Update for Audible - which was as Always fabulously narrated by Gary Furlong. He is All of these men! He brings out their quirky personalities, accents and all the comradery feels when they are bantering with family and friends. What a touching story about family and romance. We have Terry who pretty much hides his own needs and true desires behind his responsibilities to his daughter Hannah and his job. Then we have Spencer who avoids his feelings and issues by flirting and sometimes running away from them. I loved that we knew both of these men from the two different series and having the training of Hannah's dog with Zach was the perfect way to blend them together into a romance. Terry could be stubborn and sassy but always sweet and loyal to a fault. Yep, I adored him! I liked getting deeper into who Spencer was besides being the hot veterinarian! All the other guys are around causing fun and banter as these two open up to each other. A beautiful and subtle building to love, trust and a family with dogs too!

There’s something about Jay Hogan’s writing that I just love. The lush descriptions of the stark landscape that is Mackenzie County, New Zealand. I also love the characters she creates. From the first time I met Spencer, the veterinarian, I hoped he’d get a story. An entire book dedicated to the handsome flirt. So I was thrilled when this fourth book in the series came along.

Of course Spencer had to fall pretty hard to combat his flirtatious reputation. Enter Terry, his daughter Hannah, and Hannah’s service dog, Gabby. From the first, I was taken with this family. Illness is rough, but it’s even harder to watch a child go through it. Hanna’s JIA has taken much from her, but it’s also made her resilient and, at just fourteen, ready to handle the world.

Terry’s not ready to let go.

Hannah needs to prove her independence and that means training with Zack up at Miller Station. Learning how to handle unknown situations. Gaining confidence both in herself as well as with Gabby. All is not smooth, though, and Terry had to fight the urge to step in and run interference all the time.

Enter Spencer.

Terry’s known he’s bi for a while – having a massive crush on his best friend cemented that. Before he could speak up, though, his bestie met someone else and they fell in love. Terry sort of figured he’d missed his one and only chance – until he meets Spencer.

I loved how each man had such a profound impact on the other. Playboy Spencer considered walking away from his reputation – and even shared really intimate parts of his childhood with Terry. In turn, Terry listened to Spencer’s advice about giving Hannah breathing room.

I wondered how things would work out – the geography of living so damn far apart. But it worked. It just worked.

Of course, I have to mention Gary Furlong’s flawless performance. I truly adore him. He and Jay are brilliant together and make me so damn happy. Can’t wait for more collaborations in the future.

I listened to this book while following in the book at the same time. I just loved the feeling of someone reading to me. I am happy and sad that the final book of Mackenzie Country was finally here. I really enjoyed seeing the characters from Mackenzie Country series and from the Painted Bay series show up together. Spencer and Terry made such a great team, they made me laugh, cry, hope....just loved it 😍

Another beautiful book in the Mackenzie series. Though in this one the impressive scenery is not as predominant as in the previous ones, the serene, freezing landscape is still one of the actors in the story. As Terry is from Painted Bay, we also get to revisit with our favourite couples from there, so this book is actually filled with beloved (if annoying, according to Terry and Spencer) faces.
Terry might be the one resisting the idea more, having it in his mind that his needs don’t matter and that he has to put everyone’s needs (especially his daughter Hannah’s) first and that he does not have time or anything to invest in a relationship, but it’s just because he’s so scared of opening up his heart. Spencer has his own motives to run scared from relationships, but it’s clear quite from the start that what these two men have with each other is not something that can be ignored or dismissed.
Well, this time Jay Hogan put me in a rough spot: I was certainly rooting for Terry and Spencer to end up and settle together, but where? What did I love more and wished they ended up living? Painted Bay or the Mackenzie? In the end, as Terry said, the geography didn’t matter, only that they love each other and are there for each other.

Edited 3/27/25 to add my comments on the audiobook.
Audiobook Review:
Overall – 5
Performance – 5
Story – 5

In my original review of the eBook, I said this story didn’t hit me as hard emotionally as some of Jay’s other books. I don’t know where my mind was at that time because listening to Gary Furlong’s performance of the audiobook had my eyes leaking many times. The Geography of Happiness is a wonderfully emotional story and I loved it all over again when I listened to it.

Original review:
★彡 5 STARS 彡★

I haven’t read a Jay Hogan book yet that I haven’t loved and The Geography of Happiness is no exception. I’ve said it more than once: Jay’s descriptive writing allowed me to visualize the setting for the Mackenzie Country series and has made me want to visit there.

