The story that started in ‘Planting His Dream’ with Foster and Javi finding love, continues in ‘Growing His Dream’ – but this time it is their friend, local farmer, and farm hand, Abe, and a homeless young man named Lachlan who struggle with their dreams and feelings for each other. As the blurb says, the conditions they face are harsh, but love will find a way – especially in an Andrew Grey novel. Honestly, with these two? I needed to remind myself frequently who the author is, or else I might have given up hope. As interesting and emotional as the first book in this series, this second relationship adventure was just as emotionally satisfying with the added bonus of seeing that Foster and Javi are still doing okay.

Lachlan broke my heart. He is going to turn eighteen in two weeks when the story starts, but life has already pretty much beaten him down. His mother died, he ended up homeless, the local minister did anything but help, he has witnessed a crime that some nasty characters don’t want him to talk about, and yet Lachlan is not one to whine or give up. His stubborn strength and determination are admirable, and he needs every ounce of courage to recover from the blows Fate dealt him and make something of his life.

Abe isn’t that much older than Lachlan, and he is also a “refugee” of sorts – his bible-thumping father doesn’t respect him or treat him decently, so Abe has been working as Foster and Javi’s hand for the past year. He’s the one who knows a little more about how badly Lachlan has been treated by the fire-and-brimstone minister, and he feels for the young man. But his feelings soon go a lot deeper than Abe feels they should, and even once Lachlan turns eighteen, Abe is very reluctant to admit to himself, never mind Lachlan, how much he likes him. Unless Abe can get over some of his emotional barriers, he will never be able to be the partner for Lachlan that he wants to be.

Lachlan and Abe feel a mutual attraction almost from the start, but both have their reasons for holding back. Abe needs to learn how to trust his feelings, Lachlan has to gain some self-confidence, and both have to deal with their pasts that have told them being gay is not okay. Their journey is not easy, but very touching and I loved the sense of hope that slowly begins to bloom as they get closer. Very nicely done!

If you like stories about characters who have a lot to overcome, if men with a seemingly endless supply of courage in the face of adversity are your thing, and if you’re looking for a read with a small-town setting, where life on a farm is a daily struggle, and where family and love is like we all dream it should be, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. It’s a great sequel in the tradition of the first book, yet it manages to be completely its own story.


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