MARK OF CAIN

MARK OF CAIN by Kate Sherwood

Pages:  338

Date: June 20, 2014

Grate: 5

Details: Received from Samhain Publishing

            Through Love Romances and More

Own / Kindle

The blurb:

“When a man is consumed by hatred, is there anything left to love?

After a tough day of counseling sessions, Anglican priest Mark Webber is looking forward to a relaxing dinner at a local restaurant. When he sees who’s bellied up to the bar, though, he reaches for his cell phone to call the police.

It’s Lucas Cain, the man who killed Mark’s brother three years ago. Apparently he’s out of jail and hanging out with his old crowd, which has to be a breach of parole, right?

Pulled over upon leaving the bar, Lucas blows a clean breathalyzer and hopes this isn’t a harbinger of things to come. He’s ready to build a sober, peaceful life. His friends aren’t ready to let him move on, though, and he ends up taking refuge in an Anglican half-way house.

Thrown together, Mark and Lucas find common ground in the struggle to help a young gay man come to terms with his sexuality—and the fight against homophobic townsfolk. As attraction grows, the past is the last stumbling block between them and a future filled with hope.”

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My thoughts:

I wasn’t sure how much I was going to like the book. While the blurb sounded intriguing I also feared I might be in for a predictable and possibly slightly frustrating read.

Well, colour me surprised. Not because the story turned out to be completely different from what I expected, it wasn’t. No, I’m happily surprised because there was nothing frustrating about this book. The story didn’t contain any forced or protracted drama. With a story- line as described above this was always going to be an angsty book, and they have a habit of upsetting me. It was wonderful to read a book in which the angst made perfect sense and was portrayed realistically. There is a lot of it and yet it doesn’t feel as if that’s the central theme of the book. The angst is part of a much larger story; it didn’t take over or dominate the narrative

This story and the relationships between the characters develop organically. There are no ‘magical’ moments, no instant conversions or other miracles. Not every issue is resolved when the book ends. This realism made The ‘Mark of Cain’ a near perfect book for me. In most romance novels I read there will be at least one character I want to slap because of their stupidity or refusal to communicate. I loved the honesty and openness between Mark and Lucas. It is great to follow two characters who actually listen to each other.

Of the three main characters I was most impressed with Lucas. He’s made a terrible and fatal mistake in the past and is trying to keep himself going from day to day. He’s not looking for forgiveness because he doesn’t think he deserves it. He wants to be a better man but doesn’t think it will ever make up for the wrong he did in the past. He is matter of fact about the situation he finds himself in and never allows himself the luxury of self-pity. He never sees himself as a martyr, which means the reader doesn’t have to see him that way either.

“Nah. I deserve what I get.” – Lucas

It took me a bit longer to fall for Mark and I’m not entirely sure why. There were moments when I adored him. I loved the words he uses when he talks to Alex about being gay, because it’s such a wonderful way of talking to a confused 16 year old.

“I walk, I sit, I wake, I sleep. All gay, all day” – Mark to Alex

Maybe it took me longer to like Mark because I fell for Lucas straight away and he didn’t. And while his reasons for thoroughly disliking Lucas were better than good, I still wanted him to see what I saw in Lucas. As soon as he did start to see it, my reservations about him were gone. I also thought the process Mark goes through when it comes to his faith and the Anglican Church were well worked out and convincing.

The idea of the two men bonding over Alex - a sixteen year old boy struggling with his homosexuality and his homophobic father - and their need to help him was inspired. Alex infatuation with Lucas was adorable and the way Lucas and Mark dealt with it was sensitive as well as realistic.

I could say a whole lot more about this book. I fell in love with it and I tend to get carried away when that happens. So I’ll force myself to stop now. I just want to say that if you happen to be looking for a wonderful romance centred around two men you can’t help but fall for, you need to pick up this book. It is well written and immaculately plotted. You will find a smooth read with sparkling dialogue. If you enjoy a few smiles and chuckles with your angst, this is the book for you. If you want your next book to introduce you to two characters you may not want to say goodbye to, you could do a lot worse than pick up ‘The Mark of Cain.’

“We’re nothing like Romeo and Juliet, he said. Cause we’re going to make it.” - Lucas