Reviewed by Elizabetta

TITLE: The Lost Year

SERIES: Secrets of Neverwood, book #3

AUTHOR: Libby Drew

PUBLISHER: Carina Press

LENGTH: 144 pages

BLURB:

Devon McCade is no stranger to adversity. As a photojournalist, he’s seen all manner of human struggle. And as a kid, it’s what brought him to Neverwood, to his foster mother Audrey. It’s what he’s facing now, as he and his foster brothers work to restore the once-stately mansion amidst surprising signs from Audrey herself.

But when another anguished soul arrives at Neverwood, Devon can’t hide behind his camera. Nicholas Hardy is certain he saw his runaway son, Robbie, in a photo Devon took of homeless children. Devon knows all too well that a young teenager on the streets doesn’t have many options—and Robbie has been missing for a full year.

Searching for Robbie with Nicholas stirs memories and passions Devon had thought long lost, yet knowing that Nicholas will leave as soon as Robbie is found keeps him from opening himself up to something permanent. Devon must learn to fight for what he wants to keep—his love, and his home.

REVIEW:

Neverwood is a grand old house left to three men, Calvin, Danny, and Devon, by their foster mother, Audrey. Her spirit continues to keep watch over their lives and the house, as it did when she took them in as runaway kids.

In this third book of the anthology, we get Devon’s story. He is a photojournalist and has just returned home to Neverwood from a war assignment. Devon is haunted by what he has seen on the job, but he also carries lots of childhood demons inside, too. A “throwaway kid,” Devon was taken in by Audrey when he was ten years old, and her loving spirit never gave up on the closed-off, ddifficult boy that he was. Now thirty, he still battles with distancing himself from others— a childhood defense to abuse and neglect— from living inside his head too much, and he hasn’t found the lover he yearns for. He sees Calvin and Danny so happy in their lives with their partners (who get very short shrift in the story)— and he longs for that kind of connection.

Then, one day, Nicholas shows up at Neverwood asking for Devon’s help. It seems he’s seen a picture of his missing son, Robbie, in an article Devon contributed to about homeless kids in nearby Seattle. Nicholas has been searching for his son for a long, lonely year and is desperate for any clue. Devon responds fairly immediately and offers his help free of charge. I have to add that the three foster brothers’ mission is to turn Neverwood into a kind of shelter for homeless/runaway kids. They see this as giving back to Audrey for all the love she gave them. So, it is fitting that Devon agrees to help Nicholas so quickly. For some reason, he is also quickly attracted to him, too. That helps.

The author works to weave together this story about runaway kids— the lost year that Nicholas tries to get back by finding Robbie— and Devon’s coming into himself. There is a subplot about a crazy, evil relative with designs on Neverwood for himself, to give the story some tension, but it’s really all about these three men who have a close connection to helping kids in need. Devon’s and Nicholas’ developing feelings, while at times electric, take a back seat to that other important plot point, and to the insistence of Audrey’s ghost into the story. Yet, while the romance is a bit cool for me, and I still feel somewhat “distanced” from Devon, their story is ultimately satisfying at its conclusion. How can you not like these guys and hope the best for them?

This is the latest book in the Secrets of Neverwood series. I was assured that it would work as a stand-alone but I think there was something lost in not having read the other two books first. The relationship between the three brothers is a given, here, and not really delved into— I didn’t feel that I knew them well enough to understand their interaction, and, especially, Devon’s reactions to them. Still, this was an enjoyable read about three young men paying it back. And I do hope to get to those other two books soon.

 RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Carina Press

Libby Drew

Amazon