Seizing his one chance to escape, Ethan Hosking leaves his violent ex-boyfriend, leaves his entire life, and walks into the path of a raging bushfire. Desperate to start over, a new man named Aubrey Hobbs walks out of the fire-ravaged forest, alive and alone. With no ID and no money, nothing but his grandfather’s telescope, he goes where the Southern Cross leads him.Patrick Carney is the resident … the resident lighthouse keeper in Hadley Cove, a small town on the remote Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia. After the tragic death of his lover four years ago, he lives a solitary life; just him, a tabby cat, the Indian and Southern Oceans, and a whole lot of loneliness. He’s content with his life until a stranger shows up in town and turns Patrick’s head.
Patrick never expected to be interested in anyone else.
Aubrey never expected to be happy.
Between Aubrey’s love of the stars and Patrick’s love of the ocean, these two fragile hearts must navigate new waters. If they can weather the storm of their pasts, they could very well have a love that eclipses everything.
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This might be my favorite story N.R. Walker has written. It had everything I love. Characters who were strong, likable, and perfect for each other. I loved the whole “being away from it all” feel. And I think it has the hottest sex scene N.R. has ever written as well, so yeah! Well-plotted, great ebbs and flows, wonderful story telling, and all that jazz. Definitely a regular re-read for me!
The stand out of this book is the setting. Along with her wonderful characters, NR Walker showcased Kangaroo Island – the landscape, the climate, the wildlife, the people. Just beautiful.
I absolutely loved this latest book by this talented author. This is the story of Aubrey and Patrick. Aubrey was born Ethan Hoskins. He was in an abusive relationship and found his way out due to a massive bush fire. He emerged from the fire as Aubrey Hobbs. Patrick first meets Aubrey in a coffee shop in the small town of Hadley Falls where he lives. Patrick too has a past and recognizes the haunted look in Aubrey’s eyes. He wants to help Aubrey in any way he can. They both have baggage from their pasts and Aubrey is keeping secrets but that doesn’t stop them from falling hard for each other. They are truly perfect for each other and their journey to their HEA was truly magical to read. I was hooked from beginning to end and didn’t want their story to end. I highly recommend this book to everyone….its a fantastic story. Well done!!!!
TW: Domestic Abuse, Physical abuse, Death of loved one.
“The southern lights are beautiful, but they’re nothing compared to you.”
“For as long as this thing between us lasts, I’m yours and only yours,”
“May the stars forever guide us, and may this lighthouse bring us home.”
In order to escape from his abusive/violent ex-boyfriend, Ethan Hosking fakes his own death by walking into a path of a raging bushfire. Six months later, he sees himself in a small town where he meets the resident lighthouse keeper, Patrick Carney, a man that after the tragic death of his lover four years ago, refuses to start anew until Ethan Hosking, now known as Aubrey Hoobs, shows up in town and turns Patrick’s head.
3 stars. This book was good but it was so slow for my liking. I really enjoyed it though. The characters were well-written, Patrick and Aubrey’s relationship was so cute and wholesome, and the setting was so refreshing and beautiful. However, I didn’t like how the story was dragged to the end of the book and wrapped up in quick epilogue ( wanted to read more). Overall, it was a cute story but it fell short at the end.
Beautiful, beautiful book. I loved this one from start to finish. This is a book about overcoming hurts so big, that you need that special person to help you come out on the other side. This is a book about digging deep and trying to figure out what is right and best for yourself and how to best get there. I loved both of these deeply hurt characters. They were everything neither knew they needed. Ethan/Aubrey was sooo beat down, and had fear running his life, so I was so happy to see him make a friend and then for that friendship to turn into the love of his life. Then you have Patrick, who is seriously one of the best characters I have ever read. He has such a big broken heart, but soon finds it full of Aubrey!! I loved how the galaxies and oceans were incorporated into this, and I just loved the narration performed by Joel Leslie. My only niggle was how Ethan’s past life was solved…it was a bit rushed, but also good because I did not care for his past life..it was so sad and I loathed Anton. Glad he got what was coming to him. I thought the relationship/character development with Patrick and Aubrey was really great and I am so happy there was not unnecessary miscommunications, but that they trusted each other fully. A definitely must read!!
(read in 2018, audio in 2019)
I haven’t read anything by N. R. Walker that I didn’t enjoy but Galaxies and Oceans is one of the best. As a survivor of domestic abuse, I understood Aubrey’s pain and fear. Patrick’s patience and kindness made him perfect for Aubrey. I was charmed by the setting and the characters. The story broke my heart then put it back together so beautifully.
I liked the setting a lot. small town but on the tip of the southern hemisphere. Loved the premise of one being ocean in nature and the other stars. What I didn’t like was the often used trope in m/m romance of one guy being much smaller and more delicate than the other, (ie female in both attitude and stature), and he was constantly being carried bride-like. I understand one could be traumatized by a previous abusive relationship, and needing time, patience and gentle care, but he’s still a guy.
How to summerize this truly heartfelt, emotional love story? It was just plain beautiful.
Galaxies and Oceans speaks about two lost men finding their way in uncharted waters following the stars.
Aubrey escapes his past, his abusive ex by pretending to be lost to a bushfire. He follows the stars to a secluded island, to a small town to settle in peace. He just wants a life without pain and maybe a small chance at happiness.
