Review: Blueberry Boys by Vanessa North


Note: This ARC was provided by Riptide Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

And suddenly there was a lump in Connor's throat and tears stinging his eyes. He reached for Jed and pulled him down for a kiss, a long, leisurely, blueberry-ice cream-flavored kiss to hide the emotions that were tugging at him. Jed had words in his heart his lips could never say--every word was minefield, a delicate navigation between self-expression and humiliation. And Jed had taken the time--and the words--to make Connor feel wanted, really fucking wanted.


When Connor Graham left his hometown of Blandford, Massachusetts to live his life free from the prejudices of those who saw his being gay as an aberration, he never had any reason to return. His career fashion photographer in Brooklyn, New York has brought him respect and recognition, two things he never expected to get from the people back home. The death of his uncle leaves him no other choice but to head back to Blandford and the blueberry farm that he spent quite a few summers working in. The fields hold poignant memories for Connor, it's beauty as stirring as ever even years after he said goodbye to it all. But all he wants to do now is get the sale over and done with so he can once again return to his life in the city. Then he meets his late uncle's tenant farmer and finds an unexpected reason to stay a bit longer.

The death of his landlord leaves farmer Jedidiah Jones at an impasse, not knowing what the man's heirs are planning to do with the land that includes the house he lives in and the blueberry fields he tills. The land, his family, and his faith are the only things he holds true, even though he still hopes the time will come when he can find someone who will share a life with him, out and proud. But with a stutter and being in the closet, Jed's hopes are fading with each passing year. When he meets his new landlord, there's a palpable connection that both are curious to explore. They discover within each other, an acceptance and respect that they've never quite found before, and with it, love and trust beyond measure. But their dreams for the future are somewhat different. Without any middle ground, there could be no future at all.

Of the books author Vanessa North that I've read, I dare say that Blueberry Boys is her best work to date. She's created two distinctly different main characters in professional photographer and city boy Connor Graham and blueberry farmer and country boy Jed Jones, but there are things that tie them together. Jed's dreams of living his life openly as a gay man were dreams Connor once had and have come to fruition. Connor's life now, one that came about because he took necessary risks in order to be free off the shackles that he had as a teenager, is something Jed can't help but be envious of. But Jed also has something that Connor didn't have after his mother passed away--the love and closeness of family. Being together has the two taking stock of their respective lives and see if there's a place for them with the other.

There's a prevailing feeling of poignancy in Connor and Jed's story. Their situation isn't a simple one. Jed wants to be able to continue living close to his family in Blandford, with a man to share his life with and a land to call his own. On the other hand, Connor has created a life that he loves in Brooklyn, and while he would love to have someone by his side, specifically Jed, he doesn't see himself ever calling Blandford home again, if it even ever was home to begin with. But even as they constantly find themselves at a loss as to how to move forward with the first and only relationship that's meant this much to either one of them, you never lose that feeling of hope--the same hope they've given each other--that they'll finally find that feeling of home. Blueberry Boys is a love story that goes beyond preset tropes and genres. Five-plus stars. ♥

Release Date: 30 November 2015

Date Read: 28 November 2015

Learn more about Vanessa North.

Purchase Blueberry Boys on Riptide PublishingAmazon | B&N.

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