Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Shattered Pieces
AUTHOR: Rebekah Vasick
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 351 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 11, 2020
BLURB:
Taylor
Hi, I’m Taylor and I’m a drug addict. Oh, wait. This isn’t NA, is it? Then I’m just Taylor, a Brit living in America.
Secrets. My family has many. My dad’s an abusive alcoholic. My mom finds her solace in her boss’s bed. But me? My secret’s the worst of all: I’m gay.
I was raised to believe that it’s wrong to feel this way about men.
But then I met Alex, the sexy bartender with the Southern twang. And no matter how hard I try, I can’t fight my attraction to him.
How can something so wrong feel so right? And how can I keep fighting it when he keeps lending me his strength so I can live to fight another day?
Alex
The plan was simple.
Move to Cresthill, New York.
Open my bar.
Recover from the relationship I wish I could forget.
And then he walked in. Hot British Dude. Even covered in bruises, he took my breath away.
The more I get to know Taylor, the sweet Brit who has as many demons as I do, the more I feel the need to keep him safe from everything that’s hurting him.
Maybe I’ll never be whole again. Maybe Taylor won’t either. But maybe, just maybe, together, we can be the glue that puts all our shattered pieces together again.
Trigger Warning: This book deals with the subjects of substance abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, and suicide.
REVIEW:
Shattered Pieces, by first time MM author Rebekah Vasick, is a wonderful, heartwarming romance written around the dire issues of abuse and homophobia. It is a remarkable story, and an important one. This is not a book I could read casually a few pages here, ten minutes there. I needed to devote my full concentration to give this book the attention it deserves, and the talented author the respect she is due. For those of you who like your stories with a heaping serving of angst, look no further. The angst is authentic. Unfortunately, this is real life for too many teenagers and young adults.
Alex recently moved to upstate New York from Kentucky where his best friend, Daniel, helped him escape an abusive relationship with the clothes on his back. Now he’s the proud owner of a new bar, Last Call. On opening night, Taylor, a good man but a college dropout and drug addict/dealer (his hobby in chemistry, he calls it) visits Last Call and collides with Alex in the hallway. Alex is stunned speechless by the beautiful fallen angel with the bruised face, but it takes many nights and many visits from Taylor before Alex can speak coherently in his presence. They eventually bond as close friends, and although both want more, they are each too afraid to act on it.
Taylor lives with strong internalized hatred and self-loathing because of his father’s homophobia. This man is so vile he threatens to kill Taylor if he finds out he’s gay. He’s regularly beaten and his mother is neglectful, too. He can’t walk away, though, because he needs to protect his ten-month-old baby sister, Penny.
Dear God, if you’re there and can hear me, please, I beg of you, take this sickness away from me. Or take my life, I can’t bear it any longer. Please.
No one knows Taylor is struggling with his sexual identity. He feels unworthy of a friend like Alex and sick for wanting more. He desperately wants to be straight and goes so far as to seduce women and sleep with them so he can appear straight to his friends and parents, and convince himself.
Alex is a damaged man, too, but he doesn’t reveal that to Taylor until the end of the story. Initially, I thought there should’ve been more written about Alex’s past, but in retrospect, I don’t think I could’ve stomached anymore. Currently, Alex is treated with disdain by most of his family for his “lifestyle choice”.
Their first kiss is heavenly. Taylor’s subsequent feelings are so complicated, though. He experiences excitement, elation, guilt, and later, a panic attack and vomiting.
I kissed Alex. I succumbed to the disease I’ve fought for so long. What will happen to me now?
The sex scenes, with gay virgin Taylor, are deliciously steamy and last long, sometimes told from both points of view.
Ms. Vasick’s storytelling is very well-crafted. Her world building is rich and captures the milieu in which the story exists. Her character development is complex, not only for her main characters but for the secondary ones, as well. We could all use a friend like Daniel. His humor, bantering, and innuendo provide much needed comic relief, but he’s so much more. Daniel is supportive and encouraging; he’s the guy who catches you when you fall, sets you back on your feet, and brushes you off. Likewise, Taylor’s friend Daphne would go to the ends of the earth for him.
Alex and Taylor’s characters are multi-layered and well-fleshed out. Approximately the first quarter of the book is spent getting to know the MCs separately. This might normally annoy me but Shattered Pieces is about so much more than the romance, although there is plenty of that. Vasick uses this time to explore their richly layered histories, personalities, friends, toxic and/or dangerous relationships, and the horrible homophobia they must face, laying the groundwork for a deeply satisfying reading experience. The story is presented in dual first-person points of view which allows the reader to get to know their deepest, darkest secrets.
The ending is crushing in its evilness, and it contains a twist, too. But the epilogue two months later provides a sweet wrap-up. Taylor is blessed beyond belief to have Alex come into his life and give him a reason to live, other than keeping Penny safe. I’m so glad Taylor acquiesces to Alex’s love and gets the care he needs and deserves. Alex finds his person for life, too.
I started reading MM romance so I could learn more about the myriad experiences, good and bad, of gay men, wrapped up in a warm fictional tale complete with HEA. Shattered Pieces epitomizes the type of books I was searching for with its atrocities inflicted simply for being gay. This novel is brutal but honest and ends with a lovely happily ever after. Shattered Pieces gets my highest recommendation.
RATING: 
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