Another book that needs a 2.5 star. The book was ok as far as the story goes but I got the feeling that the author wanted to cram in everything - emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, homosexual. A good editor could have shaved 50 pages of repeating information and unnecessary detail from this book and cleaned up some errors and grammar. This is my first Rowland book and I won't be reading another. ( )

By Caddy Rowland
Reviewed By: Crystal Trent Dotson
This story really takes you on a journey, starting with Gastien as a young boy being abused by his father who thinks Gastiens dreams are feminine. But his mother does try to help him and she wants him to follow his dreams. Gastien knows he don't want to be stuck on a farm forever , as he goes into adult hood , he finds it hard to let anyone close to him , all he wants is to become an artist in Paris and be a great lover. With so many ups and downs and so many emotional rides ,it's hard to put this book down . I really look forward to more from Author Caddy Rowland , she really dedicated herself to this story and I am ready for more Gastien ( )

This is the story of a young boy, Gastien, growing into a man , and the journey he takes along the way during the 1800s in France. It begins with him at the age of 43, and the rest of the book is a flashback of what brought him part of the way to that point. Overall I really enjoyed this story much more than I expected I would.

Gastien starts out as a young boy, oldest of 10 Beauchamp children who live on the family farm. He is abused by his father, both physically and verbally. Gastien dreams of becoming a professional artist, rather than taking after his father farming cauliflower and other vegetables. And due to his upbringing of abuse, he is determined to basically never allow anyone to get very close to him emotionally. Yet along the way he does make a few close friends that I believe will be there throughout his life. Gastien is a jumble of dichotomies. He is a bit arrogant, yet naïve about his true self; mean and off-putting, yet innocent and needy; raucous and raunchy, but sweet and thoughtful; immature yet wise beyond his years. I truly enjoyed getting to know him.

It was very interesting to see him go from an abused boy, to a fearful yet brave teen, to a homeless young adult, to a brazen yet damaged man. There were parts of this story that made me very sad, a little ill, excited, happy and hopeful for his future. The timeline covers years, and you get to see how he grows and changes, blooms and withers under the circumstances he lands himself in. I loved meeting some of the other characters in his life, I felt they truly added a richness and comfort he desperately needed.

I would recommend this book to people who love historical fiction or drama, I don’t think I would classify this into a romance category. There is a bit of romance, but it is not really centric to the story so far. ( )