Review: The Fall by Kate Sherwood

Reviewed by Whuppsy
The Fall by Kate Sherwood
Dreamspinner Press
Novel: 214pgs
3.5 Pants Off

Blurb:
Every relationship leaves something behind. Dumped by his sugar daddy, part-time model Scott Mackenzie somehow ends up owning an abandoned church in rural Ontario. He dreams of using it for gay weddings, even if he’ll never have one of his own.

Joe Sutton is trying to keep his family together after his parents’ deaths. Between the family ranch, his brother’s construction company, and commitments around town, he doesn’t have time for a relationship. But Mackenzie is hard to ignore.

As both men fight their growing attraction, challenges to Mackenzie’s business threaten their relationship. If he can’t make it work, he’ll have to crawl back to the city in defeat. But the only solution involves risking the ranch Joe loves, and each man has to decide how much he’ll sacrifice for the other.

Review
This story was really sweet going up story for both main characters. Scott Mackenzie is this Pretty Boy who’d been dumped by his Sugar Daddy and is now having to work and figure things out for himself. He’s bought this chapel that is need of serious repair and he hires Will Sutton. Will is Joe’s twin brother and together they meet Mackenzie for the consult on the repairs needed for the chapel.

Joe Sutton is a Rancher. Born and Bred right there in rural Ontario. He’s such a domestic guy. He’s the caretaker of his family and in his community. He’s always there to give a helping hand if it’s needed and never asks for anything in return. He’s only had one real relationship with a guy that lived in their town and left for more adventures in the city. Since then, he’s been alone and moving more towards no outside relationships aside from his family.

When Mackenzie and Joe meet there is a spark of attraction from both of them, however, Joe does his best to ignore what he’s feeling and keep his life content as possible. Mackenzie on the hand is quite taken with the quiet and aloof Joe. Once he finds out that Joe is gay, he sets up to get Joe’s attention. He’s unsure why Joe seems to be immune to his charms, but he’s not going to let that stand in his way.

Joe and Mackenzie start an affair of sorts. It’s just supposed to be casual; however, as we all know the best laid plans. Little by little they start to like each other more and more. There is caring and tenderness between them, even when they don’t seem to be on the same page. They have to work to make things happen between them. Boy do they have to work at it.

There are misunderstandings and insecurities that are working against them and yet, it’s also a growing experience for them. It’s not all bad that they have to go through all of these things. Mackenzie has always been the Boy Toy and has not had to really work hard at anything and now with owning this chapel and making it a success is pushing him out of his comfort zone. This relationship with Joe is also out of his experience. He’s used to someone telling him what is going to happen and yet he also wants to get away from that. He wants to stand on his own and prove that he can indeed do this.

Joe has his insecurities as well. He’s always kept himself aloof from people that aren’t his family. Yet, even with them he hides away. He’s the one that feels the need to comfort and takes care of everyone. He is so focused on keeping his family together even while realizing that life is changing and people are moving on with their lives. He has to learn to let someone else in his life and to take a chance on finding love. He has to let people care about and take care of him. That he doesn’t need to be strong all of the time.

I loved the main characters. I loved that they each had to grow-up and stand up for what they wanted and what they needed. It was a pleasure to watch them stumble and yet see them right themselves and move forward. Sometimes I did want to ask what the Hell they were thinking. But as we all know, that’s pretty normal for a story like this, where there is growth happening for both parties.

The secondary characters were actually so very important to the development of these characters. They offered comfort when needed and yet also gave the cold hard truth when it was needed as well. They allowed the boys to make their mistakes and yet helped them work through whatever was bothering them.

I liked this book and if you have a couple of hours and want to meet some characters that learn more about themselves and actually take the chance to grow as men, people and as lovers.

3.5 Pants Off