Defending Hearts (Boys of Fall #2)

I really like Shannon Stacey’s books. I haven’t read every one (for example I haven’t read the first in this series), but I enjoy the refreshing lack of man whores, women in traditional romance novel jobs (bakery, sweetshop), florid language, insta-love, constant repetition of how hot the other MC is, and billionaires. Her characters know how to use a computer and a smartphone and often do as a part of the plot. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve thought “oh s***, stupid plot mechanism coming up”, but it never does because someone picks up their phone or uses Google. I’ve even started using an app SS mentions in Taken with You. Specifically, Defending Hearts was a nice book. The heroine, Gretchen, is working her family farm with the help of her grandmother. Gretchen does the physical labor and all the planning and paperwork while her grandmother maintains the family garden, cooks, and knits. Gretchen loves the farm and though the work is demanding and money worries abound, she is dedicated to it. The hero, Alex, is an award winning photographer and part of the legendary high school football team who came to help the town in the first book. He’s been all over the world on photo assignments and takes pride in the fact that he makes people aware of things they never would have seen on their own. Alex has dedicated his life to photography even though the travel required was central in the collapse of his first marriage. Gretchen rents a room to Alex and he moves in so he can work on a project involving the town. They initially find each other attractive and as they go about the rhythms of daily life together they begin to fall in love. I would have liked more time inside the MCs heads, but if the choice is that or endless obsessing, I’ll take SS’s understated writing. I only have a few criticisms of this book. One is that the grandmother is only 65 yet is depicted as if she were 75. This may be a sore spot for me, I’m 54, but there is no indication that there is anything wrong with her. My family members were all still actively practicing law and going to court at 65. Gram only leaves the kitchen to knit, with the very occasional foray into the garden. She even talks about going into senior housing. WTF? The other is that there is a timeline issue at the end. Not a biggie, but it was there. Bottom line, I enjoyed Defending Hearts. The characters were smart, honorable, and their actions made sense. I won’t read the first book in the series because the romance sounds very similar, but I may read the next as that hero doesn’t seem to have any pressing reason to leave town once he falls in love with his heroine.

Shannon Stacey is one of my go to automatically author’s, mainly because her characters are all so real and believable. They not only have heart and soul, but they are also very loyal when it comes to family and friends. I became so hooked on this author since the first book she wrote about the lovable but very rambuctious “Kowalski Family”. Then I followed her when she started the ” Boston Fire”, talk about some real hotties! But I didn’t stop there….I also read about all of the Alpha males in “Devun Group’. Now I am totally intrigued with this lovable series “A Boys Of Fall” The thing I noticed the most while reading the books in these series—which happened to be very different form one another, I might add—is that she always seems to find a way of hooking you right from the very beginning, and then sucking you in so far, that you automatically buy the next book in the series because you NEED to know what is going to happen next. Bravo to Ms. Stacey for giving your readers many, many happy hours of total enjoyment! One of the things I love about this series is the feeling of hope. This town is broken, mostly due to the turn in the economy. The Mill closed up and most of the families have been struggling and fiercely. Some have had to move away and find new jobs, while a few hardy souls are still trying to hold on as best that they can. And I believe whole heartedly that they will make it with hard work and patience, because there’s still a hope in their hearts and they are so willing to do what ever it takes to get things turned back around one day. Gretchen and her grandmother, Ida, are just two of the people in town who are really struggling just to make ends meet on the farm. They refuse to give up, and are willing to do what ever they can to do make a go of it. After all; this is the only place that Gretch has ever felt safe, and she has no desire to live anywhere else. Her grandparents took her in and showed her what love really means, and even though her grandfather has since passed, she still feels like she owes it to them for all they have done for her. Alex Murphy an award winning photojournalist returns to his hometown, Stewart Mills, New Hampshire, to help raise funds for the football program as a tribute to the coach who taught him much about life. After a particularly grueling assignment Alex feels the need to return “home” again and ends up renting a room at a farm from a woman who was a few years behind him in school and her grandmother who raised her. These are two lost souls, who help each other find the meaning of love.

One of my favorite things about Shannon Stacey is that her books are low-key and believable, with relatable, real-life conflicts and not a lot of manufactured drama. Well, this book needed more drama. It just didn’t hold my interest. Nothing made me feel invested in the characters, and until the last forty pages or so, nothing much happened in the plot.

What I normally love about Stacey’s books are they are so relatable. And hilarious! I normally literally laugh out loud. This book was SO boring. I wanted to love Gretchen, but she was such a flat character. Alex too. Im glad this wasn’t the first of her books I’ve read or I would have missed out on some great ones. This one was nothing but a chore to get through.

Alex Murphy an award winning photojournalist is feeling lost and uninspired. He needs something in this life but can’t figure out what. On the premise of returning to Stewart Mills to finish the story about the football team. He soon discovers what he is missing is a home. Gretchen lives with her grandmother on the farm she was raised on. Alex rents a room from Gretchen and the sparks begin to fly. Love this series and how two lost souls find each other.

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