Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Catch of a Lifetime
AUTHOR: Andrew Grey
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 272 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2020
BLURB:
Some moments happen once in a lifetime, and you have to catch them and hold on tight.
Arty Reynolds chased his dream to Broadway, but after his father is injured, he must return to the small fishing community where he grew up, at least until his dad is back on his feet.
Jamie Wilson fled his family farm but failed to achieve real independence. Arty is hiring for a trip on the gulf, and it’ll get Jamie one step closer to his goal.
Neither man plans to stay in Florida long-term, neither is looking for love, and they’re both blown away by the passion that sparks between them. But on a fishing boat, there’s little privacy to see where their feelings might lead. Passion builds like a storm until they reach land, where they also learn they share a common dream. The lives they both long for could line up perfectly, as long as they can weather the strain on their new romance when only one of them may get a chance at their dream.
REVIEW:
This was a really good story, but it had its heartbreaking moments as well. When parents lose their spouses, especially to death, it’s hard, especially as men, to really communicate to the kids left behind. I don’t mean that bad against men, but women do tend to talk more. For men, I’ve noticed, it comes out in harsher ways. By not talking at all, or by yelling, sometimes it goes too far into abuse. And I hate that. And it does go that way for women too, as well, so it’s not always men. In this case though, it did happen to be the men, and in this, their sons wanted no part of the life they had.
For Arty, he always wanted to go to New York or somewhere and make a name for himself. Not that he needed fame per se, but he wanted to act and live his dream. He just never heard anything from his father as if he was proud of him or if it was a good idea for him to get away. When his father got hurt badly and Arty had to go back home to help him, it seemed to get even worse. His father seemed angry with him, and always grunted or wouldn’t say anything. When Jamie came along looking for work, Arty hired him and they formed a connection. But for Arty, it was hard because when they came home, it seemed like his own father liked Jamie more than him. And Jamie’s father was making things a living nightmare for him. When Arty sent Jamie ahead to New York to start and wait for him, he hoped he’d be there soon. But his father needed him and the more he was there, the more depressed he got because he wasn’t making it in New York the way he wanted and Jamie was. And Jamie’s father was showing up and making things worse. So all the men had to decide. What in life is more important to them? Their hopes and dreams or ruining their lives and those of their families?
Once again, communication, people. Communication. I know sometimes I have a hard time with it as well. I think we all do, but sometimes it goes too far and you can’t let it. You have to communicate with your loved ones. It’s so important. Because of the lack of communication, which includes shutting up and listening, two sons in this story were about to lose their hopes and dreams because their father’s wouldn’t let them go to do what they needed. At least Jamie’s did. Arty’s dad wanted Arty to get away and live his life, but he was too proud to ask for help and too proud to say thank you. That’s another thing that ends up bad. Pride gets in the way even worse. Between that and communication, what could be something easy, turns into something dreadful for all those involved. And it’s heartbreaking. As parents, we should always push our kids to follow their dreams, even if we don’t agree with them or what different things for them. They are allowed to be who they are and do what they want, within reason. I mean don’t encourage your kid to be an axe murderer or something but yeah, kids deserve to dream just like we did at their age. Maybe we didn’t get to live our dreams because of our decisions and responsibilities, but we should want better for our kids. So I really felt for Arty and Jamie in this book. They just wanted to be happy and there was nothing wrong with that at all.
It’s a harsh story at times, but it’s good. And in the end, it’s worth the uphill battle. Because the boys finally learned to stand up for themselves and be who they wanted to be.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
[…] Read More » […]