Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  The Last Kiss

AUTHOR:  Sally Malcolm

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  254 pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 26, 2020 

BLURB:

A tender and triumphant story of forbidden love in the aftermath of war

When Captain Ashleigh Dalton went to war in 1914, he never expected to fall in love. Yet, over three long years at the front, his dashing batman, Private West, became his reason for fighting—and his reason for living.

For Harry West, an ostler from London’s East End, it was love at first sight when he met complex, compassionate Captain Dalton. Harry knew their friendship wouldn’t survive in the class-bound world back home, but in the trenches there was no point in worrying about tomorrow…

Now, gravely wounded, Ash has been evacuated home to Highcliffe House, his father’s Hampshire estate. Bereft of Harry, angry and alone, Ash struggles to fit into the unchanging world he left behind. Meanwhile, Harry, broken-hearted, doubts he’ll ever see his beloved captain again.

But when the guns fall silent and Harry finds himself adrift in London, a desperate hope carries him to Highcliffe House in search of work—and of the officer he can’t forget…

REVIEW:

In The Last Kiss, author Sally Malcolm has created a world in which her leading men are denied – by law, religion, societal norms and expectations – the opportunity to be together, to simply express their love for each other: just a touch, a kiss, a few words of affection. Malcolm effectively built the tension of the men having to secret their very beings from family and all of society. I was constantly on edge, fearing their discovery while feeling deep sorrow for them having to deny their desires and needs.  

The book begins with Captain Ashleigh Dalton and his batman, Private Harry West, are at battle in the Great War in 1917, having already been side by side for three years. There is strong chemistry from the get go in the form of a deep friendship with a touch of something more brewing. During the war and after, they both silently long for each other; their yearning is written so realistically I could feel the pull in my own chest. 

The captain is injured – perhaps fatally – and Harry is lost without him. He tries to save his life but doesn’t know if he succeeds for quite a while, causing great distress. Ash returns home from the war prematurely, a broken man both physically and mentally. He is so badly affected by the horrors of the war that he’s no longer a strong man, no longer a leader. His nerves are shot, he has nightmares, and stammers, particularly around his overbearing, domineering father, Sir Arthur, who presumes Ash is mentally weak. He despairs over a life with no prospects, no options, feeling trapped by parents who only want to marry him off to an acceptable woman who can tolerate his flaws. He looks toward the future with a “creeping sense of claustrophobic horror.” 

Likewise, Harry returns from war two years later feeling as though he doesn’t fit in the world anymore: “He felt lost, too, a wraith in the mist, not quite himself. Not quite home. Not quite anywhere. Not without the captain at his side.” Unable to find employment and desperately missing Ash, Harry swallows his pride and goes to work for Sir Arthur on the family estate. At forty percent into the book, I couldn’t see a possible resolution that would culminate in a happy ending. Not only was their homosexuality forbidden, Ash’s father wouldn’t even allow their friendship because of their difference in social rank. (It didn’t take more than ten seconds in the company of Sir Arthur for me to develop a strong dislike for the man. Soon thereafter it progressed to all out hatred.) 

In some books you fear something catastrophic is going to happen. In The Last Kiss, the foreshadowing is such that you know the evil actions of a particular character are going to have tragic results. I was frightened for these fictional characters. Why does that happen? They’re make believe, yet my poor fingernails kept getting shorter and shorter with the growing trepidation, chapter after chapter.  

On a happier note, the sex is decadent, if not particularly graphic as fitting the tone of the book, because of how forbidden it is. And it’s Ash’s first time with a man. 

The light in this story is Miss Olive Allen, the woman her parents and Ash’s parents want him to marry.  She’s no delicate flower waiting for her Prince Charming, though. She is, in fact, a modern young woman with uncommon views and plans for a career in medicine that certainly don’t include marrying anyone, mirroring Ash’s own views on marriage. So instead of a prospective bride, Olive becomes the best kind of friend and confidant for Ash. As a character, she lives her life with joie de vivre and it’s a joy to behold. 

The Last Kiss has a creative, heart-warming denouement. The ending is tied up in a neat little package with a bow, almost too neat, but I won’t complain. I love sweet, happy endings. This is a book that goes on my list of recommended reads. 

RATING:

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