This second book in Jay Hogan’s Mackenzie Country series features a sexy and emotional romance between two men who are grieving the loss of family and the life they’d envisaged for themselves while trying to find a new path forward into a different future. They also happen to be the exes of the principal characters in The Art of Husbandry, which adds another layer of complication to their relationship.

In that story, Holden Miller, the owner of Miller Station – a remote sheep station in New Zealand’s Southern Alps – fell in love with Gil Everton, who had taken a temporary job at the station in the hope that a complete change of scenery would help to kick-start him out of the rut he’d fallen into after the death of his daughter, Callie. Gil’s marriage – which had been on the rocks anyway – completely broke down after Callie’s death, and he’s now in the process of getting divorced from Luke Nichols, who, at the end of the book, appeared at the station unexpectedly, hoping to finally achieve some kind of closure with Gil and maybe help his own grieving process. Since then, and following a rapprochement which has seen both Gil and Luke accepting that they each bear responsibility for the breakdown of their marriage and become friends, Luke has been a regular and welcome visitor to the station.

The Mechanics of Lust opens about a year after the events of the previous book, on the evening of Gil’s fortieth birthday party. He’s become a popular and valued member of their small community and even Holden’s ex, Zach Lane, considers Gil a good man and a good friend. It took Zach a while to get there – falling in love with your best friend-with-benefits, finding out he didn’t feel the same and then watching him promptly fall in love with someone else didn’t exactly dispose Zach to friendly feelings towards Gil, but although he was hurt and upset at the time, he’s happy for Holden and even envious of what he and Gil have together. Zach isn’t completely surprised when Luke shows up at Gil’s party – he just wishes the man would go back to Wellington and stay there. Luke is well liked by everyone on the station and has found many friends there, but he presents too much of a danger to Zach’s peace of mind and needs to stay at arm’s length – preferably further – wherever possible. Zach has enough complications in his life as it is – he doesn’t need another one in the form of a gorgeous, sophisticated man with a wicked smile who makes his body light up like a Christmas tree every time he comes close. So Zach is dismayed to learn that Luke has just taken a job as a helicopter pilot for a local charter company and moved to the nearest town. It’s going to make avoiding him that much harder.

Luke noticed Zach on his very first visit to Miller Station, and had hoped that perhaps the extreme frostiness emanating from him might eventually start to thaw, but it never has. Over the past year, a thoroughly smitten Luke has watched, puzzled, as Zach has laughed and joked and conversed easily with everyone he meets – except him. The weird thing is that Luke senses his interest in Zach might actually be returned; he’s sure he’s not the only one feeling the sparks of attraction they strike off each other, but he’s not going to be an arsehole and push for anything Zach isn’t willing to give. The ball is firmly in Zach’s court – and sadly, in Luke’s opinion, looks set to stay there.

On the surface, The Mechanics of Lust seems to be one of those stories where there’s nothing really keeping the two protagonists apart other than stubbornness and the need for a good conversation. But nothing is ever that simple in a Jay Hogan book; Zach has good reasons for wanting to guard his heart, and both men are grieving for families they’ve lost in different ways, so there are complex, messy emotions at work that don’t always make sense or lead them to make the best decisions.

After Callie died, Luke seemed to have held things together better than Gil did and he was able to continue with life (mostly) as normal for the first year or so. But then, the grief really hit him, and he fell into a downward spiral of unhealthy coping mechanisms – too much booze and too many men – that he’s only now beginning to pull himself out of. Seeing how well Gil is doing, and listening to him talk about how the vastness and isolation of the landscape had forced him to ask difficult questions of himself has helped Luke realise he needs to stop running and that maybe a similar major life change could help him come to terms with the past and start to move forward.

Zach is grieving, too, having effectively lost both his home and his parents when he came out to his domineering, homophobic father and was told, in no uncertain terms, to get out. He’s still in contact with his brother, Julian, but his mother has never stood up to his dad, so it’s as though she’s disowned him as well – and it hurts. Following hot on the heels of Holden’s rejection, this was devastating for Zach, and he’s determined never to open himself up to the possibility of that kind of hurt ever again. Luke Nichols might be hot as hell and seriously enticing, but he’s flippant, annoying and unreliable – and Zach doesn’t have room in his life for any more uncertainty. What he needs now is to work out where he goes from here, to plan a future for himself now that living on Lane Station and working it alongside his brother is no longer an option.

The relationship between Zach and Luke is superbly developed as they go from wariness to a tentative friendship to more. Zach’s desire to keep Luke at a distance is understandable given how badly he’s been hurt by those who were supposed to love him, but he’s also a judgmental prick at the beginning, his determination to dislike Luke founded on something that is, frankly, inaccurate and none of his business. Luke quite rightly calls him on it – and then so does Gil, and after that, Zach has to admit that he’s been a dick and that he needs to do better. After this, the two of them start to talk more openly to each to other; Luke opens up about how lonely he’s been, about how he feels he failed Gil and Callie, and Luke is the first person Zach talks to about his ambitions to open up a dog training business. Zach finally realises that his fascination with Luke isn’t going away anytime soon, so he decides he can do the whole fucking without feelings thing; provided he’s in charge, he’ll be able to have Luke and walk away when he’s ready. Luke knows exactly what Zach is doing, knows he’s got one foot out the door each time they’re together, but he can’t resist what Zach is offering. He also knows that whatever is going on between them is not at all casual, and while he’d love to have a real relationship, Luke knows that asking for more than NSA sex will have Zach running for the hills.

The sex scenes are scorching and I loved that Zach gets to learn more about himself in the bedroom (Luke is absolutely on board with the pissy, toppy side Zach hasn’t really explored before), and how the time they spend together morphs slowly from booty calls to hanging out, lingering in bed and talking openly, Luke helping Zach to understand that he’s capable of doing and being whatever he wants, and Zach encouraging Luke to start thinking about making a new life and a way to carry good memories with him.

The author once again does a fantastic job of portraying the realities of life and work in such a remote location. Zach is a member of a volunteer rescue team, and I really liked the scenes set during a training exercise (and the later, very tense, real rescue) and seeing him working with his dogs. I liked catching up with Holden and Gil and the rest of the gang at the station, and we’re also introduced to some new characters, Roz, a recent arrival who has opened a restaurant in town, Spencer, the flirty vet, and Doug, a local wilderness guide, and I hope we’ll see more of them in future books.

The Mechanics of Lust is another fabulous read from Jay Hogan, a steamy, poignant and insightful romance that explores some complex themes with a light touch. Luke and Zach are flawed but likeable characters, their chemistry is incendiary and their HEA is well-deserved. I’m eagerly awaiting the next instalment in the series.