Reviewed by Dee

TITLE: Fistful of Love

AUTHOR: Renee Cronin

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 151 pages

RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2016

BLURB:         

At the age of 23, social worker, Jeya Wellington was pretty much on her own. The devastating loss of her parents left her bereft and alone. Her best friend, Roman and his family have been like surrogates, but they could never replace what she lost. She needed a different connection. Shortly after losing her parents, she finds love and comfort in the arms of Rayne Watson, a correctional officer.

Rayne was exactly what she needed at the time, but now, two years later, Jeya wants out. She never expected love to come with bruises. She didn’t anticipate losing friends and living in fear. This was not her idea of true love. With the support of Roman, Jeya finds a way to leave. But Rayne isn’t letting go that easily. They made a commitment to each, and she has the tattoo to prove it – ‘Til Death Do Us Part.

Torn between the love she has for Rayne and the instinct to protect herself, is Jeya’s will stronger than her vow?

REVIEW:      

First and foremost, the author needs to take a bow for tackling a topic that is often swept under the carpet – domestic violence! And even more so for raising awareness to the fact it’s not only men doing the abusing. Thankfully I’ve never been in such a volatile relationship, but I grew up in a neighborhood where a woman frequently beat her husband. The guy was the butt of many jokes in the street. I can only imagine the uproar it would’ve caused if he’d been the abuser.

The story of Jeya and Rayne sucked me in and held my attention throughout. Being told from more than one point of view allowed me to understand what motivated each person’s actions. While Rayne and Jeya had vastly different temperaments they shared common fears. Fear of rejection and being alone.

When Jeya questioned her career choice and right to help others, this piece of advised summed it up perfectly. “Even though we are social workers, we are not equipped to fix ourselves.”

The Costas and Roman were fantastic additions to the story. I could feel Roman’s pain and frustration, unable to save his friend and trying to understand why she’d go back to Rayne. For a while I worried he might fight violence with violence. However, I never could’ve predicted the outcome. Other than to say… nah, I can’t say. You’ll have to find out for yourself.

This story conveys in a very realistic way that violence has no place in any loving relationship, heterosexual, gay, or otherwise. If you’ve ever wondered why a person living in an abusive relationship doesn’t simply walk away, this story might help you to understand.

There’s only one sex scene, which of course could be skimmed over if you don’t like explicit content. Please don’t let the fact this story falls under the lesbian genre prevent you from grabbing a copy. I can’t stress enough how compelling I found this story.

RATING: 

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