Title: Nathaniel
Author: Jan Irving
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Genre: Contemporary M/M
Length: Novella (102 PDF pages)
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
A guest review by Tj
Summary Review: The sweet and touching story of a troubled boy and the romance between his father, a former Mennonite and the cowboy who’s lively spirit brightens their lives.
The Blurb: Young cowboy Happy Nathaniel is struck by a need to reach out when he first meets Aaron King and his son, Samuel, so he helps Aaron find a haven at the Rocking M, far away from their strict Mennonite community. Once Sam is settled in the country school, both men seek something to spur him to speak again. But most of all, Nate also sees Aaron’s loneliness, and a single kiss is the spark Nate has secretly craved. But he’ll put his attraction on hold as long as needed, knowing there is a time for all things and that, one day, Aaron will want to dance again.
The Review: The opening of Nathaniel reveals a sadly common real life scene. We find young Samuel being bullied, taunted and beaten, by some other boys for being different from everyone else. Luckily, Nathaniel, whom everyone calls Happy, comes upon the scene to scare off Sam’s tormentors. Through the course of the story we learn that Sam is a troubled boy who has stopped speaking since the sudden death of his mother. His father Aaron decided that to help Samuel recover he needed to leave the strict Mennonite community in which they lived and venture out into the world.
Now living at the Rocking M ranch where he works as cook, Aaron has developed a friendship with the fun loving cowboy Nathaniel, who also works at the ranch. The men obviously have chemistry, but Aaron had been married, so he is presumably straight, and Nathaniel is a comfortably out gay man who believes he has no chance with Aaron. And there is the extra concern of protecting Sam and helping him to overcome his issues.
The characters of Aaron and Nate are interesting and well developed. The way that both men cared for and nurtured Sam was very sweet. They both tried to keep Sam’s needs first in their minds, even to the detriment of their budding relationship – a relationship that is very slow in building, and heart warming to witness, as Nate pulls Aaron out of his prison of sadness. At one point Nate mentions that Sam and Aaron both have the saddest eyes, an image that stuck with me as I was reading. Sam was the cutest boy, whose situation really tugged at my heart. It was wonderful to watch as Nate’s joy and energy brighten both Sam and Aaron’s lives, and help them to overcome their past.
The only minor qualm that I had about the story was the way that Aaron, who came from a strict Mennonite society embraced his attraction to Nate, actually being the aggressor in their first kiss. Although he did admit that he had felt things for other men previously, and wondered about his feelings for Nate, I would have liked more insight into his struggle with this, especially given his past. One other thing that I will mention, although it didn’t bother me since I realize that this is a work of fiction, was that the Rocking M ranch was a seemingly gay haven, where no one even blinked at a gay man living there, let alone 2 men having an open relationship. Both things did not spoil the story at all for me, but I felt I should mention them.
If you like your romances sweet and heartfelt then I would highly recommend Nathaniel to you. It was a very touching and enjoyable read.
TJ, I’m currently on a sweet romances trend. This sounds like a good match for my present state of mind. Thanks for the positive review. 🙂
You’re welcome Patty. I think you’ll enjoy this story if you’re in the mood for a sweet read.
Sounds like a lovely story. I’ve enjoyed a few of the author’s other books and will add this one to my wish list. Thanks for the great review, Tj! 🙂
Hi Lily – Thank you and I hope you enjoy Nathaniel.
Tj
Great review of what seems to be a very sweet story.
The issues you mentioned would be things that would bother me – although I would still read the book after your review, but these are issues I frequently notice in M/M romances. Straight man from a Mennonite (or religious) community where he has lived his entire life suddenly falling for gay man. Also OK homo communities.
Thank you Wave. As I said I still enjoyed the story, but those 2 issues just popped out at me while I was reading. I would have liked more insight into why Aaron behaved as he did. It was still a sweet story, especially the way the men were with Sam.
I always find it tough reading books that have Amish or Mennonite characters as I actually have Amish friends (I will tell you that some of the guys are damn hawt). I can’t help but compare what the books say about their society to what i know first hand and I’ve realized sometimes it’s just as well not to bother. I do like sweet romances though. Thanks for the review.
