Farm
Fresh by Posy Roberts
Genre: Contemporary
Romance, MM Romance, Gay Fiction, with a splash of MMM+
Length: Novel, 202 pages
Buy Links:
Amazon Universal
Amazon Link
This is a sex positive story about living, loving, and
working hard on a sexually free commune.
The
blurb:
Jude Garrity visits the farmers market every
Saturday. As an environmental engineering student, he’s curious about living
off the grid and sustainable agriculture.
And one particular farmer.
Hudson Oliva has worked hard to support his commune, where queer people live without fear of harm or retribution. When Jude asks pointed questions about living there, Hudson realizes he needs to be honest about his home. Few people know what the farm is actually about, but Jude is insistent.
Jude moves to Kaleidoscope Gardens, however his sexual hang-ups make it hard to adjust. He’s an uptight virgin living among people who have sex freely and with multiple partners. When Jude finally loosens up, Hudson is flooded with emotions. Falling for Jude wasn’t part of Hudson’s life plan. But when vindictive rumors about the commune begin to spread, love might be all he has left.
And one particular farmer.
Hudson Oliva has worked hard to support his commune, where queer people live without fear of harm or retribution. When Jude asks pointed questions about living there, Hudson realizes he needs to be honest about his home. Few people know what the farm is actually about, but Jude is insistent.
Jude moves to Kaleidoscope Gardens, however his sexual hang-ups make it hard to adjust. He’s an uptight virgin living among people who have sex freely and with multiple partners. When Jude finally loosens up, Hudson is flooded with emotions. Falling for Jude wasn’t part of Hudson’s life plan. But when vindictive rumors about the commune begin to spread, love might be all he has left.
My
thoughts:
I
love stories that take me of the well-trodden paths and into something new and
surprising. Farm Fresh certainly does that. The community at Kaleidoscope
Gardens and their lifestyle are unique and beguiling. Everybody living in the
commune is at ease with nudity and sexuality. While there are established
couples (and triads and other combinations), sex and intimacy are freely
exchanged both within those relationships and outside of them.
Poor
Jude is ill prepared for the world he’s entered, and yet it may be exactly what
he needs to overcome all the hang-ups his upbringing have left him with. It is
a very slow process but with perseverance from Jude and patience from those who
have invited him into their commune and house he slowly loosens up.
For
Hudson the process happens almost the other way around. He’s been in the
commune for years and appears to have found his place with Leo and Charlie. While
he is attracted to Jude he is also afraid about how it will upset the balance
in his life; a balance he’s fought hard to achieve after another man broke his
heart five years earlier.
And
so Jude and Hudson start a dance during which they seem to move apart at least
as much as they pull together. Every step forward is followed by several paces
backwards until the moment has arrived where someone has to put his foot down
and force the issue.
There
was a lot to love in this book. First and foremost there is Posy Roberts’
writing, which is smooth and gently pulls you into her world until it feels as
if you too belong there. The setting of this story is fabulous. What’s not to
love about a mostly self-sufficient community where people live a life filled
with love and without any of the shame society so often associates with sex and
nudity?
Both
Hudson and Jude at times charmed and frustrated me. While I felt the pain and
issues they deal with as a result of their upbringings, they were also the
embodiment of one of my pet-peeves (both in real life and in fiction); lack of
communication. On several occasions I wanted to pull either of them or both
together through the screen of my Kindle to give them a good talking to. And
while Jude’s issues with intimacy made sense given his background, I had a
harder time understanding Hudson. After all, he had been living in the commune
for years and should by now have learned that open communication is vital for
any successful relationship.
On
the other hand I loved that the author didn’t glamorise the commune lifestyle.
She freely acknowledges that while open relationships can be a wonderful way to
live, they are neither for everybody nor for any time.
Overall
this was a fun, occasionally heartbreakingly sad, layered and at times thought-provoking
book that kept me enthralled from start to finish. I can’t wait for more
stories set in this environment. Visiting Kaleidoscope Gardens in future books
is going to be a pleasure; almost as good as being able to visit the place for
real would be.
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