Len Parker is laid off during the recession in the early 80s and decides to go back to college at home in rural Michigan, where he reconnects with his best friend from high school, Ruby. He's overjoyed when she marries Cliff Laughton and overcome with sorrow when she dies an untimely death, leaving behind her husband and two-year-old son.
Out of work again, Len finds a job at Cliff Laughton's sorely neglected farm. Cliff is still mourning his wife, struggling to raise his son, and has little enthusiasm or energy left for work. Len immediately begins to whip the farm - including the two Laughtons - into shape. Working side by side, Len and Cliff grow ever closer, but loving another man takes a lot of courage. They'll have to stand together as they face faltering business, threatening drought, misguided family, and Midwestern prejudices to protect what might be a lifelong love.
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"This was a nice prequel that gave some welcomed insight into the main characters from this series. The romance was nicely paced without the dreaded insta-love. It was interesting to note the lack of fear about unprotected sex that permeated the 80's...it was shocking in a way to see how cavalier you could be in the pre-AIDS era. Len & Cliff made a lovely couple & it was easy to see how their love, combined with Ruby's genes made Geoff the wonderful character he appears to be in the series." — Beck (4 out of 5 stars)
"This was a nice prequel that gave some welcomed insight into the main characters from this series. The romance was nicely paced without the dreaded insta-love. It was interesting to note the lack of fear about unprotected sex that permeated the 80's...it was shocking in a way to see how cavalier you could be in the pre-AIDS era. Len & Cliff made a lovely couple & it was easy to see how their love, combined with Ruby's genes made Geoff the wonderful character he appears to be in the series."
" Knowing what happens to one of the heroes made this book difficult to read. It was a lovely story though. Just bittersweet. "
" I read this as the first book in the series and so far it's best one. It's the one that feels the most realistic and not too insta-love. "
" Even though this is a prequel to Love Mean No Shame, this is my favorite one out of this series. Little Geoffy is to die for cute and my heart went awww on how Len & Cliff first met. "
" The first of the love means series that I 'read" (listened to the audio version) and I really liked it. Len was a kind, strong character, easy to like, and Cliff, though hurt, was a good man for him. "
" Very sweet story without being overly sappy and corny. At first I thought the baby talk with Geoff would be kind of annoying but it was actually pretty cute. And I liked hearing how Cliff and Len got started. I'm moving on to book 3 right away. "
" Well written, nice story and characters. Not much conflict, but nice that they got the happy ending they deserved. "
" like the rest of this series, fairly predictable but catchy in how the characters reappear throughout the books. and yes, this is the same review for all books in the series. "
" I liked the characters, the easy flow of the story but the conflicts remain on the surface. All the problems were solved very neatly and fast. "
" A romantic read, although a bit bland. I liked it better than the 1st in the series. "
" This book I enjoyed very much - it set the background for the farm - and future occurrences in a vivid manner. It was actually well set in its time. And little Geoff was adorable! "
" I loved this book. I can't wait to read the next one. "
" "I really like this story and it's main characters. The only problem with reading a prequel though, is knowing what's going to eventually happen to one of the main characters Still a good story." "
" I just have a couple of niggles with some of the 'facts' which don't match the 'facts' in Love Means No Shame which is the chronological sequel to this book. "
" This is unusual in that the second book in the series is actually a prequel - setting up the first book. Well told story of Geoff's fathers' relationship. "
" This book was the first I've read among the "Love Means..." series though it was a sequel to "Love Means...No shame" because I preferred it in chronological order. Still, this is a lovely book to read while getting cozy on a rainy day or anyday. "
" I dfid not warm up to the heroes. But the story and style are good. "
" Didn't like the writing style but overall of this book are likable and sometime teary. How two main characters reacted to each other were cute. "
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