REVIEWED BY CINDY
TITLE: Submerged
SERIES: Home Book 1
AUTHOR: Susan Reeves
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 267 Pages
RELEASE DATE: February 18th, 2017
Blurb:
Sometimes, to make it back to shore, you need to take the hand that’s offered.
Jared Simpson had his feet swept out from under him, and eventually found himself living on the streets. When Gavin Wells and his daughter come into Jared’s life, he’s fighting to keep going, struggling to keep swimming towards something that will let him stand tall and steady again.
Gavin Wells is fighting his own battles: in-laws, bureaucracy, and the guilt that overwhelms him every time he closes his eyes to sleep. He now has a new challenge to face: his sexuality. He’s attracted to someone for the first time in months, and not only is that person a man, but he’s homeless, with the potential to derail Gavin’s already complicated life.
But fate has brought these two men together. If they can hold tight to each other, they can weather the storm, and find their way home to become a family.
REVIEW:
Gavin is a widower who finally finds someone attractive again…a male someone. It adds one more complication to an already chaotic life but the attraction seems to be something that brings light back to Gavin’s life.
Jared has found himself about as down and out as a man can get with no real hope of getting back up again, until he meets Gavin.
I’m not a big fan of gay-for-you stories as a general rule but this one is well done and to be honest, Gavin’s feelings for Jared is about the least angstiest part of this book. Once he falls, he’s all in and it’s part of what helps the two men work through their issues and face the world together.
Gavin’s in-laws are a mixed bag of stress and love for Gavin’s and his daughter. He want’s his wife’s parents to be a part of his daughter’s life, but not take it over.
Jared is having a similar issue with his grandmother, so it makes sense that these two men can understand where the other is coming from.
Gavin’s friend Heath is one of my favorite people in this book and for a little while I wondered it the story was going to end in a three-way relationship but it doesn’t. I wouldn’t mind seeing a story from this author about Heath and his search for his own happily ever after.
I’ll be honest and say that at first I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book. Stories told in the first person can sometimes feel a little awkward to me but once I got caught up in the storyline, I couldn’t put it down. I was swept away by the connection between Gavin and Jared and I was cheering for them all along.
The writer did a great job of showing us how different situations affected both men and in showing us how they struggled with their feelings. Neither one wanted to cause trouble for the other and their attempts at self-sacrifice for the good of the other pulled at my heart.
It says this is book one in the series so I will definitely be looking forward to where book 2 takes us.
RATING: 
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