Blog Tour: Review of Just Between Us by J.H. Trumble

Title: Just Between Us
Author: J.H. Trumble
Publication Date: September 24, 2013
Pages: 320 pages
Publisher: Kensington
Genre: Fiction/Romance/Contemporary/LGBT
Book Link: Goodreads
Purchase Links: Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Amazon

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Luke Chesser is trying to forget his spectacular failure of a love life. He practices marching band moves for hours in the hot Texas sun, deals with his disapproving father, and slyly checks out the new band field tech, Curtis Cameron. Before long, Luke is falling harder than he knew he could. And, this time, he intends to play it right.

                                                       

Since testing positive for HIV, Curtis has careened between numbness and fear. Too ashamed to tell anyone, Curtis can’t possibly act on his feelings. And Luke—impulsive, funny, and more tempting than he realizes—won’t take a hint. Even when Curtis distances himself it backfires, leaving him with no idea how to protect Luke from the truth.

Confronting a sensitive topic with candor and aplomb, acclaimed author J. H. Trumble renders a modern love story as sweet, sharp, and messy as the real thing, where easy answers are elusive, and sometimes the only impossible thing is to walk away.

Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for my participation on a Book Blog Tour.

Review: 

Oh boy,I'm not even sure where I can start with this one. It is an amazing and realistic story of love,sacrifice and heartache. I loved both Luke and Curtis so much and it was clear from the beginning that this wasn't going to be a typical LGBT romance.It started off slowly and I loved that.It quickly turned serious and ordinarily that would have driven me bananas,but with Luke and Curtis,it just worked.

Curtis' family was amazing and so loving and supportive of him.I was so glad to see that there was a family who supported and loved him. As many people in the LGBT community will tell you,it's often not easy for parents and families to be okay with a relative who is a part of the LGBT community.Luke's family was different and I was thrilled when his mother threw his homophobic father out of the house.Luke's mother and brother were very supportive which was awesome.

Curtis' actions after he learned of his HIV status was unfortunately not uncommon. It broke my heart into teeny tiny pieces watching him push Luke away although Luke clearly didn't want to be pushed away.It was obvious that Curtis didn't want to push Luke away and that he was even more miserable without Luke at his side. Some might say that Curtis was being a martyr but he wasn't. He didn't feel like it was fair to tie Luke to him when he had such a serious illness. However,he didn't allow Luke to have any say in it. Really he couldn't tell Luke that he,Luke shouldn't have to stick around. That was Luke's decision.

This book tackles a tough subject with both candor and sensitivity which is hard to do.It is one of those rare books that can have you sobbing and laughing while reading the book because it is so full of emotion. Not just for Curtis and Luke but for their friends and families as well.

Stories like this were once rare but now I see them gaining more and more presence in the literary world. I absolutely love seeing this. This book was so wonderful and I have no qualms about giving it a full five stars. It's not a book for everyone but I absolutely loved it.


Author Bio:

J.H. Trumble is a Texas native and graduate of Sam Houston State University. You can visit the author online as well as on Facebook  and Twitter.

Connect With The Author:

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