Hi Luci – I can understand that completely. Imagine how often that happens to me as a gay man reading M/M books! You might have have the same reaction to Aaron’s behavior that I did since you have some experience with their society. If you can get past that point, it is a very sweet romance. Thanks for your comments.
Wonderful review Tj,
I read Sylvan and Luke by this author so I’m happy to see that you liked the next book in the series. I wasn’t sure about it at first, because, while I ultimately liked the first two books, I had mixed feelings about them. But, I’m definitely going to get this one now. Thank you for the review and helping me decide if I wanted to read this one or not 🙂
Hey Cole – Thank you. I think if you’re a fan of Jan’s you should like Nathaniel. It’s a sweet story, but you may have some mixed feelings about the issues that I mentioned.
Thank you for your review 🙂
The cover sort of put me off & the blurb didn´t do much to help, but after reading your views I think I may consider this one for one of these days you need to read something sweet.
btw Just done with Manfred´s Curse, it´s a short really fun to read 🙂 *When the ligths go off and he wanders around it´s priceless*
You’re welcome Helena. Nathaniel is perfect for when you’re in the mood for something sweet and not too complicated. I hope you enjoy it.
And I’m so happy that you enjoyed Manfred’s Curse. It was a really fun short with some funny scenes and dialog. Thanks for your comments.
Hi TJ, lovely review. I read and reviewed The Hired Man by this author way back when and the issues regarding Aaron’s Mennonite background you mention and how he was almost an aggressor reminds me of Ian in that book.
I have a question: the cover makes it seem that the two protags have a large age difference. Is this the case?
Thank you Lynn! I haven’t read any other Jan Irving books, so I had no point of comparison. Thank you for telling me about that. It sounds like this is a theme for Jan then. As I said it didn’t ruin my enjoyment, but was a “huh?” moment for me.
Regarding the cover, I thought the same thing when I saw it. The guy in front is supposed to be Aaron, the ex-Mennonite, who is described as having white blond hair and beard. It does make him look like he’s much older though. I don’t believe there were any references to numeric age in the story, so I assumed they were somewhat close.
Thank you Tj for your review.
You could make me reconsider my point of view on Jan Irving’s writing.
Her first books that I read were The Janitor and The Hired Man and I liked them very much (I read The Janitor 3 or 4 times); then, I read Wylde and Mastering Toby – total disappointment, it was like those two were written by somebody else; then, I stopped reading her books.
Here, it’s time to come out of the closet: I think I am a strange kind of reader. My first opinion about a book is on a more primal level- based on the way it sounds, the way sentences flow. If the sentences are too short, chopped, with many dots, too much saccharine, too many flourishes and they don’t sound right to me, I can’t concentrate on the plot, characters and so on. And Wylde and Mastering Toby fall in this category.
Many times I found myself wondering why books that here, on this site, take 4 or 4.5 stars I can’t even get beyond the first pages.
But, like I said, I’m weird.
Anyway, I’ll give Jan Irving another chance, with Nathaniel.
(Grin. I hope you understand what I wanted to say and I hope you’ll be forever grateful for this comment because I don’t think you have any idea how long it took me to write the lines above. Another grin).
Hi Alina – I really do appreciate your comment, especially knowing how you struggled with it. I have a similar experience when reading and my reviews are influenced by what you call a primal level feeling. Certain books just strike a chord with me. But all of the things that you mention can make or break my reading experience, overshadowing a good plot or characters.
I try to be fair in my evaluation of a story and consider the overall experience, weighing it against the technical execution. But ultimately, a book review is a subjective thing and I often disagree with reviews as I know other readers will not always agree with my review. So you are not strange at all, but more like the rest if us than you thought. 🙂
Thanks again for your insightful comment. You did a great job!
Phew… I’m relieved.
Thank you again, Tj.
(Hmmm, you think my comment was insightful? I must tell this to my husband.)
You did a great job Alina and I really do like hearing your opinion (and other readers as well). If you do try Nathaniel I’d love to know what you really think of it – don’t hold back if you completely disagree with me. That’s half the fun of reviewing – hearing other perspectives.
And don’t be getting me in trouble with your husband! 😉