Title: The Purest of Intentions
Series: N/A
Author: Shawn Bailey
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novella (109 pages)
Publisher: Dark Hollow Press (January 9th, 2015)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts
Blurb: Cartoonist Alexis Rhodes is well-known and very popular in his small community. Not only is he a gay activist, but he also teaches art at the local elementary school. A freelance artist, Alexis works from his home, and when he gets bored watching and drawing cartoons he cooks for his friends and visits the bars near the beach.
It’s on one of those occasions he meets the very attractive Madison Alleman, and has a one night stand. Things get complicated when Madison moves into the building Alexis lives in, but one-night-stand or not, the attraction is still strong.
Will the fact that Madison has a six-year-old son make a difference in Alexis’s pursuit?
ISBN: 978-1-942176-52-7
Product Link: http://www.darkhollowspress.com/#!thepurestofintentions/c22n8
Reviewer: Prime
Review: There are two things that made me instantly love this book. Firstly, I am a big fan of Shawn Bailey’s writing – it is uncomplicated, not at all fussy and the characters are full of soul. Secondly, the book is set in San Diego and after a recent visit to the city, I absolutely love it. (The book is set within “the gay neighbourhood”, Hillcrest, and it is a beautiful area of San Diego).
Yes, this is Hillcrest, San Diego.
My adoration for San Diego aside, the story is about Madison and Alexis. Madison is a young widow who moves from Boston to San Diego. His boss, Bill, finds Madison an apartment in Hillcrest by simply asking his brother if the apartment building he owns has any vacancies. Madison has a number of issues and is unsure of himself.
He’s only ever been with one woman and his experience with men, he at least knows he’s gay, is just as limited. However, he also has a very cute and very smart little 6-year-old boy, Scotty. It’s not quite love at first sight but Alexis knows right away that Madison could be the one for him. Madison may be lonely but throw in Alexis’s crazy and big family, it makes the story an absolute joy to read.
Alexis and Madison are quite contrasting characters. As I just said, Madison is lonely and Alexis has an over abundance of family with loving parents and six brothers. Both men are quite high achievers, but Alexis is not so obvious in terms of his success. He tries to come across as somewhere between the starving artist and the surfer dude, when he is all that as well as a teacher and land lord.
Madison is the struggling single dad that is successful in his career and yet would do anything for his son. However, all in all, both have a heart of gold.
This is a sweet story – if anyone likes the whole coming together as a family type book, this is excellent. The story itself is a slow burn and in the end does not disappoint. In the end that is what this is about, two guys trying to figure out their place in life and their place in each other’s lives.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *