Reviewed by Carissa
TITLE: Passage
AUTHOR: Evey Brett
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: 212 pages
BLURB:
Born with a gift for sensing plants that leaves him tied to his citrus farm, Andy has despaired of having anything but an isolated existence with his overbearing mother. When handsome Enrique arrives looking for work, Andy dares to dream of a different, happier life-one which includes Enrique in his bed.
Half-incubus Enrique doesn’t expect to fall for the lonely and virginal Andy. Neither does he intend to submit to Andy’s repeated attempts at seduction, but Andy’s fine young body proves so irresistible that Enrique gives him a birthday present neither will forget.
When hunters from Enrique’s past lay waste to the farm, leaving Andy critically ill, Enrique must find a means to help and heal him which comes in the form of Andy’s long-lost family. But can Andy accept Enrique’s terrible secrets and can they–and their love–survive the monsters set on tearing Enrique and his life apart?
REVIEW:
Andy is quite literally at one with his family farm. Born in a strawberry patch, linked to the magic that runs beneath the soil, Andy is connected, intimately with the plants that grow on his family’s farm. Which might make him essential in maintaining the health of the crops, but leaves him tied magically to the ground where he lives. He cannot leave the property without risking death.
When Enrique shows up on the farm, looking for a job, Andy’s mother is reluctant to give it to him. No one knows who he is, or where he’s from, or what exactly he is running from. It is a risk. But for some reason she agrees. Andy couldn’t be happier. He has lived his life in isolation from almost everyone who doesn’t actually work on his farm, so the appearance of a hot man, right into his lap, seems like fate.
But everyone is keeping secrets, and some of them are going to end up getting people killed if they are not careful. Still, Enrique may be Andy’s one shoot at something just for himself, so he is bound to do all he can to have his man. Even if it kills him.
I really enjoyed the magical bond aspect between Andy and the farm. In fact, it was probably the main reason I chose to review this book. I liked how it grew and changed as he got older, but also how it wasn’t all sunshine and roses–it had some major drawbacks that made Andy’s life rather more interesting than just the run-of-the-mill semi-magical person. I also enjoyed the bond (though not magical) between Andy and his mother. I wouldn’t call it a healthy bond, but the way that Andy and his mother had trouble getting along, while loving each other nonetheless, made their relationship interesting. I may have not really understood why she was so obsessive about him being normal–maybe she just wanted something that wasn’t going to leave her alone, again–but I have to say that their relationship shapes a lot of who Andy turns out to be, and I think it was well written.
My favorite part of this book is Enrique. He has such a tortured past (and present) but you can see him trying to get better, to change, even when he thinks that it is impossible. I loved his backstory (for all that I hate what his backstory means to him) and it did a good job of giving us a good idea of who Enrique is and was, without drowning us in an overemotional info-dump. His life fucking sucked, and what happened to him and his brother was incredibly shitty, but at his core he is still a good person. Even if he has no idea that he is.
Which leads me to my major issues with this story: these two really shouldn’t be together. At least not until Andy can grow the hell up. Yes, he is 18 (exactly) when he finally convinces Enrique to sleep with him, but emotionally?…yeah, he is still a kid. Still acts like a kid, even if by the rules of the law he is considered an adult. And if there is anything that Enrique doesn’t need right then, it is someone else in his life who can only think about themselves. Andy has had it rough, yeah, but Enrique has major mental, physical, and emotional issues that he is only just beginning to take care of in this book, and Andy’s lack of empathy really isn’t helping at all.
I was also bothered by how quickly Andy seemed to take the word of his supposed ‘daddy’ over the word of the man he loves. And even laying aside the fact that calling the man ‘Daddy’ made Andy seem like a five year old, this man has been in Andy’s life for a grand total of maybe a week. Andy has known Enrique for a year. Just because you share blood with some dude, does not mean a whole hill of beans when he does not know you, you don’t know him, and he seems to be a tad bit biased when it comes to what and who Enrique is. And prancing around, going all ‘but what about me!!!’ after he finds out what Enrique did to survive, just lowered my opinion of him by quite a bit. You are allowed to be pissed off that your boyfriend may be cheating on you. You are not allowed to be act like a dick when you find out that a guy you slept with twice, and with whom you have not discussed things like relationships or monogamy–or hell, even the possibility of either–does what he has to in order to not die.
Mostly, this is an ok story. I liked the premise, but Andy’s actions towards the end, just rubbed me the wrong way. I loved the outside relationships in this story, but Enrique deserves something and someone better than Andy. At least for now. Maybe if a few years, when Andy stops acting like a toddler, they can work something out–cause they really do have great chemistry–but for now, Andy needs to grow up and Enrique needs to be allowed to heal. Still, if you are not looking for anything deep, and don’t mind a few over-the-top characters, this might be a great story for you.
RATING: 
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