Having gone to an ag school, I can relate to a lot of what Luke felt. The sweet smell of a working barn and even better smell of a man made for a great romance. The story was written in just the right way that both Luke and Mason felt real as did their problems. Well worth the time it takes to read it. ( )

This is that sweet, terrifically-researched, tough choices m/m romance you're looking for, with the little bossy one loves the big quiet one dynamic and the lovely emotional arc that quiet one has to navigate. Beautiful. ( )

Fair Isn’t Life is the story of two young men, Luke Lafontaine, who works a menial job at the State Fair, and Mason Bell a college student and old high school classmate. This story is told in third person from both Luke and Mason’s pov.



The blurb does a good job of explaining the premise of the story, but I’ll write a brief recap. Luke and Mason went to high school together. There weren’t close friends, but did talk to each other, and they both crushed on each other. After graduation, they lost touch and Mason goes to college, life has been good to him. Luke on the other hand has had it rough. His father dies, the farm is sold, and Luke loved working on the farm. Luke has no were to go. The family friends who said Luke could live with them wouldn’t understand Luke’s ‘lifestyle’. So Luke flees to Minneapolis leaving everything behind and it’s all too much. He closes down, and I’d say he is in chronic depression. He doesn’t believe his life will get better, he has no one to look after him, his work is menial and a grind. He keeps his emotions tight, his words short. His life is just one foot in front of the other and trying to survive. One day at the Fair, Mason recognizes him and calls out; unfortunately, he’s with a guy from their high school days who tormented Luke, so Luke isn’t happy to see Mason. From that point on, Mason makes it his business to track down Luke, hang out with him, and get Luke to open up, because he’s always liked him. That is the premise of the story. The growing relationship of these two young men, how Luke learns to trust Mason, and find purpose to his life again.

I like how this author writes. There’s an even amount of dialogue, monologue and description. I especially like how the description flows after an action. The writing is precise with no extra fillers. The story was slow paced, but I didn’t mind that, I thought it fit the story. This isn’t an action and adventure book. It’s about a relationship that takes place over a short span of time. I think it was a matter of weeks, maybe months.

Each of the characters are distinct and are consistent throughout the story. I did notice how the author slowly has Luke come out of his shell as the story progressed and how different he was by the end of the story. His personality was different and his happiness was obvious.

Since this book is about the growing relationship between Mason and Luke, don’t expect a lot of sex. There is some, but it’s not what this story revolves around. In terms of their sex life, I got the impression is was a bit of a Dom/sub situation. Luke liked Mason taking care of him, telling him what to do, and he liked to obey.

The one question I had was about the ending. I won’t reveal it, but it was Luke’s living location at the end. Mason still had a way to go with college, so he visits Luke. Mason doesn’t seem to be the kind of person who would like living in Luke’s current accommodations. I wish there had been some mention of where they planned on living once Mason graduated, even if it was just a far off dream. But that’s more personal preference and is a minor quibble.

Fair Isn’t Life was a slow paced, I would say New Adult, story. I would read it again. I give this book, 4 Stars.


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