Review: The Gallows Tree by RJ Scott

Cody Garret is only just finding his way after an abusive relationship ended with his ex in prison. Coming to England to restore Mill Cottage is his way of running so he has time to heal. His goal is simple-hire a company to help make the mill cottage saleable then go back to the States.

What he doesn't count on is meeting Sebastian Toulson-Brown, the brother of his contractor and the man who may be able to show him he can stop running.

But first Cody and Sebastian must deal with the ghosts of lost loves and the destinies that are woven into the story of the mill and the sycamore trees that stand on its land, one of which might be the gallows tree.

Slooooooooow burn, second chances and a bit of a ghost story.

I love a slow burn romance. It makes the eventual first kiss and first love scene that much more intense because I've been patiently (okay, not to patiently) waiting for them to finally DO IT! Just kiss already! And when they do? *sigh*

The Gallows Tree was exactly that. I especially loved it in this story, it made perfect sense with the past abuse that Cody is trying to deal with.  Oh Seb, the way he dealt with Cody and his past was just perfect. He backed off and was patient, but at the same time made it known that he liked Cody. That he had every intention of being with him once Cody was ready.  So once they were finally able to be with each other, I could really feel how great they were together. They're complete support of each other was wonderful.

Seb was really able to help Cody get a second chance at love and, really, just having a life.  He'd been running from his ex for too long and Seb gave him a reason to stop and just be. To just be happy somewhere and with someone. His past abuse was very believable and I liked how it was shown through past events without anything too graphic. I really felt his terror and panic even though there wasn't any on-page abuse.

The ghost story. *sigh* I just didn't care or like that part. I guess I prefer my contemps to really be contemp and my paranormals to be purely paranormal. This bit of mixing the two genres just didn't work for me. Because the story was introduced as a contemporary, when the ghosts started popping up, I just didn't find it believable.

I liked it, really liked it. I enjoy RJ Scott's writing and if not for the ghosts, this would have been a solid 4 stars.