Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Barricades
SERIES: Worlds of Love #27
AUTHOR: Dem Had
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 97 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 24, 2019
BLURB:
They were raised to hate each other, but love has other plans.
When introverted bookworm Orestis escapes his homophobic parents and abusive home for a night out with friends, he meets artist Emir, and the passion between them is instant and explosive. But Orestis is a Greek Cypriot and Emir is Turkish, and neither society nor their families will accept their love. If they want a romance that lasts beyond one fiery, forbidden night, they’ll have to face the backlash.
REVIEW:
I’m still not sure what to think about this book. It’s good and angsty but there are triggers. In those cultures, being gay is very bad. Orestis is beaten repeatedly by his father and Emir is beaten by haters. And it gets bad. So please be careful.
Orestis’s friends have taken him out to the club, where they are celebrating before they move away. Orestis is sad but it’s time to move on for them. He’s dreading being there because he’s very introverted, but he bumps into someone that changes his mind quickly. They have a magical few hours before they leave each other. Only Orestis knows Emir’s name. Both have been missing each other and thankfully, after Orestis ‘stalking’ Emir on social media lol, they bump into each other again. The night is magical and they decide to try to make something out of it. But Emir’s insecurities are taking over and Orestis tries to overlook it and keep going. But the nail on the coffin was when Emir was beaten by haters. And he ran. And there may be no coming back from this.
I hate the way some people act towards people who are LGBT. It’s so sickening and disheartening. So this book made me sad in a lot of ways. Those two cultures don’t tolerate LGBT communities and people lives are often at risk if exposed. So I understand why they are hesitant with moving forward. Especially being that they are from different cultures as well. And knowing what Orestis has to go through at home is even worse.
But what upset me more than anything was the drama between Emir and Orestis. Emir was deliberately doing things that would cost him his relationship. Amd when they finally confronted each other, or Orestis confronted Emir, Orestis was the one being slapped. And I can’t blame him for what he said. Spoken in the heat of passion or not, he has every right to be upset. And then it just seemed like everything was ok after that.
Forgiveness is a great thing, but maybe my cynical side is coming out. I don’t know if I’d be so quick to let go and trust again. But then again, I’m still single so lol. But anyway. It seems to have worked out for them and I’m glad they could figure it out.
RATING: 
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