Author Name: A.M. Leibowitz
Following his father’s death, Micah Forbes believes he can finally put the family who rejected him and their religious bigotry behind him. In a cruel twist, his older brother calls to tell him he’s inherited their father’s abandoned vacation home.
Micah discovers the house comes complete with a long list of repairs, boxes full of family secrets, and a handful of quirky neighbors. Despite not wanting to get in too deep, he can’t help the spark of interest stirred when the sexy redhead next door offers his help. Everything about the enigmatic Cat Rowland throws Micah off-balance, from his gender-bending sense of fashion to his handy repair skills to his deep spirituality. Before long, Micah is swept up by Cat and his friends, but Cat himself keeps his heart carefully protected.
When Micah’s past and his present collide in a painful way, his self-destructive coping habits threaten to overwhelm him. To save himself, he needs to open his soul and let someone in. Cat has the key to unlock him, if he can let down his guard and trust his faith enough to catch Micah as he falls.
Pages or Words: 276 pages, approximately 96,000 words
Categories: Contemporary, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Trans*, Religious/Spiritual
Micah decided he would sit right there until he was struck with a brilliant plan for how to manage his misfortune. It might have been a whole two minutes before someone knocked on the front door. Huffing, he rose and went to answer it.
He nearly groaned when he saw who it was. Cat, his oddly chipper neighbor, was back. He had a glass of what might have been lemonade in his hand and a lopsided smile on his face. When he looked up at Micah, his expression changed. His smile slid away and his eyes widened.
“You okay?” he asked.
Micah ran a hand through his hair and contemplated telling Cat it was just allergies. Instead, something made him say, “No. I am not okay. But if you want to come in and sit on my couch, risking black lung from all the dust, by all means.” He stood aside and swept his hand, indicating Cat should join him.
Hesitantly, Cat stepped over the threshold. He extended the glass to Micah. “Thought you could use this. Maybe you need something stronger, though.”
Micah snorted. “Yeah, probably, except I don’t drink.” He accepted the lemonade and took a sip. The tart liquid was refreshingly cool against his burning throat. “Thanks for this.” He tilted the glass toward Cat.
Cat grinned. “I was a little worried for a minute there. Want to tell me about it?”
Micah sighed heavily. “I inherited this house. My father just died.”
“I’m sorry,” Cat said, his voice soft and warm.
“I’m not.”
Mari's review:
*** ARC provided to Bayou Book Junkie in exchange for a fair and honest review. ***
Micah Forbes is thrown out of a loop when he discovers that the father who had rejected him, left him their vacationing home in his will. Not that he's happy about it, since the house will need a lot of time and repairs, so he moves to the small town where it's located for the summer to get it in shape before selling it. There he meets Cat, his sexy gender bender neighbor, who is hellbent on helping him with repairing his house and who confuses him with his hot and cold routine. At the lake house Micah will discover more than he ever wanted to know about his own family and himself and he will learn more about his mysterious new friend.
Cat is very devout, very reliant on his faith due to his illness, but he doesn't trust others easily. He pushes Micah away, but Micah is nothing if not persistent and he shows Cat he won't stay away from him, that he's willing to be what Cat needs him to be.
Micah stays as far away from religion as he can, having grown up with a pastor as his father and with two older brothers that followed his father's footsteps and never supported him in anything and actually ended up traumatizing him due to their beliefs.
This story was bittersweet to read. It's angsty and sweet and I wanted to cuddle Micah and Cat and make it all better for them. They had so many hurdles to jump through, and I loved every turn and twist in the story. Micah and Cat are both complex, broken characters in their own way and there's an array of supporting characters that contribute greatly in making the story richer. The love between Micah and Cat is all encompassing and I just adore that they managed to make it work despite all the things going against them. Really recommendable!
Rating: 5 Stars!!!
Character Interview
Today we're happy to welcome Micah and Cat, from Passing on Faith by A.M. Leibowitz to Bayou Book Junkie!
Gentlemen, thanks so much for agreeing to this interview. It's a pleasure to have y'all here! Tell us a little about yourselves!
Micah: I’m a 37-year-old elementary school teacher from western New York—
Cat [pokes Micah]: That’s boring. You should tell them about the stuff you write.
Micah: No. But maybe I’ll tell them about the stuff you read.
Cat: *Ththtbt.* And I’m Cat. I’m good with my hands. [winks] No, seriously—I fix stuff for a living. Sort of. And I’m pretty proud of having made it to my age—I’m 27—because of how close I came to not doing that.
What has been the greatest challenge in your relationship?
Micah: Other than how annoyingly cheerful Cat is at 6am?
Cat: Yes, other than that.
Micah: We’re not in the same place, religion-wise. I’m still not sure how I feel about being with someone so…devout.
Cat [squeezes Micah’s hand]: I always thought I’d be with someone who shared my faith. But I don’t expect Micah to believe for my sake.
What was the hardest thing for you to overcome that you didn’t expect to be an issue?
Cat: I honestly thought Micah would give up on my health issues before we got to the stage of dealing with them. He didn’t, so we had to work through what my body can and can’t do.
Micah: Our histories, what happened to us before we met, almost came between us. I think we each thought we were “over it” in a sense, but it was a volatile combination. Intimacy is hard for both of us for different reasons.
What are your favorite qualities about your partner?
Micah: Cat is who he is, unapologetically. I love the way he expresses his gender.
Cat: Micah is stronger than he thinks he is. My favorite thing? He’s so emotionally open. Never met anyone else like that.
What's your partner's sexiest feature?
Micah: Those freckles!
Cat: Oh, my god. You are obsessed.
Micah: What? They’re hot.
Cat: To be fair, I do have a thing for curly hair, and Micah has lots of it. So sexy.
What movie will you watch over and over again?
Micah: Stand and Deliver.
Cat: Could you be any more of a 1980s teacher cliché?
Micah: Yeah, well, it’s better than yours.
Cat: What’s wrong with Sense and Sensibility?
Micah: Is that a serious question?
Cat: You should watch it with me. If you’re lucky, I’ll make out with you instead.
Meet the author:
A. M. Leibowitz is a queer spouse, parent, feminist, and book-lover falling somewhere on the Geek-Nerd Spectrum. She keeps 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, she blogs coffee-fueled, quirky commentary on faith, culture, writing, and her family.
Where to find the author:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/amymitchell29
Facebook Author Page:
https://www.facebook.com/UnchainedFaith
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/amyunchained
Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/amyunchained/
Website:
http://amleibowitz.com
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8544236.A_M_Leibowitz
Publisher: Supposed Crimes LLC (Acquitted Books)
http://www.supposedcrimes.com/
Cover Artist: Stacy O’Steen
