At only thirty-two, Bishop Stockley has lived a hard-knock life. His gang was his family, the streets his home. Until the crew he’d always called his brothers betrayed him. After doing five years in a federal prison, Bishop is back at his dad’s trailer and working for his landscaping company, thrust into a legit world where he’s no longer the alpha—a world where a criminal record is the least of his disadvantages, because Bishop can’t read or write. Illiteracy had never been an obstacle for him on the streets, he didn’t need to know how to read Moby Dick to survive, he needed to know how to read people… and that was a hustle he’d learned hard and fast. Now, he had to change his life.
Bishop’s only support system was a young, inexperienced dad who’d insisted he call him Mike all their life—since they looked more like brothers than father and son. And his hot-tempered, childhood, best friend from ’juvie, Trent. Bishop already had the deck stacked against him, but he wasn’t afraid of hard work to change his situation, and he did want to change. Especially after he encountered Edison Scala, a kind-spirited office manager who didn’t hesitate to come to his defense… a man that saw past Bishop’s grass-stained coveralls. A man who wasn’t intimidated by his stern features and his silence.
Edison hadn’t grown up the way most of his peers had. He’d been raised by a single father who’d owned an old-fashioned barber shop where Edison was taught how to not only shave with a straight razor, and shine shoes, but also how to treat others, to not judge, to be a gentleman, to be respectful and speak without profanity. But, the biggest lesson he’d learned, was to always be himself. His lack of friends and a social life wasn’t his fault. No matter how much weight he gained, no matter how many times his staff called him a square, Edison did not need to change.
Bishop knew Edison was off-limits. He’d made personal vows to himself when he was released from prison, ones that he never intended to break. But, when Edison asked him about providing landscaping services at his home, there was no way he could refuse. He hadn’t expected Edison to feed him, praise him, encourage him, and look at him the way he did—as if Bishop was somebody. Mike and Trent warned him not to mix business with pleasure and he didn’t intend to.
No multiple pairings. No cliffhangers. Ends with a very, very HFN.
Warning:
This book is a M/M contemporary romance, a hardened man’s struggle to find real love. There are no police chases or doors being kicked in, in this one. But, don’t worry. Bishop is still intense enough to keep you on the edge.
Length: 121,000 words approx.
Cover Design: Simply Defined Art
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Hello,hello,hello!!
Thank you for taking the time to check out my latest release entitled: Bishop: A True Lover’s Story. I went back and forth with my good friend Carra Saigh on this title and how it would be perceived. Bishop’s story is my twentieth book, and I wanted it to be something very different then what my readers are used to. I wanted to give them more depth and more realism than any other story I’ve written. And I think I have.
This story is a slow burn, make-you-feel novel. It touches on sensitive issues that everyday people live with. No one in this book is perfect, no one in this story is living a picturesque life. The struggles are real and the battle is long.
I hope you’ll enjoy it.
I am celebrating my writing anniversary in the best way! Which means showering my readers with gratitude gifts and tons of love letters. Without you all, my words would be unheard. For a chance to be adorned with love and appreciation, join my lively Facebook group and party with me. You can drop in anytime for some mature MM fun. https://bit.ly/2Ku4jAx
xxxxxx
Adrienne V.
Okay, so, I wasn’t ready. I thought I was, but…nay. I was not.
Edison, who we meet first, is an executive assistant at a law firm. He’s kind of the big wig of the office, though as sweet as he is and as non-confrontational, everyone just kind of walks all over him and treats him like crap. It had me sick to my stomach the way a few people treated, most especially Skylar, but we’ll get to him in a minute. Since losing his mother as an infant and his father, who was his best friend, a couple years back, he was pretty much alone in every sense of the word, save for an Aunt and Uncle. I was glad that he had them, but as Edison is an adult, he kind of left them to their lives and kept himself to himself.
He was lonely, sure, but he had a job he loved, even if the people were less than welcoming, he had hobbies that required only him, like reading and cooking and he’s just an all-around good guy. He sees the best in people, even when they don’t deserve it. When he meets Bishop outside of his office one day, he’s instantly attracted to him but as shy as he seems to be, his co-worker Skylar doesn’t help things the other times they run into each other. Skylar is jealous and selfish and petty and I knew he was going to be trouble… I kind of wish Trent would’ve scalped him or something when he had the chance, but alas, I wished for karmic street justice instead of the legal kind he eventually got… but, I won’t give too much that away. It was only just enough satisfaction, I hope to see more in the next one… but, rewind, back to Bishop.
