Title: In Another Life
Author: Cardeno C.
Genre: Contemporary, Holiday
Length: Novella (84pgs)
ISNB: 978-1-62798-579-6 (Heartwarming: 978-1-61581-636-1)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (1st December 2013)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: At age 18, Shiloh Raben is tired. He no longer has the energy to deal with mean classmates, inner doubt, and fear of familial rejection, so he takes a razor to his wrist. When he wakes up in the hospital, Shiloh meets Travis Kahn, the EMT who saved him and didn’t leave his side.
Travis is handsome, smart, and funny—the type of guy Shiloh would never be brave enough to approach. But his near-death experience has an unusual side effect: the life that flashed before his eyes wasn’t the one he had already lived, but rather the one he could live. With visions of a future by Travis’s side, will Shiloh find the strength to confront his fears and build a life worth fighting for?
Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4481
Or as part of the Heartwarming collection: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4512
Review: Shiloh is tired of being bullied, he is tired of hiding himself, and he is scared of how his parents will react if he tells them he is gay; so he takes the only option he thinks is open to him. When Shiloh’s life flashes through his mind it isn’t his past but a future that he has not lived yet, a future with a man who will be his whole world. When Shiloh awakens in the hospital with the EMT who saved him by his side, the future vision of himself and the EMT are fixed firmly in his mind. Travis is an EMT and he has great plans for the future, when he saves Shiloh he discovers those plans now include the cute patient who knows more about him than he should.
There are so many words that I would like to utter but they mainly consist of Ohhhh Ahhhh sweet and cute, and *sigh* soooo romantic. We are given a true treat with this wonderful holiday story that shows the despair of a young man who feels he doesn’t have anything to cling to. It then takes us on a journey to a possible future that he would miss out on and then we are treated to a sweet ending when the course of the future is changed with Shiloh’s knowledge and his actions. The love that is discovered first in the future and then in the present is incredibly sweet but also passionate, a meeting of soul mates who are meant to be whether in the future or in the present.
Shiloh and Travis are a couple that we see in the future, a developing love when they are older that is struck with tragedy, and in the present, a new love as young men that has hope. The first half of the story is with Shiloh at 36 which then flicks back to Shiloh at 18, in both parts we are treated to a wonderful relationship between Shiloh and Travis, and both characters are wonderful giving us a brilliant story that both delights and has hints of sadness.
Ah, there are so many wonderful and bittersweet moments in this story but the lingering thoughts that stay with me was how everything was altered by Shiloh’s very first action. Without Shiloh’s first desperate actions we would never have seen the future that should be, Shiloh would never have met Travis when he did in the present and would never have changed Travis’ habit to alter the eventual outcome. Puzzled? Well, you won’t be when you read the story and discover that maybe, just maybe, Shiloh’s actions changed both their futures for the better.
I recommend this to those who love stories of a love that was meant to be, incredible characters, a story that draws out your emotions with ease and a story that brings family together.