Ari by Cheryl Headford

41aUI9sD2CL._SX311_BO1,204,203,200_Title: Ari
Series: N/A
Author: Cheryl Headford
Genre: New Adult Romance
Length: Novel (260 pages)
Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing (19 June 2015)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5 Hearts
Blurb: After having known each other online for some time, writers, Benji and Ari meet at a convention.
Their attraction is both immediate and mutual.
But all is not straightforward—Ari is intersex and Benji transgender.

Together they embark on a journey.

A journey that unites families, and heals old wounds.
But not everyone is happy with the blossoming love between these two unique and special individuals.

Will an act of aggression crush the flower before it can bloom?

ISBN: 9781925222487

Product Link: http://www.waywardinkpublishing.com/product/ari-by-cheryl-headford/

Reviewer: Prime

Review: I’m not entirely certain if I’ve read anything by Cheryl Headford but after reading Ari I was completely blown away. First and foremost, I would say that this is a young adult book, but that is just the start of it.

I’ve not come across many books where there are characters who are transgender and/or intersex (books that have addressed one or the other that I’ve read in the past and absolutely love are by Carol Lynne and Andrew Jericho). Here, however, we have on MC, Benji, who is transgender and a second MC, Ari, who is intersex. It is certainly a tricky area to cover in literature and I think that Cheryl has done an amazing job. Yet, like in any MM or FF book, we deal with the complicated emotions of the young characters as well as the reactions of the people around the young couple.

To be quite honest, everything that needs to be known before getting into spoiler territory is already stated in the blurb, so I won’t go over anything. You just need to head into this book knowing that Benji goes to a writers’ convention and meets his online pal, Ari.

Benji has had some heartache in the past when it comes to his family but I absolutely adored his little brother, Marc – at eleven he is somewhere between precocious kid and open-minded teen. Ari’s faced a lot of difficulty from people who are meant to love him when it comes to his condition. He has also faced some true horrors in the past as he had tried to find a boyfriend who accepts him for who he is, not what he is.

Ari and Benji make a quirky couple but the chemistry between them is great, the sweet and tender moments shared between them are nothing short of beautiful. I cannot find anything else to say because it all comes down to the fact that I think that this is brilliant. I love the themes and the way the characters develop. Ultimately, this is a story about love and healing and acceptance, and in a way this is something that most of us see things in life.

This is a wonderful coming of age tale, though at the same time it is an incredibly sweet love story. If you’re looking for something a bit different in the realm of LGBTQ romance fiction, I cannot recommend Ari enough.

* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *