TITLE: Resurrecting Hope
SERIES: Home for Hope #2
AUTHOR: Shell Taylor
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
COVER ARTIST: L.C. Chase
LENGTH: 65,800 words
RELEASE DATE: December 25, 2015
BLURB: Adam Lancaster can’t imagine how his life could possibly get any better. He’s on the cusp of moving in with his boyfriend, Elijah Langley. Their charge, Kollin Haverty, finally has a loving, stable home environment, and Home for Hope is up and running, keeping over fifteen LGBT youth off the streets at night. One phone call from his birth mother, Jessica Lancaster, is all it takes to unravel Adam’s carefully constructed new life.
Informing Adam his grandfather has died, Jessica expresses remorse for abandoning Adam to the state and begs him for a chance to be part of his life again. Jessica’s true colors eventually shine through her façade, and Adam is devastated all over again when he discovers she is only using him to get her hands on the valuable inheritance his grandfather left him. Jessica’s betrayal forces Adam so far inside his own hell, not even Elijah or Kollin can keep him from abandoning all of his responsibilities and running away. Adam will have to dig deep to find the strength to confront his birth parents, heal once and for all, and earn back his place with his new family.
“Hey, Chloe,” Elijah said as he waltzed into the foyer. He carried two trays. “I brought you a sundae.”
“Oh. Thank you, Elijah,” Chloe said, her wide eyes darting between Adam and Jessica. “How thoughtful.”
“I try every now and then,” he said as he placed both trays on her desk, wriggled one of the cups out for her, and bent down to pick up Adam’s forgotten water bottle. “Did you drop this?” Elijah slid the bottle into Adam’s hand and allowed his fingers to linger against Adam’s. The grin he offered was solely reserved for Adam. Elijah hadn’t noticed Adam’s mother yet. His back had been to her since he walked in the door, but with that small smile, Elijah unknowingly bolstered Adam’s confidence. Adam smiled back.
“Thank you. Maybe Chloe can call someone out here to collect those. There’s someone you need to meet.” Elijah swiveled around to see Adam’s birth mother sitting in the corner. He closed the distance between them and held out his hand with all the confidence of a multimillionaire CEO.
“Hi, there. I’m Elijah Langley. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Terror written all over her face, Jessica stared at him for a moment and then looked toward Adam.
“This is Jessica… Lancaster.” Adam spoke quietly, but he knew Elijah heard because his entire body tensed. He could imagine the look on Elijah’s face, given the way Jessica quickly averted her eyes.
“Oh.” Elijah dropped his hand and returned to Adam’s side.
Dreamspinner Press (Paperback)
Resurrecting Hope by Shell Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
i..uh…wow. this book. oh, the emotions of this book. i feel like i’m all over the place with them right now. book 1 hit me right in the feels but nothing like this book did. ms. taylor, i’m thinking i’m going to have a love/hate relationship with you about this series…you just bring out too many emotions in me!
as a mother, it is truly heart crushing for me to know that some people go through what kollin and adam and all the kids that come through the center go through for being themselves. that some parents don’t understand what unconditional love really means. this book is as much about kollin as it is adam and elijah and i’m so happy that he was able to find these two men. my heart broke for him over and over again throughout this story but it warms me to know he will now know parents’ love.
elijah surprised me in this book. he’s definitely grown as a person and become a solid rock in the foundation of that relationship. he absolutely has become the person that kollin and adam need and has shown he is truly an amazing man.
adam frustrated me a bit at times while struggling through his demons but i can’t fault him for it as thankfully i’ve never gone through what he did. not being wanted and abandoned by your parents has to crush a person. and getting your hopes up when one of those people makes you believe they finally want to be a part of your life only to be disappointed again…i just can’t even imagine how awful that makes you feel. he felt completely unlovable and unworthy and as such lashed out at everyone around him that loves him. thankfully, he’s able to overcome that and becomes an even better person for it.
there is a side story with a person from adam’s past that had me sobbing. although i was pretty weepy through most of the book (in fact i’m pretty sure i cried through the whole damn thing), that part really got to me and was pretty amazing.
i’m guessing we’re getting a book 3. we still have some unanswered questions about riley that we need to work through. and i’d like to see more about kollin’s growth and development. this book didn’t end like book 1 but it still feels like we need more and although i don’t think i could read more today, i’m anxious to get more of these characters.
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: $10 Amazon GC
2nd Winner’s Prize: E-copy of Redeeming Hope
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can’t wait to read this book!
Looks great. Thank you for the review, excerpt and giveaway chance!