Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Leap Of Faith
AUTHOR: C F White
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 273 Pages
RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2021
BLURB:
Sometimes all you need is a little push.
Running from his shattered gymnastics career, Charlie Avrill’s one hope for redemption is the strange and colourful world of the circus. His skills should make him a good fit for seasoned performer, Darius Lungu. But Darius won’t compromise his high stakes act for just anyone.
Still mourning the loss of his performance partner who unexpectedly abandoned the show, Darius’s heart can’t take another temporary filler. No matter how perfect Charlie might seem at first glance. But the circus is dying, and Darius owes his bosses a stellar act to sell.
Putting their differences aside to recreate the star attraction, Darius and Charlie grow closer with each rehearsal. But Charlie’s only in the ring for a one-night-only performance and the circus is due at its next stop—off the island and into Europe.
Can Charlie push aside his fears and take the leap of faith to change his entire life? And, if he does, will Darius still be there to catch him?
Leap of Faith is a standalone age-gap, enemies to lovers, mm romance where the twists and turns don’t only happen in the ring.
REVIEW:
Returning home to Jersey with his gymnastics career in tatters, Charlie’s mum informs him that, as welcome as he is, Charlie will need to find work. Charlie’s friend Josh steers him towards the circus. Charlie’s breath is taken away by the tall, dark, and handsome Romanian – Darius. However, after an unfortunate accident, Darius and Charlie’s encounters are, at best… strained. After his friend went AWOL, Darius has been strongly encouraged to find a new partner for his act. Unfortunately, as perfect as Charlie is for the spot, he reminds Darius too much of the man he was in love with.
Leap Of Faith is written in UK English, from Charlie and Darius’s viewpoints, and is grammatically excellent. It is also a story that left me battling between my heart and my head – an aspect I will explain later.
Irrespective of the significant age gap, there are similarities between Darius and Charlie. They are both athletic, like to put on a show, and have unrequited feelings for their best friends. They also think a lot, say little, and focus via their performances. Though, Charlie talks more than Darius. Darius is the classic strong silent type, whose actions speak for him. Outside of the big top, he prefers to be a recluse and outwardly comes over as a grump. However, internally, both men maintain a continuous monologue.
I hugely enjoyed the story, especially the circus performances and the cover of the novel is superb. The arc is entertaining, and it contains the classic parts where the main protagonists are blind to what is before them, questioning every act and emotion. Charlie’s deaf sister is a delight, and the extended cast is big enough to provide a diverse world but not so large that I lost track of who was who.
The story is also intensely detailed, and emotion-based. Now, this is where my heart battled my head. So, I apologize if what comes next seems garbled.
I read this story over three days, so I probably saw some areas differently from reading it over a more extended period. Nevertheless, as good as the drama is – due to the shortened reading period, I noticed a fair bit of repetition – both emotional and with some descriptions, e.g., stomach flips. Serving as reminders, these duplications also made the manuscript longer than necessary in an already long story – less can be more. Some hints were also repeated enough so that later revelations were only surprises to the characters, not the reader.
Intense details also come out between conversations, and some were similar to previous musings. A sentence is spoken, then there is a paragraph or so of thought process/emotions before more dialogue – here, I occasionally lost the chat thread. In some instances, I found it easier to follow when I re-read a section – dialogue only.
Regardless of the above, I loved the characters and the atmospherics and didn’t want to stop reading. But, had the repeats not been there, there would have been space for extra’s that – if the end was anything to go by – could come out in another ditty from this world – albeit this is supposed to be a standalone novel.
No matter what my reading quirks may be, Leap Of Faith is still an excellent read that submerged me into the world of the circus with two leading men searching for what’s missing in their lives. I have no doubt that many will enjoy it too.
RATING: 
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