The past never stays buried forever.
John Faimu is an Australian-Samoan police officer who deals with hurt kids every day. He loves what he does, but he’s tired of the grind of shift work, and of trying to find a balance between his job, his family, and the young man who straddles the increasingly blurry line between both.
Caleb Fletcher was the teenager John saved from a cult eight long years ago, and he’s now the young man John wants in ways that neither of them should risk.
Eight years after his rescue, Caleb is still struggling with PTSD and self-harm. John has always been his rock, but now Caleb wants more. Can he convince John to cross a line and love him the way they both crave? And when the monsters from Caleb’s past come back seeking to silence him for good, will John’s love be enough to save him?
The Parable of the Mustard Seed is an mm gay romance featuring hurt/comfort, first times, found family, and angst with a happy ending.
Publisher: self published
Cover Artist: Natasha Snow
Release Date: 3 April 2020
Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex
Romance Pairings: Male/Male
Book Length (eBook): 79,000 words
Genre: Romance
Amazon – Kindle Unlimited
I had to mull over my review for this book for a few days. I generally do not do books with angst. I leave those to one of the other reviewers, but loving all things Aussie, I wanted to give this one a go. It was hard at some points…really hard. But considering the situation Caleb came out of, to expect anything less would have been doing the story a huge disservice.
John was so sweet, cared about everyone around him, not just Caleb, but his family, and even the kids on the street that he watched over during his shifts. He didn’t do a very good job of taking care of himself, but he seemed to love everything he did. And with Caleb, it was never a job. He loved him from day one.
As John and Caleb finally took their relationship to the next level, and Caleb asked to keep it from his father, it made sense. Caleb wanted something his own, that his father didn’t have to help him to deal with. However, it also put John in a very difficult position. And once Caleb’s father found out, under unpleasant circumstances, it made for awkward moments. However, they handled it like adults, knowing that Caleb’s health was of the uppermost importance.
All of this was on par with what I expected of the book. Toward the end of the book, I felt like there was something missing. It wasn’t that everything was necessarily tied up in a neat bow, but in some ways it was. Too neat. Which I think I could have understood better if it was a year, or three years later. However, just a few months later left me wondering how the next episode would be dealt with.
Overall, very well written, and touched on the depths of mental health, PTSD, and the fact that years later just the smallest things can be the biggest factors in a relapse. If you need some angst in your stories, this one is for you! Not a ton, but it isn’t for the lighthearted. I loved though that these men loved each other no matter what, without fail, and always there for one another.
4 pieces of eye candy
