The Shearing Gun by Renae Kaye
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
God, I love Renae Kay. And I especially love her coming out stories. She does lighthearted angst with funny banter so good! This story is no exception. I have read this story twice and also bought and listened to the audio, narrated by Dave Gillies. And this is the reason I am awarding 5 stars. It’s not that it is a perfect story, it that when a book has that much staying power, it deserves it!
Hank is a closeted gay sheep farmer living quite happily alone in a tiny community in the Australian bush. He has a busy life, his farm, his live stock, his mates and playing on the local footie team, his brother and his estranged father. Sex is something that belongs in the city when he goes to visit his uncle.
When he gets injured on the football pitch and the new local doctor, Elliott, checks him out, Hank therefore doesn’t think much about it. In his compartmentalized life sex and dating is not for home. He becomes friends with the new doctor and one thing leads to another. But no matter what he and Elliott feel about each other, coming out, when you live in the Australian outback, is just not an option.
I love Hank and Elliott’s friendship and their subsequent relationship. They are just adorable together. And I love the depiction of the small and closeknit community – where helping each other out is a way of life, because it has to be.
This is the kind of story that will leave you with a smile on your face and a happy sigh when you finish. I highly recommend it, both in written and audio version.
GoAnnaGo 