Review Tour and Giveaway: Redemption by Garrett Leigh

09 July of 2020 by ButtonsMom2003

Reviewer's Rating: 5

5.0Overall score

I knew this book was gonna tear me up.

Redemption By Garrett Leigh

Genre: Contemporary Romance, GLBTQ, MM

Tropes: Second chances, found family, friends-to-lovers, hurt/comfort

Released: June 25, 2020

Publisher: Fox Love Press

Length: 248 Pages

Cover Design: Garrett Leigh @ Black Jazz Design

Synopsis

Reformed gangster Luis falls hard for his boss. When friendship turns to love, it’s up to Paolo to convince him second chances are worth the pain.

Luis Pope is back on the street after a six year stretch in prison, but life on the outside seems just out of reach, especially when the whole neighbourhood knows his face for all the wrong reasons.

Paolo’s temper makes it hard to keep staff, and he knows Luis’s rep all too well. But his nonno believes in redemption, and Luis isn’t the tough guy Paolo remembers. Prison has left its mark, inside and out, and all the kindness in the world can’t fix the three inch scar on Luis’s skull.

And it can’t keep ghosts locked up. Luis’s the best worker Paolo’s ever had, and Luis’s happier than he’s ever been. But his old life doesn’t want to stay in the past. Trouble comes to call, and when it makes him an offer he can’t refuse, keeping Paolo safe hurts the most.

Redemption is an angsty, standalone MM romance novel, with second chances, found family, friends-to-lovers, and buckets of hurt/comfort themed loveliness.

Review

Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003

I knew this book was gonna tear me up.

I’ve now read enough books by Garrett Leigh to know when one is probably going to affect me deeply and Redemption surely did that and it was worth every bit of emotion it wrought from me.

Luis Pope was recently released from prison and is looking for work. When he sees the Help Wanted sign in the window of the café he used frequent, he figures it’s fate. But café owner, Paolo, remembers Luis from his gangster days and isn’t interested in having one of the Pope brothers working for him. Fortunately for Luis, Paolo’s grandfather convinces Paolo that he should give Luis a chance.

So, after that rather rocky beginning, Luis provides exactly the type of help that Paolo needed in the café. He’s quiet and efficient and has skills that he surprised Paolo with when Paolo needed help in an emergency. This was a wonderful slow-burn story that turns hot as fire as the relationship between Luis and Paolo grows.

Luis and Paolo have chemistry that is off the charts and one of the most devoted relationships I’ve read recently. The story is gritty and uses a lot of British slang. I didn’t always know exactly what the terms meant but it didn’t matter because the meaning was clear enough through context. (The author did give a great explanation of many of the terms before the story began).

This book made me believe in the power of redemption and that second chances are something that most people deserve. I’m not doing a good job of explaining how good this book was. If you love a wonderful, angsty story with a HEA don’t just take my word for it, grab a copy and read it for yourself; I don’t think you’ll regret it a bit.