Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: A Fall Of Light

AUTHOR: L J Green

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 267 Pages

RELEASE DATE: September 4, 2023

BLURB:

LJ Greene brings to life one of her most compelling characters: the intensely creative bass guitarist, Greg Van de Meer. A Fall of Light weaves together the strands of Greg’s private and public lives—a shattering personal history, a love affair with potentially disastrous consequences, and family bonds that are stretched to their breaking point.

It’s been fifteen years since Greg was outed by his fundamentalist father at age sixteen and sent from home, with devastating consequences for both he and his younger brother, Asher. Now unlaid ghosts from the past are stirring. With his band’s success on the world stage, Greg’s life takes a complicated turn when he develops a friendship with Louis Angel, an ex-Marine with a secret of his own, and finds himself facing familiar threats from an unexpected source.

Strained loyalties, a private affair, and Greg’s own guarded history collide dangerously until a visit from an old foe forces him to confront past wounds and present beliefs. Allegiances are called into question and he must decide whether the secrets he’s fighting to protect are worth the life he’s finally ready to have.

A Fall of Light is a standalone adult contemporary M/M romance.

REVIEW:

Greg is a rockstar – an extremely private one. He leaves himself and his talent out on stage but keeps his personal life akin to Fort Knox. And with good reason, too, for the press would have a field day. When an accident puts Greg into the direct path of Louis Angel, he does not expect to be cared for, and it is intoxicating. The question is, what will survive after Greg’s past and present come crashing together?

Wow, what a story of survival that has a phoenix quality. Because of his sexuality, Greg is thrown out of his home and does what he must to survive. Greg’s music saves him, and what follows is a page-turner of a story that I continued reading without interruption until I finished.

The story is told in the third person, present tense, from Greg’s viewpoint. Worldbuilding suited my reading tastes: providing a picture without going into minute detail. I had no trouble imagining the situations – I often felt like a bystander/fly on the wall. The reader gets views from the adrenaline-pumping concert halls to the serenity of home. I particularly liked the fact that there was no redundancy – every place and person had a reason to be there/a place in the story. The other aspect I liked was that the intimate scenes were mostly faded out. Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy a good sex scene, but this story doesn’t need that level of bump and grind. The story is an emotional experience over a physical one.

Greg’s need for privacy is his savior and his potential downfall. Greg’s relationship with his brother Asher has been fractious for a long time. Asher exploits Greg’s good heart for his own nefarious reasons. Good people surround Greg, but as Asher is his brother, there is an awareness and blindness to the situation.

OMG, Louis is simply blooming great. He has demons, but Louis’s heart is so big it left a lump in my throat.

There were many times when I was antsy for Greg, proud of him, times when I wanted to cry for the man, and many beautiful, heartfelt moments. There’s some unrequited love in there, too. The only niggle I have is that for much of the story, I was in the frame of mind, ‘What’s Asher going to do next?’. While Louis is a soothing balm wrapped up in a big marine, I felt something else was needed to balance the angst – maybe a bit more band banter or stage time. Nevertheless, this story is soooooo close to getting full marks and is well worth a read. Bravo.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon