R.J. Scott’s Love Is… series had me at hello and has kept me on the line ever since, as Luke Holston and Cameron Anders, two teenage boys so close to taking that final step into adulthood, have managed to work their way through the uncertainty of finding just the right way to let someone know how you feel about them, to the worry of what it means not to hide the way you feel from the rest of the world, to the worry of what it means to take your relationship to the next level.
Love has always been the message in the series, and now Love Is in the Message, when a significant someone from Luke’s past resurfaces, not to cause problems, but with the hope to in some way atone for actions that could very well be unforgiveable. There are fears and emotions that Luke has kept bottled up inside of him and in the space of a moment, those feelings explode into a single act of reckoning against a bully who finally pushes Luke too far. Luke lashes out against the one tormentor within his reach who has done his best to demean Luke and steal his sense of self-respect. Eddie Holmes pays the price for everyone who has ever made Luke feel vulnerable and afraid.
But in spite of how much all the wrongs you’ve been dealt in your life make you want to rage against the injustice of it all, sometimes the only way to exorcise your demons is to simply forgive. The best revenge against those who torment you is to live your life and to be true to who you are.
This series has been written in a series of vignettes that have been sort of torturous, finishing one and then having to wait for the next. But thus far, R.J. Scott has made the wait worthwhile each time. I’m anxious to see what’s in store next for Luke and Cam, as high school graduation, then college, are just on the horizon.
Buy Love Is in the Message HERE.