Title: Rust Red: Galvanized (Flying Doctors #2)
Author: Meredith Shayne
Length: 17,100 words (67 pdf pages)
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: m/m contemporary
Rating: B
Blurb:
Adam is used to the adrenaline-filled life of the Royal Flying Doctors Service, so his desk duty due to a broken leg is wearing thin. But coming out in the testosterone-driven environment of a Western Australian nickel mine is no walk in the park either. Six months after the mine cave in that almost killed Adam, he and his mining engineer boyfriend Chris Barker need a break.
A trip to Surfers Paradise to visit Adam’s family seems like just the thing, until a chance meeting with an old adversary on the tourist strip makes Chris’ private life very, very public. With the nickel mine seething with prejudice, and Chris stubbornly refusing to admit that his safety is in question, it’s up to Adam to persuade Chris that the love they share is more important than Adam’s love for his job and the rust-red landscape that surrounds them.
Review:
This is a continuation of the story Eyes Wide Shut which was a Charity Sip done for Doctors Without Borders. You do not have to have read the first one to enjoy this one, but it does explain a few things in more detail. This story picks up six months after the end of the last book. Adam is stuck in a cast for 6 months and getting surlier by the minute, and despite Chris’ promise to come out at work, he still hasn’t done it and is just too afraid. However away from the mine he seems to have lightened up. He’s no longer super-paranoid that someone might see them, and he hopes that his gift of tickets to go and visit Adam’s family will cheer him up.
Adam is thrilled, although warns Chris off his crazy family. But Chris is happy to go along and despite a few family squabbles they are having a good time, until they run into a bigoted racist mine coworker of Chris’. It doesn’t take long for the guy to clue in about Adam and Chris. Things are bit rough at the mine with the jerk and during one of Adam’s visit, it escalates until both Chris and the bully need medical attention. Adam has to make a decision. Is he willing to leave his job he loves as a fly-in pilot in order to make it easier for Chris to leave the toxic environment (although he had his bosses support)? Will Chris agree to that?
Chris and Adam were a great pair, but still had that awkwardness of people who don’t really live together. Chris visits every few weeks when he leaves the mining area, but it’s not that same kind of trust and camaraderie as people who are together all the time. I also loved the taste of the small town and the life of the doctors who visit aboriginal villages to offer medical care. In case I wasn’t clear, this is set in Australia and it’s a really nice touch, giving you a taste of life outside of the big cities.
I really enjoyed this follow-up, watching the guys work it out, seeing Chris’ fear but his determination not to be that guy who nearly lost Adam in the first book. I liked the author’s voice, and those who enjoyed the first one will equally enjoy this glimpse at the guys.
Thanks for reminding me about these guys, Tam. I remember reading the first storying and liking it, plus I really like this author’s work, so I’ll give this one a try 🙂
This is one of those times where cleaning up my files had a good end result. I liked the original as well and then found this which has been out since last fall.
Thanks for reminding me, too!
I’m glad I could bring it to some people’s attention. It was really quite good and it’s a shame it got kind of lost when it came out. Oh well, better late than never. 🙂
[…] Encounters reviews also reviewed my Torquere Press Color Box, Rust Red: Galvanized, here, and gave it a B, so yay to that! In her review, Tam […]