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Publisher: Pride Publishing
Length: 58,300 words
Dublin Virtues Series
Blurb
Love is love. But what if the fight for equality gets in the way of building a relationship?
Lorcan Barratt has never considered himself relationship material. After his parents made it perfectly clear they'd never welcome a partner of his into their home, he learned to love his own company and can't imagine sharing his life with another. After a single passionate kiss with Eric Kavanagh-the night before he travels to Canada for three months-Lorcan's no longer sure he wants to be on his own. The problem is, he has no idea what sharing his life with someone else might entail.
Eric Kavanagh grew up in a loving and supportive family and always assumed he'd end up in a committed relationship. Sure that he's found the one, Eric doesn't worry about the fact that Lorcan has no experience when it comes to love and relationships. They are good together, so what could possibly go wrong?
When both men get involved in the marriage equality referendum in Ireland, it appears to bring them even closer together until Lorcan's insecurities get the upper hand and he shuts Eric out. Will the fight for a yes-vote cost them their relationship or will they be able to find a balance between the love they share and the need for equality?
Carra's Review
Every now and then I read a story that triggers that part of me that wants to go out and march for a cause or rant about the things that are unfair in the world. Equality is one of those books, and that’s both a good thing—since it sparks something in me that brings my passion to the forefront, and a not-so-good thing—since it had my brain bouncing off in a bunch of directions when I read certain parts of the book that stirred my inner activist.
My heart ached for Lorcan over the relationship between him and his parents. While I respect every person’s right to believe in whatever religion calls to them, to use that religion as a screen to hide behind to disrespect others and make anyone feel as if they are less than anyone else is morally reprehensible and frankly I find it offensive to ALL people. That said, I was positively tickled with Lorcan’s grandmother’s response and support (what a little spitfire she turned out to be!). Lorcan also has an amazing group of friends and siblings who love and support him unconditionally as well. He doesn’t really have any relationship experience, but when it comes to Eric that turns out to not be much of a problem.
The relationship between Lorcan and Eric seems almost effortless, as if the two of them together is perfectly, absolutely natural. They are so comfortable with each other that you really can’t draw any other conclusion than that they were meant to be. While they do get together almost from the start of the story, it really is not an insta-love situation since they’d already gotten to know each other previously in the time frame covered by the first book in the series, Patience. Where Lorcan is not experienced in relationships, Eric is…and that provides a balance for them as they easily blend together into a solid, committed couple.
There’s some tension at different points of the story, primarily when dealing with Lorcan’s parents and the mounting stress as the referendum vote approaches. That tension brings the component of communication in a relationship to the forefront both during and near the end of the story to add a bit more drama to things.
I really enjoyed this story, and just adored Lorcan and Eric together. Equality was a 4.5 star read for me, and is a story I highly recommend to any M/M romance fan. I also want to give a nod to the lovely cover of this book, I’m really loving the beautiful covers for this series as a whole. This story can be read as a standalone, though if you do you’ll probably wind up wanting to read Troy and Xander’s story, Patience, when you’re done, and will want to pick up the next one, Renewal, as soon as it’s available (like me!). It is meant for readers 18+ for adult language and M/M sexual content…and don’t be surprised if this story awakens the latent activist within you as well ;-)
Author Bio
Helena Stone can't remember a life before words and reading. After growing up in a household where no holiday or festivity was complete without at least one new book, itís hardly surprising she now owns more books than shelf space while her Kindle is about to explode.
The urge to write came as a surprise. The realisation that people might enjoy her words was a shock to say the least. Now that the writing bug has well and truly taken hold, Helena can no longer imagine not sharing the characters in her head and heart with the rest of the world.
Having left the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam for the peace and quiet of the Irish Country side she divides her time between reading, writing, long and often wet walks with the dog, her part-time job in a library, a grown-up daughter and her ever loving and patient husband.
Helena can be found in the following places:
Website - Blog - Facebook - Facebook Author Page - Twitter - Goodreads - Amazon Author Page - Pinterest - Email
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