Honey From the Lion by Jackie North

Narrated by Greg Boudreaux

Honey from the Lion is book two in Jackie North’s Love Across Time series of timeslip romances, and although I haven’t listened to the first book (Heroes for Ghosts), the two aren’t connected by storyline or characters, so this one can be listened to as a standalone. I enjoyed this one sufficiently to want to go back to Heroes, and also to hope that the remaining four books in the series will find their way into audio – especially if Greg Boudreaux continues to narrate them!

Twenty-four-year-old software designer Laurie Quinn is tired, stressed-out and badly needs a break from his familiar routine and surroundings. When the book begins, he’s just arrived at the Farthingdale Dude Ranch in Wyoming and is looking forward to time spent in the fresh air, doing something completely different – a bit of “cowboy work”, evenings round the fire, camping under the stars, riding the range and generally escaping the stresses of modern life. Things get off to a pretty good start, with an evening spent around the campfire, eating food from the chuck wagon and listening to ghost stories told by the ranch’s owner, Bill. (I loved the use of the story about Oooooooold Joe and his Little Red Fox, which starts out as just a throwaway campfire story and is later shown to have much more significance.) Laurie goes to sleep that night looking forward to a ride across the dusty high plains the next day.

When he awakens though, he’s cold, his hat is encrusted with ice and the world has turned white. There’s no sign of his fellow dudes and dudettes, the bunk house, the barns or the corrals – he’s completely alone, and if he doesn’t find shelter soon, he’ll freeze to death. He has no idea what direction he should go in, but he starts walking anyway, and eventually makes out the shape of a small log cabin. He doesn’t remember it from the tour he was given the day before and it’s probably old and rotten, but no matter, at least he’ll be able wait out the storm inside.

When the door finally opens in response to his banging (and kicking) the man behind it immediately berates him for wandering around in a snowstorm, accusing him of being one of those city slickers who thinks they can “make it here when they couldn’t make it back home.” Unable to speak because he’s so cold, Laurie, blown by a fierce gust of wind, stumbles inside – accompanied by a small drift of snow, much to the man’s annoyance.

As he takes in his old-fashioned but homey surroundings – the farm sink, the iron cook stove, the old -style leather chair – Laurie thinks he must somehow have ended up in a portion of the dude ranch experience he might have to pay extra for, and takes the tough-looking, taciturn but striking man for a re-enactment actor who isn’t supposed to ever break character. When he gruffly tells Laurie to take his clothes off so he can warm up and get dry, Laurie’s immediate reaction is the usual one he employs when he’s nervous and wants someone to like him – he makes a joke (in this case about buying him dinner first!) to lighten the mood. But it falls on deaf ears, and Laurie realises he’s overstepped the mark.

Sorry for causing embarrassment and grateful for the kindness he’s being shown, Laurie does as he’s told, but becomes prickly again when his host – John Henton – answers his question about why the calendar on the wall is for the year 1891 and not a more “interesting” date by telling him that it IS 1891 and not whatever time Laurie thinks it should be. Laurie thinks it must all be part of John’s persona, and decides to go with the flow until he can get John to take him back to the ranch.

The whole story is told in Laurie’s PoV, so we never get inside John’s head, but the author does a pretty good job of rounding him out as a character. He’s a gentle soul beneath the gruff exterior, and is living with what we’d recognise today as PTSD as a result of the horrible things he witnessed at the massacre at Wounded Knee, the “senseless killings and deaths of Native American men, women and children.” He’s come to this remote cabin to be by himself, lick his wounds and recover.

The romance between John and Laurie is very much a slow burn, and it’s beautifully done. This is a very quiet story, with a lot of time spent with the two men in the cabin as they go about their daily tasks and slowly, tenderly fall in love. There’s a lot of intricate detail here – we listen to them preparing breakfast and supper together, going into town to buy food and other necessities, sweeping out the snow, oiling their boots, playing checkers, and doing lots of little day-to-day tasks – but it’s never dull or too much. We’re listening to them building a life together (did they but know it) and the gentle pacing of this unlikely courtship is just about perfect. Laurie becomes used to life without things like phones and electricity, and even though it’s a lot harder – he makes a comment at one point about how long many of the simplest tasks take without modern conveniences – he likes it. He likes John, too, of course, but recognises that this is a very different time with very different rules and is mindful both of John’s inexperience and of just how difficult and momentous a thing it is for a man like him to examine his sexuality. The leisurely pacing allows Laurie to give John the time he needs in order to become comfortable with his growing feelings for Laurie and what’s happening between them – and I defy anyone not to have a major attack of the feels when John finally embraces his love for him.

Honey From the Lion is a gorgeous love story and one I’m sure I’ll return to. The only real criticisms I have are that by the end, Laurie hasn’t told John the truth about who he is or where he’s from, and although the author does a good job of portraying John through Laurie’s eyes, the lack of his PoV meant I didn’t feel as though I got to know him as well as I’d have liked.* I also had some issues with Laurie’s behaviour when he arrives in 1891 – his dismissiveness and constant carping are uncalled for – and while he does adapt well to his new circumstances, he never really seems to consider the full implications of living a life without modern conveniences – and especially modern medicine.

Greg Boudreaux’s narration of this book is utter perfection. He brings John and Laurie to life so vividly, skilfully conveying the emotional truths of their respective journeys and bringing the listener along with them every step of the way. The low warmth of John’s gruff tones reveal the big heart behind the stern exterior and I loved the way his gradual thawing towards Laurie and his growing appreciation of his gentle teasing are conveyed, the affection in his voice so very clear. The lighter, more upbeat notes of Laurie’s voice communicate an attractive mixture of innocence, confidence and good humour, even when he’s being a bit bratty. The majority of this story is a two-hander, with just John and Laurie on the page, and Mr. Boudreaux brings a wonderful sense of intimacy to their scenes together; once again his impressive ability to capture every emotional high and low in a story makes for something special.

Honey From the Lion is my first experience with a Jackie North book, but it certainly won’t be my last. This beautifully romantic, heart-warming story about two very different men finding a connection so strong that it transcends time captivated me from start to finish, and I’m more than happy to recommend it.

*A note on the author’s website indicates she’s writing a sequel story told from John’s PoV.

Caz

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