Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: From Upstairs to Downstairs

AUTHOR: J.P. Bowie

PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing

LENGTH: 236 pages

RELEASE DATE: October 24, 2017

BLURB:

When everything is taken from you, including the memory of who you are, what possible chance is there for happiness?
Edward Lazenby has it all – a rich grandfather, a beautiful home, days spent riding his favorite horse in Hyde Park. What he doesn’t have, and feels he never will, is handsome Thomas Marsden, a man who, at first, seems repulsed by Edward’s forwardness when they meet. Dalliances with members of the same sex in Victorian England can lead to scandal or even imprisonment, so Edward and a few close friends have formed their own Club where they can meet without fear of persecution.
When Edward’s grandfather dies, Edward is heir to his estate but before he can lay claim to it, he is brutally assaulted, his injuries resulting in complete memory loss. Months later, Thomas Marsden finds him working as a stable boy on a country estate. Thomas takes him back to London, hoping to find a way to have Edward’s memory restored to him, and remind him that just before he disappeared, they had declared their affection for each other.
Can the two men build a life together or will Edward’s disability be too much of a hurdle to happiness?

REVIEW:

This was a really good book. And does it make you think. Can you imagine having to go through life and not remembering who you are and everything your life entailed? Of course if life was bad, it might be a blessed thing, but imagine having just found the love of your life. Of losing the one person that meant so much to you as you family. And struggling to try to remember all you lost, knowing it’s there, but not being able to grab ahold. I don’t know if I could survive.

Edward has just lost the one man that meant everything to him. His grandfather. The man who raised him, loved him, and took care of him. He gave him a home when his parents left and raised him to be a good man. Even when he’s being selfish. He’s also finally just had his dreams come true in now knowing the man who holds his heart feels the same for him. But one morning, life is taken away from him. He is brutally attacked and is supposed to have died. But he ‘awakens’ in a new household and is now the help. No memory whatsoever of who he is. He can barely speak and barely understand what people are saying. Little by little, though, speech returns. Slowly, but it’s there. Things are returning to him. At least his love of horses. And in his dreams, he dreams of an angel who keeps him safe. At a chance getaway, months later, his one true love, Thomas, sees him and knows his has found his heart and life again in Edward. Being told Edward was dead, left him with a hole in his heart and life that was unbearable. But now it’s time to take Edward home and help rebuild his life and his memory and maybe, finally, get to the bottom of what really happened.

To be in Edward’s shoes would be the absolute worst. And man did my heart bleed for him. To lose his grandfather and the next day, basically lose his life….horrendous. Working for another Manor, he knows there’s so much missing, but he can’t figure it out. All he has are the scars on the back of his head. Gah. To know what your life was like before being within your grasp and not being able to reach….dear heaven. And it’s so much more heartbreaking to know he finally found the man of his dreams. He just wanted to be with Thomas. Try to have some kind of life with him. To live up to his grandfather’s name and reputation. To have his grandfather be proud even in death. And for Thomas it was just as bad. He never in his life imagined he would be able to be with a man as he so desired. Knowing he was going to have to wed a woman he will never love the way she needs to be. And even though they are friends, it still isn’t true love. So when he finally took a chance with the one man who shined like the sun to him, and have him ripped away, he was inconsolable. He tried to drown himself in work to keep the memories at Bay, but at night he dreamed. He wished. He hoped. So when he finally found Edward, life seem to finally balance again. Even with Edward’s memory being gone. But Edward still somewhat remembered Thomas and that was all the hope Thomas needed. They’d figure his memory out. Any way possible.

What a beautiful love story. Sometimes life is just shit, to be honest. But when you have love, hold on and don’t give up. It’s a struggle and a fight, but any love worth having is worth fighting for.

RATING:  

BUY LINKS: 

pride-publishing

amazon