3.5 stars actually. Just can't rate it up to 4 though.

It took me a while to get into this one. And considering it's a relatively short story that was a bit of an issue. By the time the characters were starting to grow on me the book was finished. So, while it was a nice read, it just didn't quite get there for me. (It could have something to do with the way they were speaking, because that did grate a little to be honest). ( )

I fell in love with Jenna Hilary Sinclair's writing while reading [b:Admit One|7142600|Admit One|Jenna Hilary Sinclair|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1337649210s/7142600.jpg|7406870]. In this story of Harry & Mike, she does not disappoint! These characters are real men in real situations. They are not perfect but accept each other's foibles with true trust and love.

I do have one teeny, tiny complaint. While hints were given about Harry and Mike's past, the information was not enough to answer the many questions that arose in my mind. I guess I just want to know more about these two wonderful characters. ( )

I remember with pleasure the first story I read by Jenna Hilary Sinclair. It was not a romance, it was a coming of age story about a teenager who had some real big trouble when he found out he was gay in a small town USA were he was pretty isolated, and about his mother, who wanted so much to help his son. To help these two arrived like two Angels on a Christmas day, Harry and Mike. The time were the late '80 and Harry and Mike were not some out and proud gay men who fight against society. They were two ordinary men that after spending years trying to ignore what they were feeling for each other, decided to take the courage in hand and move together in a ranch just outside the small town. It's true that it's not always easy to be gay in a little town, but sometime it can be easier than in the big city. The period, almost 20 years ago, is not the same as today. If today we are speaking of gay rights and equality, 20 years ago it was almost a miracle to find a place where being allow to be yourself. In the little town where they live, Harry and Mike are on the mouth of everyone, but everyone also knows that they are gentle men, always ready to give an hand to help; the town decided that, since the two of them are pretty much on their own, it doesn't matter what they are doing inside their home. It's not acceptance, it's more turning a blind eye on what you don't want to see.

For 8 years it was enough and then, Harry is starting to think, at their age, it's really necessary to desire something more? To Harry, living most of the time on the ranch, with his horses, it's not a punishment, it's almost the perfect life. He knows that Mike was used to something different, he was more a city man, he went in places and met people, but now he is with Harry, and he took him 12 years to decide to be with Harry and only Harry, and why he should need something more? I don't know if it's a conscious choice, but I have the feeling that Harry prefers to be like an hermit with Mike on the ranch since he fears that, if Mike will have the chance to see what there is outside, how the world is changing, maybe he will change his mind as well, and living only with Harry will be no more enough. On the other hand, maybe Mike is thinking that he is a comfort choice for Harry, that Harry has never had the chance to see something different, to try and taste every shade of life.

And so both Harry than Mike, like two newborn babies to the gay world, starts to shyly "come" out, at the young age of 40/45 years old, to see how the world is changing, how it's possible for them to be together in public, in a pub, even if it's a very secluded "only for men" pub, in an almost abandoned side of the city. Harry and Mike come out from their isolation to see that yes, the world has the chance to be better, but that, in the end, they already have what the other men are trying to reach, an happy life together, a commitment that will last and it's lasting for years, the comfort to know that the really important people in your life accept and love you, unincondionally. There is no need for Harry and Mike to come out, to change what they are, they are already out and proud for the people who really care, they have already found the path to happiness.

Jenna Hilary Sinclair confirm her ability to write a warm and simple story, a story that is near to the fundamental things in life, love, family, home and happiness.

http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/724813.html