Title: Sawyer (Torey Hope: The Later Years: Book Two)
Author: A.D. Ellis
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: 372 Pages
Category: Contemporary
At a Glance: All in all, I’d give this a thumbs up, although tilted slightly toward the middle.
Reviewed By: Taz
Blurb: Sawyer Morgan has a secret. Revealing his true feelings to his family could bring devastation and destruction, so he keeps the burden firmly on his own shoulders. When he moves back to Torey Hope to help with the family business, Sawyer’s hidden truth becomes too much to bear.
Luke Hamilton has a past overflowing with emotional and physical scars. A promise to his dying mother prevents him from seeking the love and acceptance he longs for. Taking a job in Torey Hope brings Luke face-to-face with taboo desires he thought long extinguished.
Secrets, lies, hatred, and fear threaten to destroy their lives. But, love has the power to overcome and lay claim to victory.
Will Sawyer succeed in proving to Luke some connections are worth fighting for?
Review: Wow, what a journey. This book had me curious at the beginning and racing through to find out how the story ends. A.D. Ellis touches upon many important issues surrounding coming out, family acceptance, finding love, dealing with the past, and forgiveness. The genuine emotion on the pages is undeniable and comes straight from the heart.
Sawyer is lucky; he comes from a loving, strong family. While he struggles with coming out, and the ramifications once he does, his experience is nothing compared to what Luke suffered, and continues to suffer for the bulk of the book. Experiences harsh, dark, and violent, are addressed. Not terribly explicitly (for I truly don’t enjoy those aspects of reading), but respecting that these were real parts of the story and they really happened to the characters. An author can’t change what is real for her characters.
All in all, the love that went into crafting this story kept me hooked, although there were a few things that took away from my overall enjoyment. Mostly these fell into two main categories—telling instead of showing: I knew how the characters felt by the way the author told her story. The words weren’t needed. Also, there was a fair amount of head-hopping. It distracted me that I’d be in one character’s head and then suddenly be reading something from another character’s point of view.
However, the scenes where Sawyer confronts the family members who were less than supportive when he came out to the family had me in tears. They were so beautifully written and filled with exactly the words and actions one would hope all people would receive, regardless of sexual-orientation.
All in all, I’d give this a thumbs up, although tilted slightly toward the middle.
You can buy Sawyer here:
[zilla_button url=”http://amzn.to/2nBdtit” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Amazon KU – US [/zilla_button][zilla_button url=”http://authl.it/B011CTUJLM?d” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Amazon KU – Int’l [/zilla_button]
The Novel Approach Reviews 
Leave a Reply