Redeem by Christina Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This just really hit me hard. These boys were both so broken. Gah. Unbelievable story of love and hope and belonging.

Michael has a solid job, enough money to throw around, and a new-found proclivity for men. His last relationship was...unhealthy. But, he's taken the time to look at himself and realize if he doesn't do something, he's going to turn into his father.

Stewart is a barista. He's happy with where he is professionally, but his personal life is a mess. With repressed anxiety from his upbringing, his nightmares have returned, he's gone through a relationship crisis, but he's seeing a professional now. The meds are working. He's had less panic attacks, but he's not ready for anything serious. So, when a quickie in the bathroom on New Year's Eve won't leave his mind, he's surprised to see Michael show up again at his work.

From the start I was loving the fact that both Michael and Stewart were seen as the bad guys in past relationships. It's so difficult to pull a jerk into a new role as someone you want to see end up happy and Christina Lee pulls this off so well.

Both boys were so broken and working so hard to get better and I just loved how intuitive they both were at finding what the other one needed and just being there. There was so much honesty in this and love.

Christina Lee writes with so much emotion and just has a way at getting under your skin with the raw honesty of her characters and their dialogue and desires. I loved this story. I loved her interpretation and gift for hurt/comfort and couldn't recommend this book more.

*Galley copy generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. Cross posted to http://gaybook.reviews/ *

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