Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: For Love

SERIES: Blessed Be #3 of 3

AUTHOR: Robin Reardon

PUBLISHER: IAM Books

LENGTH: 337 Pages

RELEASE DATE: September 26, 2024

BLURB:

Spencer Hill’s fondest wish has come true. Or maybe his second fondest wish. The northern Vermont town of Assisi, where Spencer is the Unitarian Universalist minister, has at last established close ties with The Forest, a Pagan community just east of town, and it’s mostly due to Spencer’s efforts.

Certain that his greatest wish will never come true, Spencer tries to ignore it—until the man he has tried to forget shows up on the arm of someone else. For a while Spencer is distracted by a Pagan-inspired festival he’s organizing and by the teenaged Kira, who—despite her parents’ refusal to accept her—is “Ralph” no longer.

But soon he can’t avoid the questions. Will Donald stay in Vermont with Jonathan Ehrlich? Will he return to his acting career in Manhattan? Or will his love for Spencer guide him?

And the real question: What would any of them give up for love?

REVIEW:

Spencer is enjoying life in Assisi. Relations between The Forest people and locals are continually improving. But when Donald, Spencer’s first love, appears with his boyfriend, Donald’s emotions are put through the ringer, making him think about all forms of love and what one would do for love.

In a nutshell, For Love is a beautiful, thought-provoking, emotional read. While Spencer is a priest, the tale looks at many faiths, while the prime features are people.

For Love is book three of a trilogy. The online summary rounds up the series better than I can. It says: –

Book 1, FOR LOVE OF GOD, follows Spencer as he struggles to reconcile being gay with the church’s expectations, and as he has his first romantic relationship.

Book 2, FOR LOVE OF SELF, sees Spencer in a new but related role, learning how the importance of loving oneself is the key to enriching all his relationships, romantic and otherwise.

In Book 3, FOR LOVE, through his relationship with a mercurial young man and the community he belongs to, Spencer begins to understand what it means to integrate different kinds of love into his life and to help others do the same.

The story is told in the first person from Spencer’s sole viewpoint. The setting is the 1980s, and the language, terms, and expressions are authentic of the era. Therefore, a few may raise an eyebrow as some of those terminologies have since changed. Assisi is a rural town not far from Canada, surrounded by other small towns with issues and occasionally misguided attitudes. Transsexuality is a significant subject that, in this era, little was known, and to this end, Kira is a star. After the book’s finale, there are discussion questions, which readers will take or leave, but most will have already been part of the readers’ thoughts while studying the text.

Spencer was originally a New York City boy who transformed into a country-loving man – hiking and all. Shout out here for Klondike – what a dog. Since book one, he has had a spiritual, emotional, and physical journey that has been a pleasure to read. His love for his flock, himself, and someone special, as well as farther-reaching questions, came to a head when he asked himself whether he could let the person he loves go because it was right for them.

I love a book that puts the individual’s journey above sex in a story. While intimacy is an extension of an arc, it is a faded-out portion, highlighting other aspects, journeys, and people. And what a perfectly formed cast it was. No loose ends were left either – perfect. If you want a read that is informative, entertaining, different, and thought-provoking – this is it.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon