Monday, May 28, 2018

Whisper (Skins #2) [Harry & Joe] by Garrett Leigh

This was such a heartfelt story! I really enjoyed it :) It was tender and yet it was also raw in a way. I loved the scenery of the farm, I could understand how it healed both Joe and Harry just being there. I've volunteered for years in a therapeutic farm, I have so many great memories and even the memory of the peacefulness. Harry truly found THE place to sit and write his book.... everything else that happened NEEDED to happen for sure, but the setting was simply beautiful for it, even though there was a lot of "gloom" in the farm, or rather it's current state. But I'm getting ahead of myself..

Harry Foster's life, at least from his Instagram account, looks perfect. He is a successful physiotherapist, he is fully booked and he is even offered to write a book about his knowledge. But he can't seem to find the time or the right mood to actually BE writing, which is why he is offered to take the summer off and MAKE the time to write. His brother finds him a room for rent in a small town in a farm which rescues horses. The pictures looks perfect and so he finds himself living in "Whisper Farm" looking for the person he corresponded with - Emma Carter, only to find first her mother and later her grumpy big brother - Joe who runs the place.

Though the scenery of the farm IS perfect, it's obvious it's in a very problematic state. They can barely hold their head above the water. They are almost at full capacity and horses, donkeys and even goats keeps needing their help. They have a little help from a few school kids and an older worker but it's not enough. Not in income, or rather donations and they don't have enough place or personell to take care of everything the farm needs. Also the fact Emma is dealing with Agoraphobia doesn't help, not to mention the one man who CAN help them - their father Jonah - makes it even harder with the mess he always finds himself and therefore THEY find themselves in.

Yet Joe Carter IS somehow optimistic. He believes they can do it even if he feels he is struggling everyday just to make ends meet. He has given up his old life when his father left and especially when his grandfather died. Though he isn't thrilled of his new "tenant" but the money is good so...

Joe and Harry share a house together. Harry renting the only bedroom in the house (belonging to Joe's grandfather), while Joe's mother and sister live in a different house on the property. Sharing the space makes things different between them. Even though it takes them time to even talk to one another they find themselves connecting and moreover attracted to one another.. Yet before they actually DO something Joe is hurt and Harry can't stay away from Joe's side. Something happened in the weeks they spend together on the farm. Joe is lonely. He wants Harry to stay.. with him.. in the farm.. Yet Harry isn't good at these things, he actually have never had a relationship before. He is haunted by his past and dealing poorly with his strange feelings towards Joe. He might SEEM so put together and perfect, but the outside doesn't reflect everything he isn't putting out there to the world.

Joe and Harry both needs to find a way to actually SAY what's on their mind before the summer is over and with it, their romance. But before the summer is over, a lot more changes on the farm with Harry not only learning to accept parts of himself he put aside as well as help the whole family. It was beautiful, so so beautiful.

HIGHLY recommend this book. It was a bit sad at times, as Garrett is so well known for, yet it wasn't overly angsty it was just a journey both Joe and Harry needed to go through until they were truly ready for one another. I LOVED how it ended, also with a glimpse of the first couple Dylan and Angelo from "Dream" (Harry being Angelo's physiotherapist as well as a close friend). GRAB IT!

Rating:
E-Book
Edition
258
pages
Read on:
26-27 May 2018
  

ABOUT THIS SERIES
 
Skins is a Contemporary MM Romance series by Garrett Leigh. There's a connection between all the characters - from co-workers to friends and family - in this series, but they only come together all 3 couples in the 3rd installment.

All three couples find themselves in the end at the same place - Whisper Farm - ran by Joe Carter. Each couple, even each character is dealing with some kind of issue - mental or physical. I liked the way Garrett deals with these kind of issues. Truthfully, these characters feel so much genuine exactly because of that. They are like "me and you". They struggle, they fall, and they rise again and in the end they find the HEA we are all hoping for.

While I enjoyed the first installment (Dyan sounds familiar? we've met him in "What Matters"), for me the 2nd installment was the best. The third kinda closed the series nicely with all of them coming together, realizing they have all known each other one way or another, and  yet it was too depressing for me. We were gifted another short novella to make a better HEA for all three couples, spending the holidays together. Sadly it too didn't grip me. We got another novella of Joe and and Harry (HURAY) taking the next step in their relationship. It was a sweet revisit.  
 
"The Sex Coach" takes place in the same farm with the appearance of all couples only a few years later. It's sold as a stand-alone but I feel like people who haven't met any of the characters might get a bit confused. It's actually my favorite out of all of them.

Books:
1. Dream [Dylan Hart & Angelo Giordano] (Published 23 January 2018) ★★★★
2. Whisper [Harry Foster & Joe Carter] (Published 1 May 2018) ★★★★★
3. Believe [Rhys Foster & Jevon Campbell] (Published 26 June 2018) ★★½
3.6 Cherish [Harry Foster & Joe Carter] (Published 1 January 2022) ★★★★½ 
4. Crossroads [Dylan Hart & Angelo Giordano] (Published 20 November 2018) ★★
- The Sex Coach [Toby & Cole Maguire] (Published 8 October 2020) ★★★★★
 

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