Inherit the Sky

Caine Neiheisel decides to move to Australia when his mother inherits her uncle's sheep station. He is determine to start a new life.
Macklin Armstrong, the foreman of Lang Downs and a person who Caine should be relying on.
Caine and Macklin are in two different spectrums of accepting their own feelings. Macklin is afraid he will lose the respect on the hands if his sexuality comes to play. Caine is not going to let that deter him from trying a relationship with Macklin. They will have to proof to each other love is more important.
It is really interesting the way the story develops. It is my first book by Ms. Tachna and I really like her writing style and the characters.
Looking forward to the next book of the series.

I was already set to really enjoy this book even before I started because I have read many of Ariel Tachna's other works and been really impressed. And, I did enjoy this book. I just didn't love it. I was totally ready to because, hello, Aussies, but none of it seemed to really come together for me.
And, I think part of my problem was that Caine kept telling himself and Macklin that he was willing to go as slow as possible for their relationship, but when push came to shove, he really wasn't willing to do that. I felt that Caine was Not understanding, at all, of what it must mean to be a gay man in the outback. I interpreted a lot of these interactions as Caine constantly pushing at Macklin, and Macklin being the one to have to keep giving in.
So, I guess I was disappointed.

I really wanted to love this book particularly because it was set in Australia. However, although the potential was there, there was something lacking that prevented me from fully escaping into the world of Lang Downs.
I think the author did a great job of describing the locations and environment, giving a real sense of the country where the book is set. There are a lot of references to Australian life and iconic brands which are accurate and fit well.
Probably being really picky here but as a NSW resident I did struggle with trying to picture exactly where the location of the property was. There is reference to it being 4-5 hours from Boorowa and Yass seems to be the biggest town they visit. But driving 4-5 hours north or west from Boorowa would put you in the vicinity of heaps of relatively large towns so you would have no need to go to Boorowa or Yass even. Anyway, largely irrelevant so back to the book....
A lot of time is spent seemingly educating the reader on station life. Yes, Caine needed to be educated on how to run the sheep station but as a reader, I wanted to see less talk of organic sheep farming and more of the romance!
As individuals, I liked both the main characters. Caine had a failed relationship, failed career and stutter but was courageous enough to head to the other side of the world to make a change. Macklin is the typical tough Australian country man.
But I was reading this for the romance and the combination of Caine and Macklin didn't work fully for me. I could see them as a couple but I didn't get a sense of much chemistry between the two and the sex didn't have natural passion. I actually found the sex discussions and scenes a bit uncomfortable to read as it seemed a bit forced.
Overall the story was ok with a good mix of secondary characters and a pleasant read. I enjoyed this book enough to read the next book in the series Chase the Stars.

I never thought of sheep farming as sexy, but after reading this book I've discovered that at least the men working the farm are pretty darned sexy. Add in the Australian Outback scenery and you get a pretty sweet, heart-warming story. It was nice to read a romance where it was actually a romance between two people without the family, the ex, or some mysterious stranger threatening to get in between them before they have a chance at their HEA. I wouldn't mind reading another book or two that takes place at Lang Downs at least so we know how Caine and Macklin are settling into their relationship.