Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: One, Two, Three Shatter
AUTHOR: Joey James Hook
PUBLISHER: Rooster & Pig Publishing, Inc
LENGTH: 371 Pages
BLURB:
Life was harsh and cruel to Kaleb Xander from very early on, and he was never given a moment’s rest to breathe and recover from the misery. Once freed from years in a cage of wrath and perverted lust, he found the real world to be a mere step up from what he was used to. Abuse was simply coming in different guises and through new avenues now. All it should take is one person to reach out their hand and save this lost soul – but Kaleb is more complicated than that. It’ll take a miracle, and he’s banking on someone to be just that for him before he gives it all up.
REVIEW:
Anyone who has read my previous reviews will know that I prefer dark, convoluted stories with a lot of background and strong characters. Can I start by saying this book fits the bill exactly?
Kaleb Xander has had a REALLY shitty life. We first meet Kaleb when he is four years old. His mother is packing, but says she is just going away for a little while and will be back to get him. When she walks out the door, even at four, he is intuitive enough to know she won’t be back.
Two years later, when he is six, his father storms into his room in the middle of the night, beating him severely for no reason. Somewhere along the way his older brother joins in and the abuse becomes sexual because the brother is a pedophile. On his twelfth birthday, he is given the unwanted “gift” of being penetrated for the first time by both his father and his brother. The rapes and beatings escalate until he reaches sixteen and escapes, running away to where his two uncles live in East LA. Shortly thereafter Kaleb drops out of school because he just can’t handle the interaction with other people.
Somewhere along the way, Kaleb is introduced to heroin by his Uncle Nikki who is also a user. Heroin and alcohol will play a huge part in Kaleb’s life over the nearly thirty years that the story spans.
Things continue to go downhill for Kaleb. Both of his uncles are arrested on drug charges, and his Uncle Jer is also charged with several counts of Grand Theft Auto. Both go to jail and disappear until later in the story. Kaleb is taken in by a kind neighbor that he had met previously when the man gave him a ride to East LA when he ran away from his family. The man, Will, teaches Kaleb to bartend, and that becomes Kaleb’s career and passion. While bartending, he can be a totally different person and not live in his own head.
When he isn’t working and is living in his head, it is a dark place. Kaleb suffers severe self-worth issues and is afraid of anyone touching him. He never lets anyone see him with his shirt off because his back is covered with scars from the whip and belt marks from the beatings by his father and brother. Beyond the physical scars, his very soul is scarred by the abuse and he can’t let anyone in.
I don’t want to give too many spoilers because the book is just so damn good, and I really want you to read it. Kaleb’s story, as I said is dark, very dark. Knowing some heroin addicts personally, through a program I used to work with, I can say that the author did a fantastic job in writing the character of Kaleb. I instantly felt a rapport with this kid and really grew to care about him, hoping things would change for the better. In the course of the story, we have a couple girlfriends (not a lot of sex details, but the m/f component is there, deal with it…some people are bisexual), a baby daughter, his best friend who sticks with him from age twelve on, and finally, finally, we have the man he falls for.
The book is quite long, and sometimes Kaleb makes some decisions that you just want to reach into the book and shake him for…but that’s all I’m saying. I could go on and on. I absolutely loved this book. It took me to places that weren’t always comfortable. It definitely isn’t one of the genre typical bubblegum stories, so if you’re looking for one of those….skip this book…you definitely wouldn’t understand it anyway. For everyone else, I can’t more highly recommend this book. I will definitely keep it to read again.
RATING: 
Did you check out the Interview we did with author Joey James Hook ,the post also includes an excerpt of his release .
check out the post Here!
BUY LINKS:
Thank you so much for this wonderful review and such kind words! I’m glad you enjoyed it as much as you did 🙂
I love romances so sweet they make your teeth hurt, but I also love a dark, gritty, emotional story. I will have to preorder this one from ARe.