Now, Bishop was brought up by a teenage father who didn’t know how to be one. His childhood lacked any kind of education or goals, so it wasn’t a surprise he was in and out of juvie as a child and then raised in the streets the rest of the time. When he went to prison for a crime his gang committed, he was lucky an even douchier ex kind of kept him from going away for longer after humiliating him in court. After a handful of years in prison, Bishop was finally out of prison, out of the gang and trying to forge a relationship that he never had with his dad. He and his childhood friend, ex-gang member and prison friend Trent left that life behind and were trying to be better… even if Trent needed a little firmer hand than Bishop did in the beginning.
I adored Bishop’s dad and their relationship. I understand being young parents and doing so many things wrong. I loved how he owned it and was set to be all his son needed him to be, even if Bishop pushed him away and tried to resist it at first. As a parent, better late than never, and I loved how much he loved his son and supported him and encouraged him to better himself, he was amazing. And so was Trent, who as I said was more like Bishop’s little brother and they acted like it too. I loved how loyal Trent was, always down for whatever, always having Bishops back and loving him the way a chosen family would. I adored Trent and I cannot wait to see him and meet Wood in the next book! Yay!
Growing up the way he did, Bishop had a lot of obstacles in his way to get where he wanted in life, but he was working on it with the help of Trent and Mike and he knew it wouldn’t be easy. When he meets Edison, he knows that he wants to be better for him too.
I love these two together, they were so opposite but in the very best ways. Where Bishop was growly and big and intimidating and quiet, Edison was soft and sweet and naive in some ways, but it just made him who he is and you couldn’t help but fall in love with both of them. It wasn’t always easy though, with Bishop wanting to work a little more on bettering himself, though not being able to stay away from Edison and sweet blushing face and amazing ways he took care of Bishop by cooking for him and helping him, even unknowingly that he was worthy. I could imagine Bishop not feeling that with the way he’d grown up.
Of course, there are some bumps in the road, what with Bishop’s ex being petty in the beginning (thankfully he didn’t last long) and then Skylar, the jealous and somewhat psycho co-worker… there were some times that I wanted to grab Bishop a time or two and tell him to stop running away, but I understood it. It was realistic and raw and I felt it for them. Fortunately, Edison loved Bishop for exactly who he was, no question, no hesitation and Bishop pulled Edison out of his shell and boosted his self-confidence and self-worth. It was just beautiful to see, all of it. Aside from Ruxs and Green from the Nothing Special series, this might be my new favorite from Ms. A.
I truly cannot wait for more, I’ll be fangirling like a lunatic until I find out what happens with Trent and Wood.
5 of the brightest pieces of eye candy from me
A.E. Via has been a best-selling author in the beautiful gay romance genre for five years now, but she’s no stranger to MM. She’s been an avid reader of gay lit for over fifteen years before she picked up her laptop to place her own kiss on this genre. She’s also the founder and owner of Via Star Wings Books, having published a couple great new up and coming MM authors.
A.E. has a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Virginia Wesleyan College that she used to start her own paralegal firm after she graduated in 2008. She spent five years preparing and filing bankruptcy petitions for struggling blue collar workers who couldn’t afford to file with a lawyer. It was a rewarding and satisfying career… but another path called to her. Writing.
A.E.’s writing embodies everything from hopelessly romantic to adventure, to scandalous. Her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths.
Now that she’s gotten over her 10 books published hump, she’s kind of known now for her hardcore, play rough and love hard, bad boy, alphas. However, she does like to push herself to step out of her comfort zone, exploring different tropes, but she won’t push herself into a whole other genre. She’s head over heels for gay romance and she has tons of more hot stories to tell.
Be sure to visit Adrienne on her social media pages and subscribe to her newsletter to never miss another release date! Go to A.E. Via’s official website http://authoraevia.com for more detailed information on how to contact her, follow her, or a sneak peak at upcoming work, free reads, VSWB submissions, and where she’ll appear next.
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