Cover Design:Â Black Jazz Design
Darkest Skies SeriesÂ
Book #1 Redemption
Book #2 Deliverance
Book #3 Salvation
Blurb
Reformed gang boss Dante Pope is out after a four-year stretch in prison. But freedom has found him faster than he’s ready for. His only brother hates him, and with nothing but PTSD and a newfound fascination with plants for company, the outside world is a terrifying place.
A prisoner rehabilitation scheme lands him at a stately home that might as well be the moon. Working for gorgeous gardener Sid is a welcome distraction—his shoulders are broad, his rugged jaw unshaven, and his long, tanned legs?
Wow.
But Sid has problems of his own. A life-changing disease has left him limited in ways he can’t bear and accepting help, even from a stranger, makes him want to curl up and die.
If Dante would let him.
Newsflash: he won’t, and he’s not a stranger for long. With his dark smile and sinister ink, Dante Pope is the most beautiful man Sid has ever seen. Life is hard, but falling for each other is easy.
Sunshine and shadows.
Old ghosts can haunt Dante all they like. Loving Sid is the only salvation he’ll ever need.
Salvation is a sweetly angsty standalone MM romance novel in the Darkest Skies series. Expect: second chances, forced proximity, friends-to-lovers, and buckets of hurt/comfort themed loveliness. Content warnings for childhood trauma, violence, and chronic illness.
Salvation by Garrett Leigh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Well…let me start with this, I hated Dante in book one and I wasn’t going to read this book. I also am not a huge fan of a lot of angst but somehow Ms. Leigh waves her magic wand and I’m sucked into every one of her gritty, angst-filled books. And now I have the worst book hangover. As much as I liked the first two books in this series, this one might be my favorite.
I *think* this can be read as a standalone but would be better if the series is followed.
Dante the ex-gangster/mob boss is a gardener…and loves it. The parallel of him curating the gardens while curating a new life is a good one and works so entirely for him, even though he doesn’t see himself as a beautiful thing. He takes care of Sid PERFECTLY as he learns his disease better than anyone else ever has, just by paying attention. It’s like they’ve been together forever, or were made for each other. Dante is surprisingly sweet and vulnerable. He’s also struggling with life after…everything he’s been through.
Sid sees the real Dante, even though Dante doesn’t. He can truly see Dante’s a good man and one worth loving. He’s a grumpy git despite being Dante’s ray of sunshine. After watching my own mother struggle with the disease and seeing how debilitating it is, Sid is remarkably upbeat even when he feels beaten by his inability. Dante figures out quite quickly how to manipulate Sid into taking care of himself.
There is only a brief interlude with Dante’s past but with his recovery struggles and Sid’s physical and emotional struggles, there’s enough angst here to pull at every heartstring.
I was left with one question though…will we get a book about Asa?
About the Author
Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer.
Garrett’s debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards, and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards.
When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her unruly and wonderful FOX.
Garrett is also an award-winning cover artist, taking the silver medal at the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in 2016. She designs for various publishing houses and independent authors at blackjazzdesign.com and co-owns the specialist stock site moonstockphotography.com with renowned LGBTQA+ photographer Dan Burgess.
Website:Â http://www.garrettleigh.com/
Facebook:Â https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighauthor/
Twitter:Â https://twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh