ThenTheStarsFall-sm

Brandon Witt was one of our guests in the early days of the podcast. Hear his interview and find links to his work here.

REVIEW

Beautiful cover. Beautiful book. I could just leave it there, but I want all my friends to read this stunning love story, based around one man’s family, his grief for his wife, and the unexpected love he finds, which causes rippled throughout the small American town where he lives.

Travis is still in mourning for his wife. Four years after her death, he looks after his three children with the help of his strong-willed sister and the unconditional love of his two adorable corgis.

Wesley hasn’t been home to El Dorado for many years, but now he is the town vet, trying to put a painful break-up behind him. When Travis brings in one of his dogs to his surgery, there is an instant attraction, but both men have too much emotional baggage to know what is truly happening. Besides, Travis is straight. Isn’t he?

This is an incredibly well-written, delicately balanced M/M book. There is romance, but the main focus is about family, and the dynamics within. We are allowed into the lives of the children, their thoughts and fears, and Travis’s sister is the sort of wonderfully warm, forthright woman that everyone should have in their life.

All the characters are brilliantly drawn. Travis is the loving father, aware of his short-comings yet seemingly unwilling to move on from his grief. Wesley is the flamboyant gay man who struggles between being happy in his own skin and being nervous about how others perceive him.

The children are adorable, but not in a “I want to puke” kind of way. Oldest son Caleb is the serious man-child, trying to hold the family together, and the twins are like chalk and cheese, tricksy and defiant, solemn and withdrawn. And the dogs are cute and a bit stupid, just like dogs are in real life. I didn’t want the story to end because I was so entranced by the people and the place. Witt has the ability to enmesh the reader into the world he has created.

It’s a pity I’m not still running a book group. If I was, then this elegant, literary book would be top of my list.

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