Author: A. M. Leibowitz
Date of Publication: November 1, 2016
ISBNs: 978-1-944591-05-2 pk. 978-1-944591-04-5 ebook.
Series: Yes (this is a prequel)
Category: Gay Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Genderqueer
Where to Buy: Amazon | Amazon UK | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Novel Summary:
For Becket “Cat” Rowland, falling in love has never been easy. The summer he meets Micah Forbes, the intensity of his feelings brings back all the memories of eight years earlier.
Following a brutal attack that left him nearly dead, Cat is a mess inside and out. To cope with the trauma and with his view of himself that he’s nothing but an empty shell, he’s taken three vows: simplicity, chastity, and silence. His once colorful, trendy, and often feminine wardrobe has been replaced with jeans and t-shirts, and he’s sworn off men. He locks himself away from the world, using the memorized prayers of his childhood as his only speech.
Cat is lost to himself and everyone around him until another hospitalization introduces him to nurse David Simms. David takes Cat’s silence in stride, caring for him without pushing and slowly building Cat’s trust.
Outside the hospital, Cat discovers he has more in common with David than he knew, and they begin to build a friendship. As it slowly grows into love, David reveals his own need for someone to take him as he is. Cat begins to let go of his vows one by one, only holding onto the silence.
Despite how far he’s come, Cat’s increasingly severe panic attacks threaten to undo everything David has helped him build. Cat’s only hope is to break the final vow and tell the truth about the night of his attack. When David fails to keep a promise he made to be there for him, Cat has to stand on his own and prove to himself he’s strong enough to survive.
*Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by the author/publisher for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*
This is book two in the In Good Faith series, and it needs to be read in order, even if this book, Walking By Faith is the prequel. If you're interested, you can find my review for book one here.
For Cat, love has never been easy. Having a severe form of hemophilia makes his life a whole lot more complicated than for others, add to that that he can't really decide on a label for himself as he toes the genderbender line. After suffering a brutal attack that left him half-dead, Cat decides to take three vows: Silence, Simplicity and Chastity. While his family has trouble accepting this, they try to be as supportive as they can be. But it isn't until he meets David, one of the nurses at the hospital, and then sees him again at a support group, that Cat starts opening up to healing.
David is mentioned in Passing on Faith and I was very curious about him, and let me tell you, A.M. Leibowitz didn't disappoint. He is such a great character and it's obvious why Cat loved him so much. He was supportive and caring from the first moment they met, going out of his way to understand Cat's vows and help him communicate with the outside world. Of course, him being hemophiliac and going through issues of his own helped them bond, but really, he was just the man Cat needed at that point of his life and while I'm sad they couldn't have their HEA, I also loved Cat with Micah.
Everything that Cat had to go through just broke my heart, but it was amazing to see him grow and get better and finally realize what happened to him was never his fault and take action, showing David, L.R. and his parents that he was strong and didn't need to be coddled.
Loved L.R., she's a fantastic sister and I adored Cat's parents. They were all amazing!
The book jumps from present to past as Cat remembers all he lived through before, and how it affects his future with Micah, actually interlapping with some scenes in book 1, which is why you need to read that one first, I could've done with a re-read, but I didn't have time at the moment. Other than that, it's really well-written, very emotional and gripping, with fascinating characters that you can grow to care about. Very recommendable!
Rating: 4.5 Stars!!!
Author Biography:
A.M. Leibowitz is a queer spouse, parent, feminist, and book-lover falling somewhere on the Geek-Nerd Spectrum. They keep warm through the long, cold western New York winters by writing about life, relationships, hope, and happy-for-now endings. In between noveling and editing, they blog coffee-fueled, quirky commentary on faith, culture, writing, books, and their family.
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