Title: Second Chances
Author: Arianna Paige
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short (40 pages)
Publisher: Arianna Paige (March 10th, 2013)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
Reviewer: Eli
Blurb: Richard Forrest is your average working stiff just going through the motions. Childhood baggage keeps him “in line”, but away from some of the things he truly wants. Adrian, or Rain as Richard calls him, was one of those things. After nearly two years of separation, Richard bumps into Rain and their incidental meeting results in old emotions flaring to life for both of them despite everything in the way.
Rain’s free-spirited nature led him down a road of bad decisions that included drug use. This was ultimately the thing that separated the two of them in the past. Now a recovering addict Rain is trying his best to put his life back together. When Richard finds out that Rain is drug free he welcomes him back into his life and embraces who he truly is in the process. Everything moves forward in a fairy-tale manner until all too familiar behaviors start to resurface.
Can Richard and Rain work their way through this latest set of trials and tribulations? Will suspicion and fear tear apart what their love has finally stitched together?
Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/Second-Chances-Arianna-Paige-ebook/dp/B00BSEWP2S
Review: This is a story about what happens when love is accompanied by fear and no one talks about that fear. Addiction is real and for those who love a recovering addict, the fear of relapse is one that they live with constantly.
So Richard never admitted to himself that he was gay because of his upbringing. However, all his friends have always known that he was in love with Rain. Now that Rain is back and he and Richard are back together and officially in a relationship, Richard’s life can begin. However, can one always trust a former addict? Having denied his sexuality for so long, Richard’s relationship with Rain is very important to him. And he so he denies his fear of his boyfriend succumbing to being an addict, again. As such, rather than talking with his boyfriend, he will allow his fear to consume him until he creates issues where none need to be created.
The story is touching from a number of angles, the first being Richard’s inability to admit that he’s gay despite everyone knowing he is. It’s touching from the perspective of Rain’s devotion to Richard even when he didn’t know it. Then when coupled with Richard’s acceptance of his sexuality and feelings for Rain, the reader is touched on all those levels.
When Richard creates the breach in the relationship, the reader is not certain how Rain will respond. But, his acceptance of Richard’s fear and the reason behind it is further proof of the depth of the emotion between the men and how an addict must often be the first to forgive in order for them and their loved ones to move on.
A powerful story and message packed into only a few pages.