Hi there! Today I’m sharing a review for a book that I’ve held off reading far too long. RED DIRT HEART is a contemporary M/M romance series from N. R. Walker, and I’ve owned all four volumes for *shockingly* more than a year, yet never cracked it once. AND I KNOW IT’S GOOD. I’ve seen the reviews. I just never got around to it…until now.

About the book:
Welcome to Sutton Station: One of the world’s largest working farms in the middle of Australia – where if the animals and heat don’t kill you first, your heart just might.

Charlie Sutton runs Sutton Station the only way he knows how; the way his father did before him. Determined to keep his head down and his heart in check, Charlie swears the red dirt that surrounds him – isolates him – runs through his veins.

American agronomy student Travis Craig arrives at Sutton Station to see how farmers make a living from one of the harshest environments on earth. But it’s not the barren, brutal and totally beautiful landscapes that capture him so completely, it’s the man with the red dirt heart.

Please note: This book is set in Australia, using Australian English and lingo.

My Review:
I’m embarrassed I’ve held onto this book so long and not read it. Life got in my may it seems. That said, Book 1 of this series is so lovely I jumped straight into the sequel. I’d honestly binge-read them all if my life wasn’t intruding on my reading.

So…Charlie Sutton is a 26 y/o cattle farmer operating Sutton Station in the middle of Autralia’s Outback ever since his father died three years prior. He had a real clash with his homophobic father, and planned to never return to his birthright. The brutal landscape is host to red dirt, extreme heat, and flash flooding. Charlie’s a closeted gay man, certain he’ll spend his life alone and celibate. Though his station (think: ranch) is enormous, it’s also hundreds of kilometers from the nearest town. No opportunities to meet a man to pique his interest. Plus, who would choose to live in such isolation? He has some dedicated hands on the station, but they’re staff. His own mother left when he was a small child.

Travis Craig is not your typical Texas cowboy. He’s booked a four-week stay at Sutton Station to study the harsh farming environment of Australia, and he’s rarin’ to go. Also, he’s 23 y/o, and gorgeous. Charlie’s mortified at how attractive he finds his new (temporary) employee. He’s so overwrought about it, he starts treating Travis kinda badly–until Travis gets right into his face and lets Charlie know that his interest is not only noted, it’s reciprocated. They begin a completely-on-the-down-low tryst, and it’s so bittersweet. Charlie’s falling hard for Travis, and saving up every single memory knowing that they only have a few weeks to share. Well, unless Travis gets his way, that is.

It’s a beautiful romance with an HEA that’s spectacular. Like I said, I jumped right into the second book, and–schedule willing–I’ll finish the whole series in the next couple of weeks. If you’ve been wondering if you should to dive into this series, the answer is heck yeah. It brought me back to my Thorn Birds love affair, only because the setting is so lush it’s almost another character. Plenty of lovin’ going on here, too. I loved how Charlie found such a great connection with Travis, and began to allow himself to live again.

Interested? You can find RED DIRT HEART (Book 1) on Goodreads, Amazon ($.99!), Barnes & Noble and AllRomance.

About the author:
N.R. Walker is an Australian author, who loves her genre of gay romance. She loves writing and spends far too much time doing it, but wouldn’t have it any other way.

She is many things; a mother, a wife, a sister, a writer. She has pretty, pretty boys who live in her head, who don’t let her sleep at night unless she gives them life with words.She likes it when they do dirty, dirty things…but likes it even more when they fall in love.

She used to think having people in her head talking to her was weird, until one day she happened across other writers who told her it was normal. She’s been writing ever since…

Find Ms. Walker online on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Thanks for popping in, and keep reading my friends!