Cole Mccade - Over and Over Again

When Luca Ward was five years old, he swore he would love Imre Claybourne forever. Years later, that promise holds true--and when Luca finds himself shipped off to Imre's North Yorkshire goat farm in disgrace, long-buried feelings flare back to life. The lines around Imre's eyes may be deeper, the once-black night of his hair silvered to steel and stone . . . but he's still the same slow-moving mountain of a man whose quiet-spoken warmth, gentle hands, and deep ties to his Roma heritage have always, to Luca, meant home. The problem? Imre is more than twice Luca's age. And Luca's father's best friend. Yet if Imre is everything Luca remembered, for Imre this hot-eyed, fey young man is nothing of the boy he knew. Gone is the child, replaced by a vivid man whose fettered spirit is spinning, searching for north, his heart a thing of wild sweet pure emotion that draws Imre into the compelling fire of Luca's frustrated passions. That fragile heart means everything to Imre--and he'll do anything to protect it. But can he resist the allure in cat-green eyes when Luca places his trembling heart in Imre's hands . . . and begs for his love, over and over again?

Comment: I had added this book years ago after seeing a positive recommendation somewhere. In spite of it, something made me put off reading and I've decided it was finally time to see if the wait had been worth it or not.

Luca Ward is adrift, not really knowing what he wants to do with his life and the situation at home isn't the best either. His parents decide to send him to the countryside, where they used to live, to stay with Imre for a while. Imre is the best friend of Luca's father and Luca has always liked him, having fond memories of his childhood at this "uncle's" house. But while Imre hasn't changed and he is still the friendly and dedicated famer Luca remembers, he is also a very attractive man and Luca knows he is gay as well. At first he feels some reluctance to stay at his house, as if he is an unwanted child, but as the days go by, the closer he feels to Imre. But there is a considerable age gap between them... will Imre ever see him as who he is now? Is a relationship between them ever feel balanced?

This is a long book, and what I remember the most while reading is that it wouldn't be necessary. Yes, the main goal I'd say it that this is meant to be a slow burn and that the protagonists had to take time to develop a believable relationship in these circumstances, but there were also some moments in which everything felt a little repetitive and not as exciting as I suppose the author intended.

The setup isn't hard to imagine nor is the fact these two could feel attraction to one another. I also accept the way they (very) slowly talked and let the other understand what was on their mind, which led to a more or less believable relationship. I also liked the fact that Luca acted young as he is and that arriving at the farm calmed him down but did not give him the answers right away. I also could easily see how someone with Imre's personality and lifestyle - he is rather zen and has love and peace vibes - would want to have time to help Luca.

The romance between them is certainly different and not as common as that. I think that, to me, the most complicated idea to go through wasn't the age gap, which is considerable and includes all the big things that go into it, namely maturity levels and usually divergence in points of interest. To me, the most unlikely factor was that Luca as child had been so innocently in love with Imre and now, as a 19 year old, or 20, these feelings simply changed this easily. I mean, there are many TV shows out there with people telling about their weird obsessions and stuff, but... there were parts in this story that didn't always feel easy to see as plausible.

Then, of course, there's the issue of them being able to acknowledge their relationship. This never seemed to be a concern but in my opinion, it should be so, especially in such a small community as the one we see being described. Luca's father and his reactions also should have had more attention than just what happened and the expected worry while Luca and Imre were still debating if they could be a couple. I think Imre's personality was the main element that made me accept this whole thing as possible but, honestly, I also didn't really feel the romance was that believable.

In the end, this was a good story in some parts, a little boring in others, but I never thought of these characters as being larger than life or in such a way that I felt really invested in them or in their future. When I got to the end, it was mostly nice to have finished, rather than sad it was so.

Grade: 6/10