Diverse Reader: Review Tour: Bishop by A.E. Via #Review #Giveaway

Length: 121,000 words approx.

Blurb

At only thirty-two, Bishop Stockley has lived a hard-knock life. His gang was his family, the streets his home. Until the crew he’d always called his brothers betrayed him. After doing five years in a federal prison, Bishop is back at his dad’s trailer and working for his landscaping company, thrust into a legit world where he’s no longer the alpha—a world where a criminal record is the least of his disadvantages, because Bishop can’t read or write. Illiteracy had never been an obstacle for him on the streets, he didn’t need to know how to read Moby Dick to survive, he needed to know how to read people… and that was a hustle he’d learned hard and fast. Now, he had to change his life.

Bishop’s only support system was a young, inexperienced dad who’d insisted he call him Mike all their life—since they looked more like brothers than father and son. And his hot-tempered, childhood, best friend from ’juvie, Trent. Bishop already had the deck stacked against him, but he wasn’t afraid of hard work to change his situation, and he did want to change. Especially after he encountered Edison Scala, a kind-spirited office manager who didn’t hesitate to come to his defense… a man that saw past Bishop’s grass-stained coveralls. A man who wasn’t intimidated by his stern features and his silence.

Edison hadn’t grown up the way most of his peers had. He’d been raised by a single father who’d owned an old-fashioned barber shop where Edison was taught how to not only shave with a straight razor, and shine shoes, but also how to treat others, to not judge, to be a gentleman, to be respectful and speak without profanity. But, the biggest lesson he’d learned, was to always be himself. His lack of friends and a social life wasn’t his fault. No matter how much weight he gained, no matter how many times his staff called him a square, Edison did not need to change.

Bishop knew Edison was off-limits. He’d made personal vows to himself when he was released from prison, ones that he never intended to break. But, when Edison asked him about providing landscaping services at his home, there was no way he could refuse. He hadn’t expected Edison to feed him, praise him, encourage him, and look at him the way he did—as if Bishop was somebody. Mike and Trent warned him not to mix business with pleasure and he didn’t intend to.

No multiple pairings. No cliffhangers. Ends with a very, very HFN.
Warning:
This book is a M/M contemporary romance, a hardened man’s struggle to find real love. There are no police chases or doors being kicked in, in this one. But, don’t worry. Bishop is still intense enough to keep you on the edge.

Review

It started right away with all the feelings, it touched me and I fell immediately in love.

Edison likes to take good care of himself, a few joys he has in life. He is lonely, with no real friends or a lover. It’s him and his kitchen, because besides being the boss at work, in private he loves to cook and enjoy the results. He is the nicest guy, has excellent taste, he’s kind, no harm towards others, polite and sadly people find a way to hurt him.

Bishop has a complicated relationship with his father. He has to call him Mike like a friend.

After a rough life on the streets, with gangs and now free after five years behind bars, he can work for his father’s landscaping company. The best part of the job is designing, he is good at it. When he got the opportunity to work at Edison’s home he didn’t think twice, he is smitten by the man. He couldn’t guess how Edison is the softest and kind balsam for his heart. Only, he has a past and a significant secret.

We get to meet Bishop’s best friend Trent and his father Mike. They are of great importance in this story. They are fun and wonderful. Edison is a lonely guy, luckily he got two lovely third-degree family members and sadly also some annoying colleagues.

We learn about Bishops and Edison’s life, past and present and what a life they have!

The way the story is developed is quite special, attention to specific things, like the interior of a nice warm home, the emotional facial expressions, little gestures, delicate emotions at just the right moments, using scent and timbre, which made this all into a precious read. I was thrilled both men weren’t flawless, it made them so real and approachable, all this was beautifully woven through this story.

The writing style was one with passion for humanity, all captivatingly written, it had the most comfortable pace. I loved this story immensely! The title of this book says A True Love Story and omg it was the best, my heart exploded at times such deep moving love there was. The development of the relationship from Bishop and Edison was in one word excellent! Bishop and Edison were so overwhelming special together, my heart yearned, I loved them so hard.

Highly recommended!

A.E. Via has been a best-selling author in the beautiful gay romance genre for five years now, but she’s no stranger to MM. She’s been an avid reader of gay lit for over fifteen years before she picked up her laptop to place her own kiss on this genre. She’s also the founder and owner of Via Star Wings Books, having published a couple great new up and coming MM authors.

A.E. has a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Virginia Wesleyan College that she used to start her own paralegal firm after she graduated in 2008. She spent five years preparing and filing bankruptcy petitions for struggling blue collar workers who couldn’t afford to file with a lawyer. It was a rewarding and satisfying career… but another path called to her. Writing.

A.E.’s writing embodies everything from hopelessly romantic to adventure, to scandalous. Her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths.

Now that she’s gotten over her 10 books published hump, she’s kind of known now for her hardcore, play rough and love hard, bad boy, alphas. However, she does like to push herself to step out of her comfort zone, exploring different tropes, but she won’t push herself into a whole other genre. She’s head over heels for gay romance and she has tons of more hot stories to tell.

Be sure to visit Adrienne on her social media pages and subscribe to her newsletter to never miss another release date! Go to A.E. Via’s official website http://authoraevia.com for more detailed information on how to contact her, follow her, or a sneak peak at upcoming work, free reads, VSWB submissions, and where she’ll appear next.

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