Book: Love in Touch
Author: Lucy May Lennox
Publisher: Dev Love Press
Genre: Wounded Hero Romance
Rating: [ [ [ [ [ (5 out of 5 hearts!)
About the Book:
Kassie has felt adrift ever since her dad died when she was in college. Now 24 and living in Seattle, she gets interested in learning sign language through her roommate, a sign language interpreter. One day at a Deaf community event, she sees a young man sitting off by himself. Kassie feels compelled to try signing to him–the fact that he’s strikingly handsome doesn’t hurt.
Jake has been deaf and blind since birth. His disability has cut him off from the world, but beneath his isolated exterior, is a smart, sweet guy with a dry sense of humor. Despite the odds, he’s highly educated, but at 26, he’s gotten stuck in a rut, with few friends and no clear career plans. Until a sweet-smelling girl introduces herself to him unexpectedly, and opens up a whole new world to him.
Jake is more intelligent, more genuine than anyone she has met before, and for the first time Kassie starts to feel like her life has some direction. But as their friendship deepens into something more, the difficulty in communicating with each other only grows, and it seems like everyone they know thinks their relationship won’t work. How can they come to a deeper understanding of each other, and find a future together?
My Thoughts:
I read an excerpt of Love in Touch on a blog somewhere--I can't even think of where, now--and, in the comments, mentioned that I'd really like to review it. It seemed like such a fascinating love story and, I could tell from the brief excerpt, well-written. Plus, there was that hauntingly gorgeous cover. Something about this book just tugged at me. Next thing you know, I had a kind email and an e-copy of the book in my inbox.
Four hours later (at work, mind you... oops) I'd finished it.
Can I just say, I was not disappointed? Kassie and Jake were just so real and I was so invested in their story, that by the end of the book, I just wanted it to keep going and going so I could find out how the rest of their lives went.
This book was so completely outside any kind of romance I've ever read. I was utterly unfamiliar with the "Wounded Hero" romance. (And please correct me if you're familiar with this genre and there's a better known name for it!) The most "wounded" hero in any other book I'd ever read was some guy from the 1820's who came back from the war with a limp and an attractive scar slashed through his right eyebrow. Not like Jake, who was born deaf and blind because of an illness his mom suffered during pregnancy. How could he and Kassie overcome those kind of barriers to create any kind of meaningful relationship?
The answer is, sometimes painfully, sometimes awkwardly and uncomfortably, and often in heartwrenching and beautiful ways. This was not a condescending, "normal" girl lowers her standards and finds a way to make it work with a person with disabilities. (Please note my quotations, because really? Normal? What even IS that?) This was a true love story, with curiosity, openness, heartache, patience and passion. It was an adventure in discovery between two people (I understand they're not real, but their fully-developed personalities and problems and friends and character arcs make them really feel real), who stumble their way through incredible odds to create something amazing.
If you couldn't tell, I absolutely adored this book and would recommend it to anyone. Five stars. Er, hearts.
About the Author:
Lucy May Lennox is a lifelong resident of the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Her first ambition in life was to become a child actor, but when she grew too old to be an adorable prodigy, she turned to writing instead. A connoisseur of novels featuring men with physical disabilities, she grew frustrated with all the cliches, ignorance and stereotypes and decided to write her own positive take on disability. In addition to writing, Lucy also enjoys cooking and gardening, and is an amateur opera singer.
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Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of Love in Touch in exchange for a fair and impartial review.
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