Scan barcode
A review by cspoe
When One Door Opens by J.D. Ruskin
5.0
I came across this title several years ago when I was searching for a new book to read. I lean more toward genre books than straight up contemporary romance, so when I do find one I want to read, there is usually a unique character or plot aspect that draws me in. When One Door Opens features Caleb, an agoraphobic who hasn't left his apartment building in years. The love interest is a man named Logan, an ex-con and recovering alcoholic who crosses paths with Caleb when he's hired to deliver groceries and mail.
What develops is a slow burn, friends to lovers romance between two very imperfect people. Logan is, and doesn't hide the fact, that he's made some grave errors in his life, and is constantly struggling to not repeat those mistakes. His language and word choices aren't always acceptable, and he, as a character, pushes the reader's comfort zone at times. But much like the AA programs he's working through, and Caleb's reminder that everyone deserves a second chance at life, Logan pushes himself to be a better human. He's a fascinating character in the respect that he is someone a lot of people probably have or know in their real life. Someone who isn't the smartest or most handsome, someone who doesn't have a heart of gold, and in fact has some serious and complicated issues in need of addressing. And yet, there is humanity to him. The desire to learn and grow.
The book is a romance, but in a very subdued sense. Caleb gives Logan a chance to be a better man, and Logan in return is someone that Caleb learns to trust in a world that otherwise terrifies him. They do fall in love, there is sex, and the promise of a happily ever after, but I read this book more like a character study. Leads that, for both their positive and negative aspects, still endear themselves to the reader.
What develops is a slow burn, friends to lovers romance between two very imperfect people. Logan is, and doesn't hide the fact, that he's made some grave errors in his life, and is constantly struggling to not repeat those mistakes. His language and word choices aren't always acceptable, and he, as a character, pushes the reader's comfort zone at times. But much like the AA programs he's working through, and Caleb's reminder that everyone deserves a second chance at life, Logan pushes himself to be a better human. He's a fascinating character in the respect that he is someone a lot of people probably have or know in their real life. Someone who isn't the smartest or most handsome, someone who doesn't have a heart of gold, and in fact has some serious and complicated issues in need of addressing. And yet, there is humanity to him. The desire to learn and grow.
The book is a romance, but in a very subdued sense. Caleb gives Logan a chance to be a better man, and Logan in return is someone that Caleb learns to trust in a world that otherwise terrifies him. They do fall in love, there is sex, and the promise of a happily ever after, but I read this book more like a character study. Leads that, for both their positive and negative aspects, still endear themselves to the reader.