Title: Redeeming Hope
Author: Shell Taylor
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: L.C. Chase
Length: Novel – 206 Pages
Release Date: October 5, 2015
Blurb: Home for Hope: Book One
Fifteen years ago Elijah Langley’s world came to an abrupt halt with the death of his high school boyfriend. He keeps his past—and his sexual orientation—hidden until he attends a fundraiser for The Center for HOPE, an LGBT youth center, where he meets Adam Lancaster, HOPE’s infuriatingly stubborn and sexy founder.
A survivor of a turbulent childhood, Adam understands better than most the challenges his youth face. He’s drawn to Elijah’s baby blues and devilish smile but refuses to compromise his values and climb back into the closet for anyone—not even the man showering time and money on HOPE. Months of constant flirting wear down Adam’s resolve until he surrenders to his desires, but Elijah can’t shake his demons.
When a youth from the center is brutally assaulted, Elijah must find a way to confront the fears and memories that are starting to ruin his life, so he can stand strong for those he loves.
Eli clutched the glossy
eight-by-ten as tears welled in his eyes. He could hardly believe the
emaciated, washed-out figure in the picture was the same person he’d centered
his entire world around just a few weeks earlier. Eli would recognize that face
anywhere. God knows, he’d spent enough time staring at it—running his fingers
over those soft lips, sucking on the kidney-shaped birthmark just below the
ear. He never imagined he’d see those eyes so lifeless.
“It’s him,” Eli whispered,
dropping the picture on the officer’s desk.
His mother rested a hand on
his shoulder. “E.J.—”
“Don’t pretend to care, now
that he’s dead.” Eli shrugged out of her grasp and clenched his jaw to hold in
the gut-wrenching sobs brewing in his chest. “Will I need to identify the body
in person too?”
The officer avoided Eli’s
eyes, but his voice was kind. “If you’re certain, this is good enough for us.
He’ll be released in the next thirty-six hours. Will you be claiming him, or
will the city keep him?”
Eli’s eyes widened, and panic
ripped through his heart. He’d never expected the search to end with a dead
body, and there was no way he’d be able to give his boyfriend the funeral he
deserved—the one Eli owed him for his own part in Brian’s death. Prepared to
beg, he turned and met his father’s eyes for the first time since Brian
disappeared from their house almost three weeks earlier.
“We’ll take care of his
arrangements.” Eli’s mother spoke quietly but firmly, and his father dipped his
chin in silent agreement.
Elijah and Adam are the MCs in this book. Elijah is a closeted bisexual man harboring great heartbreak and it’s affected him more than I think even he knows. Adam runs HOPE the center for these troubled kids. Together they not only have an amazing love story brewing but they are powerful and detrimental to the future of the center.
Then Shell Taylor went and did something that made me love and hate her. Enter Kollin. I saw Kollin in this story as the voice of the kids of HOPE. I LOVED that she wrote him. Many times I felt he was an MC and not a secondary. He is a glue, he is hope.
The dialog was brilliant and the emotions come across like you are actually feeling them. Shell Taylor has started something here. A series that I feel will be a favorite of mine.
Mastering reality within fiction isn’t always easy, yet Shell Taylor makes it look effortless. I highly recommend this moving book.
Shell Taylor is a full-time mother of three exuberant and loving kiddos and one fur baby, a tiny but fierce Yorkie-poo named Rocco. As a Christian who practices love, grace, and humility rather than hatred and judgement, she tries her best to instill these same virtues in her rowdy kids. She just recently learned how to crochet to start bombarding new mothers with matching hats and booties. She is a huge Marvel fan and because of the superhero-plastered tees paired with jeans and Chucks has been told when helping out in her son’s classroom that she looks more like the students than a parent. Her favorite way to procrastinate is to binge watch entire seasons on Netflix. Best of all, she’s been married ten years to a man who’s turned out to be everything she never knew she needed.
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Winner’s Prize: $20 Amazon Gift Card.
Runner-up’s Prize: $10 Amazon Gift Card.
October 6:
MM Good Book Reviews
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My Fiction Nook
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Molly Lolly: Reader, Reviewer, Lover of Words
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Hearts on Fire
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Diverse Reader
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Bayou Book Junkie
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Wake Up Your Wild Side
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Jessie G Books
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World of Diversity Fiction
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BFD Book Blog
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October 23:
Divine Magazine
Hhhm how likely I'm going t buy this book. Well it seems like a great book with important message so it would be high on my list to read. On the other hand the price is $ 6.29 for me so I think I'll wait a bit and see if there will be a sale..
ReplyDeletebook sounds great and will def buy
ReplyDeleteThis sounds fantastic. I already purchased it and plan on diving in this weekend with a box of tissues. I have a feeling I will need them.
ReplyDeleteAdded to my wish list. I will buy this book. It sounds great and like something we all need to read. Thanks for the chance
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds good and I am likely to purchase it.
ReplyDelete