Bayou Book Junkie: Blog Tour ~ RESURRECTION by S. DAVIDSON ~ (Reviews + Giveaways)

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Blog Tour ~ RESURRECTION by S. DAVIDSON ~ (Reviews + Giveaways)

Blog Tour ~ RESURRECTION by S. DAVIDSON ~ (Reviews + Giveaways)

TITLE: RESURRECTION

AUTHOR: S. DAVIDSON

GENRE: M/M MILITARY ROMANCE 18+

PUBLISHER: ENCOMPASS INK

COVER ARTIST: RUE VOLLEY

LENGTH: 296 PAGES

RELEASE DATE: JUNE 1, 2016

Amazon

Two men with painful, complicated pasts who have shut themselves down from ever loving again. Complete opposites of one another, one raised in a strict military household, who grew up with the sole purpose of becoming a soldier and defending his country, only to have that cut short by an IED; and the other raised in the rodeo, small town and ranch life his safe haven; and their chance meeting.

How the two of them end up in some small town diner can only be credited to divine intervention. But are both men too damaged? They say God works in mysterious ways. Well, he certainly had his hands full when he chose these two for saving.

Is it too late?

4 Stars

*copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review*

This book is written in three parts.

Part one is Jamie's story

Jamie was raised by a strict military father. The men he was raised around gladly volunteered to go off to war, while the women knew their place, at home waiting for them to return. Jamie's father made his way up through the ranks to become a General. He expects nothing less from his son. We follow Jamie from childhood through college and his own military service. His father raised him to be the best, to be tough, and a man's man. He definitely wouldn't accept his son's attraction to men. Even though he's attracted to men, Jamie is tough. He is quicker, and stronger than most. Jamie's story takes us through his numerous deployments overseas. As time goes on Jamie becomes more and more damaged from the things he has witnessed on the battlefield. We also see Jamie's personal life, and when tragedy strikes there as well, it's beyond heart-breaking.

Part two is Chris's story.

Chris is raised very differently. He is raised on the rodeo circuit, like his father, he is a competitor, but unlike Jamie, Chris's parents know, accept and support the fact that their son is gay. They love him unconditionally. Bull riding is dangerous and hard on the body. Chris knows he may not always be able to compete in the rodeo, so he heads off to New York City for college. Along the way he finds not only an education, but love. But he, too, is forced to live through tragic heartbreak.

Part Three

Part three brings these two men together. Both of these men suffer such tragedy, and as I trudged through their professional and personal loses, and heartbreak, I just had to hope they could find happiness together. It was a rough and bumpy road to a HEA, but the ending is worth the ride.

First I'll tell you what I loved. There was such raw emotion in this story. I felt the heartbreak and loss. But I also felt the love these men had in them and shared. The struggle Jamie faces is realistic. There isn't a quick fix. It takes time, medication, therapy, and the support of a patient and loving partner. Chris was so loving and supportive. It was touching to watch him, not only with Jamie, but with Ben as well. This story is gut wrenching, and a true uphill battle. These two men have to work beyond hard to get the happiness they so deserve. The chemistry and passion between Jamie and Chris is off the charts. You can feel it coming off the pages at you.

Now on to what I didn't like. While I thought the writing in the second and third portions of the story was good, I really didn't care for the writing in part one. I found the writing in part one made me feel like I was watching a documentary of Jamie's life. This made it hard to connect with Jamie, until we get to later parts of the book. I was told over and over "he did this" "he did that", but I wasn't allowed to experience it myself. I felt like the first 30% of the book (Jamie's portion) felt like it was written by a different person, than the last two sections. I had a hard time reading part one, and thought numerous times about putting it down and moving on to something else. I'm glad I kept going, but it was difficult at times. I also found at times the timeline was choppy and hard to keep up with. Time would suddenly jump ahead by years, and this wasn't always explained. If not for these two things, this would have been a solid five star read.

Still it was raw and emotional and I enjoyed it. It was also very fitting that I read this book Memorial Day weekend. Highly recommended!

*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie in exchange for a fair and honest review. ***

Jamie is an at least third generation military man and while his path has been pretty much set from birth, he wants to make his own way by becoming a Delta Force soldier, no matter what his father says about that. To that effect, he forces himself to the limit of his endurance and becomes the best soldier he can be, even when his dream might come at the cost of his private life. Being gay isn't something to be divulged, and his parents would rather not think about it, but once he meets Derrick in college and he follows Jamie when he goes away for training, he finds himself in love and in a relationship with Derrick. Military life takes a toll on Jamie and when tragedy strikes, he's not prepared for it.

Chris is a top-notch bull rider, out and proud and supported by his parents and friends. Wanting to follow his other dream of being an architect, he goes away to college in New York and meets the love of his life, Ben. Unfortunately, after several years together, a tragedy pushes them apart.

When Chris meets Jamie, they are both shells of the men they were before, and together they must decide if what they have is enough to make them want to live again.

This book was absolutely heartbreaking. Just when I thought the angst was over, something else happened to show me how wrong I was. It was also realistic and while I would've liked that the first part had been less focused on the military and more on Derrick and Jamie's relationship, I am in awe at the amount of research the author must have done both with life as a soldier and the consequences of war in soldiers once they're back from war.

I really liked both Jamie and Chris and think they complemented each other very well. They were both broken in a way, and together they managed to overcome (even if not completely) the ghosts from their pasts.

All in all, this was a really good book, well-written and angsty, with characters you can relate to and root for.

Rating: 4 Stars!!!

Who is Shelly Davidson? Shelly is someone who has been writing literally her entire life (and that’s a LONG time) and has always written M/M. Her first story was back in high school and she hasn’t stopped since. Of course, Shelly never dreamed of getting published, so needless to say, she’s in heaven! Shelly loves her characters. Her writing focus is real people, flaws and all, who are hurting or damaged, but deserve a little joy in their lives. Shelly was born and raised in Arizona, but currently lives in California because that is where the money is! She is currently single, but has a grown daughter and an adorable grandson both of whom she loves dearly. While she usually stays pretty much to herself, she does have a Bachelor’s in Social Services and a diverse background that ranges from theater to health care and currently works in accounting, she swears it’s not as boring as it sounds. While this is her first publication, it is by far not the last! She plans on being around for quite some time! You’ve been warned!