Reviewed by Caroline
TITLE: Survivor
AUTHOR: TM Smith
PUBLISHER: TTC Publishing
LENGTH: 186 Pages
RELEASE DATE: August 22, 2017
BLURB:
Taylor Langford’s world is torn apart when he is only thirteen years old—his parents killed, leaving him alone, an orphan. With no living relatives, he’d certainly be another statistic if not for the intervention of the policeman who found Taylor hiding in the crawl space his mother hid him in that fateful night. Despite the tragedy and resulting anguish in his life, Taylor knows how lucky he is.
Frank Moore is only a rookie with the Dallas Police Department when he and his partner answer a call in Devonshire, one of the city’s more affluent neighborhoods. They think the young boy in various pictures throughout the home has been kidnapped until they find him, shaken but alive. Officer Moore recognizes the pain in the kid’s eyes, having lost his own mother to cancer when he was just a boy. He intervenes, making sure Taylor is placed with a loving foster family. Over the years Frank becomes a permanent fixture in Taylor’s life.
A decade later, the case remains unsolved and the once gangly, uncertain teenager is now a college graduate who knows exactly what he wants. He’s coming home to the man that helped mold and shape his life, the man he’s loved for as long as he can remember, Frank Moore. But Taylor isn’t the only person returning to Dallas and while Frank is distracted by his own conflicting feelings and the new bond growing between the two, the past creeps up on them, determined to finish what was started ten years earlier.
REVIEW:
Something a bit different from TM Smith.
This story starts in 2005 and begins with the voice of a stranger. The events of this day are shocking and will change the course of Taylor Langfords life. It will take away all that he holds most precious, it will leave him with and no understanding of why and it will introduce him to a kind rookie Police Officer called Frank Moore who will become instrumental in Taylor’s life in many, many ways over the years.
The first part of the story deals with the aftermath, Taylor’s childhood and early teen years. Even through the trauma and loss Taylor has good people on his side, mainly down to Frank, and his support network is tight and effective. Taylor slowly heals and becomes a confident young man with his own dreams. I really enjoyed this part of the story as you catch glimpses of how Taylor and Frank and their family’s lives become entwined.
The second part deals with an older Taylor who knows exactly who he is and exactly what and who he wants. Again, he has been lucky with the people he chooses to call family as the constant support and understanding is vital.
I love a romance with a good age gap and this one worked really well. It wasn’t always easy but the author also didn’t set them up with too many difficulties. Following their lives it almost seemed expected and the transition from friends to lovers felt natural and right. There is also the mystery element that strums steadily in the background without feeling too heavy against the romance. A great bunch of secondary characters added even more to an already great story and one that I would highly recommend.
RATING: 
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