While this book didn’t hit my emotions as hard as the previous books in this series, Jay still managed to make my eyes leak more than once (a sure sign that I loved it). I so much enjoyed visiting again with Judah, from Off Balance in her Painted Bay series, as well as a few other characters from that series. Having said that, you absolutely don’t need to have read Off Balance to enjoy this new book. TBH, it’s been 4.5 years since I read Off Balance so I didn’t remember all of the details from that story, and I didn’t need to.

The Geography of Happiness is a book where there’s an instant connection between the two MCs but then has the slowest burn before anything spicy happens between Terry and Spencer. While the story deals with the serious subject of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis which affects Terry’s daughter Hannah, there are also light-hearted moments like this one where Terry, who’s from a warner climate, takes a dip in the lake on the Miller Station:

[I gulped some air and then dived under the water, pumping my arms and legs to jump-start some circulation. And when the blessed numbness finally kicked in, I pushed off the bottom and swam the fastest twenty-five metres in the history of the world before beating a hasty retreat back to the shore, cursing and stumbling over the uneven stones with my blue balls lodged somewhere around my armpits; my skin a charming shade of what-the-fuck-are-you-doing corpse white; and a jump-the-queue fast ticket to hypothermia.]

If you enjoy slow-burn romance that includes wonderful characters and very cutes dogs I can heartily recommend The Geography of Happiness.

An advanced copy of this book was provided to me at my request; my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.

🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️️
Performance: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️️
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️️
The Science of Attraction is the third book in the Mackenzie Country series. You can read this book as a standalone, but I read the other two volumes first. I found it more enjoyable because I had already gotten to know and love most of the characters in the previous volumes.
This time it's about Julian, Jules for short, the son who has taken over the station after his father's stroke. Paddy is a father who hasn't made it easy for his first-born son Zach after he came out. Due to Paddy's illness, he needs a private rehab specialist. This is Liam and since they are both at the farm, Jules quickly gets to know Liam. It was entertaining to read how Liam pushed Jules' father Paddy to his limits. Liam is openly gay and he knows how to deal with Jules' father. But he awakens feelings in Jules that he's never had before.
I love it when a character finds their true self and can live it. That's why I liked Jules and Liam's story so much. I really like these two likeable characters and it was great to see how their relationship developed. The author has created interesting secondary characters that I really liked. All in all, a fascinating story about the family dynamics of the Lane family who experience many ups and downs over the course of the series.
The story is entertaining and emotional and it got super exciting towards the end. Another highlight for me is the setting - I love the mountains, the landscape, the farm. The author has described it all in such detail and wonderfully that I quickly found myself in the Australian highlands.
Although I've already read the book, I was really looking forward to the audiobook because Gary Furlong's performance is absolutely fantastic! He gave each character a suitable voice and I was able to distinguish between them very well. He read in a very lively and entertaining way, so it was a pleasure to relive the story of Jules and Liam. I thought the book was already very good, but the audiobook makes the story an experience I wouldn't want to miss.
I can't get enough of this series and am happy to recommend it!

Fox grows in his relationship and economy from a divorce and loss of business to new relationship and new job. Leroy is still a grump, but lets a few more people in.

Kurt and Penn broke my heart and stitched it back together again. ♥️

Loved Kane and Abe ♥️

I like the story and the characters. I find the narrators voice pleasant and befitting of the story.

As with all of Jay Hogans books I really enjoy the characters. They are well fleshed out. The angst is not OTT and conversations realistic. Some like Adrian have dark pasts but these things happen in real life. The humor that Jay entwines with darkness in the story prevents the reader from being bogged down in misery. I listen for a solid story to escape that darkness we see in this world that we live in. Friends can be found family when biological family let us down.
Blood does not a family make.

I’m completely in love with MacKenzie county in New Zealand. So much that I want to visit. Hell, I might even want to move there. Stunning mountains, rugged landscape, handsome men… Now, a bunch of them are gay, but that’s totally fine. Because I have to say these guys are pretty awesome.

In this third book, Jules is dealing with his homophobic father who recently had a stroke. Jules took over the management of the station, but now that his father’s home, the man is determined to retake his position as head of the house. The problem? He’s not physically or mentally capable.

