Author: Kim Fielding
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length: 260 Pages
Category: Contemporary Romance
At a Glance: Kim Fielding’s writing is superb with this one. Fantastic!
Reviewed By: Lynn
Blurb: Bullied as a child in small-town Kansas, Jeremy Cox ultimately escaped to Portland, Oregon. Now in his forties, he’s an urban park ranger who does his best to rescue runaways and other street people. His ex-boyfriend, Donny—lost to drinking and drugs six years earlier—appears on his doorstep and inadvertently drags Jeremy into danger. As if dealing with Donny’s issues doesn’t cause enough turmoil, Jeremy meets a fascinating but enigmatic man who carries more than his fair share of problems.
Qayin Hill has almost nothing but skeletons in his closet and demons in his head. A former addict who struggles with anxiety and depression, Qay doesn’t know which of his secrets to reveal to Jeremy—or how to react when Jeremy wants to save him from himself.
Despite the pasts that continue to haunt them, Jeremy and Qay find passion, friendship, and a tentative hope for the future. Now they need to decide whether love is truly a powerful thing or if, despite the old adage, love can’t conquer all.
Review: Once again Kim Fielding has given us a beautifully written love story. In Love Can’t Conquer we meet two men who are carrying internal scars from their pasts. One has a big heart and will do everything in his power to help people; the other can’t seem to let anyone in—he just doesn’t think he’s worthy.
Jeremy grew up in a small town. Bullied at school. Home life sucked. He was miserable and couldn’t wait for the day he could escape. As a grown man in his forties, he’s not that pudgy, nerdy kid everyone picked on anymore. Former cop and now a ranger in the Pacific Northwest, Jeremy has a big heart who spends a lot of his time helping others.
And then we have Qay. As a teenager he was abandoned by his family at a time when he needed them the most. Turning to alcohol and drugs, he was lost for several years until he started clawing his way back to society. Now clean and sober, he struggles with his sobriety and anxiety issues every single day. Years of being told he was worthless and didn’t deserve anything or anyone takes its toll on Qay. He believes it.
To say Jeremy and Qay need each other is an understatement. Jeremy sees Qay’s vulnerability, and of course, being the person he is, Jeremy has to fix him. Qay needs to trust and let someone in to catch him when he falls.
Let me say here that this is my favorite kind of story. I love damaged characters. Not that I get pleasure in reading about their abuse and struggles, but I like to see them overcome and succeed. And I like to see it happen realistically. This author does that. Both Jeremey and Qay fumble, they have set backs, and nothing is fixed permanently in one chapter, or even by the end of the book. We get both POV’s, so we’re seeing how their minds work, we’re seeing the mistakes they make, and that’s okay, they’re human. I love the realism in this story.
All that being said, the tone of this story is kind of bleak, melancholy even. Do the characters get their HEA? Yes, they do. But this story is not for the faintest heart. It’s angsty, sad and, at times, down right depressing, but it’s oh-so-good. It smacks you right in the feels. Kim Fielding’s writing is superb with this one. Fantastic!
Overall, I highly recommend this book. It’s a mixed bag that I’m sure a lot of readers will enjoy. The secondary characters are top notch, and there’s a little mystery, thanks to Jeremy’s ex, thrown in as well. Ms. Fielding does an amazing job working the mystery in the background. We know it’s going on, but it never takes the center stage away from Jeremy and Qay. There’s definitely a little something for everyone.
You can buy Love Can’t Conquer here:
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