A.L. Lester, once again, had me mesmerized from the very first chapter. I absolutely enjoyed “Taking Stock”. The storyline and characters just have a certain magic and their love of the land makes it feel very much a part of the “Lost In Time” series.

Phil McManus just broke up with a cheating, gold digging boyfriend and his job as a stockbroker takes a dive. Luckily for Phil he has two good friends in Percy Wright and Adrian Framlingham. In desperate need of a lawyer, Adrian takes Phil’s case. With nothing left in London for Phil, he leaves and rents Caster’s Cottage in a small village miles away.

Laurie Henshaw lives at Webber’s Farm, which has been in existence for over two hundred years. His Uncle Matty and long time partner Rob Curland both lived on the farm until their passing. Laurie, as a troubled teen, was taken in by his Uncle Matty and the farm was entrusted to him. Laurie is now struggling with the fate that has befallen him. He’s dealing with so many mixed emotions and is overwhelmed with not being able to do the things he could do before.

When Laurie decides to finally venture out, he overdoes it. Luckily for Laurie,
he’s rescued by Phil when they meet at the post office. Phil offers him a ride in his TVR Vixen, even Laurie could not refuse that invitation. As Phil and Laurie start to spend time together, they find comfort, understanding and new ways of making life worth living.

As much as I love the “Lost In Time” series, “Taking Stock” turned out to be one of the best short stories I’ve read so far from A.L. Lester. A.L. Lester captures a magical feeling that seems to draw everyone to Webber’s Farm. I loved Laurie’s reminiscing about his Uncle Matty and Rob. It left me with the feeling they are still at the farm.

A.L. Lester brings some wonderful characters to this amazing, feel good story starting with Phil McManus and Laurie Henshaw. Laurie and Phil are just made for each other and bring the readers a perfect romance. This is also a story of family that you make along the way. I thought A.L. perfectly captured Laurie’s feelings. Sometimes in life we all feel like we are a burden to others around us. We feel like we are on the outside because we can no longer do what we use to: whether it comes from getting older, disability, illness or injury.

A.L. Lester brings back some long time characters from the “Lost In Time” series: Sally, Jimmy, and Tommy and some new ones too: Cat and Paul Rider. Percy and Aidan left me curious and I hope there will be a story for them to come.

If anyone is curious about Matty and Rob and Webber’s Farm, it all starts with “The Gate” and their story continued with “Inheritance of Shadows” from the “Lost In Time” series. As for “Taking Stock”, I highly recommend this story, it can be appreciated as a heartwarming, romantic, love story all on its own.