Head On by John Inman

HeadOnLGTitle: Head On
Author: John Inman
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: Novel (220 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (July 9th 2014)
Heat Level: Mild to Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts
Reviewer: Tams
Blurb: At twenty-six, Gordon Stafford figures his days are numbered. At least he hopes they are. Wearied by guilt and regret stemming from a horrific automobile accident two years earlier in which a man was killed, Gordon wakes up every morning with thoughts of suicide. While the law puts Gordon to work atoning for his sins, personal redemption is far harder to come by.

Then Squirt—a simple homeless man with his own crosses to bear—saves Gordon from a terrible fate. Overnight, Gordon finds not only a new light to follow, and maybe even a purpose to his life, but also the possibility of love waiting at the end of the tunnel.

Gordon never imagined he’d discover a way to forgive himself, and in doing so, open his heart enough to gain acceptance and love—from the very person he hurt the most.

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5188

Review: Gordon Stafford was young and successful, had his whole life to live, until one stupid mistake change not only his life, but also the lives of everyone involved in the accident. Two years later he is broken, depressed and working off his community service hours at a local soup kitchen. He visits the grave of the man’s life he took daily, some sort of penance, but he’s still plagued by nightmares and suicidal thoughts. Until he meets the Squirt.

Being jumped at the soup kitchen by three immoral teenagers wanna be thugs, Gordon steps in and saves Squirt, then feeds him. In a manner of minutes, everything in Gordon’s life shifts. His focus, his want to live, and a need to protect Squirt from whatever haunts him. But Squirt is gone by the time Gordon finishes his shift, days later though, Squirt saves Gordon from a terrible fate and unlikely love story takes root.

Gordon can’t forgot that horrible night, the night that he killed a man by texting and driving while he was also slightly intoxicated. The smell of blood on the warm asphalt, the shrill screeching of metal, breaking glass and that ear piercing scream that he still hears ringing in his ears every damn day. Squirt isn’t without his secrets either, the problem is, and Squirt himself doesn’t know what they are. He has scars, but he doesn’t remember how they got there. People call him Jerry, but he doesn’t remember that name, he only knows Squirt, and how much he wants to be with Gordon.

Gordon takes his time, afraid to move too fast and scare Squirt away. But soon enough they are loving each other and living together. But Gordon never tells Squirt about his past, so when he finds out on his own, it triggers something that has devastating consequences for both men.

This was a tragically beautiful love story with a fantastic ending. I laughed, I cried, I shouted at my kindle several times. In the end, it was all worth it. Inman has written a story with one of the most flawed and imperfect characters I’ve ever read in Gordon who did something reckless and life altering, not even realizing at the time that the stretch of the pain would reach as far as it did. And everything and everyone was connected in some way, some of the lines I saw intersecting, but some of the connections were surprising. I do love a great storyline that keeps me guessing!

Well written story with three-dimensional characters that conveyed their part in the story flawlessly. The passion was on point, but not over the top as Squirt was so young, innocent, naive and fragile that Gordon had to handle him with kid gloves. This only made their characters more endearing not only to the reader, but also to each other. The moral story hidden in the words of this book speak volumes as well. Life is short, make the right choices because they can and will come back to you, and they have consequences that will bleed into your future.
Yes, this is a must read.