Book Reviews

Book Blurb

In a back alley in Boston, Thomas Haskell’s bookstore is under threat of closing its doors for good. In a last ditch effort to save it, he starts a book group, inviting people to join him in appreciation of the finest in LGBT literature. What started out as a way to save his ailing sales, turns out to be the thing that saves him from a troubled past, and with the doors to his store flung open, so are the doors to his heart.

Book Review

"A book club. It would make an acceptable social setting to stave away his loneliness while trying to drive cash income into the corpse of his ailing business so troublingly dismal, he had considered more than once selling an organ or two to keep the lights shining and the fans whirring."

It didn't take very long at all to be completely caught up in the incredible characters the author created for 'Between the Lines'. Thomas owns the small bookstore and Fiona is the first to arrive at book club, herself also a business owner, which creates a beginning bond between the two. Then there's Cameron, a nineteen-year-old, living at home and not sure about coming out to his parents, and Junior, who has a low-level job at the only Christian publishing house in the city, and in fact, was recently outed by his boss within the company walls. Oh so uncomfortable. Then there's Elton, an author in his own right, who suffers from such debilitating social anxiety that his only friend, his whole life, has been his sister, Siobhan. And, finally, there's Muse, a young transgendered girl who Junior saves from a beating right outside the store.

This has to be one of the most fascinating character studies I have ever read. In part, I think the fact that the author has written it in several different points of view made my reading experience far more enjoyable. Intermixed with all of these fascinating characters, and the depths to which the author slowly reveals each of them, comes the sweetest, gentlest love story imaginable. Thomas and Elton. Two lost souls who find out what happens when you risk it all for the one you love.

“I’ve been thinking about you a lot, and every time I think of you I smile. You make me smile Elton, so I wanted to make you smile too, if only just for a while, so I can see it, and know it was because of something I had done.”

However, this isn't an easy character study to read. It's real, it's gritty, and at times, it'll break your heart. Elton is an alcoholic. Thomas dealt with a raging substance abuser in his younger days, and when he finds out, it's not a pretty confrontation. Junior is suffering, in silence, and those walls are closing in. There's drama and heartache as Elton tries to deal with his problems, Thomas is trying desperately to hold onto his business, and Junior is coming to terms with his own issues.

An excellent read that I adored from page one. Thank you, BJ, you did it, honey!

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Wilde City Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 80578 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	26-August-2015
Price	$6.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.wildecity.com/books/gay-mainstream/between-the-lines/#.Vl8r34TXlsM