I didn't see it coming, but I just fell in love with two men. They're brothers named Harold and Raymond. They're not my usual type, but they just convinced me that two single farmboys whose lives revolve around cattle rearing could literally melt my heart.
In the fictional town of Holt, Colorado, we follow the lives of the Guthrie family: father Tom (a high school teacher), his two young sons, Ike and Bobby, and a wife who lives in the shadows of her own despair. Victoria Roubideaux, young and pregnant, suddenly finds herself without a home and turns to her kind teacher, Maggie Jones, for help. And finally, Harold and Raymond McPheron, the two brothers whose routined life is upended in the most unexpected and touching way.
Holt is a simple town that's home to regular people with big hearts. The drama is not flashy, but simmers gently. The quiet backdrop of vast, flat plains allows the characters to shine in the foreground. It's a big-hearted story about life lessons, coming of age, and love in all of its many forms. I loved every minute of this book. It was just perfect in every way and proves that not every book needs to have super-sized plotlines or flashy characters to stand out. It's when things are quiet and pared back that we're able to reach through the noise of everyday life and hear people's heartbeats.
As I visited Holt, I felt the dust caught in my throat, the thrill of peeking through windows, the hard realities of farming. The pull of doing what's right, of loneliness and warm bodies, of finding one's place of acceptance. Changing one's ways, putting others ahead of oneself, the importance of kindness.
This book felt as comforting and restorative as a warm bath and is best read under cozy blankets on a lazy day. Allow yourself to slow down, open your heart and prepare to fall in love.
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