Title: Between these Walls
Series: N/A
Author: John Herrick
Genre: Literary Fiction
Length: Novel (345 pages)
Publisher: Segue Blue (February 10th, 2015)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Blurb: Hunter is a Christian. Hunter is the man next door.
Hunter Carlisle is gay.
At 26 years old, Hunter Carlisle has a successful sales career, a devoted girlfriend, and rock-solid faith. He also guards a secret torment: an attraction to other men. When a career plunge causes muscle tension, Hunter seeks relief through
Gabe Hellman, a handsome massage therapist. What begins as friendship takes a sudden turn and forces the two friends to reconsider the boundaries of attraction. Along the road to self-discovery, Hunter’s secret is exposed to the community. Now Hunter must face the demons of his past and confront his long-held fears about reputation, sexual identity, and matters of soul.
A story of faith, fire and restoration, Between These Walls braves the crossroads of love and religion to question who we are and who we will become.
Publisher’s full disclosure to readers: This novel of faith occurs within a true-to-life context of redemption, and contains adult language and content.
ISBN: 9780991530915
Product Link: http://www.amazon.com/Between-These-Walls-John-Herrick-ebook/dp/B00PBAORSK
Reviewer: Prime
Review: There are a lot of words to describe this book: intense, poignant and emotive are the first words to come to mind.
The MCs of this are Hunter and Gabe. Hunter converted to Christianity at the age of 16 (his family largely non-religious). The reason for which appears to me because he was confused, like many teen, particularly with his sexuality. This ongoing confusion for Hunter, even at 26 and now a software salesman, is the heart of the emotional conflict throughout the book.
Gabe is 25. He is a massage therapist with a degree in fine arts and performance. He, like Hunter and other young men like him, is at war with himself about his feelings towards other men. But to give Gabe credit, his inner war isn’t as bad as Hunter’s. Once the two meet, a slow burning attractions starts and the sexual tension between them is understated, bringing the emotion of these guys into the spotlight.
This is no light read by any stretch of the imagination. I recommend not trying to rush through the story but take your time and take each bit of emotion and information as it comes. Then by the time you finish, if you felt the least bit of connection or emotion for the characters this is the type of book that will likely be stuck in your head for a while. It’s not the usual Christian gay men exploring their sexuality with almost cloak and dagger precision.
It’s almost like a coming of age for two men in their mid-twenties. The big picture of the book is nicely dealt with – and with common sense – as these men are reconciling their faith and spirituality with their sexuality. There is also the repercussion of forcing a particular life style based around faith rather than being yourself (i.e. suicide and mental breakdown).
Again something that was tastefully done. In the end, I feel that “man” has a lot to answer for when it comes to enforcing something that isn’t a big part of using a belief system as a spiritual guide.
Finally, I appreciated the poignancy of the epilogue. It’s a nice summary and almost bittersweet. It’s probably what no one wanted to read for the characters, nor did I particularly expect it, but it is also sweet and true to life.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *