*I had the absolute privilege of getting an ARC from the publisher, Oliver Heber Books, and NetGalley and I could not be more grateful. All thoughts and comments are my own.*

Lord Spencer Brightling is returning from his time serving the Napoleonic Wars as a cannon blast cost him most of his hearing. Feeling isolated and unsure of how to navigate his new circumstances, he retreats to his newly inherited estate. A chance meeting with gamekeeper Declan changes his outlook. Declan is an animal whisperer and the groundskeeper at His Grace's estate. Declan's ability to communicate with his animal charges helps him be better adept in communicating with Spencer and soon a relationship build on better footing and possibly some mutual attraction soon forms. All of this is built on a backdrop of sheep smuggling and some yokel-type villagers that have a penchant for making Declan their whipping boy.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I have a bit of love for characters overcoming obstacles and any sort of encapsulation of what it might have been like to live in ye' olden times with a disability as well as certain proclivities. I loved the development of Spencer and Declan's relationship. I wasn't too surprised as to the smuggling culprits but enjoyed the diversion and encouragement it lended to solidifying the relationship between the two main characters.

I will admit I have not read the other books in this series but am looking forward to reading them as well as the next in the series that features Clarence.

This is a sweet romance but I think it was the description of Declan as innocent and childlike that made me uncomfortable, I would feel the same in an F/M pairing. That should not be what appeals in an erotic situation. I do not believe this was the author's intention but it coloured my view of the whole story, unfortunately.

I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Merry Farmer's After the War series follows a group of friends as they find love after their service during the Napoleonic Wars. While each of these books can be read as a standalone, a few of the characters play a small role in each other’s stories.

The men in Under His Lovers Wing are definitely the most adorable pairing of the series, in my humble opinion. Spencer had my heart from the start, coping with his hearing loss back in the early 19th Century must have been awful. And Declan is so sweet and humble, they’re perfect together.

Merry Farmer builds a terrific romance between Spencer and Declan, and the whole mystery of the stolen sheep is nicely done. I'm still fuming over the prejudices of the townsfolk against Declan! What a bunch of narrow minded jerks. Thank goodness Spencer and his friends came along when they did.

I very much enjoyed this story. Declan is the gamekeeper on the Abbey grounds. He prefers animals to people any day. He meets Spencer, who has just returned from war, fighting Napolean. He was looking forward to going to Parliament. He was wounded when a cannon blew up and took the hearing in one of his ears with it. There were times when he was terrified of being in company. He also had been invited to the Abbey and met Declan. Declan helped him understand when someone talked to him. They were both gentle people and willing to help.

I loved the caring that came from this relationship. They each held esteem for each other to make them stronger and the support they gave each other was uplifting.

I highly recommend this book and hope you like it as much as I did. I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.

The Prince and the Mermaid Boy (Steamy M/M Regency Romance)

What a beautiful fairytale of a book!

Lord Spencer Brightling has returned from the wars nearly deaf after a cannon blast destroyed his hearing. Anxious and morose, he joins his friends at a summer-long house party at the Duke of Malton's that is the backdrop for the After the Wars series. Enter Declan Shelton, the duke's young gamekeeper, who lives on the estate with his father. Declan is a lovely, gamine sprite of a young man who dreams of mermaids and talks out loud to animals. He reminded me a bit of Dickens from The Secret Garden. Declan is an innocent in every sense and he brings a freshness and sweetness to the story--and into Spencer's life.

Declan is a captivating young hero, who has a "kind and beautiful soul" as Spencer tells him. He feels sympathy for the foxes who reside on the estate, rehoming them rather than killing them, and believing them misunderstood. After all, he thinks to himself, it "wasn't the fox's fault that it was created with a nature others didn't understand."

Of course, the same could be said of Declan himself or any of the other men in After the Wars, who prefer the company and love of other men. Declan has been thought of as peculiar and strange all his life, but as the summer progresses things reach a critical junction as the villain, Goddard, who has appeared in previous books, rears his ugly head and sets Declan up to take the fall for his criminal activities. Understandably, Spencer won't stand for the attacks upon his newfound love and reacts ferociously--which I loved. He has been transformed quickly by his adoration for the young gamekeeper. Decan is truly perfect for this damaged soldier who needs someone besides himself to care about and to protect.

