Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Saint
SERIES: Gates of Heaven #1
AUTHOR: M. Tasia
PUBLISHER: Boroughs Publishing Group
LENGTH: 147 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 11, 2019
BLURB:
MOUTH TO MOUTH RESUSCITATION
After the death of their mother, Frank “Saint” Jeffrey knew the only way to protect his younger brother was to strike a deal with their autocratic, cruel, abusive father. In exchange for his brother’s freedom to live his life as he wished, Saint promised to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a preeminent surgeon in his father’s medical practice. When events he never could have predicted took away Saint’s ability to perform surgery, the bargain became null and void. With no safety net, and a life without purpose, Saint moved across the country, bought a wreck of a building in DTLA, and hoped while resurrecting the property he’d find a reason to live again. Then Max Connor entered his life, and Saint was dragged from the darkness of desolation into the light of love.
REVIEW:
If you guys have read Boys of Brighton, you’re going to love this series too. The Masons have a long reach and this is Saint’s story, who is Johnny’s brother from Boys. I do have to warn you, there are possible triggers in this story. Abuse, murder, arson, torture, PTSD, survivor’s guilt, nightmares and more. It’s not a pretty picture. But the end is more than worth it.
At the end of the Boys of Brighton series, we find out the truth of Johnny’s brother, Saint. Or some of it. And it wasn’t pretty then. Now we are finding out the whole story and it made me sick. The way some parents are, they should never be allowed to have children. Saint is still recovering from wounds he received while helping women and children in small world countries who couldn’t afford medical attention. It was something he could do to help pay back and pay it forward in what his father had made him do. He wanted something good to come from his doctor degree, not the stupid money or prestige his father wanted. But being tortured has left Saint a little broken and lost and now all he wants to do is restore this beautiful building and find a contractor that will see his dream of making it as beautiful as it once was without gutting it and taking away from it. Finally meeting Max, thanks to the Mason’s, he found what he was looking for. In more ways than one. But as broken as Saint is, can there ever be anything between them, especially with his father’s threats again and a psycho ex running around doing harm?
When Johnny’s story came about, I was so hurt for him. To feel like he had no one after the loss of his mother. He knew he never had his father, but feeling he lost Saint as well, had left him really hurt. But what Johnny didn’t know was how Saint was saving him. And for Saint, it broke me. No one deserves what he had to endure and all to save his brother from his father’s grasp. It’s another one of those times, I wish I could reach through a book and beat someone. But what impressed me was Saint. He endured pure horror every day in order to save his brother and that to me is what real strength is. To save someone at the loss of yourself, is pure unselfishness and courage and strength. And I fell in love with him even more. He was still being selfless with all he was still going through and enduring. And it wasn’t easy. He was still helping others. The new one being Finn. And he was trying to be something for Max. And that was hard. Because he was terrified he’d never be able to be what Max needed. And then it made me fall for Max. Because Max didn’t care. He wanted to save and protect Saint. He knew he wouldn’t be able to do it alone. But at least he knew Saint had people in his corner that truly loved and cared for him. Even if it could ever only be as friends.
It’s a hard story to endure. But it’s worth it. Because you see a man who basically lost everything, get up and keep going. Even when all bets were against him and he couldn’t even barely leave the house. But he kept getting up and trying and doing all he could to survive. And that makes him unforgettable. And super special. It’s not what happens to you that really matters. Although that’s bad enough, don’t misunderstand me. But it’s what you do with yourself after, that shows the real test of strength and character. It doesn’t mean life is ever easy. It’s usually a day by day process. But you just have to keep pushing through.
RATING: 
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