Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Adam Craig is burned out. Lead singer of the hard rock band Black Varen, he’s tired of the empty life of groupies, paparazzi, and hotel rooms. Worse, a life in the closet. After the final concert of their latest tour, he flees the afterparty, pursuing memories of lost summers and carefree days, until he passes out on the patio of a shuttered lake resort.

Miles Caldwell is a brilliant artist, tied by agoraphobia and social anxiety to his family’s lodge. Alone but for his parrot, he spends his days illuminating manuscripts and hiding from the complexities of life. When he discovers Adam asleep in a deck chair, he’s furious but intrigued. Adam soon charms his way into Miles’s bed, and they lose themselves in a summer idyll, safe from the compromises and claims of reality.

But Adam’s life, with all it demands, is waiting for him. And Miles, uncertain of Adam’s true feelings, is battling demons of his own. Somehow, the man who’s never home and the man who never leaves it must find the strength to fight for a future together.

 

Book Review

I can imagine the peace that I would find, and the comfort, of living alone on a lake with my parrot as company, doing work I love and not needing to spend time interacting with people. Hell, excluding the agoraphobia, I could be Miles. Miles's family has owned Indian Lake Resort his entire life, although the resort portion hasn't been opened since his parents' death in a car accident years before. Miles, himself, has not left the property in ten years, preferring to live there and complete his illuminated manuscripts, conversing primarily with Grace, his parrot, and seeing his sister, Lisa, once a week. Interestingly enough, Miles is not his birth name, but one he took from a character in a book that saved his life. It's more than halfway through the novel before the answers to Miles's agoraphobia, the accident that killed his parents, and his own story get revealed.

Adam is the lead singer and frontman for a light metal band. His life is one drama filled moment after the next and frankly, he's rather disgusted by the whole thing. When he stumbles across the resort his parents used to take him and his brother to before their divorce, he just wants to find a little peace. What he gets instead is a grumpy artist who doesn't listen to any music besides classical, he doesn't text, he doesn't use any social network sites, and who used to be the lifeguard Adam had a crush on all those years ago. Adam has two weeks before the band has to meet up in LA at the recording studio and spending that time with Miles sounds like the best vacation ever. Of course, Miles can't figure out why Adam would want to be with him since he's so weird, he can't make regular conversation, and he screws up everything. Doesn't matter because they fall in love anyway, although, neither one says it during their time together and Miles doesn't really believe Adam when he says he'll be back.

And so begins the long distance communication with Miles's insecurities piling on every time he sees anything about Adam out on the town in LA and Adam not really knowing how to take many of Miles's moods. Basically typical of people who spent some time together but don't really know each other very well, except compounded by Miles's mental state which he hasn't revealed, completely, to Adam. Lisa gets involved when she realizes that Miles is in love with Adam but Miles doesn't want him coming for Thanksgiving. Miles is too terrified that he is simply a way for Adam to have gay sex and stay closeted while he dates women in the public eye. So, Lisa agrees to tell Adam that Miles won't see him for one year, if Miles agrees to see a therapist for that same year and work on his issues. Now, that's the kind of sibling support I can get behind!

I really enjoyed watching what developed in the year they were apart and then when they reunited. Hearing Lisa tell Adam of the accident and what happened to Miles was heartbreakingly sad and I was awed that Miles had it together as much as he did. The year apart, even as frustrating and infuriating as it was, was still the best thing to happen to both of them. Adam was able to handle some stuff in his life with the band, the paparazzi, and his personal life that he might not have dealt with or just ignored before falling for Miles. Overall this was a sad but very, very sweet and intense love story that reminded me how when it's the right person, you can stand any hardship to be together. I liked this story very much and look forward to reading more by this author.

 

 

 

 

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

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 307 pages/80200 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	30-September-2013
Price	$7.99 ebook, $13.59 paperback, $16.79 bundle of bo
Buy Link	http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/illumination