Blog Tour Stop including Excerpt, Review & Giveaway – Redeeming Hope by Shell Taylor

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AboutTheBook

RedeemingHopeLGTitle: Redeeming Hope

Author: Shell Taylor

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Cover Artist: L.C. Chase

Length: Novel – 206 Pages

Release Date: October 5, 2015

Blurb: Home for Hope: Book One

Fifteen years ago Elijah Langley’s world came to an abrupt halt with the death of his high school boyfriend. He keeps his past—and his sexual orientation—hidden until he attends a fundraiser for The Center for HOPE, an LGBT youth center, where he meets Adam Lancaster, HOPE’s infuriatingly stubborn and sexy founder.

A survivor of a turbulent childhood, Adam understands better than most the challenges his youth face. He’s drawn to Elijah’s baby blues and devilish smile but refuses to compromise his values and climb back into the closet for anyone—not even the man showering time and money on HOPE. Months of constant flirting wear down Adam’s resolve until he surrenders to his desires, but Elijah can’t shake his demons.

When a youth from the center is brutally assaulted, Elijah must find a way to confront the fears and memories that are starting to ruin his life, so he can stand strong for those he loves.

CommonExcerpt

Eli clutched the glossy eight-by-ten as tears welled in his eyes. He could hardly believe the emaciated, washed-out figure in the picture was the same person he’d centered his entire world around just a few weeks earlier. Eli would recognize that face anywhere. God knows, he’d spent enough time staring at it—running his fingers over those soft lips, sucking on the kidney-shaped birthmark just below the ear. He never imagined he’d see those eyes so lifeless.

“It’s him,” Eli whispered, dropping the picture on the officer’s desk.

His mother rested a hand on his shoulder. “E.J.—”

“Don’t pretend to care, now that he’s dead.” Eli shrugged out of her grasp and clenched his jaw to hold in the gut-wrenching sobs brewing in his chest. “Will I need to identify the body in person too?”

The officer avoided Eli’s eyes, but his voice was kind. “If you’re certain, this is good enough for us. He’ll be released in the next thirty-six hours. Will you be claiming him, or will the city keep him?”

Eli’s eyes widened, and panic ripped through his heart. He’d never expected the search to end with a dead body, and there was no way he’d be able to give his boyfriend the funeral he deserved—the one Eli owed him for his own part in Brian’s death. Prepared to beg, he turned and met his father’s eyes for the first time since Brian disappeared from their house almost three weeks earlier.

“We’ll take care of his arrangements.” Eli’s mother spoke quietly but firmly, and his father dipped his chin in silent agreement.

Relief carried Eli back to his parents’ car, but grief consumed him as soon as he slid into the back seat. Burying his head in his knees, he shut out the rest of the world. Eli didn’t leave the quiet safety of the car until long after he arrived home, his cheeks crusted with salty tears from mourning the loss of the future he’d been so sure of.

BuyLinks

Dreamspinner Press (ebook)

Dreamspinner Press (Paperback)

Amazon US

Amazon UK

All Romance eBooks

Barnes & Noble

BookReview
Redeeming Hope (Home for Hope, #1)Redeeming Hope by Shell Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

wow…this book. i was surprised at how emotional this book made me…it reduced me to tears several times, while bringing a smile to my face at other times. the story was pretty amazing – what adam is doing; how elijah helps adam with that and his complete transformation, growth (finally) and maturity; the hope for the teens they are helping; the hope for them as a couple. and while it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, the ending plus the synopsis of book 2 really leaving you wanting book 2 right now.

adam and elijah both had some major struggles as kids. we didn’t touch too much on adam’s in this story (it sounds like we’re getting that in book 2) but we really got to delve into elijah’s past and watch him finally get through that. he has a couple of major life changes in the story and becomes a better man for it. i didn’t really like elijah all that much at the beginning but as he morphed into the man he is at the end of the story i couldn’t help but love him. he and adam seem to be perfect for each other. their banter with each other and with kollin is really entertaining and endearing.

all of the characters in this book were pretty fantastical…it’s looking like we’ll have a real antagonist in book 2 and it should be just as emotional as this one. i can’t wait to read it!

View all my reviews

AboutTheAuthor

 

Shell Taylor is a full-time mother of three exuberant and loving kiddos and one fur baby, a tiny but fierce Yorkie-poo named Rocco. As a Christian who practices love, grace, and humility rather than hatred and judgement, she tries her best to instill these same virtues in her rowdy kids. She just recently learned how to crochet to start bombarding new mothers with matching hats and booties. She is a huge Marvel fan and because of the superhero-plastered tees paired with jeans and Chucks has been told when helping out in her son’s classroom that she looks more like the students than a parent. Her favorite way to procrastinate is to binge watch entire seasons on Netflix. Best of all, she’s been married ten years to a man who’s turned out to be everything she never knew she needed.

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Winner’s Prize: $20 Amazon Gift Card.

Runner-up’s Prize: $10 Amazon Gift Card.

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TourSchedule

October 6:

MM Good Book Reviews

Drops of Ink

October 7:

My Fiction Nook

October 8:

Molly Lolly: Reader, Reviewer, Lover of Words

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents

October 9:

The Purple Rose Tea House

A Celebration of Books

October 12:

Wicked Faeries Tales & Reviews

Bike Book Reviews

October 13:

Hearts on Fire

October 14:

Diverse Reader

October 15:

Bayou Book Junkie

October 16:

Wake Up Your Wild Side

October 19:

Jessie G Books

October 20:

World of Diversity Fiction

Gay Media Reviews

October 21:

Prism Book Alliance

October 22:

BFD Book Blog

Love Bytes Reviews

October 23:

Divine Magazine

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