For those who have been reading the series from the start, it is extremely satisfying watching this group of friends unite against a common enemy to protect a young man who has newly become one of their own. This is only my second book in the series (I somehow missed the two before this, but read the very first) but Merry Farmer does such a fabulous job of depicting this close cohort of men, at once so masculine and tough, but also capable of so much tenderness and playfulness with one another--sometimes as lovers, yes, but also simply as loyal friends.

And, of course, Merry Farmer always delivers with steamy scenes that will have you blushing like a Peeping Tom in the woods!

Thanks to NetGalley and Oliver Heber Books for the review copy!

One Line Summary: Incredibly sweet romance with a suspenseful back story that will have you turning the pages non-stop!

Tropes: Age gap, Prince/Peasant class difference, Hero with a disability, Hero who has been bullied, Kill the Beast! Trope

Steam Level: 4/5

I wanted to like this book more. After reading the first book in this series and loving it so very much, this one was a bit of a let down.

The premise was good. Spencer a veteran coming home with hearing loss and Declan the young gamekeeper with an affinity for animals and a gentle soul coming together. The problem was that I didn't feel the chemistry between them and Declan's insecurities, while understandable, were annoying.
I'm sure I'm going to continue on with this series anyway. The next book sounds great!

I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great addition to the After the War series focusing on wounded hero from the navy who has lost most of his hearing (Spencer’s) and a young gamekeeper who mostly communicates with animals (Declan). Declan finds ways to help Spencer connect with the world he is having trouble hearing.

Farmer does a great job addressing class issues and isolation in the novel. The chapters from Spencer’s point of view often leave us wondering what is being said around him. Moreover, Farmer manages to add real danger without focusing on homophobia. There is definitely some angst in this book, but we do get a happy ending.

If you like historical mm romances, this series is a good one.

This is the fourth book in the series, and I will admit that I have been reading the out of order, which I don’t recommend. It is much better to see the characters grow together, as the books build on one another.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

Lord Spencer Brightling may be a lowly baron, his home in ruins, his hearing loss in one ear and almost completely in the other, but he has his pride. Meeting Declan, the gamekeeper for the Duke of Malton, brings comfort and love to Spencer. He no longer feels out of step as Declan becomes more than his lover, but his ears, too. Declan's life is danger! Only Spencer and his friends stand between Declan's life and death.
This is an interesting series. I think it would have been more beneficial for me to read the first three books for a better understanding of the interconnected relationships with the other characters.
MM/ VERY STEAMY EXPLICIT SEX!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book

I received a free copy from NetGalley for preview and this is my freely given opinion; thanks.

OK, the blurb on this is wrong, as the gamekeeper's name in the copy I had was Declan Shelton.

But Spencer, one of the guests of Anthony Wodehouse, at his brother's estate for the summer, is an ex-navy man, spending the summer with his friends before dealing with his barony, crumbling estate, and eventually taking up his seat in the House of Lords. But he is at a loss at how to do it, because of his significant hearing impairment because of a canon blast while in the Navy. Merry Farmer did an excellent job describing his feelings of loss, confusion, and shame about his disability, and how isolated he felt. Part of his connection with the gamekeeper is that Declan seemed to have an incredible ability to connect with different ways of communicating with him, beyond yelling into his good ear.

Declan is a bit of an odd fellow, in the eyes of the locals, as there was some mysterious circumstances to his childhood and the death of his mother, that seem to rub those of a more ignorant and superstitious bend the wrong way. Also, he has an obvious affinity with nature, more so than with people, and that makes locals leery of him, and the more bullying type to pick on him. Afterall all, being odd and not fitting in can easily make people targets. Well, Declan is definitely treated as a target by the locals, especially when livestock starts going missing.

