Out of the Past by Sean Michael
| Genre | Gay / Contemporary / Erotic Romance / Drama |
| Reviewed by | Serena Yates on 30-April-2021 |
| Genre | Gay / Contemporary / Erotic Romance / Drama |
| Reviewed by | Serena Yates on 30-April-2021 |
Ten years after a terrible car accident left carpenter Andy Johnson dead, Steven Billings has yet to move on. Though he’s put aside his art to run his family's foundation—just like his parents always wanted—Steven has never been able to put Andy and the love they shared behind him.
Except Andy’s not dead. And after a long, agonizing recovery—alone—Andy has come to hate Steven, believing Steven abandoned him when things got tough. When a chance encounter at a bar throws them back together again, it’s like the dead have come back to life and the past has come back to haunt them both.
First edition published by Torquere Press, May 2008.
Second edition published by Dreamspinner Press, January 2016.
Losing a lover in a car accident is bad enough. Believing him dead for ten years only to find out your family deceived you into believing him dead is – unimaginably painful. This is the situation Steven faces, and it is pretty bad. But as soon as I realized what his partner Andy had been through, I honestly wasn’t sure which was worse. Andy was told that Steven was no longer interested in him, and had to go through excruciatingly painful physical recovery on his own, before beginning to put the rest of his life together again. In the end, I think both men suffered equally, and the only thing that will help them forget the pain is figuring out their future together.
When Steven finds Andy, the man he buried and whose grave he still brings flowers to on a weekly basis, he is shocked but relieved. Even though Andy runs, he goes after him since he already knows he’ll never let Andy go again. Talking to Andy helps him understand that he wasn’t the only one who suffered, but all he wants is another chance at a life together.
Andy is just as shocked to see Steven appear in “his” bar, but his problem is the fact that he believes Steven abandoned him. He has spent ten years being mad at Steven (and that is putting it politely), and getting over that is going to take time. Getting over that anger, believing Steven still wants him despite his scars, and beginning to feel joy at their second chance is not easy. But how can Andy resist the only man he has ever really loved?
If you’re looking for a reunion with obstacles, if you want to find out more about two men who are meant for each other but have been separated by hateful family members only to be given a second chance by Fate, and if you’re looking for a read full of tears and pain as well as joy and deep love, then you will probably like this novella.
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| Format | ebook |
| Length | Novella, 77 pages |
| Heat Level | |
| Publication Date | 11-January-2021 |
| Price | $2.99 ebook |
| Buy Link | https://www.amazon.com/Out-Past-Sean-Michael-ebook/dp/B08SQRDCBV |