Enter Liam. Liam the physical therapist whose experience makes him invaluable. Liam who won’t put up with any bull crap from anyone. Liam who wears his gayness with pride and he’d not willing to put up with bigots. If Jules’s father won’t get in line, Liam’s more than prepared to walk away.

Only Jules hopes he won’t because man, is Liam hot. And available. And interested. Thus the men begin an illicit relationship under Jules’s father’s nose. Discovery could mean the end of Liam’s job as well as the outing of a very in the closet bisexual Jules. He watched his father try to destroy the younger son, Jules’s beloved brother, just for being gay. What would happen if it turned out the eldest son enjoyed the company of men as well?

Now, this is a Jay Hogan romance, so you know there’s likely a big blowup in store. I just didn’t foresee how things would go. I thought I knew, but I missed some of the finer details that made the story so impactful. Wow, what a punch.

Of course I wasn’t certain how things might work. Jules isn’t leaving the station and his legacy. Liam’s work, sister, and nephew are in the city. So how are things going to unfold? I’ll leave it to the master storyteller to share the rest…

Gary Furlong is one of my favorite narrators and I thought he did a brilliant job with this one. Especially given Jules’s father’s stroke and how he struggled. Gary did that perfectly. There’s another book in the series and I can’t wait to read it.

I read this book on my Kindle a few years ago and was so excited to do a reread when the audio was released! These two men are amazing together and I really love just how real this story is. Neither man is perfect and I love that we get to see some slightly flawed humans dealing with real issues that happen in a relationship. Drake was the right amount of snarky and vulnerable and I adored how sweet Caleb was underneath his cocky exterior.

I love your characters. Enough to want another visit with them.

A few years ago, a friend recommended New Zealand author, Jay Hogan, to me. By this time she already had a reasonably long back list and I spent many months reading some of the best books I’ve ever enjoyed. Digging Deep was one of those books and what an utterly unforgettable story it is. I love every single story this author has ever written and regularly re-read/listen, but I especially love those books where she uses her extensive knowledge as a senior Critical Care Nurse practitioner/teacher - Digging Deep in particular.

Drake Park’s life is complicated enough juggling a busy professional life as a male midwife, but add his chronic disease into the mix, and he has a more difficult life than most. On the whole he makes it work, but bitter experience has taught him that he’s not able to experience the kind of life that most gay men enjoy. Drake has learnt that he cannot compromise his health and, more especially, that trusting a man to understand him and his complex health needs has only led to heartbreak and disappointment in the past. The stress is never worth the inevitable pain.

Drake is pretty much resigned to a life alone with the emphasis on staying healthy, when he ‘meets’ police detective, Caleb Ashton, under less than auspicious circumstances. Caleb is a bit of a Tom cat with a commitment phobia, but for some reason he can’t explain, is immediately drawn to the gorgeous young man he arrests. Yes, Caleb arrests Drake, but is soon filled with overwhelming regret after he becomes fully aware of Drake’s condition and consequently realises the unnecessary pain and humiliation he has caused him.

Wanting to make amends, but also intrigued and attracted to the gorgeous young midwife, Caleb attempts an apology, in fact, more than one apology. Drake is having none of it. He’s prickly and sarcastic rebuffing Caleb at every turn. Caleb has to work extremely hard to even get Drake to agree to a conversation with him. What follows is often hilarious, but also sweet and endearing, as Caleb researches Drake’s Chrone’s disease - this appears to be the way to earn Drake’s trust - and then to prove he understands and is not put off by what he learns.

Drake is the recipient of some rather unusual gifts from his admirer, all pertaining to Chrone’s - Caleb’s rather unusual ‘bouquet’ being a case in point. Slowly Drake is worn down by Caleb’s resilience to his put-downs and amused and even secretly thrilled by his unusual and thoughtful gifts.

This story lends itself perfectly to the outstanding and fabulous performance by the multitalented Gary Furlong. Funny, witty, and snarky, as is the norm with any book written by Jay Hogan, there are also some tense and highly emotional moments. One such moment completely overset me and I felt myself wholly there in that place and time experiencing Drake’s utter despair. I’m not often moved to tears, but such was the impact of Jay Hogan’s words on me and Gary Furlong’s interpretation of them, that I was thoroughly undone. Such a beautiful, moving, utterly captivating story but also, at times - heart wrenching. I honestly cannot recommend this book highly enough, especially the audio version. A perfect author/voice actor team. 5 highly deserved stars.