Planting His Dream

By: Andrew Grey

Narrated by: Derrick McClain

Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's Summary

Foster dreams of getting away, but after his father's death, he has to take over the family dairy farm. It soon becomes clear his father hasn't been doing the best job of running it, so not only does Foster need to take over the day-to-day operations, he also needs to find new ways of bringing in revenue.

Javi has no time to dream. He and his family are migrant workers, and daily survival is a struggle, so they travel to anywhere they can get work. When they arrive in their old van, Foster arranges for Javi to help him on the farm.

To Javi's surprise, Foster listens to his ideas and actually puts them into action. Over days that turn into weeks, they grow to like and then care for each other, but they come from two very different worlds, and they both have responsibilities to their families that neither can walk away from. Is it possible for them to discover a dream they can share? Perhaps they can plant their own and nurture it together to see it grow, if their different backgrounds don't separate them forever.

©2016 Andrew Grey (P)2016 Dreamspinner Press

Seeds of Love

Would you listen to Planting His Dream again? Why?

Maybe, I'm not sure. It's rare I have occasion to listen to books more than once, but I might.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Planting His Dream?

Watching the seeds of love, these two men's hearts, grow and become one solid unit.

Which scene was your favorite?

Their special place and subsequent events, in the back of the truck.

Who was the most memorable character of Planting His Dream and why?

Javi was so endearing. I was choked up listening to him struggle with his feelings for Foster and how that was affected by his father's bigotry and his duty to his family that fell on his shoulders when he was born into his culture.

Any additional comments?

Tams E-book review...

Foster wanted a life away from the Dairy Farm his family owns, but when his father dies, Foster has to step up and accept responsibility for a Farm that is far from debt free. Javi is a seasonal worker on the Farm, he and his family travel to Farms across the country, following the work as it's needed. Though Foster doesn't have the money to pay Javi, he recognizes the dire need the young man and his family are in so he hires him on for the season. The two click straight away, both having great ideas that could increase the revenue for the Farm and hopefully, pull it out of the red. When the friendship slowly evolves into something more, both men are scared. While there lives are very different, sadly, there is one thing that is exactly the same to spite their different cultures... bigotry.

The start of a new series for Mr. Grey and it's off to a great start. I really enjoyed the slowly evolving relationship between Foster and Javi. They've actually known each other for several years, Javi's family coming back to the Dairy Farm every year for work. They are both adults now and are searching to find their place in the world. Foster already decided to take on the Farm and make sure his family legacy thrives and grows. Javi is far more torn. His culture alone negates him leaving his family, it's all he knows, his responsibility as far as he is concerned. Both men will have to decide what is important, what is right.

If you are a fan of Grey's Farm or Ranch series, you'll love this new series he is starting. The flow of the story was slow and steady, not too fast and everything happened at just the right time. There was a lot of dialogue, more so than I remember in previous books from the Author, but it was refreshing to get both guys POV within their conversations when the story is told from Foster's viewpoint. Definitely a must read, I can't wait for more from this exciting new world.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Charmingly Narrated!

Any additional comments?

Foster has spent his entire life working the family dairy farm. He's given up parties, spending time with friends, and being a "kid" in order to work side by side with his father to make their farm viable. When Foster's father dies unexpectedly it creates a strain of finances and work.

Putting the advice of a neighboring farmer into action Foster begins to treat the farm like a business and expand crops and the family's personal garden in order to sell their goods at the local farmer's market for more income. When a migrant family who had helped the year before returns early, Foster is able to use the oldest son, Javi's, strong back and work ethic to help with some of the mounting chores and responsibility of running the operation.

Foster's attraction to Javi is his biggest secret, but when Javi expresses his own feelings to Foster, the two begin a relationship based on mutual respect and attraction. But Javi comes from a different world than Foster and they have a lot to work through in order to be together.

The reader gets a good inside look into the sweat and backbreaking work involved in running a small farm, and a smaller snapshot into the lives of one of the migrant families who seasonally works there. While there is a lot of focus into the day to day work, it doesn't come at the expense of the slow-burn romance that finally heats up quite well.

Charmingly narrated by Derrick McClain Planting His Dream is a sweet, low angst, romance with some heat and with no real conflict or big blow ups...It's just an easy, pleasurable listen.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Nice story and nice start to a new series

Foster is working on his family’s farm, trying to implement new changes and convince his family that change can be good. He ends up hiring some migrant workers to help on the farm and he finds a friend and confidant in Javi.
Javi believes in Foster and helps him, but Javi has his own demons to fight. Javi’s father is an abusive drunk and he continues to drag his entire family down the road of poverty and neglect.
When Javi and Foster realize their friendship is more than that, both have to fight their families prejudices and their own hurdles to being together.
**
Andrew Grey gives us another good book about finding love and holding on to it despite tremendous odds.
Javi’s life is so bleak and it was wonderful when he finally got the freedom to follow his own heart.
This is a story low on steam but big in heart and fans of Andrew will really enjoy this heart-warming story.

Audio:

Derrick McClain did a nice job with this narration. I’d have liked it more if there’d been more accents used – especially with Javi – but it was easy to listen to and didn’t detract from the story appreciation. He handles the emotions and timing well and this was a nice way to enjoy this story.

Overall 3.5 of 5 stars for both the story and the audiobook

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

The real life of migrant workers & family

What did you love best about Planting His Dream?

I love the realism that the authors brings into the migrant workers daily life and the struggles they face daily. Also loved how the author handles the machismo displayed by the father. I'm hispanic to I can really judge just how it is. I worked at a large vineyard for many years and have experience the migrant workers daily life and the author display it so well it brought back so good but also painful memories.

What other book might you compare Planting His Dream to and why?

Andrew Grey has an extremely great series called Love Means... I have read or listen or read all the books.

Who was the most memorable character of Planting His Dream and why?

Nothing I thought he was great specially how he represent Javi with his hispanic accent

Sweet Heartwaming Story

If you could sum up Planting His Dream in three words, what would they be?

Heartwarming, Romance, Responsibility
Foster & Javi are both in the position of having a lot of responsibility and duties to provide for their family. Their somewhat coming of age story of finding love and how to live life to make each other happy is very sweet.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Planting His Dream?

When Foster & Javi part ways & say goodbye. That was a very grown up decision for the two of them to make & might've made me tear up a little...

Have you listened to any of Derrick McClain’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to many books narrated by Derrick McClain. His performances are usually a joy to listen to. This one was good but it would have been slightly better if he had made Javi sound more Hispanic, but no accents are better than bad accents so that's ok.

A must read for any farm kid

This is a wonderful book, It reminds me of growing up on our dairy. I wish there were more gay books with an agricultural theme.