Review: Let There Be Light by A.M. Johnson
SYNOPSIS:
His world was water and rhythm. Hard work and drive kept Royal O’Connell one step ahead of his competition. His spot on the swim team, keeping his scholarship, was the only plan that mattered.
His world was ebony and ivory. Natural talent and ambition set Camden Morgan apart from the other music majors. His dedication scoring him a full ride.
Normally, their paths would have never crossed….
But when Royal meets his best friend’s new roommate, his big plan and Camden’s controlled environment faces a variable that could destroy it all.
Attraction.
The world they live in had no room for error. That undeniable pull between them was dangerous and neither one of them could’ve prepared for the choice they’d have to make.
Love isn’t always an easy road and, when everything they’ve worked for is on the line, they’ll have to decide if being together is worth the risk.
REVIEW:
So this book has been on my TBR for a while and I finally decided to dive in and while I liked the story, I didn’t love it. The more I reflected on why this was, I think it stems from the writing style. This book felt like it was trying to hard. And in doing so, the narrative fell short. What could have been a gripping coming-of-age story got lost in attempted dramatics.
Camden and Royal’s journey to love was unique and at times touching. But each character had their own battles and while the I would have loved to see more self discovery, the writing style was too fluffy. For example, when reading from Camden’s POV, it’s all was tinged with melancholy and music. Everything has a reference or some metaphor and when trying to display his inner turmoil, instead of coming across authentic, it felt forced. Camden’s struggles with him own identity and the identity of the man his parents expected him to be didn’t feel natural, and because of this, I never fell into the story and world.
In contrast, Royal doesn’t have a whole lot of drama. For just discovering his attraction to Camden, he is an easy going character. There is some homophobia in the story but for the most part, Royal was a simple man whose life consisted of his sister, the pool, his job, and classes. But there were numerous moments throughout the story where I found myself more interested in the secondary characters than I did Royal.
I think the pacing and the unraveling of the drama with Camden’s parents was well done. I also loved how supportive Royal’s family was. I just wished that the book and narratives’ were more fluid and didn’t feel so stilted and forced.
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