Title: Signs of Life
Author: Melanie Hansen
Publisher/GR Link: Dreamspinner (preorder, out on 9/28), GR
Genre: MM Contemporary
Vice: Trauma/Loss, teachers
Rating: 5+
Lock this book up: 4
keys. This is SMOKING hot.
Length: Novel
Satisfaction: HEA
Cover Impressions: Gorgeous, and suits the series
Best Line: “He did have the strength to light more candles…”
Synopsis: Successful lawyer Jeremy Speer has
it all—a loving husband, a beautiful home, and a cherished dream that’s about
to become reality. He’s learned not to take happiness for granted, meeting the
challenges of life and love head-on with unwavering commitment and fierce
devotion. A series of tragic events leave Jeremy shattered, adrift on a sea of
unimaginable pain. He’s able to piece his life back together, but instead of
embracing it, he merely exists, using isolation and punishing physical exertion
to keep the world at bay.
High school teacher Kai Daniels has
a heart for at-risk kids—he was one himself, and a teenage brush with the law
and some troubled years behind bars left him scarred inside and out. With
courage, hard work, and the support of friends, he’s built a fulfilling life
that leaves no time for a relationship.
An intense encounter with Kai at a
gay club ignites a spark in Jeremy that he thought was extinguished forever,
but he’s unwilling to destroy the fragile peace he’s managed to create, and he
leaves Kai humiliated and disappointed. Things should have ended there, but a
bizarre occurrence brings the two together in a way neither of them expected.
Impressions: This read was simply stunning. I
was looking forward to it (and eager to see more of Jase and Carey- I was not
let down!) and so I had high expectations.
These were blown out of the water, because not only is this an amazing
read that kept me up until midnight, I couldn’t go to sleep until I had shared
that information with the world.
When the
book opens, I was brought to tears by Jeremy’s story. Honestly, I wondered how something that
emotionally hard to read could ever leave me with room to imagine him
finding love. What Hansen did so
expertly was to mirror Jeremy’s realization that he could love again with the
reader’s acceptance and then eagerness to see him do just that. Kai is a dynamic character, and it takes
someone as special as him to convince us, and Jeremy, that the pain he suffered
can be the story of his past and not the determinate of his future.
I really
felt immediately connected to these characters, and to the others that we meet
(and revisit) in this story. I felt for
Jeremy as he struggled to grow and evolve, and I admired Kai’s strength and
commitment to loving them both.
I don’t
want to give too much of this away, because I didn’t know much about the story
line before I started and I loved each and every aspect of the plot as I
uncovered it. This is a heart wrenching
and yet uplifting story and you need to lose yourself in it to really
experience the raw emotions.
I do have
to note two things. 1. This book is HOT. Steam my glasses and hope not one is peeking
over my shoulder hot. 2. I have taught in an urban school with
populations very much like Kai’s and I have never encountered a story that so
accurately reflects the highs and lows of my job. Kai’s job doesn’t end at 3, and he worries
about his kids all of the time. I loved
that Jeremy understood that, and I applaud Ms. Hansen for her accurate and
touching portrayal of a job that is truly a calling.
Don’t
wait to settle in with this book. You
will want to tune out the world to read it, but you’ll do anything to keep from
putting it down!
Highly
recommended.
: 3 out of 5 keys. Sex supports the romance.