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regencyfan93's review against another edition
5.0
I am at the point when Steve has woken up in the hospital and Daniel is there. I enjoyed the writing of Steve's point of view during the attack and lying in the hospital.
The scope of the story was small while the growth of Daniel and Steve was big. Steve had so much to relearn - stand, walk, read. He finds joy in Daniel's joy at being out on the pitch again, even though Steve himself won't play again.
While the first chapters were difficult, I needed the tissue box for the epilogue, for the last 2 paragraphs. I'm glad that I interspersed this with other books, though should have picked it up sooner.
I won this book at a stop at Delilah's Night, a stop on the blog tour for [b:Unspoken|13632561|Unspoken|R.A. Padmos|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1397826906s/13632561.jpg|19241859].
Bumped to a 5 upon re-reading. There were pain and determination but not angst.
The scope of the story was small while the growth of Daniel and Steve was big. Steve had so much to relearn - stand, walk, read. He finds joy in Daniel's joy at being out on the pitch again, even though Steve himself won't play again.
While the first chapters were difficult, I needed the tissue box for the epilogue, for the last 2 paragraphs. I'm glad that I interspersed this with other books, though should have picked it up sooner.
I won this book at a stop at Delilah's Night, a stop on the blog tour for [b:Unspoken|13632561|Unspoken|R.A. Padmos|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1397826906s/13632561.jpg|19241859].
Bumped to a 5 upon re-reading. There were pain and determination but not angst.
kaje_harper's review against another edition
5.0
This book opens with a memory of passion and affection - an image of Steve walking aimlessly, thinking about Daniel, the teammate with whom he has fallen in love. He is alone that night because they're in the closet, and Daniel's parents are in town. Within a few pages, the story moves into a scene of horrific violence. The rest of the book deals with the aftermath of both the love and the violence, for Steve, for Dan, and for everyone around them.
The writing is understated, clear and gorgeous. There is a vast ocean of both love and pain in the progression of their relationship and in the healing and consequences stemming from the the violence. The story is realistic, sweet, painful, and has at its heart a very steadfast commitment between two men. A beautiful book and one I will reread, despite the gut-churning difficulty of reading that opening chapter. Recommended.
The writing is understated, clear and gorgeous. There is a vast ocean of both love and pain in the progression of their relationship and in the healing and consequences stemming from the the violence. The story is realistic, sweet, painful, and has at its heart a very steadfast commitment between two men. A beautiful book and one I will reread, despite the gut-churning difficulty of reading that opening chapter. Recommended.
relly's review against another edition
5.0
Powerful
This book is predominately a love story, it's about unconditional love and the power it wields.
The second chapter is brutal and horrifying in the details of Steve's attack, and while reading it I was reminded why this book had sat on my TBR pile for so long, I just never felt in the right mindset to read it. Boy am I glad I did now. It combines some of my favourite genres, sports and hurt /comfort. From the painful rehabilitation Steve goes through to the beauty of their faith and love for each other during the same time, this book kept me captivated.
I felt for Steve and Dan, so early in their relationship without any prior discussion the guys were forced by circumstances to come out to the general public. Daniel's love and belief in Steve's love pulled them through to building a life together.
I loved Daniel as a character. His unconditional love for Steve showed his beautiful soul. I also really enjoyed that the author didn't use plot devices to break them up. Issues were discussed as they came up before they were able to be blown out of proportion. If they were unable to be discussed at the time, a later date was set to discuss them
"I don't want to lie to you but I don't want to discuss this till tomorrow."
My only problem I had with this book, as that there was never any real anger from Steve. Daniel was the one that showed some anger at what had happened to Steve, where Steve seemed to be just accepting. I expected that with his injuries and having to relearn to do simple things that we all take for granted there would be some blow ups, some frustrations at the limitations of his new body, but he never did, he only showed some sadness and acceptance. Only once was it mentioned that it wasn't fair what happened.
Overall a powerful read. I will definitely be looking for more works from this author.
This book is predominately a love story, it's about unconditional love and the power it wields.
The second chapter is brutal and horrifying in the details of Steve's attack, and while reading it I was reminded why this book had sat on my TBR pile for so long, I just never felt in the right mindset to read it. Boy am I glad I did now. It combines some of my favourite genres, sports and hurt /comfort. From the painful rehabilitation Steve goes through to the beauty of their faith and love for each other during the same time, this book kept me captivated.
I felt for Steve and Dan, so early in their relationship without any prior discussion the guys were forced by circumstances to come out to the general public. Daniel's love and belief in Steve's love pulled them through to building a life together.
I loved Daniel as a character. His unconditional love for Steve showed his beautiful soul. I also really enjoyed that the author didn't use plot devices to break them up. Issues were discussed as they came up before they were able to be blown out of proportion. If they were unable to be discussed at the time, a later date was set to discuss them
"I don't want to lie to you but I don't want to discuss this till tomorrow."
My only problem I had with this book, as that there was never any real anger from Steve. Daniel was the one that showed some anger at what had happened to Steve, where Steve seemed to be just accepting. I expected that with his injuries and having to relearn to do simple things that we all take for granted there would be some blow ups, some frustrations at the limitations of his new body, but he never did, he only showed some sadness and acceptance. Only once was it mentioned that it wasn't fair what happened.
Overall a powerful read. I will definitely be looking for more works from this author.
calila's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not sure I have the words to adequately review this book. It was amazing and emotional and hard to read and still uplifting in a way. I think this book has the most realistic depiction of a gay bashing and the realities of what, I imagine, goes through the victim's brain while it's happening. It was so tough to get through, but necessary I think. The love that Steven and Daniel have for each other is beautiful. I loved seeing them heal together. I wish it had been a little less optimistic at times, but that's just a personality difference. I would've like to see more of the frustration that comes with what they went through. But I guess they're healthier than me. The ending left me in tears. It was very emotional.
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