REVIEWED BY CINDY
TITLE: As Spring Rain
AUTHOR: Valentina Heart
PUBLISHER: LTT
LENGTH: 85 Pages
Blurb:
Michael only wants for his twin brother to be safe as he picks one bad boyfriend after another, never even lingering on the thought of loving Michael the way Michael loves him.
All Gabriel wants is Michael, each morning when he faces the day, and each night when he pulls a stranger’s face in for a kiss instead of the one he wants the most.
Fixing Gabriel’s boyfriend problems is a way of life for Michael, but what he doesn’t know happens behind closed doors, where Gabriel welcomes each kick or hit, and where he numbs his pain with the sharp edge of a razorblade. Can they find a solution to their situation and make both of them happy?
Review:
I picked up this book knowing full well that it contained incest and to be honest it didn’t bother me. I know it’s a taboo sort of subject but I don’t really care. I’m a big fan of several fandoms, such as Wincest that involve two brothers in love with each other, so it doesn’t bother me in the least.
However, if you are going to write about a taboo subject like incest and hope to sell it and have it do well, then you are going to have to knock the ball out of the part with a fantastic story that’s gripping and this just falls short for me.
Michael and Gabriel are twins who love each other more than anything or anyone. The book isn’t a chapter in when it becomes clear that their co-dependency is overwhelming them both.
Gabriel is terrible at picking men. He tends to pick those who are the worst for him and it seems to be almost a punishment of sorts he gives himself over the less-than-brotherly feelings he has for Michael.
Michael can’t find a relationship of his own because his obsession with his brother always interferes so he sticks to trying to find Gabriel better boyfriends.
Sigh, I really tried to like these two characters but I just couldn’t click with either of them. I felt bad for Gabriel and the extent to which he punished himself but other than that, I just found most of this story to be bland.
Just a warning folks, incest isn’t the only “touchy” subject approached in this story. Bad boyfriends aren’t Gabriel’s only choice of self-harm and I did find that the author covered this subject with honesty and realism and was one of the best parts of the book.
The side characters in the story were just as unmemorable and the whole thing had a “whatever” kind of feel for me.
For being self-pubbed, the book is pretty well edited and I really can see where the author was trying to take the story, but it just never really got there for me.
Rating: 
Buy Links: