Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: Seaspray
AUTHOR: Rick R. Reed
PUBLISHER: NineStar Press
LENGTH: 209 Pages
RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2022
BLURB:
Winslow Birkel is a sweet young man in his first relationship. But his boyfriend, the charming and fiery Chad Loveless, has become increasingly abusive to the point where Winslow fears for his life.
Everything changes in a single night when Winslow, fleeing yet another epic fight, goes out to a local bar and finds a sympathetic ear in a new friend, Darryn Maxwell. But when he comes home, Chad’s waiting. He’s got it in for Winslow, whom he wrongly accuses of being unfaithful.
The stormy night sends Winslow off on a journey to escape. The last thing he recalls is skidding off the road and into the river. When he awakens, he’s mysteriously in the charming seaside town of Seaspray, where people are warm and welcoming, yet their appearances and disappearances are all too inexplicable.
Back home, Darryn wonders what’s happened to the new guy he met during his first outing to the local gay bar, the Q. Darryn knows Winslow’s been abused, but he also feels he’s quickly fallen in love with Winslow.
Can Winslow and Darryn decipher their respective mysteries? Is it possible for them to reunite? Is Chad still lurking and plotting to make sure Winslow never loves anyone else? The answers to these questions await you in Seaspray, where you may, or may not, ever leave.
REVIEW:
Content Warning: Domestic Abuse
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Seaspray. It was a different sort of story, which caught my attention during the main character, Winslow’s, flashback to abuse from his partner, and his confusion of whether he might have killed his abuser. The story only gets better from there. Fleeing his partner Chad, Winslow meets a young man named Darryn who is in a gay bar for the first time in his life. Sparks fly but Winslow in the end goes home to Chad.
Flashforward, Winslow runs off into the rain and contacts Darryn for help following a severe confrontation with his partner. Darryn comes to him and then loans Winslow his car so that Winslow can get away.
Flashforward again, Winslow hears a bang as a car rearends him and the car he is driving plunges off the road into a river. Winslow awakens underwater, but it is not the cold stream he plunged into. It is a warm ocean and he’s underwater and not breathing. He fights his way to the surface and spotting land begins to swim. He finds himself in a town called Seaspray, but something is very odd about the town.
I kind of felt like I was a little lost as I read the story, or that maybe I’d tumbled into a script for a Black Mirror episode. I’ll admit I suspected what was going to happen, but nothing was obvious, and I could easily be wrong… I was kept guessing. I loved the plot twists and turns as the book proceeded. Where was Winslow and why were things so strange?
I’m not going to provide any more clues to the story but will end by saying that I enjoyed it very much and highly recommend it. Let’s face it, Rick R. Reed hasn’t written anything I haven’t really enjoyed.
RATING: 
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