Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Breakthrough
AUTHOR: J.H. Knight
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 59 Pages
BLURB:
The road to recovery is never easy, even when you’re just an innocent bystander to someone else’s addiction.
For Jack, it’s especially hard because he blames himself for his son Rick’s drug problems. It took Jack over half his life to admit to himself (and his wife) that he was gay, but years later, he still carries guilt over what his realization did to his son.
He never thought Rick’s treatment would help him rehabilitate too, but when Jack meets Seth, the man trying to help his son get back on his feet, it’s the breakthrough he never knew he needed.
REVIEW:
This was a great little story that shows it’s never too late to find love, and it may just happen in the unlikeliest of places.
Jack is forty-nine years old and about a decade ago he bravely admitted that he is gay to both himself and his wife. His only regret is that his coming out sent his teenage son into a downward spiral of drug addiction that has once again landed the young man in rehab. When Rick phones and asks if Jack would be willing to come and visit for the facility’s family day, he’s more than eager to be there for the son who is asking something of him for the first time in years. However a family therapy session ends with Jack under the therapist’s scrutiny – the hot, young therapist who Jack is more than a little interested in.
I just adored all of the characters in this short story. Jack and Seth were great together, their romance played out in a realistic yet cute fashion, but beyond that I really enjoyed hearing from the secondary characters too. Mostly I loved reading about “the family” together. Jack remains friends with his ex-wife, to the point that he has missed her because he hasn’t seen her for a while. Her new husband, Rick’s step-father, is a loving supportive figure who couldn’t be any friendlier if he tried. Even Rick’s ex-girlfriend, the mother of his children, is portrayed as a compassionate and understanding person, though she doesn’t actually make an appearance. I think I appreciated the fact that there didn’t have to be a villain.
Jack and Seth don’t physically spend a whole lot of time together in the story, but keep in touch with emails until they meet again, once Seth is no longer Rick’s therapist. However, maybe because the story is only fifty odd pages, it doesn’t feel like you miss out on couple time. When they do physically reconnect, it’s my favourite scene in the book. I love the cute little twist the author added here, though you could pretty much see it coming.
I thought this was a rather charming short read and recommend it to anyone who needs to add a spot of happy to their day.
RATING: 
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