Spencer is attracted to Declan and feels protective of him when he sees how the locals have been treating him because of their suspicions. Declan is a bit of an ingenue too, but is also very attracted to Spencer. But there is also the issue of class differences too, which they both have concerns about. Regardless, this is a MM love story with a HEA. It was a very sweet story. But I did find that Declan was a very wide eyed ingenue type of character. Maybe a bit too wide eyed, and sweet. Even if this was a traditional M-F relationship/romance, I think I would have found the female version of Declan to be too wide-eyed, and overly sweet to the point where it was a bit cloying.

So a three out of 5 for me. A sweet love story, and enjoyed the writing about Spencer's perspective with his hearing loss, but a bit too sweet. If anyone has issues with M-M sex scenes also; then don't bother with this story/series, as there are definitely multiple scenes of pretty steamy M-M sex.

Not my normal read and ok I should have read the description first, but I have read Merry Farmer book before and enjoyed them. This is the story of Spencer a Baron that had loss his hearing when a cannon misfired. I could feel his frustration of not being part of the hearing world. He and several friends meet up at Duke Malton to recover and enjoy themselves. Spencer feels out of place and takes to long walk where he meets a beautiful young man who is Malton’s gamekeeper, Declan. The story covers several topics, life of gay men, the hatred of someone who is different, also steamy! Overall was a ok read, but as I said not my normal.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story. #NetGalley. #Under hisLoversWing

Recovering from a cannon blast that cost him most of his hearing, Spencer feels isolated and lost. How can he take up his role in Parliament if he can't hear the debates? A chance meeting with gamekeeper Declan changes his outlook. The young man, accustomed to communicating with animals, has a knack for making himself understood without words. Their friendship quickly turns to more. But with the differences in their stations, a future together seems impossible. When Decan is accused of stealing livestock, can Spencer save him from a miscarriage of justice?

This is a lovely story. Declan and Spencer are devoted to each other, basically rescuing each other from the darkness in their lives. This is book 4 in the series, and I really recommend reading the books in order.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I adored the first book in this series, and as soon as I saw the synopsis for this book, I thought for sure it would be as amazing as it sounded. Unfortunately, possibly due to my setting expectations too high, it was disappointing. The plot was chaotic, not allowing me to follow along the entire time - some scenes were very confusing, and I didn't really understand what was going on. The characters...they had a lot of potential but ultimately fell flat for me. The younger MMC in particular was way too childlike for my comfort level. He was so naive and innocent, it was uncomfortable at times. He also was as strange a bird as people in the book were describing him, having literal conversations with animals. It all felt a bit off to me, and I couldn't connect with the relationship. I kept skimming forward, hoping there would be something that grabbed my attention, and made me root for them as a couple. There were definitely sweet moments that I enjoyed, but sadly my overall opinion was that it missed the mark.

I am definitely not giving up on this author at all, just acknowledging that this book was not for me.

This one just wasn't love for me...I actually DNF at the 50% mark.

Spencer is at the home of a friend trying to decide what to do with his life after his life in the navy ended with the decommissioning of his ship and almost catastrophic hearing loss. Declan is the gamekeeper at the estate - and is considered "odd" by most people. He spends a lot of time with animals and is clearly a very gentle soul.

So here's the thing - I was totally lost for a good portion of the book. A lot of things happen around Spencer and Declan - but aren't explained at all. Or just in passing. I think it assumes you have read all the books that came before this one. I did read the first book - but somehow missed the two in between - so I was very confused as to who some people were and why they mattered.

I also didn't love how Declan's character was portrayed a lot of the time. He is quite a bit younger than Spencer - but maybe felt even younger by the way he is portrayed as very innocent. It felt a little uncomfortable to me at times.

Overall - maybe I would have loved this one had I read the books I missed - but it just wasn't for me.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

