Title: Planting His Dream
Series: N/A
Author: Andrew Grey
Narrator: Derrick McClain
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 6 hrs, 37 mins
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press LLC (12th August 2016)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 3.5 Hearts
Blurb: Foster dreams of getting away, but after his father’s death, he has to take over the family dairy farm. It soon becomes clear his father hasn’t been doing the best job of running it, so not only does Foster need to take over the day-to-day operations, he also needs to find new ways of bringing in revenue.
Javi has no time to dream. He and his family are migrant workers, and daily survival is a struggle, so they travel to anywhere they can get work. When they arrive in their old van, Foster arranges for Javi to help him on the farm.
To Javi’s surprise, Foster listens to his ideas and actually puts them into action. Over days that turn into weeks, they grow to like and then care for each other, but they come from two very different worlds, and they both have responsibilities to their families that neither can walk away from. Is it possible for them to discover a dream they can share? Perhaps they can plant their own and nurture it together to see it grow, if their different backgrounds don’t separate them forever.
Product Link: Audible US | Audible UK
Reviewer: Prime
Review: So, I’m going to have to get to the crux of my issues here without any warning. I need to get this off my mind.
This is a great story. In fact, anyone familiar with Andrew Grey will be happy with read or listen to this one, I think. For those that have enjoyed Grey’s Farm series in the past will not be disappointed, though instead of focusing on Amish we are dealing with the world of migrant workers in a very much seasonal industry. For the audio, I would have rated this one a 4/5 – while I really liked the story, I can’t say that I out of this world love it, despite the fact that I really have no complaints about the story as a whole. However, I had to take a ½ a point off the rating based on the audio – I just wasn’t feeling it.
My biggest problem was that it was difficult to differentiate Javi from Foster in the narration, when Javi is very much obviously a migrant worker with an accent compared to Foster’s all American rural boy persona. I don’t think that it bothers me so much about the handful of other accents that could have been put into the narration, but since Javi is a main character I felt that the distinction for between his character and Foster’s character would have made it a more enjoyable listen. In the past I have enjoyed Derrick McClain’s narration (especially How to be A Normal Person by TJ Klune), but for this one, it just wasn’t my thing.
Ok, that is finally off my chest.
As I said, while I really enjoyed this story, I can’t say that I had a strong love for it or would be tempted to read or listen to it again. Foster has worked on his parents’ farm since he was old enough to do chores. Often his father has migrant workers come in to help harvest the asparagus every year, and when the story opens Foster, feeling the strains of being forced to work on the farm, meets the very handsome Javi. Javi, his parents and younger siblings have been hired to help Foster’s father harvest. Both men may feel something but nothing happens for now. It is only the following year, after Foster’s father dies, that Foster is trying to keep the family farm afloat for his mother and grandmother. He meets Javi again that the two young men can begin to contemplate their feelings.
The story is really about two young men discovering themselves. It is certainly an awakening, for both the characters, and what follows is a beautiful friendship and relationship.
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