Reviewed by Anna Lynn

TITLE: The Road Between

AUTHOR: Patrick Benjamin

PUBLISHER: Self Published

RELEASE DATE:  December 31, 2019

LENGTH:  281 pages

BLURB:

Just because you can go home again, doesn’t mean you should.

Television personality, Parker Houston has spent a lifetime following that motto; Rubbing away at seventeen and vowing never to return to the small, country town that made growing up gay, practically unbearable.

But when the death of a loved one forces him home, for the first time in twenty years, Parker has to reconcile the life and the people he left behind. Unearthing secrets and conflicts long buried. While trying to mend the fractured relationships within his complicated family, Parker meets Bryce, a cocky rancher with a womanizing past. And although the friendship seems unlikely, neither man can deny the explosion they feel when their two worlds collide.

REVIEW:

Small towns can sometimes be so close-minded that modern and new ideas or things they are not familiar with are most of the time readily rejected or unaccepted. If you are afraid to rock the boat, then you will choose to conform to what they are used to. But if you cannot tolerate “not being your true self,” then you have to endure the cruelty that they will bestow upon you, until you can leave for good. It has happened to a lot of people and as soon as they are able to leave their hometown where they are not accepted, they leave.

When a family member dies, especially if it is one of our parents, we try to go home no matter the unwelcome attitudes we might experience. We are aware of how we will be received but for family we will try to bear it. Such is the story of Parker’s life as he has to go home for his mother’s funeral. If not for his sister defying their father’s wishes, he would have never know. He is prepared to withstand all the cruelty from his father again but just this once, for his mother. But his preparedness isn’t enough at all. Not only does he have to withstand his father’s cruelty but he has to confront his past and learn of secrets he never expected. And add to all that being attracted to someone he thought was straight and has too much baggage himself.

This story is very subtle in its delivery on the level of angst. I wasn’t even aware of how high it was until I was already ensnared by the tale, a very very smart approach. It touches on homophobia, domestic physical abuse, flings/affairs, bullying at school and at home where it’s supposed to be a place of refuge, and also jealousy among a few others. Sadly, it also touches on indifference or complacency and avoiding conflict so one conforms to what society dictates.

If you are adventurous in the stories that you read, I think this is a good one for you. The sexual scenes are presented unconventionally, in my opinion. It has twists and turns like you would not believe, written subtly as well.  Mr. Benjamin has a way of writing that will make you finish the story no matter what.

RATING:

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