This is an amazing story and I loved it from beginning to end. Told with a great deal of humor, it is a very touching story about two men who need to find their place in life while dealing with situations that would have most well-adjusted people struggle. Both men don’t just have their own past and present situations to deal with, but they also have young children with issues and needs, and families who like to meddle and think they know what’s best for them. I was involved from the first page to the last, and loved how BA Tortuga handled the problems of parenthood, learning to deal with being blind, and fighting for what is right for your children in the face of well-meant but utterly wrong advice from so-called experts.

Audie is a cowboy, and while he makes money by breeding cows, he loves working with horses. He has a son from a woman who didn’t want children and left Grainger with him before leaving, and he isn’t out. Meeting Dixon challenges him on several fronts, and as their relationship develops, Audie begins to think about the impact it has on Grainger, his family, and what he himself wants out of life.

Dixon lost his sight in an accident that killed his husband, and he is now trying to adjust to a life where he is Randi’s father, and wants to raise her, but is insecure because he cannot even see—how is he going to protect her? He struggles with his blindness, but his way of “coping” is trying to ignore it and struggle through. Not helpful! He needs Audie to help him understand that adapting in certain ways isn’t “weak” and that learning “how to be blind” is a serious challenge, not something you can do on your own. But the key driving force is his need to take care of Randi, and all the well-meaning advice from strangers cannot replace father’s love and determination to be the one who is there for her.

If you like stories where both main characters have a steep learning curve and lots of learning and changing to go through, if you want to know what it might be like to be blind and a father, and if you’re looking for a read that is emotional, touching, and very funny in places, then you will probably like this novel as much as I did. It has wonderful characters, some adorable children, and some great emotional moments I won’t quickly forget.


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )