Salvation Paperback – October 18, 2013

I had been avoiding this book for a while because of the negative reviews, well, one review in particular. However, I decided to at least read a page or 2 just to see if it was really all that bad. (If you don’t want to download a sample, you can click on the picture of the cover on the Amazon description page. Depending on the book you can read anywhere from one to a few pages this way.) In my opinion, it looked worth a try. It was, but I suppose that there are certain things about it that a person may need to be aware of going in:1. Yes, the writing is pretty simple in the beginning (it gets a little better as the book goes on), especially in the letters Danny & Moose write back and forth to each other. But I can understand the simplicity of the letters, they don’t know each other. I wouldn’t imagine Danny’s first letters to be revealing deep, dark secrets. 2. The entire book is told from Danny’s POV. Combined with #1, it does sort of make you feel as though Danny is a little below average. And for the most part, it seems that Moose is, too. 3. After Moose and Danny become involved, there is a lot of sex. IMO, it is kind of hot, but it’s also fairly repetitive. And Moose is always going to be aggressive and slightly greedy, and Danny will always be passive and give Moose whatever he wants with no questions. But then again, Danny is Moose’s first male lover, and Moose is only Danny’s 3rd, so I understood and kind of liked the way it was. 4. Danny was an only child, whose mother had passed when he was young, and it didn’t seem that he had any friends at all. He had work, his dad, and his dogs. Moose was an only child, whose parents had disowned him when he was convicted. He had no friends, life or family. So it didn’t bother me that they clung to each other so tightly, were happy with just about anything they could get, and yes, shed some tears together. They were co-dependent on each other, but not in a bad way. 5. Any conflicts that come up, and there are a few, all come up quickly and get resolved very quickly. No drawn out drama. 6. (What I really didn’t like) Though the gist of Moose’s reason for going to prison is revealed, there is absolutely no story behind it. What happened?!? And though I can understand the reaction of Chad’s parents, why on Earth did Moose’s parents abandon him? It was an accident! 7. I don’t like Moose’s son, Chad. Say what you will about what he’s going through, but he was a disrespectful little s**t and Danny had the patience of Job. If Danny hadn’t been as dependent on Moose as Moose was of him, and had more backbone, I think he would’ve filed for divorce.Overall, I really liked this story and it was worth the read. I'd be willing to read more from this author. Oh by the way, the cover model in the tank top doesn't match Danny at all except for the tattoo. Just thought I'd point that out.

I had to think about this story, cause, well, it doesn’t really follow the rules of romance of having everyone perfect hero like material, and even if they have a dark past, they are these brooding heroes who are even more attractive than the lily-white ones. Moose is an ex-con, and he was also guilty of his sin; sure he didn’t kill with the intention of doing it, he was driving under influence, but nevertheless he killed his best friend who was in the car with him, and he got 10 years of prison who he did from beginning to the end, also cause he knows it’s right for him to pay. And no, Moose is not an hunk stud with a stoic attitude, he is more like an overgrown teddy bear, with a lot of muscles, but also with a little bit of fat around the waist. And he tends to get emotional, and to cry when he isn’t able to cope with those emotions.On the other side we have Danny; Danny is average, he is a good guy, he doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink, and rescues pets from the street… he is basically a saint, and to complete the picture he is basically a virgin, he had only one boyfriend, for the length of 2 months and that was 10 years before. When Danny decides to start writing to Moose as a pen-pal, I wondered if he was considering Moose as a prospective partner, cause that is what Moose wrote in his sheet, but then I realize that Danny was basically really alone, and even if he wasn’t in prison like Moose, he was more or less on the same level of isolation. Danny is not an ingénue, but he doesn’t think he deserves much, and so he tends to lower himself and accepts compromises that he shouldn’t.So no, Moose and Danny aren’t hero material, but I got to feel for them, and to cheer for their joy, simple as it was and sometime even too much mundane (I think it’s the first time in a romance that the reader partakes in what is happening in a bathroom other than sex). I was also glad the author decided to make of what were probably two separate novella, one book, cause we had the chance to know a little better Moose and his past. And a not so small factor is that, the price of the kindle version is really low, less than 2 dollars.

I really, really wanted to write a good review of this book. The author's heart is in the right place, I love that neither of his main characters is porn star material, and that it includes a young kid, thrust into their fledgling family, with no warning.In some ways this book was beautiful and moving.On the other hand, quite simply, it was not well-written. The relationship between the MCs starts through a prison pen pal program, and if you just read the letters between the two, you would be hard-pressed to decide whether they were written by junior high school kids or a pair of intellectually disabled adults. The dialog is sometimes of the "see the dog run, run spot run" variety. There is simply no subtlety and not a single metaphor in the entire book. The sex scenes were only moderately hot and, sadly, repetitive. Like others here, I skipped them after the first few. Plus, it really felt like both men couldn't stop crying for the entire length of the book.A marriage happens in record time, with little preparation. That marriage is almost immediately interrupted by the sudden appearance of one of the MCs' heretofore unknown young son.It's as though the author picked through almost every Romance cliche, like selecting from a Chinese takeout menu, and then used as few words as possible to bring them to the page.Fortunately, the author's sincerity, if not any real facility with language, carries the book and, if what I've read in other reviews here is accurate, his subsequent works are much better-written. That's sort of what this feels like - a first effort that doesn't quite succeed. I just may check out his newer work to see if he fulfilled his promise.

Good story line from this author and most enjoyable characters. Shall read more when time allows. Good service for the transfer of the book to me

Great story well.written, enjoyed so.much on.my.kindle.that I.couldn't.put down I didn't know.where the story was taking.me, but great outline.and.well worth.my.time.to.readAdi

Fast paced. Simple story line that exemplifies how moral understanding and honesty strengthens relationships. Fab central bear character - topdaddyt but a big softie inside!Danny - Burnley UK October 2014.

Poor story line. Erotic sequences repetitive. Nice Cover Picture.

Lead charcters was controlling theres romance and standing by your partner but he was quite violent really. Salvation not really