Cultivating Love

I'm so happy to have found this book. It's a sweet story about an established couple learning to let go of their hangups about acting “manly” while growing closer to each other. There's only one conflict between them, not a major one, and it gets resolved slowly over the course of the book. It's really about them learning to lean on each other as they navigate through life.

There are a few external conflicts, including some violence (but it's not too bad or too explicit) and homophobia. Ed is dealing with grief, while Joe is working things out with his family, and they both have internalized homophobia as well as strict ideas about what it means to be a man. But Ed and Joe are united against these difficulties, and it makes for a really nice read. They also slowly become part of the community in their small town, which is pretty heartwarming.

This kind of thing is exactly what I want from a pure romance novel, by which I mean a book that isn't in some other genre too (sci-fi, mystery, fantasy). The plot is just them falling deeper in love with each other. I know I'll be rereading this one and I plan to check out the author's other work also.