2023
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Description:
PREQUEL TO THE STORM BOYS SERIES
Paul Morgan has been running his luxury camping tour business in Kakadu National Park for the last five years. Taking small groups glamping, hiking, climbing, and swimming. It’s been a busy five years, a hard five years, as he tried to forget the man he left behind.
Derek Grimes pushes people away—a self-preservation reflex. Because they can’t break his heart if he breaks theirs first, right? Five years on, lost and lonely, he tracks down the one and only love of his life. Maybe seeing how Paul had moved on will help Derek move on too . . .
Paul can’t believe it when a familiar name pops up on his client list, and Derek can’t believe how good Paul looks, or just how happy living his dream job has made him. The spark between them never waned, but five years on, they’ve learned a few things about themselves and what they want.
They could have everything they ever dreamed of—if they’re prepared to trust each other. Because a second chance at first love comes but once in a lifetime.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 