Book Title: Rescued From Paradise
Author: H J Perry
Publisher: LoveLight Press
Cover Artist: Resplendent Media
Genre/s: M/M Gay Contemporary Romance
Length: 58,000 words
Release Date: October 22
Blurb
Two hot men. One deserted tropical island.
Carefree Adam Bennet comes from a long line of earthy people— gardeners, herbalists, hippies, and farmers. His grandmother taught him and his brothers to live off the land, to heal themselves, and above all, to trust their intuition about a person or situation.
Mr. Don’t-Touch-Me Wade O’Rourke wouldn’t dream of something so pedestrian as living off the land. His family is monied, and formal. Taking his place in his uncle’s company is the thing to do— never mind that he hates his life, and he has reasons to hate his uncle, too.
When Wade and Adam meet on an airplane they don’t quite hit it off. But they’re the only two survivors of a crash landing on an island paradise, they have to join forces to survive.
Will Adam take a chance on love with the seemingly straight man? Underneath Wade's business suit, which he once wore like armor against intimacy, is a hard body and a tender heart.
When love blossoms, can it survive the rescue and return to their American small town?
This full-length, standalone novel contains:
Tropical fruit too juicy to just eat.
A man damaged by his homophobic upbringing.
Excerpt
The first thing Adam noticed upon waking was Wade wrapped around him again. He wouldn’t argue with an ideal and efficient way to keep warm, considering they hadn’t had a fire all of yesterday. It was comfortable and comforting.
The second thing he noted was that it had stopped raining.
A fact for which he was so very grateful. It rained so much the night before, they were both soaked, even though he’d managed to rearrange their roof leaves so that the rain didn’t leak through as much.
Adam didn’t move, staying huddled against Wade. Both arms pulled in as the other man covered him protectively. Wade’s breathing was deep and soft. As he watched Wade sleep, he took that time to really study Wade’s face. How the lines of concern that seemed so permanently etched on his face when he was awake vanished while he slept.
At first, Adam estimated Wade’s age at around thirty. Watching him sleep, Adam realized he could possibly be younger than that. It was hard to put an age on him. Judging from when Wade said he graduated, he was most likely only a few years older than Adam.
What worries weighed Wade down while he was awake?
It intrigued Adam, and he wanted to know.
Adam found a way to dislodge Wade’s arm without waking him and crawled out of their lean-to. After a full day hunched up and under shelter, he needed to stretch.
And what was yesterday’s almost-kiss about? It was obvious that Wade had wanted to. Adam wasn’t sure what stopped him. He remembered their conversation, of course. He didn’t spell it out, but Wade's family sounded like a bunch of old-fashioned, homophobic bigots. Perhaps that was part of the problem.
Ugh. No. Absolutely not. The last thing Adam needed were tangled, messy feelings for a straight man. And Wade had made it absolutely clear he was straight. Adam wasn't excited about going there.
He had to believe it was for the best. Keep as much distance emotionally as he could so things between them didn’t get complicated.
A small voice in Adam told him it might be too late, already.
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Adam sunk to his knees. “This ends the sum total of my experience on what to do now.”
Wade pivoted and went to the rocky outcropping. He returned with a small hand-sized rock. “You didn’t learn to fish while you were studying with this mentor of yours?”
“Her husband handled all that. I just learned to appreciate her cooking talents.”
“Then I will clean, and you can cook.”
He wasn’t a vegetarian, but Adam had to avert his eyes when he saw what Wade was going to do. Taking life, in any manner, wasn’t pleasant and it hurt Adam to think about it. It was a necessity, or else they both risked starving. It didn’t make it any less unpleasant.
Wade stopped short of the first kill. “Adam,” he said in a very patient voice, “why don’t you go back to check on the fire and stoke it up so we can cook them when I’m done?”
Thankful for the reprieve, Adam nodded and rose to his feet. “You may want to take them to the rocks, so you don’t get fish guts all over your shirt.”
“You mean our new fishing net.”
By the time the fish were done, stuck on sticks and roasted over the fire, the scent of fish made Adam’s stomach feel ready to chew its way out of his body. “I never thought fish would make me this hungry.”
Wade tapped and tested one of the small fish on a stick, then pulled it off the fire, handing it to Adam. “You get to be the official taste tester.”
“Fair enough.” Adam took the offered fish and delicately pulled at it with two fingers. It was hot, and it looked cooked, which was a good thing because Adam could’ve choked down raw fish at that point. He took a small nibble and rolled his eyes. “Holy shit, Wade. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted fish this good.”
Wade took another stick from the fire and pulled the fish off it. “Just as long as the fish don’t turn out to be poisonous.”
“Then I’ll die happy,” Adam said around a mouthful of fish.
And he’d die happy at this dinner with a view because Wade still hadn’t put his shirt back on.
4 Stars!
Adam is going back home after a 6-month stay at an island studying herbs and alternative medicine with his grandma's friend. He's down to earth, out and proud, mellow and sweet.
Wade was at the same island doing some research to buy some land there. He's high strung and so far in the closet, he's convinced himself he's straight.
Adam and Wade meet up on the plane taking them back to the States, but they don't exactly hit it off. What will happen when the plane crashes and they end up being the only two survivors?
So, I adored Adam. He really was such a lovely man. Now, Wade, I wasn't sure what to think about him at first. He was so gruff and not so nice. And then, just when I started warming up to him, he decided to do something that made me angry at him again. Ugh. Another thing was his being in the closet, really, I could understand his reasons and they were valid, but having found a man he loved like he loved Adam, and then just going back to lying to himself and others, just didn't make sense to me.
I loved it when Adam and Wade were stranded on the deserted island. They worked together well and it was awesome to see them slowly fall for each other. I almost wish they would've stayed there.
One of my pet peeves is when the character in the wrong doesn't grovel for the other's forgiveness after they did something wrong or that they are forgiven way too easily. Unfortunately, this happened here and sorry, but that diminished my enjoyment of the book.
The book was entertaining, there were a few things that didn't quite work for me, like those I mentioned already, but overall, it's a great read. It's well-written and the progression of their relationship and all they lived while on the island was very believable and the ending was really good. Recommendable!
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
About the Author
HJ Perry is a 49 years old mother of three school aged children. They live by the English seaside and from her hometown she can see France. Helen loves reading. If it were possible, she'd do nothing else. She reads science fiction, fantasy, young adult, all types of LGBT fiction, and, of course, gay romance. Aside from reading she likes walking and watching films, most often science fiction or thrillers.
HJP has written many books about men falling in love in England where, for the most part, LGBT people are treated with the same respect as anyone else. Having worked in the construction industry for years in real life, she has written many fictional characters working in similar macho, male dominated environments.
Despite reading American books and watching American shows, writing American characters has been a huge challenge for her. With a lot of help, Rescued from Paradise is her first novel featuring Americans and set in the US.
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