Review: Touch the Sky by Christina Lee & Nyrae Dawn
SYNOPSIS:
Lucas Barnett and Gabriel Stewart didn’t have it easy as kids. They were only trying to deal with bad situations at home when they became lifelines for each other. Their pipe dream was to someday meet in LA, where Lucas would design skyscrapers, and Gabriel would learn to fly. But then Gabriel disappeared without so much as a goodbye, and Lucas got himself in trouble with the law.
Five years later, both men are at a loss when they run into each other at a Hollywood bar. Lucas is still angry, but it’s not as if Gabriel could control how his mind and body had betrayed him. Being found on the ledge of that bridge had changed everything.
The attraction is immediate, but it’s more than their inability to keep their hands off each other. Neither man expects the fierce connection pulling them together. Unfortunately, ignoring their problems doesn’t make them disappear. Gabriel’s internal struggles are serious…dangerous. And no matter how much Lucas wants it to be true, saving Gabriel won’t make up for not being able to save his mom. If they don’t find the strength to face their own demons before the darkness takes hold, they risk more than just losing each other forever.
REVIEW:
I think the only way to properly start off this review is stat how obsessed I am with this cover! It gorgeous and reflects the stormy tension that is a theme throughout the story perfectly. Beautiful cover aside, the book was heavy, so very heavy on my heart with difficult topics tackled such as mental illness, addiction, and death. So be warned, you are in for a lot of emotions.
Gabriel is bipolar and he has a rough storyline. This poor boy has been rejected by his family, abused, and is battling so many demons inside his head that my heart ached for him. There are just some authors who so accurately capture the battles of mental illness, and Christina Lee and Nyrae Dawn did just that. Gabriel’s story may be heavy but it is filled with so much truth and an undercurrent of hope that you can’t help cheering him on.
In a sharp contrast, Lucas has not had it any easier. He is essentially alone and adrift in the world, struggling with guilt that is slowly eating him alive. And while I was so delighted to see Gabriel and Lucas reunite, I was also so very anxious because two broken halves do not make a whole. I spent a lot of the book waiting for the ball to drop because I knew it would. And when everything finally went to sh*t I was gutted.
But these are two strong characters and along their journey to finding love, they pause and find themselves. And this is where I was filled with tepid elation. Christina Lee and Nyrae Dawn do an excellent and realistic portrayal of Lucas and Gabriel working through their respective issues. And in the end I am left with two boys are hopelessly in love and have the mental capacity to love themselves and each other.
FAVORITE QUOTE:
“Because physical pain makes you forget about emotional pain. Momentarily, at least.”
LINKS:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
