Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Espejos

SERIES: South Texas Lore #1

AUTHOR: Michael War

PUBLISHER: JMS Books LLC

LENGTH: 133 pages

RELEASE DATE: August 17, 2019

BLURB:

After his mom passes away from a terrible accident, Carlos heads home to Tres Reynas for the funeral — and to reunite with his brother. Given he left after his parents abandoned him for coming out, it’s not a homecoming he’s looking forward to.

Once home, he learns a neighbor wants to steal his family’s ranch, and his brother is considering selling it. Determined not to let the ranch be lost, Carlos works to save it — with unexpected help from the handsome, rugged Eugenio.

But Carlos can’t seem to focus, especially with his mother’s image seeming to haunt the ranch mirrors, like she’s trying to tell him something — or maybe like he’s just losing his mind.

REVIEW:

I was really surprised by this story. I had read another by the author and didn’t care for it, but I tried one again and am happy I read this. It really is a good story. And not at all how I expected it to turn out. 

Carlos hasn’t spoken to anyone back home for like ten years. Ever since coming out, his father wouldn’t speak to him and his mother seemed cold. So he bided his time until he hit 18 and then ran as far as he could to make a new life. But now, all these years later, and he has to return home to be there for his mother’s funeral. And he finds out, to try to figure out how to save the ranch their parents built up for them. But old hurts and angers, along with a slimy neighbor, are conspiring against them and it’s causing everything to fall apart. And even more so, when Carlos claims he’s seeing his mother’s ghost around the place. With more secrets coming out, and more bad things happening, Carlos’s brother is determined to just sell and Carlos is fighting hard against everyone. But who will come out on top? And will it save what their parents worked so hard for or will everything just fall away, destroyed?

I grew up around ‘Christian’ people. Having strong church people in the family, including a pastor, I saw more than my fair share of bigotry and prejudiceness. I hated it. I was always the black sheep of the family, because I never believed in any of that mess. We are all human, period. Who deserve love, no matter who. So when I read about Carlos, it broke my heart. It broke even more when I saw what his mother wanted to do, in finally making it right. But sometimes that saying rings true….too little, too late. So many ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys’ and nothing can change what could have been. And feeling like he was hated the minute he walked back into his childhood home, from the only family he had left, I would have just packed up and left, if I were him. Thankfully, Carlos is not me and he stayed to fight. And I have to say, that’s what I love so much about him. Yeah, he may get his butt kicked, but he’s not going down without some kind of fight. He doesn’t care who it is, he’s going to do what is right. Yeah, he has a bit of a temper, but it’s passionate. It’s fighting for those who can’t fight. Standing up to bullies. And I admire the heck out of him for it. But even in his hurt and anger, I admire his willingness to forgive as well. To start over, and make things right, the way they should have been all along. And seeing him stand proud and strong against those who do wrong, makes me feel like a proud mama. 

It really is a good story. I don’t know if the second book of this series is out or not,  but if it is, I think I may know who it may be about and I’m curious to see how it would work out. And to see him finally get what he’s been looking for and needing for a very long time. It’s a good start to this series.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

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