Cutting Out by Meredith Shayne Published by Bottom Drawer Publications Publication Date: October 11th 2014
Pages: 222
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A twenty-year veteran of the shearing shed, Aussie Shane Cooper loves his job, and the home he’s made for himself in New Zealand. If he’s a little lonely, he’s got good mates to keep his spirits up. When a hot, cocky young shearer named Lachlan Moore catches his eye at a competition, he’s content to look but not touch, knowing the young man is out of his league.
Lachie wouldn’t mind a piece of Shane, but the gorgeous gun shearer from Australia is soon forgotten when the Christchurch earthquake hits, and tragedy strikes Lachie’s family. Lachie deals with it the best he can, cutting himself off from all he knows. A year later and he’s back in the shearing shed, out of practice and lacking confidence. That Shane’s there to watch him flounder doesn’t help his nerves.
As Lachlan struggles to re-acclimatise, Shane can’t resist giving him a hand to get back on his feet. As they move from friends to something more, Shane finds himself wanting to know everything he can about Lachie. But Lachie’s got secrets he desperately wants to keep, and when things come to a head, those secrets might just mean the end of them before they’ve truly begun.
Cocktails and Books received this book for free from Manic Readers in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.
“Cutting Out” was a bit of a departure from what I normally go for. Yes, it’s a gay love story, but this one was something more. It was gritty, angsty, and sad alongside a budding May/December romance between two rough and hardened men.
The whole story takes place in Australia along the sheep shearing pipeline. They go from farm to farm working to sheer all the sheep in a short period of time. It’s hard and dirty work. Shane is an up and coming shearer. He’s won some competitions for his speed. Lachlan (or Lachie as his friends call him) has been in the business for 20 years. They notice each other but they don’t make much of a connection. They go on their merry way after a competition, and something tragic happens, taking Shane out of the game for over a year (No spoilers from me). When Shane returns, he’s rusty, but Lachie is more than willing to help him get his speed back.
What follows is a long, slow buildup. Yes, they’re attracted to each other from the beginning, but each man has to deal with his own issues. I’m not a fan of angst, so I’ll tell you I was uncomfortable for most of the story. However, when I say “uncomfortble”, I don’t mean I was hating the book. Meredith Shayne has written a beautifully (and sometimes not so beautiful) detailed story. I could see everything in my mind from Australian scenery to the smell of the sheep. I waited in baited breath for each scene where Shane and Lachie come together. Their lovemaking is powerful. Sometimes, it’s not pretty, but it always grabbed my heart and squeezed it until it nearly stopped.
This was not a short book, so it felt like I waited ages for the HEA, and I have to say, sometimes I wasn’t sure if Shane and Lachie would actually GET one. I wasn’t sure I was going to review this one. I know I was going to recommend it, but I wanted to let everyone know “Cutting Out” wasn’t going to be an easy boy meets boy, boy falls in love with boy, boys get a cute trope type ending. This one felt…mature? No matter what I call it, I’m still going to say it’s a GOOD book.