4.5 Stars
Lord Spencer Brightling was injured when a cannon blast caused him to lose his hearing in one ear & greatly reduce the hearing in the other. He goes to Wodehouse Abbey with some of his naval friends to spend a summer & contemplate his future. Gamekeeper Declan Shelton has always been considered odd and laughable because of his affinity for nature and his quirky mannerisms. As far as Declan is concerned, animals are much easier to be around than people, and he is content to live in isolation on the grounds of the Abbey. Until handsome, intriguing Spencer wanders into his life, like a wounded animal in need of care. Declan is the companion Spencer never knew he needed but then Declan is accused of a crime he didn’t commit.
This is the fourth book in the series & as an ongoing thread comes to a head in this book I’d recommend reading the series in order plus the dynamics between the friends have evolved over the series. I loved Spencer who was struggling with his lack of hearing but who was floored by his first sight of Declan. I wasn’t keen on Declan to begin with, he was very immature & everyone treated him like a child. I did love the chemistry between the pair & how insta lust grew & changed. I started this book at night thinking to read a chapter or two, five hours later I finished the book, I couldn’t put it down as needed to see justice done for Declan. A very well written thoroughly engrossing book
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

The differences that separate them from society unit them!

Lord Spencer Brightling has returned fro serving in the Navy during the Napoleonic Wars a man separated from the world. He has lost most of his hearing and is now isolated from the world that he has come home to. Spencer is taking a break from his life for the summer at his friends country house party before h has to deal with the realities of his new circumstances.

Declan Sheltonn has never belonged, but he has made a home and life for himself as the gamekeeper of Wodehouse Abbey. He has always been more connected with the animals of the grounds than any people, until he comes across Lord Spencer Brightling in a clearing…

These two have a lot of differences, age gap, master/ servant, experienced/ virgin, worldly/ naive, country/ city, but with all of they manage to balancing each other! I loved how Declan became Spencer’s ears, and how Spencer brought Declan out of his solitude and made it so he could be art of something bigger.

This story was really sweet and deliciously steamy. Spencer and Declan are adorable together and my heart ached for them to find a way to make their summer fling into something more! I’ll admit that the title and the hawk on the cover drew me to this book- but I’m glad it did!

Overall this Under His Lover’s Wing hit me in all the right places and made my heart soar! I will be checking out the other After the war books!

Under His Lover’s Wing by Merry Farmer is scheduled to release January 25th, 2022.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Oliver Heber Books. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#UnderHisLoversWing #MerryFarmer #NetGalley #pinkcowlandreads

2.5 stars

A very cheesy regency romance in which a naval hero suffering from profound hearing loss falls in love with his friend’s oddball gamekeeper. The sheep were the best part.

[What I liked:]

•It’s touching how Spencer, who struggles to communicate after losing most of his hearing from a war injury, & Declan, a guy who’s more comfortable with animals than most humans & is ostracized for it, find safety & acceptance in one another.

•Omg, I loved the sheep smuggling setup fiasco at the end! It was hilarious! People running everywhere in the dark, & sheep going everywhere too!


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•Major events happen (like a devastating, career ending injury to an important side characters) that are summarized briefly instead of happening in scene, which seems very odd & disruptive to the flow of the story. I assume it’s because they are covered in more detail in another book in the series that takes place at the same time, but it’s odd all the same.

•Who the heck is Goddard and why does he want to hurt Declan? It comes out of nowhere, with no explanation. Again, I’m assuming, because it was mentioned in another book?

•Much of the dialogue is flowery and doesn’t sound natural. People make long expository speeches often. And some of the sex talk is very cringey. And some of the love talk as well.

•A bunch of plot points hinge on the fact that Declan’s cottage door has no lock or latch…in a place apparently rampant with thieves & poachers…which makes absolutely no sense why he wouldn’t have a way to secure his house, except that it’s convenient for the plot that he doesn’t.

•Insta-lust. Insta-love. And so much cheesiness.

•Declan, who is twenty-two, is portrayed as very childlike. I get that he is innocent & naïve, but at times it felt a bit infantilizing & weird.

CW: homophobia, bullying, ableism, voyeurism, physical violence

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

I am on the fence about this series. While I have really enjoyed some of the stories, I am ambivalent about the others. This is one of the others. Merry’s writing is outstanding as usual but the story itself just did not engage me. It was Declan, he was so young and immature for the most part. I did like Spencer with his loss of hearing. I sympathize with characters who are scarred in some way. They are always the most interesting characters. However, even Spencer was kind of boring. The story was okay, just not for me.

I had a hard time with this one because there was no build up to the relationship. It was solely lust motivated and came out of no where. The Snow White aspect of Declan was too far out there to be believable.