Review: Saving Faithless Creek by Andrew Grey

Author: Andrew Grey

Pages/Word Count: 220 Pages

At a Glance: Andrew Grey always gets my attention with cowboys and ranching, and Saving Faithless Creek is one of those stories but with a little different approach.

Reviewed By: Maryann

Blurb: Blair Montague is sent to Newton, Montana, to purchase a ranch and some land for his father. It’s a trip he doesn’t want to make. But his father paid for his college education in exchange for Blair working for him in his casinos, so Blair has no choice. When he finds out he’ll be dealing with Royal Masters, the man who bullied him in high school, he is shocked. Then Blair is surprised when he finds that Royal’s time in the Marines has changed him to the point where Blair could be attracted to him… if he’s willing to take that chance.

Royal’s life hasn’t been a bed of roses. He saw combat in the military that left him scarred, and not just on the outside. When he inherits his father’s ranch, he discovers his father wasn’t a good manager and the ranch is in trouble. The sale of land would put them back on good footing, but he is suspicious of Blair’s father’s motives, and with good reason. The attraction between them is hard for either to ignore, but it could all evaporate once the land deal is sealed.

Review: Andrew Grey always gets my attention with cowboys and ranching, and Saving Faithless Creek is one of those stories but with a little different approach. This book has to do more with bullying, so I’m reviewing it in a different direction; not from the cowboy side but from the bullying side.

Blair was bullied so bad at the age of sixteen that his mother moved them from a place she loved in order to protect him. Even though Blair is older now, he doesn’t seem to see he’s still being bullied by his own father. All Blair ever wanted was some type of positive recognition from him, which he never gets. Blair’s father makes him feel guilty about his college education and his business prospects as a ploy to get Blair to unknowingly do his scheming.

Royal is a more mature and worldly person now. Growing up, his life was not easy. He joined the Marines and fought in the war, and bullied Blair severely in high school because of his own personal issues. He still hides and worries about the fact that he’s gay, something he envied Blair for because Blair never hid that fact. Royal’s also been hiding his feelings for Blair.

I have to say I felt more sympathetic for Royal. Royal did change, the hard way, through war, everyday life, and a failing farm. Even though Blair wants more with Royal, he was always waiting for the bully to reappear in Royal, which became annoying to me. At some point he needed to stop dwelling on the past.

Blair and Royal have a great support in Blair’s Mother and their BFF Todd (I hope he gets a cowboy), and I especially liked Hiram Bartlett. He really sends a great message.

I found the story to reflect contrasts to bullying by a young Royal and Blair’s father, also in how Royal’s and Blair’s lives were so different.