Patrick lives in that said small town. He’s lived there for years now tending to the lighthouse on the shore of the Southern Ocean. His solitary life is lonely and sad spent grieving a man lost forever. But he starts to feel things he hadn’t felt in a long time when a stranger shows up in his town.
The two broken men in this story find peace, redemption and happiness in each other. It is beautifully written how they work through their baggage of past traumas to open up to something rather beautiful and pure. The small gestures, the slow but powerful pace of their falling for each other was simple but all-consuming at once.
There is something beautiful in the simplicity of normalcy. How an average life can be the most perfect thing to someone who hasn’t known it for a long time.
The symbolism of the stars and the ocean, the wastness of both, the unyielding power that they represent, the beauty and rage they are capable of. They were the perfect representation of our two MC.
The emotional journey was amazing in this book but at the same time it was less engaging than I expected. The characters and their journey were great but I felt the story a bit dragging sometimes. But I can’t tell you what bothered me.
Despite that, this story was lovely and heartwrenching. I highly recommend!
A starry read!
If they can weather the storm of their pasts, they could very well have a love that eclipses everything…
I do not know where to even begin this review. God, so heartbreaking then finally hope and a starry, bright love that eclipses everything.
The last few chapters and the ending made me so emotional and do teary. A well written book that is so deserving of all book awards.
I cannot praise this author enough. I loved how they evolved, how their relationship and love grew. So romantically wonderful.
Full of second chances, loss, hurt/comfort, stars, the ocean and love.
Perfect for readers of contemporary romances.
Wonderful story with great characters.
I love this author’s work. This is a mm contemporary story set in Kangaroo Island South Australia. Main characters are Patrick and Ethan/Aubrey. What an amazing story of love finding its way to two men who thought they would never have love again. NR Walker is an amazing storyteller and this book is a real page turner.
Galaxies and Oceans was a beautifully written MM, age-gap read that completely captured my heart. An impending bushfire give Ethan Hosking the perfect opportunity to escape his abusive ex-boyfriend. He leaves everything behind, his ID, his phone, his old life, but takes the one thing that he can’t live without…his grandad’s telescope. Patrick Carney is a lighthouse keeper on the remote coast of Kangaroo Island. He has his own demons. His boyfriend died tragically four years ago and he has yet to let go of the grief. In an effort to further disconnect from his old life, Ethan takes the name Aubrey Hobbs, his beloved grandfathers name. Circumstances bring them together and they develop a beautiful connection. Both men are haunted by the ghosts of their past, but they find comfort and solace in each other. With the brutal coast of Southern Australia as the backdrop, Aubrey and Patrick, come together under the blanket of stars and find a tender, romantic HEA.
I don’t know if I could say anything that would come even remotely close to how I felt reading this book. This book might be the most romantic book I’ve ever read. I can’t find words to describe. It filled me with a deep longing. For the stars. For the ocean. For something unknown.
“The Southern Cross is what brought me here. The constellation. I followed it, here, to this island. To you.”
Aubrey and Patrick are so perfect together. Aubrey has gone through so much as Ethan and it was heart breaking to read but he is so strong. He overcame that and rose like a Phoenix from the ashes. This book has strong hurt/comfort themes and is written in dual POV.
“May the stars forever guide us, and may this lighthouse bring us home.”
I’m really glad I read this book and if I hadn’t participated in a readathon, I wouldn’t have come across this gem. Such an amazing read!
“I will love you every minute of every day for as long as there are stars in the sky”
Loved it, but I simply love all of N.R. Walker’s books….This is a good and strong story that deals with love, loss, abuse and strength, and a
wonderful ending….I don’t want to give anything away but it is such a good story, two strong MC’s that you will really like and admire in different ways….
I was just a big puddle of feelings when I finished this book last night, and I’m feeling all the same things again as I write this review. I loved this story so much! The journeys both of these men went on over the course of this book was truly inspiring.
“Trust the waters, Patrick. The ocean was mapped out from the stars.”
Galaxies and Oceans is emotional and heartwrenching. But so beautiful and hopeful. Aubrey and Patrick are both damaged and broken, but find the peace they needed when they find each other. I loved the slow burn of this romance, and how they were both so considerate of each other’s feelings. Neither one pushed for more from the other than they were able to give, until they were ready. I adored them both so much!
If I was adrift and lost, and I certainly felt it some days, then he was my shining beacon, my tether and guide to something good and whole.
Ethan Hoskings becomes Aubrey Hobbs when nature comes along and gives him a way out of an abusive relationship. He follows the stars, the Southern Cross, which leads him to Hadley Cove and Patrick Carney. In Hadley Cove, Aubrey finds the peace that he’s been looking for and so much more with Patrick, but Patrick has a few demons of his own. As Aubrey and Patrick grow closer, Aubrey struggles with wanting to spill the secrets that he keeps and the life he left behind. The past always seems to catch up with the present though. I’m a huge fan of N. R. Walker. I don’t know how she does what she does, but she does it well. Her stories are amazing, and this one is no different. This story does touch on abuse, so that might be a trigger for some. If you’ve never read anything by N. R. Walker, this is an amazing place to start with this book!