Paul & Sam by Justin South

13482637Title: Paul & Sam 

Author: Justin South 

Genre:   Contemporary Romance, Suspense

Length:  Novella (45K)

Publisher:  Justin South

Heat Level:  Mild

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥2.5Hearts

Blurb:   Paul & Sam is a MM romance murder mystery. Their story is plot intensive, with a degree of psychic chemistry, as the following brief description indicates:

19yo Paul lives a lonely, tormented existence. One night he meets Sam in extraordinary circumstances. He discovers Sam hero-worships him for saving his cousin’s life after a cowardly beach incident two years earlier.

Blinded by infatuation for his hero and devastated by the recent death of Tim, his twin brother, Sam passionately pleads to Paul to become his partner. While deciding, Paul is drawn into Tim’s psychic maze of cryptic messages. What is Tim’s influence? Does Tim empower Paul to identify the culprit who caused his cousin’s near-death? Can Paul decipher Tim’s cryptograms to solve the mystery surrounding his passing?

Follow Paul’s journey to love and happiness. Share the passion as two young men overcome insecurities and develop their innate strengths. Admire the kindness and generosity of Sam’s family as it assists others less fortunate. Deliberate the madness of revenge leading to the exposure of evil judicial corruption and a suspenseful court case.

Product Link:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/367257

Reviewer:   Tams

Review:  Paul’s life has been anything but a fairy tale. Mistreated, abused and abandoned by his family for being gay; Paul continually makes the wrong choices in his life. He’s had his moments though. Like when he pulled a young injured surfer out of the water and saved his life. Circumstance and another bad decision will change his life forever this time. The question is, will it be a change for the better? … Or worse!

Sam lost his twin brother Tim to a random act of violence. He almost lost his cousin to a random accident, but the quick thinking of a certain young man saved his cousins life. Sam has idolized that hero in his mind ever since. So when his father brings home a drifter that is down on his luck Sam is overjoyed to come face to face with his hero, Paul. Sam and his family are genuine, down to earth, good Samaritans. So when they make Paul an offer, to become part of their family and become Sam’s life partner, Paul has his reservations. The mutual attraction and animal magnetism that he shares with Sam help him make the right decision.

As the story unfolds, we meet Sam’s cousin and Paul develops an interesting connection with Tim, Sam’s dead twin. In a unique twist, we learn that these random coincidences that occur throughout the story may not be so random after all. They are all, in fact, linked.

There was so much potential in this book that when I finished, I was aggravated that it was never fully recognized. It read like a rough draft for a high school English paper. The storyline of twists and turns and everything converging in the end was so intriguing, that is what kept me reading. At times the dialogue of various characters ran together, this confused me and I had to go back to be sure I was hearing the correct character. The base of the plot, a down on his luck drifter who is completely alone with no family gets the family of his dreams and finds the love of his life, was endearing. The execution, however, did not translate that well in print.

If you can get past the mediocre writing and see just the meat of the story, this might be an enjoyable read for you. I’m giving this one a 2.5 because I’m torn. While the writing wasn’t up to par, the storyline itself was engaging. Hell, that cover alone is worth grabbing a copy just so you can stare at it, pet it!