Danny wants to make more than music with Jeff.  He fell in love with Jeff the moment he saw him.  Now two years later and members of an up and coming rock band, Danny still hasn’t found a way to let Jeff know how he feels.  Finally a situation presents itself and in a moment of desperation Danny makes his feelings known to Jeff.  Danny’s actions affect not only he and Jeff, but also everyone surrounding them.  Aggressions and emotions spiral out of control and Danny slips farther away from reality as his band Far Cry’s fame skyrockets but his relationship with Jeff becomes less and less of what he wishes it to be.

Up until Danny revealed his feelings, Jeff never thought of Danny as more than his friend and band mate, and he certainly never considered him for a lover.  Homosexuality is wrong, that’s what his father always told him.  If that were true, why does it feel so right with Danny and why does he keep going back for more?

The Far Away Years is a very compelling hard-hitting story.  It starts off in the late 1970s and span over the course of a few years.  We see not only the rise and fall and resurrection of Jeff and Danny, but also their band Far Cry. The characters, with Danny in the forefront are as dysfunctional as a person can get.  Danny had me on the ropes about my feelings toward him; for the most part my heart did go out to him.  I found it hard not to feel sorry for him, but his actions made it hard to like him.  I felt the same about Jeff.  LF Blake goes into some detail of the drug use and the toll fame can have on a person.  She makes a point of how getting what you think you want may not be what you need.  She also has great supporting characters who all seemed to have issues to work through, and each of them were essential to the plot of the story.  Ms. Blake did a great job with this story. The Far Away Years is not a sweet romantic story.  It’s a gritty novel full of pain, hurt and deception as well as love and fulfillment.  I enjoyed The Far Away Years and look forward to reading future works by Ms. Blake.